Death is a central feature of every human life. As we live, we know that we will die.
For some reason, many people find death terrifying and mystifying. Throughout the ages this terror has been a constant. You can go all the way back to the Neanderthals and find that they buried their dead. They even placed flowers and other artifacts in the grave. This was happening tens of thousands of years ago. Obviously death has been a very big deal for a very long time.
The central feature of the Christian faith, therefore, is "eternal life." In John 3:16 we find the signature verse of Christianity on this topic:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
By believing in Jesus, you can have life everlasting. This is the promise of Christianity.
If you are terrified by the idea of death, you can imagine that the promise of "eternal life" is quite compelling. This is one of the fundamental reasons why so many people turn to religion. However, most people who make educated conversions to Christianity do not do it because of fear of death.
There is only one problem: "eternal life" is a fabrication. The Bible is a fictional book written by primitive men (see section 2), so its promise of eternal life is make-believe. As always, trying to put the Bible into one literary genre (fiction) is misleading, and merely because a document is written by "primitive men" doesn't prohibit it from making truth claims, as you clearly know.
The reality of the human condition is quite simple, and it is this: the time that we have on earth is all the time that we have. Which means that our lives are completely insignificant. You'll see why later. For many people this idea is terrifying, but it is a fact of life:
- There is neither heaven nor hell. These two places are fairy tale worlds that spring from the human imagination.
- You do not have an "everlasting soul." The concept of a soul is completely imaginary.
- People do not have "eternal life" after their deaths. The whole notion of eternal life is a fantasy.
- People do not meet back up with dead friends and family members in the afterlife, nor is there any reincarnation.
- There are not 72 virgins waiting for you in heaven if you martyr yourself in a suicide bombing.
- And so on...
All of it is imaginary. The truth is this simple: When you die, you die. And all meaning and significance you added to the world, whatever you might have deluded yourself into thinking you were adding, dies with you. After a few generations, nobody will remember you anymore, and whatever you did doesn't really make any difference at all.
Some people have a tremendous amount of trouble getting their arms around this fact of life. Chances are that you have heard about "eternal life" and your "everlasting soul" since you were a toddler. Heaven is as deeply ingrained in you as is your native language. Nonetheless, "everlasting life" is imaginary. Let's look at the evidence so that you can better understand this. So we're actually going to use evidence to prove that there is no life after death, or just assert things based on your conclusions about the Bible?
Understanding the chemistry of life
It should be obvious to all of us that "eternal life" is imaginary. Sorry, but it isn't. Simply by understanding the chemistry of life you can see why life after death is impossible.
To understand how death works, we can start with a bacterium cell. A bacterium is a tiny bag (a cell membrane) filled with a variety of molecules. These molecules react together in different ways to create what we call life. Some of the molecules react to build and repair the cell wall. Some of the molecules react in ways that allow the cell to move. Some of the molecules react to provide energy to the cell. And so on. A bacterium cell is a little chemical machine. Yes, we know. What's the point?
One of the molecules inside a bacterium cell is a long DNA strand. There are molecules floating around the DNA strand that are able to copy parts of the DNA to manufacture new molecules that the cell needs.
Although all of these molecules are reacting in fascinating, interlocking ways, they are still nothing more than chemicals reacting. The "miracle of life" is no miracle -- it is a big chemical reaction. Which does not necessarily follow. But we'll get into this.
Let's say that a foreign molecule gets into the bacterium cell and it gums up a part of the DNA chemistry. Or let's say that something damages the DNA strand in the bacterium so the cell can no longer manufacture an important molecule that it needs. Eventually the chemical reactions inside the bacterium will stop. The cell "dies." Its cell wall breaks down and bursts. All of the chemicals inside the cell float away and the bacterium ceases to exist.
A bacterium is nothing but a set of chemical reactions. When those reactions stop, the cell is dead.
Now here is the question: When the bacterium dies, does it go to heaven? I really hope you're not going to work up from the bottom, as if a bacterium is just as significant as a human.
I know what you are thinking: "Does it go to heaven??? Of course not!!!" Actually, what I'm thinking is closer to this: "Saying that a bacterium doesn't have a soul or doesn't go to heaven doesn't say anything about whether we do or not, because were are incredibly more complex as a form of life." It does not matter who you are -- religious or not. There are not many people in the United States who believe that bacteria go to heaven. The Bible does not talk about heaven being filled with all the disease, putrefaction and pestilence that bacteria cause. And what, exactly, would go to heaven? Do all of the bacterium's molecules get transported to heaven so that they can keep reacting? If that were happening, there would be thousands of tons of chemicals leaving earth every day. Obviously bacteria do not go to heaven. "Obviously?" Everything has to be "obvious" with you, even on a topic that we know so little about as Heaven. My guess is that you don't know for sure either, since you've never been to Heaven, and there is very little evidence on the table either way. So why should I merely take your word for it here?
Next let's look at a mosquito. A mosquito is much more complex than a bacterium cell. For one thing, a mosquito is a multi-cellular insect with some amazing (though annoying) capabilities. But if you look at each cell in a mosquito, it is very much like a bacterium in its basic functioning. A cell in a mosquito is a fascinating series of DNA-based chemical reactions -- nothing more. When those chemical reactions cease, the mosquito dies.
Mosquitoes obviously do not go to heaven. Think of how many mosquitoes have lived and died over the course of millions of years. No one imagines heaven being full of septillions of everlasting mosquitoes. You still haven't explained why this is "obvious." You also continue to argue that both mosquitoes and bacterium would be going to the same Heaven that you and I would, but neither you or I have any idea that this is the case. The problem for you, then, is to explain it to be so, because it is a central part of your argument; if Christians can't imagine mosquitoes being in Heaven, it plays into your hand, doesn't it?
What about a mouse? Ditto. Mouse cells are little chemical factories churning away. They are fascinating, but they are soulless and inert. Mice do not go to heaven -- if they did, then heaven would be overrun with quadrillions of mice. So God creates a separate Mouse Heaven. It's certainly within his capacity, as an omnipotent being. So what happens to your argument then?
What about dogs? Lots of vets and pet owners would argue with you here, but dogs do not go to heaven either. When they die, they die.
What about chimps -- the closest living relatives to humans? Ditto.
So what about humans?
The human body is nothing but a set of chemical reactions. And this does not necessarily follow. The fact that there are "chemicals reacting" in our DNA does NOT mean that all of life can be reducible to chemical reactions. The fact that you argue this based on the complexity of a bacterium is really embarrassing, not logical. The chemical reactions powering a human life are no different from the reactions powering the life of a bacterium, a mosquito, a mouse, a dog or a chimp. I really doubt that this is true. When a human being dies, the chemical reactions stop. There is no "soul" mixed in with the chemicals, just like there is no soul in a bacterium, a mosquito, a mouse, a dog or a chimp. There is no afterlife, no heaven or hell, for the chemicals that make up a human body. Anyone outside the atheist delusion bubble can clearly see the problem in comparing the significance of the life of a bacterium to the significance of the life of a human being.
This concept -- this idea that a human being simply ceases to exist upon death -- drives many people absolutely nuts. They cannot imagine it. I can. It's not difficult. "Me? Die? I am going to totally cease to exist? All my thoughts, all my experiences, all my relationships, all of my ideas and memories... It all simply vanishes and I am gone? Impossible!!!"
Nonetheless, that is the reality of the situation.
You are a collection of chemical reactions. And you have really done nothing to determine that we are only a collection of chemical reactions. I was promised evidence, not bare assertion. When these chemical reactions cease, you die. When you die, "you" cease to exist. Imagining eternal life and creating a fantasy called "heaven" does not change anything. When you die, you are dead. Yes, you've repeated yourself quite enough. I'm still waiting for the evidence.
Talking to Christians
If you talk to a Christian about the reality of death, you can clearly understand that the notion of heaven and everlasting life is imaginary. Yes, please examine this stupid Christian I made up and reaffirm your own delusion because of it. Each conversation will be different, but a typical conversation might go something like this:
Christian: What you are saying is completely devoid of hope! Jesus transcends death and promises eternal life to all who believe in him! Lift up your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ and he will give you eternal life!
Bright: Hey guys! It's been a while!Norm: OK, how will he do that?
Christian: Have you ever read the book called "Left Behind?"
Norm: No.
Bright: I actually avoid that series. If we're going to be talking about what happens after I die, I'd prefer "Life After Death: The Evidence" by Dinesh D'Souza.
Christian: You should! They have sold over 20 million copies of the book, because it is the truth! It describes exactly what will happen. One day the Lord Jesus calls his children home, and they are carried straight to heaven! Airplanes crash because their pilots have vanished. Cars run into phone poles. This is exactly what is described in the Bible.
Bright: Right, Chris, but you're talking about the Rapture, not about basic afterlife principles.
Norm: The people completely vanish?
Christian: Yes. All that is left behind is their clothes, their jewelry and their hearing aids! The believers are transported directly to heaven!
Norm: Their naked bodies are transported to heaven?
Christian: Yes!
Norm: There are six billion people on the planet. They each weigh about 150 pounds or so. Are you telling me that God lifts a trillion pounds of human flesh off the planet in an instant?
Bright: Are you trying to say that this would be difficult for an omnipotent being that created the entire universe?
Christian: Absolutely not! Only the believers are transported!
Norm: OK, half a trillion pounds?
Christian: Yes!
Norm: And where does this half a trillion pounds of flesh go?
Christian: To heaven!
Norm: To heaven... where is that?
Christian: It is in another dimension, of course! God lives in heaven!
Bright: Another dimension? I don't know. Chris, I think you should stick with, "Well, I don't know exactly where it is," because you don't.
Norm: How do all the bodies get to this "other dimension" called "heaven"? Do they float up into the sky and then travel through the vacuum of space?
Bright: Regardless of the manner that it occurs, I figure that an omnipotent being would be able to make it happen. But we're still not talking about life after death. We're talking about the end times.
Christian: No, silly! They are dematerialized and then rematerialize in heaven!
Norm: So you are saying that half a trillion pounds of naked human flesh are somehow "dematerialized" out of our universe, and then they "rematerialize" in "another dimension" called "heaven?" And the "dematerializing" process somehow distinguishes between natural human flesh and unnatural things like clothing and hearing aids?
Christian: Yes!
Norm: So... what if the person has artificial heart valves, a couple of stents and two titanium hip joints? Are those ripped out of his body and left behind with his jewelry?
Christian: Yes!
Norm: And what happens to that poor person, whose heart collapses and whose legs are now flopping around detached from his pelvis?
Bright: Come on, Norm. Use your brain. Do you think that restoring their body would be too hard for an omnipotent being who is said to heal all sorts of ailments in scripture?
Christian: The book doesn't really talk about that... I imagine God would fix them up!
Norm: And what about all the people whose bodies are wracked with cancer and AIDS and emphysema?
Christian: God fixes them all up too!
Norm: And what about all the decrepit 80-year-old bodies?
Christian: God gives them new, young, beautiful bodies!
Bright: Well, we don't really know what happens to 80-year-olds. Maybe they get to choose what age they want to be. I don't know.
Norm: And what about all the people whose bodies have died and decomposed?
Christian: God gives them young, new, beautiful bodies too!
Norm: So why bother transporting the bodies of the believers to heaven? Why not just give everyone a new, young, beautiful body and leave their old bodies on earth?
Christian: The Bible says that your body is transported to heaven! It is right there in black and white in the "Left Behind" books! That is God's will!
Norm: OK, so heaven is full of people whose bodies or corpses or whatever have been "dematerialized" from earth, and then "rematerialized" in "heaven." And then the dematerialized/rematerialized bodies are discarded, and they are replaced with new, young, beautiful bodies?
Christian: Yes! Now you understand the power of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Norm: What happens next?
Christian: The believers all live in heaven in peace, harmony and joy for eternity!
Norm: What is heaven like?
Christian: We get to reunite with all of our dead friends and family members! We get to meet our ancestors for the first time!
Norm: Really?
Christian: Absolutely!
Norm: What about people like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin?
Christian: Everyone is there! You can talk to anyone all through history! Plus you get to meet God and Jesus. I can't wait to meet Jesus!
Norm: That sounds like fun. What else?
Christian: Well, the streets are paved in gold! It says so in the Bible! And everyone has a big house! And you can eat whatever you want and not get fat! And really, you just do anything that makes you happy! Everyone is always happy!
Bright: Now we're just getting ridiculous.
Simply talk to Christians about heaven. Ask them to describe what heaven is like, and how they will get there. You will be able to feel the absurdity of this notion in two different ways:
- There is the direct absurdity as in the dialog above, where the creation of entirely new and completely imaginary "dimensions" and "materialization processes" tells you everything you need to know about how delusional things can get. There might be "direct absurdity," but that's because you wrote it. You are in control of what the Christian says. I don't know any Christian who speaks about "materialization," for example. That's your invention.
- There is also the absurdity that comes when you compare any two people's views of heaven. Everyone's fabrication of heaven is different. For some it involves harps and clouds and halos. For others it involves hot and cold running virgins. Hot and cold running virgins? Is this a typo of some sort? For some people, the actual body is transported magically to heaven as described in the "Left Behind" books. For others, your "soul" floats out of the body and makes it way to St. Peter. And so on. People make up anything they like, because heaven is a completely imaginary place. The fact that there are lots of different conceptions about Heaven does not disprove that any of them are true. That sort of logic is extremely fallacious.
We imagine that we have "souls," fabricate the concept of "eternal life" and then fantasize a place called "heaven," complete with streets of gold, calorie-free foods, frolicking virgins and whatever else we can come up with. Christians imagine it so vividly and repeat the fantasy so often that they actually believe it to be reality. Evidence? Please? Just a smidgen?
How bizarre can the fantasies get? Fly to Cairo and take a look at the Great Pyramid. There is the pyramid itself -- still one of the largest man-made objects on earth. In addition there is the whole mummification process, the disassembled boats, the sacred artwork and so on. All of this was designed to help the pharaoh reach the afterlife. We look at it now and we all know, with absolute certainty, that it was a complete and total waste of time. Woah, really? This has been empirically proven? The Egyptian notion of the afterlife was a fantasy.
The Christian notion of the afterlife is a fantasy in exactly the same way.
Right, wonderful use of logic there. Because one concept of A is false, all concepts of A must also be false. Just like when you used a faulty source like The Da Vinci Code, all sources you used must therefore be false.
The fact is that, at a biochemical level, we are no different from mosquitoes. *spits out drink from laughter* The chemical substrate that supports human life is exactly the same as the chemical substrate that supports mosquito life. Neither humans nor mosquitoes go to heaven. Come now, Brain. This isn't an argument.
The big difference between a human and a mosquito is the fact that humans have the brainpower to imagine a place called heaven. The fact that we can imagine heaven, however, does not mean that it exists. If you think about whatever your fantasy world of heaven looks like in your brain, you will realize that it is just as strange and ridiculous as the version of heaven outlined in the dialog above. It is also as ridiculous as the Great Pyramid. None of these heavens exist. Are you going to factually support these claims, or are you just giving us assertions yet again?
See, it's ironic that you set out at the beginning of this by requesting that we look at the evidence. All that you did, however, was use a bunch of broken analogies. That's not being responsible. That isn't considering any of the other legitimate evidences for the afterlife that have been presented.
The fact that death is an uncomfortable notion does not change its reality. If you don't like the idea of dying, you can create whatever fairy tales that you would like. People have been creating all sorts of fairy tales for thousands of years -- This is where religion comes from. But those fairy tales do not change the central reality that surrounds death.
When you die, you die. You do not live on in the "afterlife." Pouting over this fact, or getting depressed, or imagining places like heaven does not change the basic fact that you are big, walking chemical reaction. When the reaction stops, you are completely dead. There is no everlasting soul mixed in with the chemicals. I feel like you're scolding us now. How stupid you are for finding comfort in one of the many doctrinal ideas of Christianity.
The Horror of Death
You can better understand how uncomfortable death is if you look at the reaction of a child. In my household, this discomfort first surfaced with the death of Hamsty. Let me tell you about Hamsty, because his story illustrates a central point about death.
Hamsty, as you might have guessed, was a hamster. I have four children, and at the time of Hamsty's death they were ages 7 (David), 4 (Irena) and 2 (John and Ian). Hamsty was their pet. He lived in a deluxe two-bedroom hamster condominium in the kids' playroom. The kids loved Hamsty -- they would feed him, change his water, watch him, take him out of his cage to play with him and so on.
Hamsty, being a small rodent, had a limited lifespan. One day he got sick. The next day we found him dead. He had died peacefully in his sleep in his upper penthouse sleeping quarters.
The twins were apoplectic once they realized what had happened. This truly surprised me. What were you expecting? Joy? They ran around the house crying "Hamsty died!" over and over again. Every time they were reminded of it, the chorus would start anew. They fell asleep crying about Hamsty's death, but by the next day they had stabilized.
Far more interesting, however, was Irena's response. Irena loves pets and would have hundreds if we let her. She has a video called "Paws, claws, feathers and fins" that she has watched dozens of times. On this video, kids talk about their pets, show what is necessary to properly care for different kinds of pets, and so on.
PCFF happens to have a segment where a small pet dies. The kids in the video put him in a little box and bury him in the backyard. Irena had seen this segment so many times, and she wanted to bury Hamsty in a similar way. I'm surprised at you, Marshall Brain. You didn't inform your child of the delusion that she was buying into, or that this was a bronze age custom that had no place in modern society? Shame on you for perpetuating her delusions.
Irena and I found a small jewelry box. We placed Hamsty gently in the box and put the lid on. She asked if she could pat him, and I took the lid off so she could pat him one last time, which she did very gently. And she seemed fine with it. We found a trowel, and we went out to the backyard and dug a hole. As I was about to put Hamsty in the hole she asked to pat him again. She patted him very gently, and again she seemed fine with it. I put Hamsty in the hole and asked Irena if she wanted to put the dirt back into the hole. She did not, so I did.
Keep in mind that Irena was four years old, and four-year-olds are famous for asking lots of questions. As I was burying Hamsty, she asked me a question: "Can I pat Hamsty tomorrow?"
Me: Well, no, probably not.Irena: Why not?
Me: Well, usually, once you bury someone you don't dig them back up. We call it respecting the dead.
Irena: Why?
Me: Well, for one thing, a dead body turns back to dust, so there really isn't much to dig back up. Hamsty will turn to dust.
Irena: Why will he turn to dust?
Me: Everything living turns to dust when it dies. Worms will eat him, bacteria will eat him. He will decompose and turn to dust.
Irena: Will it hurt? Won't that hurt?
Me: Well, no, Hamsty is dead, so he won't feel anything.
Irena: Is grandpa going to die?Me: Yes, he is. Everyone dies eventually.
Irena: Will worms eat him?
Me: Yes, Grandpa's body will turn to dust.
Irena: Are you going to die?Me: Yes, I will die. But it won't be for a lot of years.
Irena: Will worms eat you?
Me: Yes, they will.
Irena: Will I die?Me: Yes. Everyone dies.
Irena: And worms will eat me? I don't want to be eaten by worms! I don't want to be buried in the ground!
What you can see here is important. The thought of dying is a remarkably troubling concept. How can it be that a person like Grandpa, who has decades of memories, hundreds of close friends, a large, happy family and seven grandkids who love him dearly -- how can it be that in a moment, all of that is gone? One minute Grandpa is alive. The next minute he is gone, and everything stored in his brain is lost. We are never going to see him again. Seems to me that it's only troubling if you're an atheist. I will see my grandparents again when they die.
That is troubling enough, but it is when Irena turned that logic on herself and realized her own mortality that it became truly uncomfortable for her. What went through her little head is simple. How can it be that I will die? How can it be that my body will turn to dust?
Even at age four she was able to put the pieces together, and she found that thought to be uncomfortable. For many people, the thought is so uncomfortable that it is impossible to imagine.
Many adults never outgrow their childhood fear of death. Because the thought of death is so distressing to some people, it is not surprising that they try to invent a way out. The fairy tale that Christians have invented is called heaven, and they have also formulated the concept of eternal life. And of course, if you are going to be transported to an eternal spa/resort in the sky, there needs to be someone to manage the place and keep the peace. That is where God comes in. I don't know a single Christian that actually found their way to faith in this way. Not even one. But even if there were, it would still be the genetic fallacy to try and argue that the notion of Heaven is invalid because of the way they came to believe it. This is a basic rule of logic, Mr. Brain.
Think about it. Who wants to have eternal life if it is just like life here on earth? In no one's conception of heaven is there murder, rape, incest, burglary, muggings, political backstabbing, office politics, gossip, rumor, PMS, arguments, anger, discontent or disease. Heaven is free of bacterium and mosquitoes and rapists. Somehow, in heaven, everyone is beautiful and everyone is always happy. God is there to cast the bad apples into hell (another invention), and he is also there to keep the peace.
Christians fabricate all of this out of thin air. What if I told you that your own conception of the afterlife was fabricated out of thin air as well? We have about the same to go on. Their heaven and their hell and their God are completely imaginary. The Christian fabrications are, of course, entirely different from the heaven and God of all other religions, because all of them are imaginary. Egyptians believed something silly involving pyramids and sun gods and so on. Greeks believed in the river Styx and Hades and so on. Muslims believe in their 72 virgins and so on [ref]. It is all gibberish, but people believe in their fantasies quite passionately.
Even grown adults who should know better believe in these fantasies, and will go to incredible lengths to rationalize them. Yep, you're scolding again. In his book "The Case for Faith," Lee Strobel interviews Norman Geisler, Ph.D. During the interview Dr. Geisler states the following:
- "In sum, everything that God created was good. What changed things was the Fall [Adam and Eve eating the apple]. When God was told, in effect, to shove off, he partially did. Romans 8 says all creation was affected -- that includes plant life, human beings, animals, everything. There were fundamental genetic changes; we see, for instance, how life spans rapidly decreased after the Fall. God's plan was not designed to be this way; it's only this way because of sin."
Why would an adult with a Ph.D. believe such a silly story? A rather rude way of asking, "Why are so many intelligent people Christians?" Why do Christians and Jews cling to this concept of original sin? Why don't people read the story of Adam and Eve and have a good chuckle, like we do when we read stories about Santa as adults?
It is because original sin tries to explain death, and many adults are incredibly afraid of death. Original sin is one of the Bible's explanations for the fact of life called death. So Christians -- even Christians with Ph.D.s -- cling to it like little children. The arrogance here really stinks. I mean, I can actually smell it.
We do not die because of Adam and Eve and an apple. We die because we are big, walking chemical reactions. When the chemical reactions cease, we cease. There is no human "soul" mixed in with the chemicals, just like there is no mosquito "soul." When we die, we die. Blah, blah, blah.
Understanding death
From the story in the previous section you can see that the idea of death is disturbing to children. Many adults never outgrow it, so death can also be disturbing to adults -- even to adults with Ph.D.s. These adults, of course, are acting like children. I would know. I'm a "normal, intelligent person."
You are not a child. Imagining a place called "heaven" does not change the central fact about the chemical reactions that drive your cells. You simply need to grow up and face death like an adult, in the same way that you face other childhood traumas. Stop scolding me. Good grief.
It is quite beneficial to see your mortality for what it is. A week or two from now, when you are thinking like an adult about death, the truth about death will begin to change your self-image and the way that you imagine the future. Religion and its concept of an afterlife skew your thinking by making you believe that you will live forever. You will not. You've got 70 or 80 years if you are lucky, and then you are gone forever. Christians know this basic fact as well as you do. We know we've only got "70 or 80 years" on this planet, and so we better make the best of it. The afterlife is a fundamentally different sort of existence.
At the simplest level, an understanding of your permanent mortality should help you to realize more clearly how precious your life is. If you live to be 82 years old, what you have is approximately 30,000 days of existence. You are not going to then commute to "heaven" to live for eternity. 30,000 days is all that you've got.
Here are some of the things in your thinking that will change once you understand and accept this simple fact:
- Your time on earth becomes much more precious to you. At least until you die. Then, it doesn't matter how precious it was to you, or anyone else after they die. You won't matter anymore.
- You begin to realize that everyone else's life is just as precious, and you start looking at them differently. At least until they die. Then they don't matter, and you forget about them.
- You think more about what you are leaving behind when you die. Which is basically nothing. After a few generations, all of your stuff will be given away, and everyone will have forgotten about you.
- You think more about the human species as a continuum, with yourself as a part of that continuum, and you start thinking about the future of our species and the planet. Yep. Your existence is for one brief moment in the span of human history, and ultimately, your life is incredibly insignificant.
Act however you want. Burst to the front of the line at the DMV and demand to be served first. After all, after you die, nothing is going to matter. You aren't accountable to anyone who isn't going to die too.
When you die, what is your legacy? What do you leave behind?
- Whatever material objects you own, to be given to whomever you like in your will. No one will remember that they are yours after a few years.
- Whatever contributions you have made to society as a whole. If you have done research into the cure for cancer, you leave that. If you have written books or made movies, you leave them. If you funded a building at your university, you leave that. And then, after a few generations, you are merely a name written down on a record. Someone might read a Wikipedia article about you out of mind-numbing boredom, but as far as emotional significance, no one will care about you.
- Images of you in photographs and video, as well as any letters, writings or recordings. They will all fade and deteriorate so as to be unviewable within a few short generations.
- Your children and their memories of you. Your children will soon die as well, and all of your memories will be gone.
- The memories you leave with your friends and family. Your family will soon die as well. And then you'll really be gone.
Right. Death, to the atheist, is merely succuming to natural law. Death is the consequence of existence. Everything you ever did is completely and utterly pointless. After a time, no one will remember anything you did, and none of it matter. Any significance you invented for yourself is gone as quickly as your life ended. It doesn't matter if you live your life as terribly as possible, cheating out others for your own gain, knee-deep in debauchery. There is no God. There is no accountability. All things are permissible, ultimately. You may have to deal with legal consequences, but hey, those people are going to die too.
For a Christian, of course, every action you take is extremely important. Why? Because you are eternally accountable to everything you have ever done. Because there is a just God who wants the best for his children. There is more to existence then the brief spark of life on this planet, and what you do and who you are matters.
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