In this book, we see an admittedly religious interpretation of some unexplainable scientific phenomena. The Burpo family was forced to endure horrific struggle with their son's illness, and as the parents would likely admit, it was likely very difficult to survive that emotionally. Then, right in the aftermath of that nightmare, their son starts talking about his near-death experience, and the boy's perspective helps them heal as a family, not only from his illness, but also the miscarriage that preceded him, and the death of the grandfather, a difficult burden to bear. His enlightenment from near-death helped them heal, and they are seeing that reality from their religious perspective, which is an intriguing challenge to the reader, but a fun one.
The near-death experience made the son say things that the father said reminded him of things Jesus had said in the Bible. One potential explanation for that phenomenon would be that the boy, having "died and gone to heaven" might have met Jesus and learned from him, as the family suggests. They do make an intriguing point about his talking about his "sister," the child of a miscarriage. Even if they aren't being scientific in their analysis per say, one has to admit, that would be creepy, like a ghost story almost.
One alternate, less supernatural explanation would simply be this: Jesus's teachings might have been drawn from some near-death experience which he sustained in the desert during his extraordinarily long fast. Perhaps the boy, innocent and young, encountered 'The Near-Death Experience' and came away with some of the same opinions about life as Jesus had. It will be interesting to see whether this child will be a theologian, since his life will be undeniably shaped by the involuntary fame that this book forced on him.
