Death - and resurrection!

Listening, this morning, to the Radio 4 programme Saturday Live, I heard 70-year-old Chrissie de Rivaz who hopes to cheat death by having her dead body stored in liquid nitrogen (cryonic suspension) in anticipation of “a medical resurrection”. I won’t go into the practical processes that she was happy to share, but the costs are apparently in the region of $28,000 in the USA (where, not surprisingly, this procedure takes place), plus an additional £8,000 for transportation of the dead body from the UK!!

It was very interesting to listen to this lady’s thinking on the subject! The analogies that she used were either technological – avoiding the simple fact that human beings are not mere machines; or very personal – there is so much that she won’t be able to do in this one life; and, of course, she might meet her great, great, (etc.) grandchild!

The presenter – himself a Christian clergyman – did seem to be starting a useful dialogue when he was asked by Mrs de Rivaz if he didn’t come across many people who couldn’t bear to be “planted in the ground to rot” or who would hate “to go up the chimney” and, in response, made a valid point by asking how we could possibly “understand the one thing that lies immediately beyond our powers of understanding.” I suspect that he would have gone further, as he began to make reference to “the general resurrection at the end of all things” that “promises us … that we’ll be revived as something spanking new”. Unfortunately, he informed us, the producer was “waving his hands” as an indication that he wasn’t allowed to go down that route!!

Death is, of course, something that, until the return of the Lord Jesus, not one of us can escape. It is something for which, I would suggest, there is never going to be a medical cure. If the proponents of cryonic suspension really want to cheat death, surely they should have themselves "frozen" before they die, in the more reasonable hope that a cure for the disease/illness from which they were suffering (although Mrs de Rizaz sounded perfectly healthy!) might one day be discovered! Of course, the Word of God makes it quite clear that "…it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment …" (Heb.9:27). However, it also makes clear that, for the true believer in Jesus – those who are His faithful disciples – death is not the end. Paul, writing to the church in Thessalonica, has this to say:

"And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words."(I Thess.4:13-18).

My assurance of resurrection is not to a future earthly existence in a body that has been maintained in a thermos flask of liquid nitrogen, but is to a resurrected, glorified, body that will be physical, recognisable, yet different because it will be spiritual. Perhaps I will provide my personal theory of the resurrection body in a later post, but it certainly doesn’t depend on cryonic suspension! It is based on the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and the assurances that I find in my Bible. I trust that you have the same assurance, through the same Lord!

Moral Values

Each week I receive an e-mail, from the Evangelical Alliance, that provides a thought-provoking message on a topical issue (much as I attempt to do on this blog!!). This evening, the message was on Values, and it cited a BBC poll that "... revealed that the majority of the population support the role of religion in public life. According to the survey, 63% agreed that “Our laws should respect and be influenced by UK religious values.” Similarly, 62% agreed that “Religion has an important role to play in public life.” Unsurprisingly, those who were already religious were especially in favour, but what must be really galling to the secularists is that 51% of those who said they had no religion still believed that religious values should influence our legal system."

Earlier, I had been at the monthly prayer-meeting of The Scottish Christian Party, and the combination of the two reminded me of a letter that I had sent to The (Glasgow) Herald earlier in the week in response to one that had been published. My letter did not grace the pages of the newspaper so, here it is for your own perusal!!

Dear Sir,
Iain D. Mann (Politicians must show their integrity, too; 24th Feb) is absolutely correct in his analysis of the current “working within the rules that we ourselves set up” of so many of our politicians. As he, and many others, point out, the sound of these politicians noising off about obscene bonuses being paid to bankers does smack of pots and kettles, and people living in glass houses.
The problem is that all of the “major” parties appear to be tarred with the same brush – not, one hastens to add, that every member is guilty of this legalised fraud, but that every party has its quota of those who are! This suggests that the time has finally come for the electorate to abandon the attitude of generational loyalty that has so many of those who bother to vote at all doing so on the basis of “It’s the way my father voted”.
Many, it would seem, are turning to the British National Party, but many others cannot bring themselves to support some of that Party’s (perceived?) policies. The Scottish Christian Party, and its counterparts, do offer a further alternative – and an assurance of the honesty and integrity that have become alien concepts in much of our nation’s politics, at every level. Perhaps, during the raft of elections that are coming up over the next year or two, a sufficient number will be so persuaded of the advantages of the traditional Christian values that actually shaped the nation over many centuries, to “put their cross by the Cross”, and elect those who will be trustworthy, and able to resist the temptations that political office seems to bring. Yours faithfully,
C.Brian Ross (Rev)

The Herald may have decided against publishing my letter, but that BBC poll suggests that there is, indeed, a desire (not yet a real hunger!) for a return to the "old-fashioned" values that have shaped so much of our society.

I also received an "AllExperts" question, part of the answer to which was a reminder that every follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ, is a witness - be it a good one, or a bad one! Our lives do speak much more loudly than our words - and for some, the only gospel that they will ever read is the life of a friend who professes to be a Christian.

If we are to see a return to those Christian values, is it not required of each one of us to "Walk the walk" as well as "Talk the talk"; and to support Christians in politics - and especially the Christian parties - that they might be "salt and light" in a world that, as our daily news bulletins increasingly show, is very short of both?

Misquotations.

An article in today’s Daily Telegraph newspaper informs us that the top ten misquotes, by British people, are (the correct words in the brackets):
1) A damp squid (a damp squib)
2) On tender hooks (on tenter hooks)
3) Nip it in the butt (nip it in the bud)
4) Champing at the bit (chomping at the bit)
5) A mute point (a moot point)
6) One foul swoop (one fell swoop)
7) All that glitters is not gold (all that glisters is not gold)
8) Adverse to (averse to)
9) Batting down the hatches (batten down the hatches)
10) Find a penny pick it up (find a pin pick it up)

Being somewhat pedantic, I found that very interesting. However, the Bible is also misquoted, or is claimed to be the source of a quotation that doesn’t appear in the Scriptures. Here are a few – please feel free to add any others that you know, as a comment!

List 1 Biblical misquotes:
· Money is the root of all evil! (very topical, but read all of I Tim.6:10)
· All things work out for the best (read Rom.8:28)
· The truth will set you free (not as much a misquote, as a part-quote. See Jn.8:32, and note that Jesus actually ties the definition of truth to obedience to Himself!
· Spare the rod, spoil the child (not quite what it says in Prov.13:24)

List 2 “Biblical” quotes that are not in the Bible!:
· God helps those who help themselves (sometimes referred to as the “Shoplifter’s Charter”, and actually from Aesop’s fable, Hercules and the Waggoner)
· Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise (may well be true – but comes from the writings of Benjamin Franklin)
· Cleanliness is next to godliness (this was said by John Wesley)
· You can be so heavenly-minded that you are of no earthly good (all too true of some – but it isn’t in the Bible!)
· God works in mysterious ways (very true – but penned by William Cowper in a poem “On the loss of the Royal George”)
· It’s better to serve in heaven than to reign in hell (sounds biblical, at least from a “hell-fire and damnation” perspective – but it’s not!)

One atheist's view of God!

In today's notes from a Prayer Diary that I use - the International Daily Prayer Bulletin, poduced by Revival Prayer Ministry, Eastbourne - is the following: "A recent article in The Times of London shows that not all atheists are anti-God. Matthew Parris, a former conservative member of the British Parliament, recently argued in his column that Africa needs not only aid, but God. "Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts.", writes Parris, who was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. "These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good." Parris observes that Africans who are conberted to Protestant Christianity are able to break the shackles that tied them to their ancestral dominant hierarchies, so that they are free to be truly themselves, and develop as human beings. He remarks that you can tell a Christian by his demeanour - "he stands up straight."" The full article may be read at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article5400568.ece?Submitted=true

It is, of course, encouraging to read this secular acknowledgement of the inner change and freedom that the new life in Christ brings. And it's good to know that not every professed atheist is as antagonistic as Richard Dawkins! However, it is also useful to remember that what Matthew Parris has written about his recent experience should not apply only to the African continent. Later in the article he makes this profound statement concerning devout Christians (is there really any other kind??!) whom he met: "It would suit me to believe that their honesty, diligence and optimism in their work was unconnected with personal faith. Their work was secular, but surely affected by what they were." Should not this be true of everyone who bears the name of the Christ?!

Are you ready?

Having a late lunch today, I switched on the TV to the History Channel, and caught the last ten minutes of a programme that seemed to be claiming that there could be, in the next few decades (and certainly, this century) the collapse of a large part of one of the Canary Islands into the sea. This, it was being confidently predicted, would happen when the flank of a volcano was disturbed by volcanic activity. One of the main emphases of the part of the programme that I saw was that it was impossible for us to know exactly when this would happen. However, the result would be a “mega-tsunami” that would sweep across the Atlantic Ocean, and hit the eastern seaboard of the USA with a gigantic (750 metre high?) wave.

Scary stuff but, as I have mentioned in my response to a comment on an earlier post, I have learned – sometimes the hard way! – not to take everything that I receive from the popular media at face value. A quick search brought me to this website http://www.lapalma-tsunami.com/ that may be worth visiting (especially if you live in either the Canary Islands, or the eastern seaboard of the USA!!).

However, the warning about not knowing exactly when such a disaster would take place sent my mind in another direction. The church has known for some 2,000 years that Jesus is coming back. He made it perfectly clear. Listen: “And then at last, the sign of the coming of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the nations of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Mt.24:30); “... when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit upon His glorious throne.” (Mt.25:31); “Then everyone will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds with great power and glory.” (Mk.13:26, Lk21:27); “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.” (Jn.14:3)

And the apostle Paul adds to the evidence. In that great passage in his first letter to the believers in Thessalonica, he writes: “And now, brothers and sisters, I want you to know what will happen to the Christians who have died so you will not be full of sorrow like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus comes, God will bring back with Jesus all the Christians who have died. I can tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not rise to meet him ahead of those who are in their graves. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the call of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, all the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and remain with Him forever. So comfort and encourage each other with these words.” (4:13-18).

So, we are left in no doubt that Jesus is going to return – and not, this time, as a helpless infant in a mucky, smelly, part of a building that was reserved for the family’s animals; but breaking into time and space as King of kings, and Lord of lords.

However, when the disciples asked Jesus about the date of His return (Matt. 24:3), He told them that only God the Father knows: "… no one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son Himself. Only the Father knows." (v.36).

We don't know when Jesus will return; He may come at any time. Dr. Richard De Haan, founder of Radio Bible Class Ministries, kept a two-word motto in his office: "Perhaps Today." The important thing is to be ready. Are you?