Category Archives: Death

Burial or cremation?

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Although in primitive times cremation was uncommon, in the ancient civilised world it became the normal means of disposing of the dead.  The main exceptions were Egypt, Judea and China.

Because of their belief in bodily resurrection, the early Christians favoured burial, and this remained common practice until the 19th century.  This change was due partly to the influence of free-thinkers (the secular humanists of their day), although the practice of cremation has become increasingly accepted among Christians.…

Luke 23:43 – “Today you will be with me in paradise”

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Luke 23:39 One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 23:40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 23:41 And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” 23:42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom.”…

Jn 5:24-27; Lk 23:32-33; 39-43; Rev 21:1-5 – ‘I believe in…the life everlasting’ (sermon notes)

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“I believe in…the life everlasting.”

‘Who wants to live forever?’ (song by Queen).

How would you like to live to be 1,000?  According to Dr Aubrey de Gray, co-founder of the SENS Research Foundation, scientists are well on the way to ending bodily aging.  The first person to live to be 1,000, he claims, has already been born.

Or how about having your body deep frozen after you die, in the hope that one day science will be able to resuscitate it? …

Matthew 10:28 – ‘destroy’: everlasting punishment or annihilation?

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Mt 10:28 – “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

The traditional view

The traditional interpretation goes back at least as far as Tertullian, who espoused a Platonic view of the immortality of the soul (see Fudge, The Fire That Consumes).

Blomberg asserts that

‘”kill,” like “destroy,” does not imply annihilation but eternal suffering, as the qualification “in hell” makes clear.’

…

Where is God in a messed-up world?

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The following forms the substance of a talk given in October, 2020 as part of a webinar from Holy Trinity Church, Norwich.

I am giving it some prominence now (February, 2023) because of its relevance to the challenging situation documented in the series of bulletins entitled “I’ll Walk Beside You”.

The video of the talk may be found here.

Intro

We were being shown round the charming spa town of Great Malvern, in Worcestershire.  Our friendly guide pointed out the statue of Sir Edward Elgar, the famous composer. …

The resurrection of the body

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“We look for the resurrection of the dead”, says the Nicene Creed.

“I believe in the resurrection of the body”, we declare every time we recite the “Apostles’ Creed”.

These ancient affirmations are well-grounded in Scripture, most obviously in 1 Corinthians 15, but also in Romans 8 and other passages.  They are also consistent with the teaching of 2 Peter 3 and Revelation 21 and 22 that confirms that the future hope of God’s people is not for their bodies to remain buried for ever in the ground of this earth and for their “souls” to fly off to “heaven”, but for bodily resurrection and for future life in God’s new heaven and new earth.…

The case against euthanasia

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A summary of The Case Against Euthanasia, by Donald Mcleod (From The Monthly Record, Feb, 1981)

Current publicity probably gives an exaggerated impression of the pro-euthanasia lobby. But the subject cannot be dismissed ‘lightly: ‘respect for human life derives ultimately from the fear of God and that is becoming an increasingly rare commodity.’

Danger highlighted in the Voluntary Euthanasia Bill of Lord Raglan in 1969. The provisions of this were,

  • The patient signed in advance a form requesting “the painless inducement of death” in the event of him contracting an incurable illness.
…

The book of life

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G.W. Hawthorne notes that ‘expressions such as “your names are written in heaven” (Lk. 10:20), “whose names are in the book of life” (Phil. 4:3), “whose name has not been written … in the book of life” (Rev. 13:8), and “I will not blot his name out of the book of life” (Rev. 3:5), crop up several times within the NT. The figure is taken from the OT (cf. Isa. 4:3; Ezk. 13:9; Dan. 12:1), or from the secular world where a criminal’s name was removed from the civic register to take from him all rights of citizenship.’…

The New Testament concept of future judgment

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In Aspects of the Atonement, I.H. Marshall discusses the NT terminology of judgment, wrath and punishment.

1. The language of punishment features occasionally (Matt. 24:43–51; Luke 12:45–48; Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9; Heb. 10:29; 2 Pet. 2:9.

2. Vengeance, or revenge, occurs in Luke 18:1–8; Rom. 12:19 (citing Deut. 32:35); 1 Thessalonians 4:6; Luke 21:22; and 2 Thessalonians 1:8.

3. More frequent is the use of wrath or anger.  Orgē and related terms are found in Matt.…

‘And to die is gain’

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Paul’s desire was ‘to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far’ (Phil 1:23).

That sparkling Puritan, Thomas Watson, writes:-

To a believer death is great gain. A saint can count what his losses for Christ are here—but he cannot count how great his gains are at death…Death to a believer is the daybreak of eternal brightness. To show fully what a believer’s gains are at death, would be a task too great for an angel; all hyperboles fall short of it; the reward of glory exceeds our imagination.…