how the Internet is rapidly changing how we deliver church and how we attract
people all over the world to the teachings of the New Church. But we cannot
always foresee how quickly old patterns can become obsolete and whole new
challenges presented. We need to be ready. And we all need to be involved in
the process.
(BMH)
importance of belief in the afterlife
If there is no life after death, then believing in it is unrealistic. On the other
hand, if there is life after death, then those who deny it are being unrealistic.
Most people, probably, are somewhere in the middle – they lean toward
belief, or disbelief, but aren’t sure. Many would say it doesn’t matter, and
is something we can’t really know until we wake up in the next world (if
indeed there is one). This is an important subject, though, worthy of careful
consideration, because what we think about the afterlife greatly influences our
view of life in this world and how we act.
Most people in all places and times have believed in some form of life after
death. Even if it is a mistaken notion it does not seem to cause any serious
harm, and is a comfort to many. There is less harm in an erroneous belief in
heaven than in an erroneous disbelief in heaven.
But if heaven does exist, and the supreme purpose of life in this world is to
prepare us for it, then denying or failing to acknowledge and actively engage
with that reality is an impediment to fulfilling the most important business of
our life in this world. The “afterlife” is a continuation of the life we are living
here and now. We need to get with the program.
(WEO)
the reality and unreality of death
We say “death is a fact of life,” but to be more exact, it is a reality of life in this
world. The natural fact of death is overridden and superseded by the spiritual
truth that life itself never ends. In the larger scheme of things, death is actually
the opposite of reality.
The material forms in which life appears--including our own physical
bodies – are temporary containants of life; it is only these that die. Life itself –
that is, the Lord – is the supreme Reality. And our reality is that “whoever lives
and believes in (Him) shall never die.” (John 11:26)
In heaven, the angels are totally immersed in life and have no idea of
death. In our world, life and death are intertwined, and so we do have to deal
with death. But in itself, death is nothing, just the absence of life.
The very fact that we are aware of death is actually evidence of the reality
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