Introduction

What is this blog, and why does it exist? After the passing of my father, I became somewhat obsessed with knowing what happens when we die. Death is something that touches each and every one of us at some point, it's part of the human experience. It's one of the big questions of life, alongside "Is there a God?" and "Why am I here?" So, trying to understand it, or at least the best we can, would seem to be prudent.

As a Christian, I've always believed in the afterlife. But how can we really be sure of anything outside of our observational experience? There are many competing ideas. The materialist will say there is no life after death. The proponents of soul sleep will also deny life after death but for theological reasons. Buddhists and Hindus, among others, believe in reincarnation. Mainstream Christians like myself believe in an immortal soul. And of course there are no doubt innumerable other fanciful ideas about what happens when we die.

I've spent a great deal of time studying the issue from both a theological and scientific perspective. The goal then of this blog is twofold: to give supporting reasons to believe in the soul and to refute soul sleep. In fact, a good portion of this blog will be addressing the soul sleep doctrine. I chose a blog format because it's easier for the reader to digest and because it's less time-consuming for me as opposed to writing a book. Perhaps someday I will put it in book form. Until then, this blog will be under permanent construction as I edit, reword, and refine my ideas.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What is a Nephesh?

Soul sleep is the belief that the soul is unconscious and "sleeps" in death until the resurrection at Christ's Second Coming. Adherents to soul sleep include the Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, and Christadelphians, among a few others. They are products of the Restoration Movement and Millerite movement of the 19th century, although the doctrine of soul sleep can be traced back to the third century. It was largely rejected by the early fathers but reemerged during the Reformation. However, it remains a minority view. None of the religious groups in 1st century Judea had any concept of soul sleep. Most believed in an immortal soul, including the Pharisees, Essenes, and early Christians. The Sadducees were the only ones who didn't believe in an immortal soul, but they didn't believe in a resurrection either. The Bible does refer to death as "sleep" on occasion, as someone dead has the appearance of someone being asleep. Soul sleep proponents wou...
Read more

Scriptural Support for the Immortal Soul

Scripture itself speaks of the soul existing outside the body after death if taken literally. We will divide this between the Old Testament and the New Testament. I will also address common objections to these verses. This is far from an exhaustive list, and I intend to add to it over time. Old Testament Support: The story of the Witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28 portrays the spirit of the prophet Samuel coming up from the ground. The witch describes Samuel as an elohim. An elohim is any divine being in the spirt realm, including angels. The implication is Samuel is alive and conscious after death in the same spiritual realm as God and the angels. There are those who would dismiss this account as a deception either by the witch or a demon, which I have addressed here . Regardless, it demonstrates that the ancient Israelites had an understanding of the immortal soul at least three thousand years ago, minimum. Enoch walked or pleased God and was taken (Gen 5:24), meaning that he did not die....
Read more

Near-Death Experiences point to an immortal soul

Is there a way we can know if the soul persists beyond death? Perhaps the closest we can get to knowing without actually dying is Near-Death Experiences (NDEs). The term "near-death experience" was coined by author and physician Raymond Moody. In his book, Life After Life , Moody recounts the story of George G. Ritchie, who was a U.S. Army recruit in 1943 during World War II. George reportedly died of pneumonia and was declared clinically dead for about 9 minutes. During that time, he recounts leaving his body and encountering a being of light, among other things. He was told it wasn't his time to die and was later revived with an adrenaline injection. George G. Ritchie's story is considered one of the earliest "modern" NDEs, although NDEs are not new or novel but have been recorded in ancient texts for thousands of years. NDEs often have many commonalities among them, including: Having an out-of-body experience and seeing their own physical body apart from ...
Read more