I was raised with a view of the afterlife which consisted of equal parts platonic dualism and fanciful folk theology replete with halos, clouds, harps, and interminable hymn singing. So it was a matter of considerable relief when I discovered that an orthodox Christian understanding of the afterlife was a far more holistic and this-worldly […]
death
Theology, Worldview, and the Death of My Father
In this video, I reflect on the death of my father to Alzheimer’s in theological perspective while interacting with the eulogy I delivered at his memorial service in April 2019. The lesson: A Christian worldview should equip you to view life, suffering, and death in the light of hope, grace, and the cross. Unfortunately, the […]
My Tribute to My Father
My dad died on April 3, 2019. Ten days later on April 13, we held the memorial service, and I was honored to take part. This is important to me, not simply because I loved my dad and I grieve his passing but because I value others thinking about life and death from the perspective […]
Random Thoughts on the Death of My Father
I recently wrote an article describing my last visit with my father. He passed away on the morning of April 3rd, two days after his 85th birthday. Given the number of people who linger for years in the purgatorial twilight of dementia, his relatively quick demise (he was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in December 2017) […]
The Last Visit with Dad
My dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease on a rainy afternoon in December 2017. Afterward, we went out for lunch to a restaurant downtown. Dad got confused and thought we were in Mexico. “Wow,” I joked, “It’s a lot cheaper to go on vacation when you have Alzheimer’s!” Gallows humor is a dark and welcome […]
Do you have to love Jesus more than your children?
A little while ago I was speaking at a convention on the topic of heaven. As often happens, several people came up afterward to ask questions and share comments and stories. Over the next several minutes the conversation slowed and eventually the crowd drifted away leaving one man standing quietly. Once the others had left […]
What happens after we die?
This past Sunday (Dec. 7th) I was invited to give a talk (aka a “sermon”) at St. Albert Alliance Church on the topic “What happens after we die?” (Thanks to Matt Garvin for inviting me and to the church for being a great host.) The talk was part of an extended series the church did […]
Do human beings have spectral bodies?
The other day I received the following query via email: “Do we get an intermediate body for our souls in heaven whilst we await the second coming?” I suppose the answer will depend what one means by “body”. Historically, most Christians have believed that human beings have (or are) souls, and that these souls are simple […]
Near-Death Experiences: A Review
J. Steve Miller, Near-Death Experiences as Evidence for the Existence of God and Heaven. Acworth, GA: Wisdom Creek Press, 2012. Stories of near death experiences are not hard to come by. But can these popular anecdotes of a light at the end of a tunnel and one’s life flashing before their eyes provide any hard […]
On the dying of Christopher Hitchens
At the moment I’m reading through Christopher Hitchens’ posthumously published Mortality (Signal, 2012). Hitchens lived his life as, among other things, a brash iconoclast of “religion” and slayer of many sacred cows. He especially seemed to despise the idea of God and regularly expressed his belief that a universe with God would be tantamount to […]
Should Christians believe in ghosts?
The question was recently posed to me by one of my readers. Stuart did not share my assumption that the world may contain ghosts who, among other things, might engage in hauntings: “I think you’ll need to provide some more scritural backing to convince me that people can die (or be killed) and then their spirit can […]
On the pap people say when other people die
Jim Clench was a fixture on the Canadian classic rock scene as a bass player and song writer for both April Wine and Bachman Turner Overdrive. Perhaps his best known song is April Wine’s perennial concert favorite “Oowatanite”. Not exactly Gershwin, but the song, and Clench himself, have earned a mention in the liner notes of modern arena […]
