It's almost 3am on the 23rd of Dec.... a month since that tragic day.
In some ways we've healed a lot.
The void is still there - where Reuben left it.
Now that I'm back in Sg and in my room, it's way to quiet... No noise from his room.
But that's just cuz Reuben's sleeping.
One thing that kinda disturbs me a little when I read the tons and tons of stuff online that people who have known my brother and loved him... is that many people believe that he's up in heaven doing something funky with angels, or the angels are taking care of him, or he's hanging out with the other 4 up in the clouds or stuff like that.... and while I know that it's just people being sentimental about missing him, and wishing that he's doing ok, that's just not what my family (INCLUDING Reuben) believe about death!
One of the major reasons why I feel like we're healing well is that we don't exactly see death the same way as most people do.... our particular "brand" of Christianity teaches us that death is like a sleep... there are no ghosts that stick around to haunt, and there are no spirits or souls that float to heaven to take care of people here on earth or sit around and play harps all day.
We believe very simply that death is merely a gap in existence, but that one day Jesus will return and the dead in Christ will be resurrected to resume a different and better life - to be made whole and perfect again.
The last term paper I wrote this semester (just a few days ago) was about death. Initially, I didn't know what topic to choose... but then I realised that because I had already been thinking SO much about death, and about this belief that most people have about dead people immediately going to heaven, I might as well write a paper on what I believe personally.
So... I'm going to share it with you... I really hope that friends of Reuben who read this will consider what I'm sharing because it is not only what I believe, but what he believed too. Not only that, this is what has brought my family and I great comfort - that Reuben is safe because he doesn't have to watch us suffer and cry over his demise, but is sleeping and waiting for Jesus to bring him to life again one day....
Please feel free to comment or email me at simply_shimona@yahoo.com if you want to discuss about this subject or want more information.
The Nature of Death
Introduction
My interest in the nature of death has recently increased exponentially due to the loss of my beloved brother in a boating accident. In the past, I have often been wary of thinking too much about death, and from a human point of view, losing loved ones to death. I dwelt very little on what I thought were morbid thoughts and thought of the teachings from my Adventist upbringing as merely facts to be looked into later in life. However, life has a way of throwing one the unexpected, and I have had to face the thought of death, and questions about the afterlife very much since then. This paper is a culmination of some of my ponderings of the nature of death and the afterlife, as well as a fusion of the Adventist teachings from my youth, from my education, and a slightly deeper understanding of death from my current experience. I will first explore briefly the more common views on death, and later expound on Adventist teachings.
1. The Non-Christian View of Death
Buddhists and Hindus believe in reincarnation – that the soul, after death, is given a different body (according to how much karma one has generated in the past life), and one is reincarnated again and again. Taoists believe that the souls of the dead linger on earth, remaining as ghosts to protect or haunt the living. The Muslims believe in karma dealt out accordingly to the deceased’s soul in heaven or hell. In other words, most of the world’s major religions believe in a soul that is able to exist apart from the physical body, and that upon death, this soul is separated from the body. One general idea is that those left behind on earth often honour the dead with rites and rituals upon their passing, and some religions even take care of the dead in the afterlife realms – burning incense and paper possessions so that the dead will receive them in whatever world they go to. Many religions, bearing in mind the effect of karma on the afterlife, tend to live their lives based on what they think they might reap after death. This explains some religious extremist behaviours where kamikaze pilots commit acts of murder in the name of their religion, believing that they will receive they reward in heaven because they died for their faith.
2. The Typical Christian View of Death
Popularized by many Hollywood movies and fictional novels, the concept of the soul lingering on or going to heaven or hell has become a widely accepted notion. As such, the typical Christian view is that if a person is good and has accepted Christ, upon death, their souls will then go to heaven (albeit who knows what exactly they do there), and they can in fact look down on their loved ones on earth. If however they have not accepted Christ and have lived evil lives on earth, their souls will descend to the eternal burning flames of hell, where they will suffer their just desserts forever. Since my brother’s death, I have read many messages and testimonies from his friends online, and many of the messages I have read share a sentimentality towards believing that he is now in heaven, watching us from above, having fun with the four other friends who died with him in the accident, and other such ideas. For example, one person wrote: “We miss you, and maybe you are sad because you miss your friends now too, but at least you’re safe up there now... keep having fun and making great music there.”
While I can see how these romantic thoughts might appeal to many as there is some sort of comfort in this belief, I wonder how this can truly be a source of comfort if the deceased can see from above all the pain and suffering his passing is causing so many who love him. Surely this would not be an ideal “heaven” – a place where one would be stuck with no choice but to watch his loved ones cry and suffer. Surely there has to be something better.
3. The Adventist View of Death
This brings me to the Adventist view of death. Fundamentally, Adventists have a very different view of death based on two aspects: the makeup of a human being, and the role death plays in an even bigger picture.
a. The Basic Equation
Let us first address the concept of the “soul”. Most people believe that human beings possess a soul (some even believe that animals and plants have souls!), and that this soul can exist apart from the body. Hence this explains the belief in out-of-body experiences where the soul flies to some other place to experience something the body does not experience. This also explains why people believe that there is some kind of conscious existence after death – that when the body dies, the soul continues a different life, be it in a different realm or being reincarnated into another type of body.
However, if we closely examine where the concept of the soul comes from, we will discover that it is fundamentally a Greek concept – that in Greek philosophy, perhaps because of the many legends of the Greek gods and goddesses, the realms of the supernatural and the earthbound were strongly linked. This led to a concept of each person having a soul, where a wispy spirit-like existence similar to one’s character in life takes shape. Because much of modern thought has been influenced by this Greek philosophy, it is impossible to underestimate the influence this has on our present day ideas of the soul.
Adventism, on the other hand, chooses to build its understanding about the nature of death upon the truths in the bible.
Let us begin by exploring how humans were created. In Genesis 2:7, it says, “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
In this text, “dust of the ground” refers to the body, “the breath of life” refers to the spirit, and the “living being” resulting constitutes the soul. Put in a simple equation, it would look like this:
Body + Spirit = Soul
With this equation in mind, let us look at what the bible has to say about death.
“and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.” (Ecclesiastes 12:7)
This would mean that the equation would look like this after death:
(Body-Body=)nothing + (Spirit-Spirit=)nothing = Nothing.
Perhaps one might think this looks a little too simplistic. Let’s look at what the bible has to say about what’s left after death:
“For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
“When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing.” (Psalm 146:4)
From these texts we see that after the spirit goes back to God, and the body returns to the ground (becomes dust again), there is nothing left. There is no conscious soul capable of thought or feeling. But that is not all that the bible says about death – let us see what Jesus had to say about death. While ministering on earth, there were several instances where Jesus himself enlightens us as to what death really is. One such situation shows us a man named Jairus who appealed to Jesus to help him heal his dying daughter. However, Jesus was a little too late, and the girl died before Jesus could reach the house to heal her. When Jesus reached the house and saw the mourners wailing and weeping, he said, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” And promptly went on to bring the little girl back to life. This is not the only instance in the bible where Jesus states that a dead person is merely sleeping. Hence, we can see that this is a perspective uncommon to most people about death and the afterlife.
Thus as Adventists, we believe in the holism of human nature – that the parts that make up the human being cannot exist separately, and hence that upon death, the parts simply return to where they came from, and the human being is at rest – asleep.
b. The Role of Death, and the Promise of Life
Death is merely a part of a much bigger story in Adventist belief. To understand the role of death, we must first look at how it came about in the very beginning:
The only true immortal being that we know of is God, and thus in Adventist belief, the Godhead – God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (1 Timothy 6:15, 16). However, through God’s grace and love, human beings, in the beginning, were bestowed the gift of eternal life. Mankind was created perfect in all ways. (Genesis 1 and 2) Man had from the very beginning the freedom of choice, epitomised in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that was placed in the centre of the garden. God warned man not to eat of that tree because if they did so, they would surely die. Inadvertently, mankind did fall prey to the deception of the evil one, and fell from grace, consuming the forbidden fruit. When this happened, death came into the picture – no more could God give man his gift of eternal life – man had chosen an existence away from God, and hence away from the source of eternal life. (Genesis 3)
However, man separated from God continued a sad existence. But God promised a Saviour who would restore man to his rightful place beside God, and defeat death, giving mankind the gift of eternal life once again.
It was only through the sacrifice of God’s only son, Jesus Christ that death will be defeated, and the atonement for the sins of all mankind made.
“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26)
Here we see where our present dichotomy in life lies – for in Christ, one who believes in him not only has the promise of eternal life, but also has the resurrection of the spirit. God breathes new life into this person’s being. Nevertheless, because only half of the equation, the spirit half, has been resurrected, while the other (the body) waits for the day when Jesus comes again to be resurrected, there is a constant struggle between the spirit and the flesh that we often see going on in our own lives.
“I don't understand what I am doing. For I don't do what I want to do, but instead do what I hate.” (Romans 7:15)
Thus we see the role that death plays in the struggle between good and evil – it is only through God’s sacrifice that we have eternal life (1 John 5:11-13). This promise is what we cling to, knowing also that those who die on earth are merely sleeping, waiting for the day when Christ comes again to defeat his last enemy, death, and breathe the breath of life back into our physical bodies. We shall then rise in the air to meet him and all our loved ones to live eternity together in close communion with the loving Father in whom is all things (Revelation 20:6).
Bibliography:
All texts quoted from New International Version of The Holy Bible.
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