FREE ESSAY ON THE AFTERLIFE

THE AFTERLIFE

The Afterlife
Comp I
2425 069R
Mary Evans
December 4, 1998
There was a woman who had been diagnosed with cancer and had been given three months to
live. Her Dr. told her to start making preparations to die (something we all should be
doing all of the time.) So she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to
discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at
the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what she wanted to be wearing. The
woman also told her pastor that she wanted to be buried with her favorite bible.
Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly
remembered something very important to her. 
There's one more thing, she said excitedly. 
What's that? came the pastor's reply. 
This is very important, the woman continued, I want to be buried with a fork in my right
hand. 
The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say. 
That shocks you, doesn't it? the woman asked. 
Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request, said the pastor. 
The woman explained. In all my years of attending church socials and functions where food
was involved (and let's be honest, food is an important part of any church event;
spiritual or otherwise), my favorite part was when whoever was clearing away the dishes
of the main course leaned over and said, 'you can keep your fork'. It was my favorite
part because I knew that something better was coming. When they told me to keep my fork,
I knew that something great was about to be given to me. It wasn't Jell-O or pudding. It
was cake or pie, something with substance. So I just want people to see me there in that
casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, 'What's with the fork?' Then I
want you to tell them: Something better is coming, so keep your fork.
The pastor's eyes were welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman goodbye. He
knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also
knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She knew that something
better was coming. At the funeral people were walking by the woman's casket and they saw
the pretty dress she was wearing and her favorite Bible and the fork placed in her right
hand. Over and over the pastor heard the question What's with the fork? And over and over
he smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with
the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it
symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the
fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.
He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so
gently that there is something better coming.
Life after death must certainly be a prized possession that is well worth the wait.
Something with such tremendous value must be that of hard work, loyalty, and the utmost
dedication to earning a spot on the list. The afterlife can be a very confusing topic. If
it even exists; What is it? Where is it? When would we be taken? Is their judgement for
separation? Who will go where? Since we are human beings, imagining or even going as far
as entertaining these questions is nearly impossible. The near idea of an afterlife is
far from our grasp. Buddha, Confucius, and other so-called 'wise men' have taught their
own ideas concerning life or 'occurrence' at and or after death. Where does this wisdom
come from? In whom may we put our trust to find the truth? With what point of reference
does the truth become truthful? All of us are found looking for life, whether we find it
in the truth will decide our eternal existence. After all, without the truth, we might
still have an afterlife; it's just a matter of where.
'Life', according to Webster's New World Dictionary, is defined as the way or manner of
living. It is also thereafter described as another chance given to one likely to lose.
'Life', to us, is undeniably existent. On the other hand, is death undeniable? Will its
occurrence be secure in our minds as well as our hearts? The woman's heart in the
preceding story was one with security on a better place. She lived her life in a manner
that her faith was her comforter and 'gift' given to her. Life and death could both be
considered mysteries. Yet with a good mystery, good detectives are there. Many authors
and theologians have contemplated and written on the many beliefs of the afterlife. Let's
look at them now. 
Can the manner in which we carry out our lives effect even the occurrence of death? Some
of us feel that another chance given to us would be cherished and not ever lost. Feeble
are our minds to believe or even think this. The Greek doctrine of God's grace has
effected theology in the idea that immortality is not inherent in human beings (Pinnock,
252). Clark Pinnock, author and theologian, agues from 1Timothy 6:16 that God alone is
immortal. According to Pinnock and Erickson, life is mortal unless God chooses
immortality for you. So what then? Hurry, hurry, be on your best behavior for God, he's
coming back and we don't want it to be with vengeance! Just about anyone who has sought
for living eternity most likely has attempted to earn his or her way into heaven. In
Romans 3:22, the bible says In faith comes the righteousness from God. We can all be
righteous through faith. Every human being, says C. S. Lewis, is in the process of
becoming a noble being; noble beyond imagination. Or else, alas, a vile being beyond
redemption (Lutzer, 9). Lewis describes to us that all humans have immortality, it is
just the matter of where they lead it. There are no ordinary people. It is immortals that
we are surrounded by in every day life; immortal horrors or everlasting splendors (Lewis,
18-19). 
On the other hand, believe it or not, the mortality of humans is also a strong belief of
many. Annihilation, 'the act of reducing to nothing', is the term we give to the complete
cessation of life, both of the body and soul. Therefore ending life with solely an
occurrence at death (Irving, 15). Many persons of the anti-Christ religion strongly
believe in annihilationism. The living attitude is usually harbored with a lack of
conscience and desire for good. It is not considered an afterlife, but is a strong and
constant argument against eternal life. B.B. Warfield claimed that there were three
different forms of annihilationism. Pure Mortalism holds that the human life is so
closely tied to the physical organism that when the body dies, the person as an entity
ceases to exist (Erickson, 1237). Due to its pantheistic views, this doctrine hasn't
received much attention. The second is Conditional Immortality, man is a mortal being.
Unless God gives you immortality, death is the end. And the third is called
Annihilationism Proper. It sees the extinction of the evil person at death as a direct
result of sin (Erickson, 1237). There are two types of annihilation proper.
The first sees annihilation as a direct result of sin. Sin has such a detrimental effect
that the individual gradually dies out. Thus, the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) is
taken quite literally. Sin is self-destructive. After a certain amount of time, perhaps
proportionate to the sinfulness of the individual, those who are redeemed wear out as it
were. The other type of pure annihilationism is the idea that God cannot and will not
allow the sinful person to have eternal life. There is punishment for sin. The punishment
need not be infinite, however. After a sufficient amount of punishment has been endured,
God will simply destroy the individual self (Erickson, 1238). 
As you may have guessed, the existence of heaven and hell are not being denied or argued
here. The pure nature of them is the debate. Different beliefs and religions call for
various natures of heaven and hell, or thereof. The beliefs of Erickson and Pinnock seem
a little depressing to me. Who would want to just hope for a chance to be immortal? I'd
rather work for it. Many others feel the same way also. Including religions like
Catholicism, Buddhism, Reincarnationism and almost all other modern philosophized
beliefs. They're all the same things in disguise. 
Buddhism is an ancient religion that was philosophized to belief. In ancient Tibetan
Buddhism, there are three Bardos. Each bardo is like a step down from the preceding. If
the first is not successfully passed, the soul falls into the second bardo. Starting from
the first, the soul has to recognize the Clear light of the Ultimate Reality and act in a
way to remain in that state. This will ultimately lead to Liberation (www.near-death,
first bardo). Basically, knowledge and meditation on the laws of the bardos is what is
needed to pass into the after life according to Buddhism. Does this mean that every
infant, child, and/or young teen who hasn't had enough time to learn about the bardos go
to hell? When asked this, denial of this punishment is shown. They are not really sure
what they want to happen with young people (www.near-death, bardos). Sounds like real
mystery to me. 
Catholicism, to put in a few words, is the belief that baptism of the holy waters will
bring your spirit to heaven after life on earth. No real perimeters of love are laid down
here. If God loves us he will set down rules for us. And he did. Catholics didn't exactly
like those laws so they changed them and twisted them so that they were more comfortable.
Their religion is based on the Christian Bible. 
We all have probably experienced the beliefs of this religion before, Jehovah's
Witnesses. They also believe in the same Heaven and Hell as the others do. Frequently
known as JWs, they usually travel door to door like salesmen promoting their product.
Because their religion is just a product, it takes away from the holiness of it all. They
will tell you to be good because God is coming back soon. Then they really leave you
confused when they don't really tell you what you should be doing with your time to be
accepted into heaven. 
It seems that everyone is so focused on trying to know a lot. This passage below is a
good thought helper on the topic of the afterlife. We get the view of both the living
body and of the deceased one. It also demonstrates the curiosity we should have on
studying such a strong subject. 
In a secluded cemetery in Indiana, there is an old tombstone that bears this epitaph:
Pause, stranger, when you pass me by
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, so you will be
So prepare for death and follow me
An unknown passerby read those words and underneath scratched this reply:
To follow you I'm not content
Until I know which way you went 
(Lutzer, 10-11)
A man by the name of Tony Campolo searched all religions and beliefs for the truth. The
one that seemed the most real yet at the same time unbelievable was his target. He was
going to prove on all accounts that he could that the Christian Bible was wrong and
contradicting. For three years he tried to prove its falsehood. Today he is an author and
religious leader of the Christian faith. When someone asked him why he now believes this,
he replied, It isn't a religion, cult, or even a belief, it's a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ that has a full written guarantee on it. 
In conclusion, the truth is in front of us. Let's take what we are now aware of and face
it, find it, and act on it. We should not be content taking life as a gamble, Because in
the life after life, it is no gamble. Jesus Christ died for us and tells us all about his
love in his own book... the Bible. 
Bibliography
Clark Pinnock, The Destruction of the Finally Impenitent,
Criswell Theological Review, pg. 247-278
Clark Pinnock, Essentials: A Liberal / Evangelical Dialogue,
(London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1988.)
Millard J. Erickson, Christian theology, 
Baker Book House, Grand Rapids Michigan, 1985
William C. Irving, Heresies Exposed,
Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune, N.J. 1970
Webster's New World Dictionary
Simon and Schuster Inc., N.Y. 1995
C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses,
Rev. and Exp. Ed., (New York and Macmillon, 1980)
Erwin W. Lutzer, One Minute After You Die,
Moody Press, Chicago 1997
Jesus Christ, The Bible CEV