Dr Paul Allen

In 1934, writer Clare Harner, grieving her brother Olin’s death after a sudden illness, published a poem with these lines: “Do not stand by my grave and weep. / I am not there, I do not sleep. / I am a thousand winds that blow / I am the diamond glints in snow. . . . / Do not stand by my grave, and cry—I am not there, I did not die.” Before you criticize Clare for her wishy-washy theology, stop to consider whether you’ve heard or uttered a “more biblical” version of her comforting words yourself. “Don’t cry. She’s in a better place.” Or, in the negative, “God is going to bring something beautiful from his death. Prolonged grief shows a lack of trust in God.” When it comes to death, we all long to tell a different story than the one we truly see through tears, in dust and ashes before us. When we’re neck-deep in trials, we grasp for these platitudes hoping they’ll offer us a lifeline. Whether we’re offering flimsy hope to a friend or to ourselves, the myths we tell ourselves about grief...

By Clint Archer It was a sobering and humiliating punishment. While millions of onlookers watched in morbid fascination at the televised spectacle, the eight victims of the controversial verdict stood crestfallen and shell-shocked in disbelief. After the many years of effort and sacrifice, the countless hours of practice and training, the untold expense of sponsorship and support, four ladies’ doubles pairs were disqualified from the Olympic badminton finals for the crime of—wait for it—not trying hard enough. Badminton is generally perceived as a placid sport, not known for its drama. But the brouhaha of the “shuttlecock scandal” in the London Olympics in 2012 made history with a bizarre turn of events. Two ladies’ doubles teams from China, one from South Korea, and one from Indonesia were unceremoniously disqualified for, in the words of the Vice President of the International Olympic Committee, one Craig Reedie, “not using one’s best efforts to win a match.” The players had all clea...

That you may very well do, forever. Eternity is a long time to be wrong, especially about Jesus . God has warned us in the Bible that it is appointed for men to die once, then judgment ( Heb. 9:27 ). After death, you will be judged. Do you want to face eternity without the sacrifice of Jesus Christ accounted to you? God hates sin and you have sinned. God will punish sinners if they reject Jesus. However, He loves you. That is why He sent His Son to die for sins. If you want eternal life, then you need to worry about it now. Eternity is a long time to be wrong, especially about Jesus. There is no next life. Reincarnation isn't true. The Bible says after death you face God ( Heb. 9:27 ).

Corcovado jesus (Photo credit: @Doug88888 ) The case for life after death consists in empirical (observable) and nonempirical (theoretical) arguments. The empirical arguments are two: near-death experiences (NDEs) and the resurrection of Jesus .  A sufficient body of evidence exists for the view that people have died, left their bodies, had various experiences, and returned to their bodies. Attempts to explain NDEs as natural phenomena fail in those cases where the disembodied person gained knowledge about things miles away (e.g., conversations of family members).  One must be cautious about theological interpretations of NDEs, but their reality is well established. Some argue that, even if true, NDEs provide evidence only for temporary existence beyond death. Strictly speaking, this is correct. However, if biological death does not bring the cessation of consciousness, it is hard to see what could do so after death. Jesus’ resurrection is defended in other artic...