Before I launch into this final article, let me remind you about the purpose of this series.
I am directing this series to help those who do not believe in a single theistic God—offering them the two options of believing in God or accepting a scientific view of life.
In the prologue, I mentioned:
There are three questions that no one can answer categorically without faith.
1. Where do we come from?
2. What is our purpose in this life?
3. Where do we go after our death?
Today, we will expand on the prologue: Where do we go after our death?
Let us begin with the scientific viewpoint. When I say ‘the scientific,’ I am not suggesting what I say about the scientific view is exhaustive or final in any way. It is purely my opinion. But I did a little research and have found the below comments helpful:
“The scientific viewpoint on life after death is not a unified one. Scientists have different perspectives and opinions depending on their fields of study, personal beliefs, and the evidence they consider (1). ”
“People who study science and medicine have come to very different conclusions about the afterlife. Some think that to believe in science means the supernatural, including life after death, is not possible. Others believe that science proves, or at least points to, the possibility of life after death (2). ”
Before we begin to look at the Christian point of view, I would like to repeat some of my previous sentiments.
If you follow the below links, you will discover that among certain scientists, there is ‘proof’ that at death, the body expires but not the realm of consciousness. The state of consciousness continues to function. (Note this is a contentious issue.) The links provide the only information I could find to support a ‘spiritual life’ (my words) after death.
For Christians, spiritual life is the state of the soul and human spirit. My faith says they survive the death of the brain (3,4,5). What is ‘eternal life’ if not the soul’s and human spirit’s survival?
Eternal life is not alluded to in great detail in Jesus’s words. We do not receive a detailed map of life after death regarding how you and I relate to our lives here on Earth.
Jesus did say, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house, there are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going (6) .”
The above scripture is the closest I can find of a ‘map’ to our eternal future. That is, ‘There are many rooms in my Father’s house. So, it’s fair to assume we’ll have a ‘roof over our heads’ at least, but that is all. The further one reads the scriptures, a more critical issue arises.
If we made a synopsis of the red letters in the gospels, I am sure we would all arrive at this conclusion:
The below chart (7) will show you an outline of the four Gospels. I have selected the four most important issues:
1. Who Was Jesus
2. His Roots
3. Our Objective
4. His Target Audience
|
Gospel Chart |
||||
| Matthew | Mark | Luke | John | |
| Who is Christ? | Christ the King | Christ the Servant | Christ the Man | Christ is God |
| Which Genealogy? | Genealogy of King | No Genealogy | Genealogy of Man | Genealogy of God |
| If it were a body part | The Mouth | The Hands and Feet | The Mind | The Heart |
|
Skip to the Ending (cf. Acts 1:3-8) |
Concludes with Resurrection | Concludes with the Ascension | Concludes with Promise of H.S. | Concludes with Promise of Return |
| The Challenge | Submit to Christ as Lord | Serve as Christ served | Follow in His Footsteps | Believe In Him |
| Target Audience | Jewish Christians | Condensed Version | Gentile Christians | All Unbelievers |
| Purpose | Making Disciples | Making Disciples | Making Disciples | Making Converts |
In conclusion, it emerges that it is not important what happens after we die; it’s important how we live – NOW in this life. You and I don’t control what happens to us after death, so why would we concern ourselves with this uncontrollable factor?
We would do ourselves a massive benefit by focusing on the lifestyle of Jesus and following in his footsteps. Jesus was our perfect example, NOT our power – He sent the Holy Spirit for that purpose, for there is no other way to accomplish following in His footsteps.
“But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the spirit tells you to–if God’s Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (8).”
I pray you will love God and your fellow humans and live eternally.
Peter-James