"It is better to go to the house of mourning
than to go to the house of feasting,
for this is the end of all mankind,
and the living will lay it to heart."
- Ecclesiastes 7:2
Earlier today, @sykochika published a remarkably comprehensive and thoughtful exposition of a very fundamental question. You will want to read her very well formulated thoughts:
I believe that in raising and analyzing this question, @sykochica has done us a service. Death is a topic we all would do well to contemplate.
She has broken down the question of death into half a dozen related inquiries. This article is my attempt to address those questions from my very personal, biblical perspective as believer in Jesus.
An Unsplash Photo
Photo courtesy of Kapil Dubey and http://unsplash.com
Here is a slightly expanded version of my response in the comments below @sykochica's thoughtful article.
Hi, @sykochica,
Thanks so much for thoroughly thinking this through and for inviting personal responses. ☺️
"Also, while we typically give non-atheist models of death and afterlife as a blanket this religion believes this sort of thing, it's worth noting that there is usually multiple takes on this withing each group. On top of this, it really is an individualistic answer that often doesn't fit exactly with their stated religion. I say this because I think we tend to get stuck on the though 'This person is X religion, so they believe Y.'"
- @sykochica
Very insightful!
I'll likely be your "poster boy" for that point! Although as a one who believes that the man commonly known as Jesus is in truth the creator/God of the universe, which would classify me as "Christian," my personal beliefs tend to diverge from the mainstream.
If you were to create a Venn Diagram of the overlap between "widespread Christian beliefs" and "what the bible actually says," you would find a surprisingly small intersection. My intention is to be biblically informed in my theology.
My intent is to be biblically informed...
Photo courtesy of Ben White and http://unsplash.com
I'll try to provide concise answers to your set of questions here, but I suspect this may turn into a longer post of my own later! 😉 (Obviously, it did...)
"Is there a soul that remains when the body dies?"
Only if God has brought it to life.
At creation, Jesus "breathed" life into Adam. On the day Adam fell, the "spiritual" component of that life was extinguished. Subsequently, all of mankind is "stillborn" in the sense of not having a living soul that remains after death.
However, Jesus offers eternal life to whomever will believe.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."
- John 5:24
Just as he "breathed life" into the body of Adam, Jesus offers to breathe life into anyone who will believe in him. And so, that life, that soul, certainly does remain when the body of a believer dies. This is referred to elsewhere in the bible as "the first resurrection."
In the case of unbelievers, at death the patterns that comprised them begin to deteriorate. Brain activity ceases. The body decays. There is, eventually, nothing left but the dust of which they were created. However, every iota, every detail is remembered in the mind of God.
"If so, does it come back to life?"
Unequivocally "yes," but with differences between believer and unbeliever.
The believer's "soul" never dies, only the body. The believer continues in "heaven" until the last day.
On the last day, the bodies of both believers and unbelievers are physically resurrected from death.
"Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment."
- John 5:28-29
For believers, this is a permanent restoration in a vastly improved, immortal physical body. For unbelievers, it is a temporary return to conscious awareness in a very mortal body.
New Universe, New Bodies
Photo courtesy of Sweet Ice Cream Photography and http://unsplash.com
"Does the soul maintain anything from life (i.e. burdens, karma, etc)"
In order to satisfy justice in judgement, there must be continuity. In other words, the people who are resurrected from death absolutely must be the continuation of the ones who died, not mere duplicates. And so, along with them comes "all the baggage" of their life history.
However, again, there are distinctions.
In the case of believers, Jesus has voluntarily embraced all of our misdeeds, our sins, our evil behavior, and has subjected himself to the just penalty and punishment for every wrong we have done, thus satisfying God's justice.
"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
Nevertheless, any good, any character quality, anything of value that a believer has done in life carries through into eternity. Our personality, our memories, our history remain, while all the negative consequences have been remedied by God himself.
In the case of unbelievers, they stand unprotected before God to answer for every element of their lives. There is no escape. There is no place to hide. There are no "do-overs."
"Is there a reward or punishment?"
For believers, the rewards are never ending and beyond all possible comprehension in their glory and magnitude. Think of it; what would you be willing to give or do in exchange for a never-ending life in a perfect universe with unlimited possibility and wealth freely available to all?
"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison..."
- 2 Corinthians 4:17
But a fine point about rewards. These are note "rewards" in the strictest sense. They are not merited, or earned, and no one can acquire them by their own action. They are of the nature of an "inheritance," totally and purely a gift that God bestows upon those he so favors.
There is punishment meted out to unbelievers. These are those who must pay the penalty for their own misdeeds. Those who have not believed in and accepted Jesus free offer of life, and consequently who must receive justice for the wrongs committed in life.
However, even in this justice God shows mercy. After there has been a precise and completely individualized meting out of punishment on each individual unbeliever, they are extinguished. They utterly perish with no possibility of return. In other words, "hell" is most assuredly not a state of eternal, conscious torment.
"Hell" is the flaming presence of Jesus himself...
Photo courtesy of Mandy Beerley and http://unsplash.com
"Is there a single place for everybody or is there a Heaven/Hell split?"
Heaven and Hell are not primarily places at all.
"Heaven" in the eternal sense is called "The New Heavens and the New Earth," and as such, you might say that "Heaven" is everywhere and everything.
Likewise, "Hell" is not primarily a place. Rather, it is the very presence of Jesus/God himself. When he returns in flaming fire, he by his very presence punishes unbelievers, finally cremating them into non-existence.
"Do you go to the same place as others or is each afterlife an individual projection?"
"Heaven" is an all-encompassing unity that takes in the entire universe. Believers from all time and space are in the same universe. Yes, it's the same "place," but it's a damn big place. I'm looking forward to traveling and exploring all of it.
I'm looking forward to exploring it all...
Image courtesy of Thomas Budach and http://pixabay.com
For anyone who may have read this far,
I invite you to join me!
Jesus offers you life eternal as a completely free gift.
If eternal life interests you, I invite you to read (in particular) the book that John wrote, including things that he heard Jesus say. Carefully consider, and respond to Jesus' words.
"The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price."
- Revelation 22:17
I also invite you to read my Steemit blog. I think and write about the topics of eternity, heaven, and the future of the universe quite often and extensively. I welcome your questions and interaction. Just click on the "Table Of Contents" GIF below.
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