Tag Archives: life after death

Resurrection

Why Do We Celebrate Easter?

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Post Author: Bill Pratt

We celebrate Easter because it commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Christians believe that Jesus was killed by crucifixion on a Friday and then actually came back to life on the following Sunday.

Some may ask, “So what?”  Why is it important that Jesus rose from the dead?

There are many answers to that question, including the fact that Jesus predicted this miracle ahead of time as proof that he is the Son of God.  But today I want to highlight a passage from 1 Cor. 15 where the apostle Paul explains why the resurrection is important to believers in a very practical way.

But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.  If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men (1 Cor. 15:12-19).

Christ’s resurrection is the central teaching of Christianity.  According to Paul, if he wasn’t resurrected, then Christianity is a complete sham; all who believe in Christ for salvation are still in their sins and to be pitied if Christ was not raised.

For those of us who are believers, the resurrection is extremely important.  If Christ was not raised, we have no hope.

But Paul does not leave us hanging.  In verse 20, he makes clear what really occurred: “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20).

Paul concludes his treatment of the resurrection with these words: “Death has been swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:54).

The resurrection of Christ is the ultimate reassurance to all believers that death has finally been defeated.  We will all be resurrected, just as Christ.  Once you understand that Easter is a celebration of the defeat of death, you will finally understand why we celebrate this holy day.

Thanks be to God for a risen Savior!

Atheism, Morality

Where Is Ultimate Justice on Atheism? Part 2

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Post Author: Bill Pratt

On atheism, there is no guarantee that evil will ever be punished or that good will ever be rewarded.  Philosopher William Lane Craig quotes Richard Wurmbrand’s comments on the state torturers in Soviet prisons who understood this all too well:

The cruelty of atheism is hard to believe when man has no faith in the reward of good or the punishment of evil. There is no reason to be human. There is no restraint from the depths of evil which is in man. The Communist torturers often said, ‘There is no God, no hereafter, no punishment for evil. We can do what we wish.’ I have heard one torturer even say, ‘I thank God, in whom I don’t believe, that I have lived to this hour when I can express all the evil in my heart.’ He expressed it in unbelievable brutality and torture inflected on prisoners.

Since death is the end, there is no reason to not live a purely self-centered life focused on fulfilling your desires, whatever they may be.  Atheist philosopher Kai Nielsen laments:

We have not been able to show that reason requires the moral point of view, or that all really rational persons should not be individual egoists or classical amoralists. Reason doesn’t decide here. The picture I have painted for you is not a pleasant one. Reflection on it depresses me . . . . Pure practical reason, even with a good knowledge of the facts, will not take you to morality.

Craig answers the atheist who might say that we should be moral because it is in our self-interest:

Somebody might say that it is in our best self-interest to adopt a moral life-style. But clearly, that is not always true: we all know situations in which self-interest runs smack in the face of morality. Moreover, if one is sufficiently powerful, like a Ferdinand Marcos or a Papa Doc Duvalier or even a Donald Trump, then one can pretty much ignore the dictates of conscience and safely live in self-indulgence.

On atheism, sacrificing for others seems utterly irrational.  Craig concludes, “Acts of self-sacrifice become particularly inept on a naturalistic world view. Why should you sacrifice your self-interest and especially your life for the sake of someone else? There can be no good reason for adopting such a self-negating course of action on the naturalistic world view.”

Why not be self-indulgent and live for yourself?  Under atheism, there is no rational answer to that question.  All you can appeal to is your moral emotions and instincts, which means the moral life nowhere intersects with reason.  Just do it if you feel like it.  Otherwise, don’t.

Atheism, Morality

Where Is Ultimate Justice on Atheism? Part 1

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Post Author: Bill Pratt

Nowhere, as far as I can tell.  Consider this scenario.  A young man grows up and forms radical political beliefs.  Upon reaching his 30’s, he seizes political power in his country.  He remains in power throughout his entire life.  During his reign, he routinely lies, cheats, steals, murders, and rapes.  Since he is in total command of law enforcement and the military in his country, nothing can be done to punish him for his crimes.  At the age of 93, he dies a peaceful death in his palace.

In what sense, on atheism, has justice been given to our dictator?  After all, he led a morally corrupt life and was never punished or held accountable for anything he ever did wrong.

Let’s look at another example.  This time a young woman feels a calling to feed the poor in a distant country.  At the age of 25, she travels to this impoverished land and begins to selflessly aid the people living there.  Because of her ethnicity, the government begins to persecute her.  She is jailed, beaten, raped, and then murdered by corrupt government authorities and dies at the age of 35.

In what sense, on atheism, has justice been given to the young woman?  After all, she led a morally virtuous life, selflessly helping others, and for her efforts was persecuted, tortured, and murdered.

Since, on atheism, there is no afterlife, then there is no chance for justice to be given anyone after they die.  Death ends any chance for justice to be properly administered.  There isn’t anyone who isn’t angry at how the dictator died peacefully at a ripe old age while never paying for any of his numerous crimes.  There isn’t anyone who isn’t also angry that the young woman died violently, never being rewarded properly for her selfless acts.

On atheism, all we can say is, “Oh well.  That’s life.”  But it’s even worse than that, because I cannot see how the atheist can rationally tell anyone to be selfless and help the poor and not become a ruthless dictator.  It seems that the dictator led a life filled with pleasure, that he flourished, that he accomplished many of his personal goals, and that he suffered very little.  The young woman led a life filled with suffering, was not able to accomplish all of her goals, and lacked many of the pleasures that life can offer.

If there is nothing beyond this life, then how can the atheist tell anyone not to be a dictator, if the opportunity arises?

Atheism, General Apologetics

What If There Is No God?

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I think many people toy with some form of atheism at some point in their lives.  They wonder if all they were taught growing up is really true.  They don’t see God, they don’t hear from him, and they don’t touch him or smell him, so maybe he doesn’t really exist.

Wondering whether God exists, it seems to me, is perfectly rational and reasonable.  Most of us struggle with doubts, but we learn how to deal with those doubts, maybe by finding good answers to our questions, or even having an experience with God that reassures us.

Some of us, though, willingly turn those doubts into a strong and hardened form of atheism.  Granted, hardened atheists are a tiny percentage of the population (most surveys I’ve seen say it’s less than 5%), but there is still a larger percentage who are toying with the idea of no God.  It is to those people who are toying with atheism that I would like to speak. 

What if there really is no God?  What does that really mean?  I’m betting that many of us haven’t thought this through.  If there is no God, then there are real consequences for that viewpoint, and many hardened atheists who have rigorously examined their convictions would agree with me.  Here goes.

First, free will does not exist.  You are the consequence of random, natural processes, and therefore everything you say and do is determined at the atomic level.  You are not free to do anything.  Once science gets there, we will be able to predict everything you will say and do just by understanding the chemicals that make up your body and the surrounding environment.

Second, there is no absolute right and wrong.  Morality is a human invention which changes with time, place, and people.  What’s wrong today may be right tomorrow.  Transcendent moral laws are illusory because right and wrong are constantly changing.  We, as individuals, and as groups of individuals, decide what we call right and wrong.  When we die, our children will decide, and so on.  Slavery used to be right, but now it’s wrong.  Who knows, maybe it’ll go back to being right again some day, if there is no God.  

Third, there is no ultimate justice.  Those who commit heinous crimes in this life are never punished for those crimes in the next life, because there is no next life!  This is it.  Not to mention the fact that without a foundation for moral law, as seen above, how can anything be declared unjust? You have to know what is just before you can know what is unjust, but what is just is constantly changing.  If there is no God, then there is no ultimate justice for Hitler, Stalin, or Mao.  Maybe they were just doing the best they could given the time and place they lived.  Who is to say?

Fourth, as already mentioned, there is no life after death.  You will never see your deceased loved ones again.  Once you die, you will decompose into a pile of inanimate chemicals and never be conscious again.  As they say in the world of sports, it’s one and done.

Fifth, there is no ultimate meaning to life.  Your life has no cosmic purpose.  You aren’t here to fulfill any kind of mission.  The only meaning you can have in your life is the meaning you subjectively give yourself.  That meaning, however, is just a psychological comfort, a pleasant illusion to keep you going.  It really doesn’t matter if you live or die.  Everything you accomplish in this life will eventually be destroyed and forgotten. 

Sixth, there is no purpose to human history.  All of the things that we as humans have achieved will eventually be lost when our species dies out.  History is not headed in any particular direction.  There is no plan for the human race.  Eventually, we will wipe ourselves out or some comet will smash into the earth.  Either way, human history is a dead end.

Still toying with atheism?