Introduction
The purpose of this essay is to
define what death is and to answer
whether death is the end of human life, and what happens after death? Is there another life?
This subject is relevant today because these are questions many are asking; and you can have multiple answers from which there is an absolute certainty in the Bible. We will not be focusing this issue from the scientific clinical point of view because it does not give us concrete answers about this important issue that has occupied human beings for millennia.
The famous
British scientist, Professor Stephen Hawking, has just declared that “Life after death is a fairy tale.” The English scientist declared in an exclusive interview with the Guardian.[1] newspaper,
once again focusing on his scientific research and deviating from religious beliefs, “there is nothing after the time when the brain stops functioning,” but it is necessary to “enjoy life and do good things in it.” He continues by saying, “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” The scientist also affirmed, “I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first. There is much that I want to do before.” Contrary to this response in 1904,
less than six years before his death, William James made a revealing statement
in response to a questionnaire circulated by his former student James
Pratt. To the question, "Do you
believe in personal immortality?" James answered, "Never keenly, but
more strongly as I grow older." "If so, why?" "Because I am
just getting fit to live."[2]
From a
rational point of science relies on maxim, “I believe only in I can see.” This means accepting death as end
point. Nevertheless, the scientific point of is the
ultimate answer to questions. We make room for the answers we from the Bible and start from there. There are substantial constructive works in
pluralistic philosophy of religion on this subject; however, we will limit our
perspective to the biblical evidence.
The expansive treatment of the topic in the Bible includes the prophets’, Jesus’, and Paul’s views. Step
into the intertestamental period, however, and the picture begins to change
dramatically. One encounters a stunning
array of images of angelic metamorphosis, astral immortality, even
apotheosis. What is impressive is not
just the clear evidence of belief in a beatific afterlife for the just, but the
giddy profusion of different ways to imagine that afterlife. Echoes of astral and angelomorphic
immortality persist in the New Testament, rabbinic literature, early patristic
writings, and Jewish mysticism, whence they enter the full stream of Jewish and
Christian thought.[3] We will give some treatment to the philosophical view,
but very little. When we study the
biblical record, we see that there is no good reason to rule out the existence
of an afterlife a priori.
Humans have come up a set of about death being the end because
the mystery that it is ever present. We cannot escape death; it has been an enigma
that humans have had
the need to about and wonder of purpose in human existence. Questions about death in knowledge have
caused many to the issue from a rational perspective and empirical setting, thus putting aside religious beliefs. However, this does not prevent the passage of and
ultimately,
the arrival ofhis will bring doubts that will assail humans time and again and make them rethink their humanistic
ideas. At bottom
of this is idea that we like to that there is after death, because perhaps the fundamental question, why we are here may be Thus, life would be an and perfect circle with a beginning and a definite purpose in life continues in form.
The questions must be
answered, but not in a scientific perspective, rather we must view it from an ontological or conceptual
point of view. Looking for answers in
the scientific realm has caused many to view death as the end of existence, and
not the cessation of life in its familiar bodily state. Erickson referencing Louis Berkhof, posits
that death is not the end of existence, however, life and death, according to Scripture, are
not to be thought of as existence and nonexistence, but as two different states
of existence. Death is simply a
transition to a different mode of existence; it is not, as some tend to think,
extinction.[4] This is indeed Hawking’s thinking; extinction. He uses the analogy of a computer to rationalize
or to justify his believes that humans are objects, which exist for a moment in
time and then cease to exist once death comes.
His analogy fails to answer the questions of death absolutely. This is along the lines of Ludwig
Wittgenstein’s assertion that “Death is not an event in life: we do not live to
experience death.”[5]
This kind of thinking is pure existentialism miserably cutoff from the joyful hope
of the afterlife. The apostle Paul gave
evidence of a life well-lived expectantly waiting for his own death with the
assurance of an afterlife (2 Cor. 5:1-10; Phil. 1:19:26)[6]
in which he will enjoy God’s presence.
In his last letter to Timothy there is a triumphant tone
in the words of
the Apostle when he refers to his
impending death.
He presented death as a sacrifice,
a libation poured out before the Lord (2 Timothy
4:6). Paul saw his
death for Christ as participation in His redemptive suffering.
Crucial
questions to consider
In
this research, we will answer four crucial questions that will give a
philosophical and theological perspective to these four questions. As it was mentioned before, the approach of
this research will be to look at death from a spiritual view since it will
provide us a perspective in which life can be seen as continuous even after
death. In order to do away with the fear of the unknown,
we must answer these four crucial questions that will provide us the necessary
foundation to know what is death, and if there is an afterlife. These questions are:
1. What is death?
2.
Is death the
end of human life?
3.
What happens
after death?
4. Is there
another life?
Death
Humans are indeed speculative
beings. We look at a dead body and
wonder, whether this is the end or the beginning of another life. We ponder on the cause of death, puzzle over
the fundamental meaning of it, search for a purpose in the cycle of life, and
still find ourselves without answers.
Great challenges often evoke great responses, as Arnold Toynbee has
reminded us.[7] Thus, we cannot give up the claim to know the
nature and purpose of death. For the
ignorance of the nature and purpose of death is indeed the cause of all our
fears of the unknown or as professor Hawking says
a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” His use of the word “dark” implies looking
at darkness as a state of nothingness which is particularly implausible.
Yes, his claim is both subjective and
seemingly inessential to our view of death as a transition to immortality. Moreover, it would seem his talk of darkness
confines it scope to the scientific view that the average number of photons
being received per square meter per second is not sufficient to produce light.
What is death?
One fact about death is that there is an unwillingness to
face the inevitability of one’s death;[8] however; to come to terms with this reality, there must
be the acceptance of it; there is no way around this fact. To our existentialist society, this is a hard
reality to accept because they believe that death is the end of the process and
the end of everything; a meaningless natural sequence. All that is left once the body is consumed is
dust. The remaining vestiges of a life
that struggled with all its might to put away death, which drove death as far
as possible of its reality, kept it at a distance, and did not want to admit that
it will occur. While disagreeing with
the existentialist as to the meaning of death, the Christian agrees as to its
reality and inescapability.[9]
What is death,
however? From a physical point of view,
it is the cessation of life in our physical body as we know it. This is the basic definition science accepts. This was the belief of the philosopher David
Hume (A. D. 1711-1776), who questioned the immortality of the soul, because he
believed that all knowledge comes from the sensory perceptions of the body.[10] Since the death of the body marks the end of everything,
it is impossible to have conscious existence after the death of the body
happens. Death, then, looked from this
scientific perspective is thus the extinction of life. However, if the possibility of being the
extinction of life is accepted as a scientific fact without concrete evidence,
would it not be plausible also of being a transition to another life a
possibility we can accept? Can one possibility exist and not the other, and can
we conclude that to make the one possible, the other has to be made possible
also? One has to cancel out the
other.
Addressing
the issue of death, the Second Vatican Council said:
The
riddle of human existence is at its strongest.
Human beings experience not only pain and the progressive breaking down
of the body, but also, and even more, the fear of everlasting extinction. But they are judging correctly in the
instinct of their heart when they reject with revulsion the complete destruction
and final ruin of their person. The
kernel of eternity in human beings cannot be reduced to mere matter and
struggles against death. But all the
precautions of technology, however useful, are unable to assuage human
anxiety. The temporal extension of
biological life is unable to satisfy that longing for a further life which
lives unconquerably in the human heart.[11]
The scientific
view posits life as existence and nonexistence, rather than the view presented
by the biblical text as two different states of existence.[12] It was God’s
intention for the human race to live eternally, but as a result of sin (Gen.
3:3), death came. Thus, there is a
profound truth in the thought of death as the consequence of sin.[13] Paul, standing in the
intellectual perspective of Old
Testament understood death as a natural sequel of sin.[14] He wrote, “Therefore, just as sin
entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death
came to all people, because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12)—however, death was
not the extinction of existence, but the separation from God. Erickson concludes “[d]eath, then, is not
something natural to humans. It is
something foreign and hostile.”[15] We could
expand Erickson’s insight to make the point that death is a curse, but not to
the believer. As Paul puts it, “When the
perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with
immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been
swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O
death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is
sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ” (1 Cor. 15:54-57). From a
Christian perspective then the fear of everlasting extinction is
unwarranted. The kernel of eternity is
ever-present in human life.
Jesus, addressing his disciples, said: “Very truly I tell you,
unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single
seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). This statement, although considered a
parable, is but an image taken from nature and therefore, has a profound truth embedded
in its relationship to human beings, and it gives us evidence that death
produces life.
Is death the
end of human life?
It is not true what science would have us to
believe, “Death is the end of human life.”
No, it is not the end of human life; however science would have us to
believe that it is. Wiley and Culbertson
as a foundation of the immortality of the soul have rightly surmise “The "psychological
argument" is based on the nature of the soul is essentially immaterial and indivisible, therefore, indestructible. The “teleological
argument” argues that the soul
cannot fulfill its promise
in this world; hence the need of another world and
another continues existence to achieve
its full complement of blessedness. Finally, the
“moral argument”, as presented in
individual and social aspects,
says that man in this world does not
always receive justice. So
a mere annihilation will not
permit levels of corresponding punishment to different degrees of guilt.”[16]
The scientific perspective
seeks to reduce death to a simple dimension without taking into consideration
its metaphysical component. “If
universal nature,” declares Lucretius, “should suddenly utter voice and thus
upbraid any of us: ‘what cause you have you O Mortal thus excessively to
indulge in bitter grief? Why do you groan and weep at the thought of death? …
Why do you not, O unreasonable man, retire like a guest satisfied with life and
take your undisturbed rest with resignation. …. Everything is always the same….
All things remain the same even if you should outlast all the ages living; and
still more would you see them the same if you should never come to die.’ ”[17] Lucretius’ thoughts rightly express what
would be the state of mind of humans living with the idea that immortality is
unreal. If immortality is unreal, then
what would be the significance of having hope?
Hope is predicated on the idea that we will be emancipated from the grip
of death to life of immortality. Thus,
humans are “saved by hope” because the dissolution of death is the result of
life after death when one is in Christ.
Death is not the end of
everything, but the beginning of immortality.
When finis comes, it is not the telos of our existence,
but the transition to a state of eternal life.
We must admit; this statement can be accepted only “by faith”; for it
must be accepted from the vantage point of immortality above extinction, which
no human being can claim to have possession but only through faith alone. From such a vantage point, immortality is
credulous, even if it should be impossible to prove empirically. It is credulous because immortality gives of
the hope that death would not be the final predicament of humans. If death is the final predicament of humans,
then we are mere animals trudging through life without a future because we do
not transcend our temporal life but live in a continuous state of mere
existence.
Science tells us that when
your heart stops beating, there is no blood getting to your brain. And so what
happens is that within about 10 seconds, brain activity ceases —and death
ensues. Looked upon from
the scientific perspective, this is the end.
Other physical phenomena occur, but we will just leave it there. What concerns us in this essay is the other
aspect of death science does not want to explore; the part of death where the spirit[18] leaves the body and returns to God. The oldest idea that comes from
tradition is of the immortal
soul, which, after
the death of the body, leaves the
strange land of this
mortal life and returns to its eternal
home.[19]
Where do we go to get a
truthful answer for this
question about what happens after death?
Do we trust science to provide us the answer? However, how do we know it will provide us
the right answer? As it was mentioned
before, science would only give us the clinical answer and not the metaphysical
answer. Who are we to believe—and why? These questions lead us to the inescapable
conclusion that if we cannot rely on science to provide us the answer, then we
must go to the Bible to provide us the answer because for centuries
the Bible has been the source to go to for answers, which go beyond the
physical realm; it tells us positively
what happens after death.
Moltmann asks, “If the
Christian hope in the resurrection
differs so completely from the theory of the immortality
of the soul, then in this life
that is headed for death, nothing will remain and
sustain and make man invulnerable and immortal? He then affirms, “According
to the Christian conception, God will
raise the dead by His Spirit
of life.”[20] In relation to man's death, Ecclesiastes 12:7
states: "and the dust returns to the ground it came
from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” Now, about the spirit of man it says in the Old Testament
that is breathed into man the breath of God
(ruach of God) and gives life, and
after death it returns to God: "In your hands I
commend my spirit", Jesus uttered from the cross. (Ps.
31:6, Lk. 23:46). The Spirit
of life that comes from God and returns to God, is
immortal.[21]
We have in the Old and New Testaments
authoritative teaching regarding the immortality of man. It does not hesitate ever of the immortality
of the soul. However, when studying the
“spirit” or “soul,” caution should be taken to distinguish the spirit of man
from the beasts. The conviction of a
life beyond death is presented with certainty in the Scriptures (cf. Ecclesiastes
3: 21; Job 19: 25-26; Psalm 90: 10). The New Testament is replete with the
teaching regarding the immortality of human beings. Our Lord himself declared: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but
cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul
and body in hell” (Matthew
10: 28). It is evident here that the
soul and the body are not identical and that to kill the body is not to kill
the soul. This is what Jesus Christ is
teaching here (see also Luke 12: 4-5; Matthew 17: 3, 22: 31-32; Luke 16: 22,
23; 23: 43, 46; Acts 7: 59). Paul
declared victoriously, “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from
the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give
life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you”
Romans. 5:11). Based on what we have argued biblically, we now know what happens after death.
What is left of to answer in our essay is, is
there another life? Based on what we
have written thus far the answer is, yes, there is another life. To this, we will dedicate the next portion of
this essay.
The
question, is there another life?, or should we say does our life continuous after
we die? These questions, then, can be answered positively. We can
base our answer to the questions on a text from the Scripture because “… to appeal to God and his word acquires
new relevance to the
lives of human beings,
especially if it appears as the only
reasonable answer to the question of
survival after death.”[22] Indeed, we have shown that in God’s word, we
will get the “only reasonable answer” to our questions about death. Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus is
an excellent Scripture which shows us that there is another life after death. We can learn several things about the next
life from this story. First, this is a story of contrasts. On earth, one man is
rich and the other poor. In the next
life, the poor is comforted and the rich is tormented. They both received their recompense based on
their earthly life. The rich man later wants to warn his family members of what
awaits them when they died. He wants
Lazarus to go back and warn his brothers, but Abraham replied,
‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.' The rich man
replied, ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to
them, they will repent.’ Abraham
replied, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets,
they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead’" (Luke
16:19-31). The story reveals that once both men died, their lives continue in
another realm. One went to Abraham’s
bosom (paradise), the other to the place of torment. The point in this research is not the
reward and punishment in the afterlife, but the fact that life continues and
there is consciousness. Thus, after
death, each person will maintain their individual identity, which will be
completely untouched by experiencing death.
Zaleski posits:
Against the charge that soul-talk is superfluous, there is the common witness of humanity that some language of this sort is necessary to capture the full range of human experience. Long after the human genome is completely mapped, and the neurophysiology of awareness and cognition thoroughly understood, we will still stand in awe before the mystery of consciousness and selfhood. We may be made in the image and likeness of a mouse, genetically speaking, but our kinship with the mouse is a kinship with life that is perishing. There remains an irreducible quality to our experience which tells us that we are not perishing with it, that we are also made in the image and likeness of another, whose code is transcendent.[23]
The rich man was conscious and aware
of his surroundings. He felt his
torment; he was aware of his brothers, and he was worry about them. Nothing much is said about the poor man since
he found himself in a state of bliss where he was being rewarded for his time
of suffering on earth. The glimpses of
the future afforded by this story are designed not to satisfy our curiosity about
the unknown, but to provide us a concrete picture of life after death. It gives us a picture, according to Zaleski:
“…of the interim period between the death of individuals and the general
resurrection of the dead. Where are the
dead? What are they doing? According to St. Paul, the dead are with Christ, and
the Holy Spirit is their pledge of continued existence in God's hands. To convey this sense of continuity, the New
Testament and early Christian sources employ a rich array of images, all of
Jewish origin: the dead sleep or wake; they are in Sheol or in a place of
heavenly refreshment, light, and peace; they are gathered to the fathers or
resting in the bosom of Abraham; they are sheltered under the altar or hidden
under the throne of God awaiting the final redemption.”[24]
Science
can only go so far as their empirical knowledge takes them. Many will hold steadfast to their scientific position,
however there is the Scriptural testimony that death is not the end of
everything, but the transition to eternal life.
These words may sound foreign to someone who has relied on science to
provide all the answers; nevertheless, the biblical account offers us a more
plausible source we can come to for answers.
Conclusion
This was a most interesting and
illuminating essay; I was challenged to comb through the books of the Old and
New Testaments, Paul’s letters, and the writings of some of the best scholars
in the subject on death and immortality.
In this essay, we have shown that death is not darkness as Hawking puts
it; nor is death the extinction of life as science posits. Neither is death a nonsensical unknown. For the Christian and the non-Christian
alike, death is a transition to eternal life; to live with or without God
eternally.
We do not deny that death is a
painful and a sorrowful experience to bear.
However, the Christian believer should not worry about physical death
because it is not the end but the beginning. Given, however, that what gives death its
sting is not that the body dies and corrupts in the grave, but what lies beyond
the grave. This is what troubles many;
the idea of immortality versus the extinction of life. The objective non-empirical reality of
immortality can be obtained only by living a life of union with God on earth with
a firm conviction of faith and of reason that surpasses any theorizing that
denies the afterlife.
Our Christian faith affirms that we
will live and reign eternally with Christ. This
will happen after we are raised from the dead to be with Christ forever. This was the scandalous resurrection teaching
the Apostle Paul so ardently made the foundation of the Christian faith in
Jesus Christ. In First Corinthians he
wrote:
Now, brothers
and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you
received
and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you
hold
firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in
vain. For what I
received I passed on to you as of first importance: that
Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised
on the third day according to the
Scriptures, but if it is preached that
Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of
you say that there is no
resurrection of the dead? If
there is no resurrection of the dead, then
not even Christ has been
raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless
and
so is your faith. [25]
Even so, some five or so centuries
earlier, Job affirmed “I know that my Redeemer lives, and at last he will stand
upon the earth, and after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I
shall see God.” (Job 19: 25–26).[26]
This is the kind of faith we have been talking about throughout this essay.
The scope of this essay does not allow
me to continue elaborating on this matter, so I will only remark, first, that I
regard this subject a genuinely interesting one meriting further study from a
biblical perspective; second, that while it presumes the immortality of the
soul, in context that is not problematic, and the conclusion adds interestingly
to the biblical assumptions which we
have alluded hitherto; third, that pursuing a scientific perspective can be
vital, however, it cannot stand against the biblical testimony; fourth, that
the character of the subject about death and its relation to immortality ought
to be studied with faith and an open-mind; and fifth, that death and immortality
are part of the human make-up, and the argument against the afterlife is not
acceptable because God is the giver of life and his intention was for humans to
abide with Him eternally.
A person that believes in God cannot accept
that he is the God of the dead. Jesus
told the Sadducees, “He is not the God of the dead,
but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” (Mark 12:27). They were badly mistaken because they believe
in God, but not in the resurrection of the dead. In this respect, therefore, I pray that we
forge ahead with the strength and faith to refute the skepticism about the
resurrection of the dead and the afterlife that awaits us whether we believe it or
not. Because the consequences so far as
belief in immortality are concerned, will have an effect on how we live here on
earth. Therefore, our eschatology and
ethics of living are inextricably linked.
For example, the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians exhorted
them to be consistent and enthusiastic in their service: ‘Therefore, my dear
brothers, stand firm, let nothing move you, always devote yourselves fully to
the Lord’s work in the knowledge that your labor in the Lord is not futile’ (1
Cor. 15:58).
I want to end with two points about
New Testament eschatology. First, although
we have been talking about life after death, the main object of Christian hope
is Christ. We definitely ‘wait for ...
the coming of the day of God’ and for ‘new heavens and a new earth in which
righteousness dwells’ (2 Pet. 3:12-13) and ‘seek for ... immortality’ (Rom.
2:7), but the ultimate purpose of our hope is simply ‘await a Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ’ (Phil. 3:20) who will himself set in motion everything we have
been talking about upon the arrival of the kingdom of God. So our eschatological focus is Jesus Christ rather
than the last things which will occur upon His return.
Is
death the end of everything? No, death
is the unfolding of an eschatological process that begins when we are born and will continue for
eternity.
REFERENCES
Erickson,
Millard J. Christian Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 1998.
Elwell, Walter A., ed. Evangelical Dictionary of
Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker
Academic,
2001.
Ian Sample, Stephen Hawking: ‘There is No Heaven; It’s
a Fairy Story’, the guardian, 15 May
2011.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/may/15/stephen-hawking-interview-there- is-no-heaven (accessed November 13, 2012).
Macquarrie, John Principles of Christian Theology. 2d ed. New
York: Holiday House, 1985.
Moltmann, Jurgen, and Moltmann. La venida
de Dios (Spanish Edition). Salamanca: Ediciones
Sígueme,
2004.
Niebuhr, Reinhold. Nature and Destiny of Man Volume II: Human Destiny.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1964.
Pannenberg, Wolfhart. Antropología en
perspectiva teológica. Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme, 1993.
Waldenfels, Hans Teología fundamental
contextual. Salamanca: Ediciones Sígueme, 1999.
Wiley, H. Orton, and Paul T. Culbertson. Introducción a la teología cristiana (Introduction
to
Christian Theology). Kansas City:
Casa Nazarena de Publicaciones, 2006.
Wolff, Robert P., ed. Ten Great Works of
Philosophy. New York: Signet Classics, 2002.
Zaleski, Carol. “In Defense of Immortality.” First Things: A Monthly
Journal of Religion and Public Life no. 105 (Aug/Sep 2000): 36-42. http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=49c167b5-70a6-432a-9871-40af891c1b17%40sessionmgr14&vid=17&hid=11 (accessed January 22, 2013).
Citas
[6] This
and subsequent citations are from The New International Version (NIV)
Bible a registered trademark
of
Biblica, Inc.™..
[17] As quoted in Reinhold Niebuhr, Nature and Destiny of Man Volume II:
Human Destiny (New York: Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1964), pp. 8, 9.
[18] Note: For the purpose
of this research, when referring to man’s spirit or
soul, the terms are used interchangeably. The terms are etymologically loaded with
meaning; however, we will not elaborate on them
since the purpose of this research limits the scope of our research.
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