The Weekly Thursday's Thought
A weekly devotion to encourage, challenge and inspire you to live out you faith and to be better follower of Jesus of Christ.
The Afterlife
British physicist and atheist Stephen Hawking said that heaven is a mere "fairy story." The celebrated scientist said last month, "A belief that heaven or an afterlife awaits us is a fairy story for people afraid of death." Last year Hawking released his book, The Grand Design, in which he asserted that there is no need for a creator to explain the existence of the universe. The book provoked a backlash from some religious leaders, including the chief rabbi, Lord Sacks, who accused Hawking of committing an "elementary fallacy" of logic.
Another recent controversy regarding the afterlife was raised by a Michigan pastor who released a book called Love Wins. In his book, Rob Bell questions the traditional views of hell. He criticizes the "misguided" view that "select Christians" will live forever in heaven while the rest of humanity will suffer eternal torment in a punishing hell.
"At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church has been the insistence that...hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins," Bell wrote.
In a 2007 Pew study of religious beliefs across the country, 92 percent of Americans said they believe in a god or universal spirit, and 74 percent said they believe that there is a heaven. The George Barna Group finds 76% believe that Heaven exists, while nearly the same proportion said that there is such a thing as Hell (71%).
The Bible clearly teaches about the depth and gravity of sin against God and the reality of separation and hell. However, the loving God provides a way for us to spend eternity with Him. Salvation of sinners is by God's grace through faith in Jesus alone. There is a heaven, and there is a hell. Those who believe in Jesus Christ will one day face the reality of heaven, and those without God will face the reality of hell.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:1-3
June 23, 2011
Another recent controversy regarding the afterlife was raised by a Michigan pastor who released a book called Love Wins. In his book, Rob Bell questions the traditional views of hell. He criticizes the "misguided" view that "select Christians" will live forever in heaven while the rest of humanity will suffer eternal torment in a punishing hell.
"At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church has been the insistence that...hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins," Bell wrote.
In a 2007 Pew study of religious beliefs across the country, 92 percent of Americans said they believe in a god or universal spirit, and 74 percent said they believe that there is a heaven. The George Barna Group finds 76% believe that Heaven exists, while nearly the same proportion said that there is such a thing as Hell (71%).
The Bible clearly teaches about the depth and gravity of sin against God and the reality of separation and hell. However, the loving God provides a way for us to spend eternity with Him. Salvation of sinners is by God's grace through faith in Jesus alone. There is a heaven, and there is a hell. Those who believe in Jesus Christ will one day face the reality of heaven, and those without God will face the reality of hell.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." John 14:1-3
June 23, 2011