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‘The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven’ Says He Made It Up

‘The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven’ Says He Made It Up

Alex Malarkey, the “boy” featured in the popular book The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven has reportedly sent an open letter to the site PulpitAndPen.org, recanting the story told in the book. In the letter (which you can read in full here), Malarkey, who is now 17 years old, said,

I did not die. I did not go to Heaven. I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything written by man cannot be infallible.

The letter is addressed to “Lifeway and Other Sellers, Buyers, and Marketers of Heaven Tourism, by the Boy Who Did Not Come Back From Heaven.” Over the summer, Malarkey’s mother took to her blog to criticize the publisher for listing her son as the book’s co-author, adding that the book could lead people away from the Bible. She outlined the ways that her young son—who was only 6 years old and recovering from major brain surgery when the events occurred—had recently attempted to tell a pastor how “wrong the book was.” She also said, “There are many who are scamming and using the Word of God to do it.” Alex’s father (his parent’s are divorced) is listed as the book’s co-author. Alex is a quadriplegic after suffering severe injuries in the car accident outlined in the book. The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven is thematically similar to several other recent books about people “visiting” heaven, including the best-seller Heaven Is For Real, which was just made into a major movie …

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