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'W'hat Bappens Alter
ls there a Hereafter?
Or
is death
the end
of
it al/?
by
William R. Whikehart
I
HAD JUST
stepped out of a small
plane when I saw two of my
, friends drive into the airport
parking lot. I hadn't seen either for
sorne time. So 1 walked over to greet
them.
"Hi ," one said as he got out of the
car. "What's this 1 hear about you
being in a plane wreck severa!
weeks ago?"
"Oh yeah, it was exactly two
weeks ago today," l explained. "Mr.
Midkiff and
J
were taking off in his
plane when the engine suddenly
quit. We had no choice but to crash
land in a rolling field at the end of
the runway."
"Well, he replied, "at least neither
one of you was seriously hurt. By
the way, remember the plane
T
be–
gan Jearning how to fiy in last year?
We were wondering
if
you would
check one of us out in it so we could
do a little tlying today. What do you
say?"
"Well, uh .... " I started think–
ing. That plane had been sitting on
tbe ground for months. Any number
of things could be wrong with it.
It
needed a thorough checking over.
1finally said, "I don't think you or
anyone else should tly that plaoe
uotil a mechaoic cbecks it over thor–
oughly. It's not safe to fly." But tbey
decided to go ahead anyway.
The next day, 1 received a phone
32
call at home. My two friends had
flown that plane - and had crashed!
One was dead. The other was in
critica! condition. I was really
shaken up.
De a th ls a Fact of Life
Chances are, you yourself have
had a similar experience. You have
known people who have died. Per–
haps you have had a close brush
with death yourself. Death is indeed
a fact of life. ft is around us every–
where- in newspaper headlines, on
radio, aod television.
Every day around this plague–
ridden, war-wracked world, tens of
thousands of people die. Sorne 50 to
60 million die each year from sick–
ness, disease, accidents, old age -
you name it.
The record of history is, in one
sense, nothing but the obituary of
mankind. Except perhaps for those
in the Jast chapter, all the people
you've read about
in
history books
are now dead.
Death isn't a pleasant subject to
discuss at the dinner table or with
friends on tbe way to work. But it is
a question that lingers, that nags
in
the back of people's minds.
We have all lost close friends,
relatives, or a brother or sister.
What happened to them at death?
Will you ever see them again? More
9
•
important, did you ever seriously
consider what will happen to vou
when you die?
Isn't it time you quit wondering?
Isn't it time you found out what
death is? The answers are available.
Helping you find them is the pur–
pose of this article.
A Puzzle Since the Daw n
of History
Speculation about the bereafter
has been rife throughout history. In
most early cultures, the afterlife, it
was believed, consisted of a series of
rewards and punishments for con–
duct here on earth. The followers of
an ancient Persian religion accepted
the notion of a spiritual bridge to be
crossed at death - broad for the
righteous, but narrow for the
wicked, who would faU into hell.
From ancient India carne the idea
that souls ' 'transmigrated" upward
or downward in successive rein–
carnations, depending oo altitudes
and conduct in the previous life. In
ancient Egypt, there was a pre–
occupation with the idea of reunit–
ing body and soul after death. To
effectuate this, the body was care–
fully preserved by mumrnification,
while the soul was thought to haunt
a special chamber near the tomb.
Plato considered immortality an
intricate part of man·s nature. Au-
PLAIN TRUTH
Moy
1973