The Problem Of Death: Jesus & His Kingdom, I

This series is an ongoing review of Jesus and His Kingdom: The Biblical Case For Everyone Going To Heaven, by Mike Gantt.

For the most part, Chapter One is basically a really well-written and thought-provoking summary on death: what it means, why we react to it the way we do, the apparent fact of its universality, etc. As might be expected from the first chapter in any book, the author merely lays the groundwork for the discussion that is to come.

I like Mike’s writing, so far. I like that he asks questions, and appears more to be having a critical thinking session with himself than preaching down his nose at all of us in the congregation.

Mike writes:

While knowing that the world will go on provides a stabilizing force to the community of mourners, it provides no meaningful hope. The one force that makes more difference in the comforting process than anything else is genuine hope – hope that there will one day be a recovery of that loss. When people have a hope of seeing that loved one again, the grief has breath in it. Without hope, the grief is suffocating. Hope causes life and light to spring out of the dark shadow that death has cast. There is a world of difference between saying “goodbye” and saying “see you later.”

So true, and I’d never quite heard the distinction between Christian hope and secular hope so eloquently conveyed. A paragraph earlier, Mike had written:

Though it is far from the mind when you first hold a newborn life in your arms, death is the most certain part of that child’s destiny…as it is your own.

Actually, when my daughter was born – and even before – I thought about this. Of course, I was certainly overwhelmed with joy and love, but I think immediate acknowledgment and acceptance of her mortality actually motivates me to savor every possible moment with her. As Mike wrote, “…there is value in recognizing that today might be the last day we ever see anyone we love on the earth.” That seems to be exactly what I just affirmed. Of course, precisely because I don’t accept the idea that everyone goes to heaven, I also have a reason above and beyond mere mortality: the prospect of eternal separation. On Mike’s view – and may he correct me if I’m wrong – I would eventually be reunited with my daughter in paradise. On my view, there is a possibility I will not.

Elsewhere in the chapter, Mike writes that, “it seems as though we do not think enough about our own mortality.” This made me wonder how often “the average person” thinks about it. I think about it often, not in a morbid or fearful way, but, in a way that reminds that despite its joys, pleasures, and blessings, evil is a part of life that has consequences, and we are forever accountable to God.

Mike proceeds to cite various scriptures, each of which add a little piece to the puzzle of this mysterious phenomenon called death. Mike seems to accept traditional dualism, i.e. the notion of body – which decays – and a soul – which doesn’t [at least not in a physical sense]. Genesis 35:18 mentions that Rachel’s soul departed when she died, and James 2:26 states that the “body without the spirit is dead.” Mike also notes the connection between death, cessation of breathing, and spirit, which is – oddly enough – is denoted as “breath, air or wind” in the Hebrew ruah.

Other parts of the chapter actually put me into devotional mode:

Every day that we ignore our unseen needs, we die a little.

For a believer, that’s about as forceful and compelling as it gets. Those words motivate me. As below, so above.

About halfway through the chapter, Mike tackles the question of why death exists in the first place, and – as I expected – draws from scripture to provide various points, which could be summarized in the response, “because of sin.”

So far, everything seems to be non-controversial Biblical exegesis. Mike argues death as the logical entailment of sin, ala Romans 6:23, which tells us that “the wages of sin is death,” and I like Mike’s penchant for clear, direct messages:

A child who avoids playing on a busy street, avoids running with the wrong crowd, avoids drugs, avoids sexual promiscuity, and so on is probably going to outlive another child who defies his parent’s instructions on all these issues. Likewise, a motorist who obeys traffic laws is probably going to live longer than one who flouts them. You can apply the principle throughout life, and you don’t need the Bible to do so. Righteous living keeps one away from the many snares of death.

In my opinion, those are the types of explanations that make sense. Who’s really going to disagree with what Mike wrote there? He even alludes to fact that atheists can be moral. What more could an atheist ask for in a believer?

With comments like these, Mike strikes me as somebody with a keen appreciation for life:

There are so many joys to be savored in this life. There are the roar and the spray of a waterfall, the smell of coffee brewing in the morning, the crack of a baseball bat connecting for a home run, the smell of grass after it’s been mowed, the chatter of children playing a game – where do you stop? The riches of this creation are endless in number.

I agree.

In conclusion, I say nice job on the first chapter, Mike. It’s really well written, you engage with the reader, I left with a solid understanding of what you believe and why, and – most importantly – you presented the basic tenets of death, sin, and hope in a no-nonsense manner.

Of course, there will always be people who resist your message, but at the very least, they can’t accuse you of failure to deliver.