• I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into Paradise--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows--and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. (2 Cor 12:2-4)

 

Three things:
 

First of all, the man (presumably Paul) was not dead, so this passage cannot be brought forth in support of what happens after death.
 

Secondly, this verse is sometimes given to support the idea that a person can exist "out of the body" and so the soul must be a separate entity from the body, and be able to exist apart from it. In response to this, I repeat; the man was not dead, so the body was still in play. Furthermore, Paul DIDN'T KNOW whether or not he was in the body or out of the body. If Paul DIDN'T KNOW, why is it that people use this passage to PROVE that souls can exist APART FROM (not "out of" - Paul's term) the body?
 

Finally, notice verse 1:
 

• I must boast; there is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord.

 

Paul characterizes this as a vision and/or a revelation. A vision is an "in the body" experience, it occurs within the person and has no objective reality. Sometimes a vision is so real that it is hard to tell that it actually isn't objectively real (e.g. Acts 12:9) That is why Paul couldn't tell whether it was in the body or out of the body. It doesn't matter to me, either way is fine. Neither way proves that man continues his conscious existence after death, because in either case, the man is NOT DEAD!
 

Also, I am not categorically opposed to the idea of "remote viewing" or "astral projection" or something along those lines, I believe it happens. It could be that something like this is what Paul means when he says "out of the body". This type of experience is described as an "out-of-body" experience even today. But keep in mind that the person is NOT DEAD!

 

Personally, because Paul characterized it as a vision/revelation, I would say that it was "in the body".