Dead or Really Dead?

When we die, do we stop living? 

Some people think that we do. Meaning that when the heart stops and the brain stops functioning, life is gone. That is it. Life has ended. We do not live beyond the ceasing of the heart and brain.
Many say we continue living because the soul lives on after physical death. This begs a follow up question and that is, what is the soul?
Indeed, many world religions have different definitions of what a soul is and how it is made. Also, there are different takes on whether it is finite or infinite once it is created.

Soul Creation

The most popular belief is that souls are created during conception. When a human sperm meets a human egg in the woman or in a test tube, and the first cell division occurs, life begins. Both the physical and the soul life begin in this one event - the embodiment or incarnation of the soul.
Where the soul came from is another question. Did it come from a storehouse then infused with the physical during conception? Or was it integrated and integral with the physical creation?
The former can be answered with other complications, such as, how does the soul travel from the storehouse to the conceived being? The latter is answered much simpler in that the soul is created on the spot. But one thing is certain, the soul has a beginning.

Eternal Soul or Finite

The ancient Greeks believed in the immortal soul. These "western" ancients believed that when a person dies, his or her soul separates from the body - a reversal of incarnation. The essence, so to speak, eternally survives and is transported to a place of the dead - the afterlife. Through various developments this place of the dead later became conceptualized as Hades. Hades has different levels of comfort for the disembodied soul. Elysium is a place for the good souls and Tartarus for the bad souls. A soul's destiny in the afterlife depends on whether it was good or bad during its incarnated state.
The "eastern" ancients believed also in an immortal soul. A soul, once created even though it starts out as imperfect, is recycled for many lifetimes until such time that the soul achieves perfection and absolute goodness - nirvana.
Western thought evolved to the modern concepts of heaven and hell. Eastern thought developed into new age concepts of karma and reincarnation.
Absent from these two thoughts is the finality of the soul. Both seem to support the idea that the soul infinitely lives in either heaven, hell, or nirvana. The soul is not destroyed.
Jewish thought, which is the progenitor of Christian belief, posits that the soul is more heavily intertwined with the personhood of a human being. The soul is what makes the person a person. The body therefore, exists with the soul, though separate.
Jewish teaching, ancient and modern, seems to support the idea that when a person dies the soul dies along with the physical body. However, there are indications in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings, that an unrighteous soul before being totally destroyed is placed in sheol or the pit - the Jewish equivalent of hell.
For the righteous person, the soul is reunited with his/her dead loved ones in a temporary place, perhaps a type of heaven. The soul is revived at the same time of the resurrection of the body in the messianic age or what is called "the time to come". The wicked soul is permanently put out at this time. There is no resurrection for the wicked, thus, a mortal soul.
Christian teaching about the soul is a nuanced continuation of Jewish and Greek beliefs. Christian doctrine it seems, is an amalgamation of both beliefs. In that, the soul separates from its body at physical death and depending on the life it lived, either goes to heaven or hell.
There is no argument between various Christians that Jesus believed in heaven and hell. The Gospel of Luke is the one book in the New Testament where Jesus elucidated these ideas. Whether the example occurred in reality or simply a parable, the story of poor Lazarus and the unnamed rich man who both died is used by Jesus to explain clearly heaven and hell. Abraham's bosom is the picture given by Jesus to describe the heavenly kingdom where the righteous beggar Lazarus lived after he physically died. And Jesus uses the same Greek word for hell which is Hades, to say where the soul of the wicked and greedy rich man went to after he died on Earth.
There is no argument also that Christians inherit eternal life which at the second coming of Jesus, the immortal soul is put on a glorified body.
What is different is the fate of the wicked soul who ends up in hell.
Some Christians subscribe to the eventual destruction of the wicked soul which culminates shortly or long after the second coming of Jesus. This thought succumbing to Jewish influence establishes the idea of a mortal soul but only for the wicked.
The key idea for this group is, the immortality of the soul must be received as a gracious gift from God and it begins only by willful consent at the point of conversion to Jesus.
Most Christians, however, due to overwhelming Greek influence in early Church history, believe in the endless torment of the wicked soul in hell, thus, an immortal soul that sees no end to suffering and pain. Of course, there is eternal bliss for the immortal soul of the righteous.
The key idea for this group is, the immortality of the soul is a gracious gift from God which is received without consent at conception and it continues forever in either heaven or hell depending on whether one converts to Jesus or not.

And the Journey Continues

Introduction

The following text is my personal testimony which I read in front of the Bethany Baptist Church congregation on 6 December 2015. This is the day of my water baptism, a public declaration of an inward transformation that already happened many years prior to this day. There is nothing mystical about the act itself but it's an act of obedience that points people to Jesus Christ and all glory is to Him - the author of my salvation and the finisher of my faith.

This day is also the day that I become a member of the Bethany Baptist Church family. 

My Testimony

I was born in the predominantly Roman Catholic country of the Philippines. Like everyone else there, I was baptized into the Catholic faith as an infant. But as I grew up in the practice of the faith, I realized that it was becoming more about the rules, and the rituals, and all the pretense that came with it. My identity was becoming wrapped up in the institution of the Catholic Church rather than on the person of Jesus Christ. 

I am not trying to diminish my Roman Catholic heritage. The truth is it didn’t matter if I grew up a Protestant, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Humanist, or even an atheist. Any religion that makes me, the individual, the main agent of my own success, is still a religion without Christ. 

When I was 22 years old, I left the Philippines, and went to America to work as an IT instructor in Chicago. I wasn’t a particularly good speaker, so I had to pretend and be creative with my portfolio to convince my managers and co-workers that I deserved that assignment. Eventually, I transitioned to writing which suited my personality.  

In the last two years of that assignment, I began a 13000 km long distance relationship with my future wife who was back home in Manila pursuing her own career. We only saw each other twice a year for two weeks. For the most part of our dating phase we only spoke to each other by long distance calls. Back then, there were no texting and no FaceTime. I thank God there were no social media then, like Facebook, because there were stupid things I did, that are unimpressive.

I can tell you one story. One time, I got really drunk at a party, and I got behind the wheel of my car, drove 8 kilometres through red lights before stopping on the road side. My friend who drove ahead of me saw me stop. After helping me barf all the alcohol and the chicken wings out of my stomach, he told me to find my way back to my apartment. 

In retrospect, I am grateful for God’s mercy he didn’t allow me to die that night nor did he allow anyone else to get hurt because of my reckless behaviour.

Lizzette and I were married in the Philippines on April 17, 2000. By summertime, we moved to the US to start our life together. I received a lucrative job offer as a course writer in Silicon Valley. We settled in Cupertino but after two years on the job, I was laid off and my work visa was revoked. I can tell you, that was a real blow to my ego. Any sense of financial security for me and my wife went through the window on that day. I actually broke down in front of my manager before she asked me to pack my things and leave the building.

I idolized my job. When I lost it, my whole being came tumbling down, my dignity stripped away, and I almost lost my self-respect. But God wasn’t finished with me. Because later that year, when all hope seemed to have disappeared interview after interview, my Christian godfather offered me a job in his car detailing business. It was hard labor, nothing I was accustomed to. I basically washed and cleaned someone else’s cars. It wasn’t the job I dreamed about but it was a job that gave me back my dignity. God humbled me and reminded me that everything comes from him. 

God also gave me something else that year. Actually, later that same day I was laid off, my wife also told me that she was pregnant. For just a brief moment, I was terrified. But before paralyzing fear took over my mind, I felt God’s presence and his spirit came over me giving me a sense of calm and joy. I’ve never felt God within my very bones before. And so I knew, God intervened at that moment in my life. I was even reassuring my wife that everything was going to be okay. So on October 5th, 2003, my wife delivered a healthy and beautiful little girl with dark hair, chubby cheeks, and big round eyes. And we named her Ysabelle which means God’s Promise.

In 2005, at a non-denominational church service, I received Christ and was born again. I wept heavily that day. But, I can tell you honestly, that my experience was beyond emotional. From the outside I looked like a total mess, with tears overflowing, my heart pounding like a jack hammer, and the surface of my skin, red hot like magma. But inside, I was at peace. I died in that moment and I mourned the loss, but then I also came alive and I rejoiced.

A year after that, we moved to Canada to start fresh, and settled in Richmond BC. I got a new job as a technical writer. Through my wife's cousin, we connected with the Richmond Baptist Church and soon after that we joined a regular bible study group.

Living here in Richmond for seven years was not without challenges though. Despite getting the jobs we liked, I resented the low wages here and the high cost of living in Richmond. In addition, I was personally struggling with a lifestyle of liberal spending. I ran our household with a deficit. So when an opportunity for a high-paying job opened up, I jumped right away at it without doing enough investigation. 

I convinced myself it was God’s plan. After all, I did pray for it even though I didn't really consult any of my Christian friends nor did I spend time in God's word. But the good signs were there. All my interviews went very smoothly. I received an offer and I accepted without hesitation. As it turned out, the company missed all their sales projections for that summer in 2013 and as a result, 25% of the company including the new hires were laid off. And so less than five months in my new job, I found myself out of work again. However, the joy of the new job with a big salary made me so grateful towards God. 

From an occasional Bible reader and a typical Sunday Christian, I started studying the Bible with a purpose, that is, to know Jesus and the Father’s love more deeply. Together with the Spirit, I began an almost obsessive discipline of studying the Bible. I also watched and listened to countless sermons from different pastors. In that process, I learned how to read the bible properly. So when I received the news of my layoff, that time I was prepared emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Later that year, I felt a revival in my spiritual growth, and I felt compelled to seek out a new local church to connect with. In 2014, I started attending Bethany Baptist Church regularly. I also started an online blog as an outlet for fleshing out my theology. It’s my way of processing my personal beliefs about the triune God and about Jesus Christ and the scandal of His grace. 

Honestly, I still have today my ongoing battle with materialism and pride. But I pray that as I follow Jesus in my daily life ever more diligently, that these idols shall start breaking away from my consciousness.

So today in my water baptism as a believer, I confess Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. 

I consent to His love and mercy. I submit to Him all my desires and aspirations. 

I seek and receive his goodness daily which leads me to continually change my mind towards Him. 

And I hold myself accountable to you His saints on earth, so that I may continue to obey the faith that I was given and that I receive freely. 

I rest my hope in the second coming of our Lord Jesus and I look forward to that time when His full glory is revealed and all His good creation are restored. 

I’d like to end my testimony with a paraphrase of Paul’s letter to the Romans in 7:21 through 8:1 which sums up my own Christian walk. Paul writes, 

”So I have learned this rule: When I want to do good, evil is there with me. In my mind I am happy with God’s law. But I see another law working in my body. That law makes war against the law that my mind accepts. That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and that law makes me its prisoner. What a miserable person I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death? I thank God for his salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord! So in my mind I am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful self I am a slave to the law of sin. So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty.”

Thank you.