© 1997 Luc Lachance
© 1997 French-speaking Association of Readers of the Urantia Book
| The American justice system rules in favor of copyright on appeal | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 4 — Summer 1997 | Deity and divinity |
Is there survival after death?
The great philosopher Socrates, 400 years before Jesus, posed this dilemma:
After death, either there is nothing, or there is something…
Do I have faith?
Do I believe in survival after death?
Do I believe in Jesus’ words to the good thief: “One day, you will be with me in Paradise.” Furthermore, did he not constantly repeat: “My Kingdom is not of this world.” He even rose again to strengthen our faith. Did he not ask that, in order to enter his Kingdom, we love our brothers and sisters as he loved us? Did he not reveal that God is our Father and that, consequently, we are all brothers and sisters?
True faith therefore changes my attitude towards life and death.
Do I believe that God is infinitely good?
If so, then I am certain that death is only the beginning of a lifelong career of exciting adventures and endless wonders. Indeed, those natural impulses which God has placed in me and which are called the lure of adventure, the thirst for discovery, the innate dream of travel, the thirst for beauty, love and truth, all these aspirations have not been given to me in vain. These highest hopes are destined to be fully realized in the long ages to come, for God cannot deceive me! That is why I am not afraid to die!
The family and friends of the one who is about to depart have gathered together. All are talking freely among themselves. What a wonderful opportunity for mortals of true faith to come together in this way to witness the ascension of their beloved.
What a contrast to former ages when mortals had to surrender their dead to the grasp of the earthly elements! The scenes of weeping and lamentation, which characterized the early epochs of human evolution, are now replaced by deep peace and sure hope as these God-knowing mortals bid a temporary farewell to their beloved, whose progressing souls are increasingly filled with faith, hope, and assurance.
The spirit which pervades the spectators surrounding the departed loved one resembles that of joyful friends and relatives who would attend the graduation examinations of a candidate of their group, or who would gather to witness the conferring of a high honor on one of their own. It would certainly be advantageous if the less evolved humans of a disordered and backward world like that of our planet, could learn somewhat to regard natural death with the same serenity, if not the same joyful assurance.
Luke Lachance
| The American justice system rules in favor of copyright on appeal | Le Lien Urantien — Issue 4 — Summer 1997 | Deity and divinity |