'Boy Who Came Back from Heaven' Says He Made It All Up: "I Thought It Would Get Me Attention"

The boy who claimed he went to heaven after a 2004 car accident that left him paralyzed now says the entire book is based on a lie.

The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven now says he didn't go to heaven at all, saying he concocted the New York Times bestselling lie to get attention.

The conveniently named Alex Malarkey -- now a teenager -- penned the admission for the blog Pulpit and Pen earlier this week, writing, “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.”

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Malarkey's open letter continues, "It is only through repentance of your sins and a belief in Jesus as the Son of God, who died for your sins (even though he committed none of his own) so that you can be forgiven may you learn of Heaven outside of what is written in the Bible...not by reading a work of man. I want the whole world to know that the Bible is sufficient. Those who market these materials must be called to repent and hold the Bible as enough." He signs his letter "In Christ."

The Boy Who Came Back form Heaven -- a 2010 New York Times Bestseller -- tells the story of the 2004 car accident that left Malarkey, then six years old, paralyzed and in a coma. Malarkey said he visited heaven and met Jesus while in a coma. He was left a quadriplegic following the accident.

Christian publisher Tyndale House has since announced it “has decided to take the book and related ancillary products out of print.” The Christian retailer LifeWay has announced it plans to withdrawn it from its shelves.