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Life After Death?
by
Roben
L Kuhn
Why do fHIOple believe
u
they do?
Why
are
so msny peop/11 so sure that
they know whethiN or not there is lile
sher desth?
BeiWtcn
13~
and
Q2'\
orlheprople
ID
lhe
Untted
Slatt\
and aboulthe
'3mt
numb<"r
1n
Europc are
Jll~ tht~t
thc)' ""O\\ whether or
nol thcre
·~
hfe aner death'
Onlv
6~
lO 21't–
arc
tmJu"-
(Se
e
1he acxompan)'tñg boxe"-)
Ir
)'OU
thmk
~~obout
11.
thc~
...
uuilfiUC\
~hould
surpnM:
)'OU
Why
drc )O
man)'
peoplc
w
.su
re·•
One
m•ght h11vc
tApected
a
far s,reater pcrcenta,ge
lO
be
UlfJiif~
o(
thc
anw.•tr
tó
what
muse
be
conMdered lhe ll10SI
fundament.tl
qucSUOn
ofhulllan cxiMcnct.
or
course. amon!i
th(')~
who do
el
aun
t(.l
know whether life nfler cJeath C.\hl\, thcrc
i\
diamelric
disa~rccmcnt a~
10 whnt lifc nftcr
de;.uh would mvolvc. 1he large n\.ljOtÍI)'
flrmly
be
lleves thnt
"ye~.
there
ti.
R
con-.<:imh
hft tlftcr death," wh1lc
o
'mall
but
vocAl
nunonty
~lleves
lh31 ''no.
chere ' '
not
any
C:XI!Itencc
whal!locver
beyond
phy~1cttl
dé.llth,"
8oth groufb havc:
thc
'!.ame c:ompclllng
reason!.
10
behcvc:
11'\
thcy
do
1rudu1on
t.~nd
).UJlei"S111100
wcldcd
b)·
pctt
rrU5UtC
Tho•e Who
~•>
-No..
Be!Jn
wuh
lh~
thtu cl:um th•
.u
thcrr-
t\
absotutel} no
c.:homcc:
for llfc aner
de.:uh
• rhe
ph)>~<ol
hre "' 1he
bod)
and 1he
bu..n;·
the)
~ould
\t.ue...
,s all
therc:
1$
an\1
~u
thcrc ""di e..
·u
be
\\'hcn
u
~rashcs.
you
~fl~h
fOfC\;'C:f \.lfC 1\ jU\1
a
scanl
fe~
d~db
(ollo"'ed
b)
.:~n
uncnd1n1 '\lrt.tm o(
b!.ll•on.,
of cons. about
whtch
you
w•ll
rt>~
ma•n
forc ..
cr
uoa"'arc..
In
&cneral. th1\
&roup
1)
lhc
prodUCl
O(
the
.Kienllf.C
fC\'OIU·
llon -che
kno\lo>ledge c'plo-..on - our ..
l«h·
n•tromc.. cl\'lhtahon m
\\hteh m,m
C'llJO)~
an
C\·cr·mCrcaMn¡ COmprchCn\IOn
O(
lhe
01)..1·
017Cd
complc~IIICS
o(
ph)')ICII
hfc
R<aluy " only lh< ph)<,..l "orld
10
lho;
"cnhghtened ehte" 1ha1 "\uppo...:dly hber·
a1cd from
thC"
an;:haac trad1Hons of
~st
g.en–
trJUOó!l. Re.aluy
IS onl)·
chal whach c:3n be:
apprehcnded by lht ph)'"e•l br•on. Realo1y
musa
be
meaMII'td
and quancatlcd
by
an
cquat1on.
oscill~pc.
ccst tubC'.
microscopc:
or comptucr - or 1t
sunply
~annot
be
real
(ihat•s
tradiuon!}
Thi4i sroup would chum to hJ\
1
C h:lSCd
lhcir COnYICIIOnS on a
whOII}
ft\IIOnoJ 3p·
proach to thetr own
CXI'ioiCnce-
nn approach
.)eemín~l y
foundcd
on the \Cienclfic:
method.
Thcre os noohing beyond 1his phy;ocal lifc
somply
bcc•u~e
no physocol evodenoe eX!SI<
to
dcmon.strah::
lh
ex1stence. (And that\
~u
pe~totoon!)
Bu11s
thas
conctus•on ....
rauonal and
logt ~
cal a> lhey would like 10 bcloeve?
L>o
wch
personj rcally undcrstJnd
lhe
l!nutallOM
or
:W:ten« and the \COpe
o(
the SCtenufic
mc1hO<J or
r<ti<>n~ng?
Sdenc:e and the -.cienufk
mcthod
are hm·
atcd 10 the
ph)'~•cal
world
fhe
qucsuon.
..()oc$
thcrt
CXISI 50Mt
Olher
form
Of
hfc
OT
coosc•ousnc.u. "'htch
follows.
tn
ttme·
Kquentt
the
e)l;ptrahon
and
conclu\aOn
of
our pr<$<0nt ph)'lo<allo•n'r· os somply outside
of the rc.alm of SCtence. Tbe .. ery
C'i.\Cnct
or
SCICDCC
confines
11~1r
to
the
ph~1al
rt'Jim
All tht
data
and 1nrormauon an
aht
enure
pbysocal unl\·enc:
C'QJinol
be opploed 10 n&or·
ously
nepte.
deny and d•spro....c the
C'CI$·
tcnce ofnonph)l-ICll rea.hty.
Th..., Who Soy
-v..··
Evidene<
or proof
¡;
nc•er rcall)
<Ortsider<d by lhc }'es·· &roup. Theor moto·
"·•uon
1s
usually
a
dcs~re
lo maantaan a chtr·
ashed
redms. a
computsaon
to protect a
ch1ldhood ..
~unty
blanke1:· or c-.n a hope
WEEK ENDINO MARCif 22. 197S
to
tOJO)
a happltr hfe
afler
death ,.·btclt
entl\
1he 111als
and
tt1bubt10nS or
ahe~r
pre(Cnl
t'41~lence.
(Thit's
traditi()n!)
Such iln IQ'olhOnal
.scccptancc or h(e
aOcr
de..alh
1\
ea.~il)"
understood.
Thc
etema1
cmp–
lone"' or dealh
1S
both rnghlcrung and ab–
\Utd
:u
1hc: s.amc
umt.
Human
be:Jnp
~)
a self·con'\Cious ptl'$0na1ity.
h
c:mouonally
scems 1noomprehensibly absurd ror 1ha1
pe·
<:uliar ..
~methtng
.. -
wbich
as
me -
to
$Ud~
dcnly
and pcnnanently
jusl cetsc
to
cxist
And yet e-cry
ph)~o col
body and brain d•cs
Human
beings
cravc
something more -
and a
belitf
in
a l1fc af1er death. no
maner
how
~rro t innally
or
illogic:llly
rounded.
s.atis·
fi~
that craving. (And thac'ssupe:rstition!)
Tltose Who Didn"l Know
The~
are che pcople who hav< not
bUC'·
cumbed
to the tradi tionaJ <:omforts of
sayi ng
··vES" or
thc intcllectual vanity
or
saying
hNO.''~They
are
hone~t
- and ig.norant!
Of
cou~e
many
in
thc
survey.s
$tatcd
thtl.l
they
··dtdn•t know..
whcther
thcre was. or
was not, a
Hfe arter death
because 1hey have
~~~v~r r~vn ronsidttr~d
1hc
question.
Oth~~
perhaps were
unable
to <:ommlt themselve:,
onc way or the other.
So.
the
numbcr
of
mdi"tduab
who m
f<.~ct
senously and candidly 1houghl abou1 and
analyzc:d
th1s
most fundamental qucst10R
o(
human
hfc
and
then
came up wllh lbe
log.t–
c:all)
preasc
ans"·er
that lhey
r~l{•'
d1dn
i
k
no-.
1s
prcoousl)
few
tndccd.
Bu1
th('SC
ft\\
•e
salu1c
(for
thc
momcnt).
Tht"!t'
are tbc
onH
"'ho
ba"e
both
propcrl)'
uttden,cood tht:
hm11.t110n.-..
of science and corrt'Ctly
aprhtd
1he sctcnldic mcchod
of
reasoning.
Thesc
~rt'
1he ones .. ho ha\'e
dt\·atcd
themsch~
abo"t·e the Stmplt-rniDdcd concluSJons
o(
both thc mreUectuall)' ...
a1n
athel!.IS
and
the
1mmonal-soul·propoundu'lg
reJtg•on•)b
These
at
IC.,i)l are
lo-giC<~I
in
lhtir
appro.ach
\Ve
have scen lhat lhe b<:her
of
those
who
do
beht\'C
m
d
life
al1cr
death
i.s
cqually
a~
orra1ional ¡nd equally as illogical as 1he be·
hcf
of
tho~
"'ho
do
not
believc
an such
an
·anerlofe."
Bo1h
do not apply 1he carc:rul
reasontng proccdures
which
are absolutely
neces.s.uy.
And the
few people
who
do
rea–
'\óR
pr'Optrly
urc
thosc
who.
3ftcr much
con~
~idenuion
of the ptoblem.
CANNOí
come lO
any
oondusion
at all.
What a parado}!;!
"You can.
or
t.'Ourse. rccog.nite the pcrson
who through com.:ct reasoning procedures
catlnot
come: to any CQnclusion
at
all. He
i~
the
ideal
agmnllt.
(And.
by
the way.
the
ro"
ag.nost1c.
Mosc
ag_nostics choose
agnosticism
- lítcrally ..
not
knowing" - as a re:sult of
their
own
intellCCC\Jal
ineptitude and/or
lati·
nc:ss.)
A~
we then praismg the
intellectuall)
sin·
tere agnostiC1 Wcll. herc;
is
a man who
ha.~
probably realoud tha1 1he rehgoous 1radi·
uon..< of mcn
are
hke
sltaitjackecs.
And
here
lS the very samc man
recogn.iz.tng
that
the
proper
use
of
1he scientifie method prohibilS
a person rrom v.ing 1he dala of1he ph)'local
realm lO ín any way
•pro,..··
lhe supposed
nonextstence of
the
nonphysia.J realm.
So
we most ccrtatnly respcct thc
agnosuc's
1n·
cis1ve
reasontng.
Butl
most ass.uredty do
1101
pr.use ag.oosll·
asm
Be<:allSe
1
can
nell.hc-r
prai.se nor
re~
specl ognorance. And lhe agnostic. by h1>
own
dcfin1110n.
i$
ignorant.. He
docs
oot
know the an.s"' e:r
lO
tbt
mos.t
fundamental
qucsuon of human exi.stenee. And all tOO
oncn
and
tncredíbly- he.
is
proudor"'
At •
tJmt
whcn thc
••bote
human family
ts
perolou>ly perche<! on 1he brink or cosmo–
e-idc, the log.ically conststent
c:onclustons
of
the agnos11c sccm morbtdly out or place.
Humanity needs snsv..·ers.
Soon.
Good Advice
Can Be Bad
by
Davod
Anllon
We
h\-e
an a.n
•d\-Jl:C•JI'ttng "'CICt)
In
;1
,.ay. ad..
·en...
ang uw-lf
1s
uruoh~llcd
.td\ICC·
!1\on&.
Ad~
say. "Be sure lo pock up abo< or
brand X a1 1hc
~torc
the
next
umc vou
shop:· Or.
~•Test
dn..,e
.a
ncw
ea• .u
,~our
dcalers 1oday •• Or. ·•Try ot
you·u uu
1 '"'
But
ad..·crttlians
r\n't the
only
place we gel
..rree..
advace
Wc all tovc
h.l
give advicc to
our
fnend.)
\Ve
~a)'·
··oon't
worry so
much,
Joe 11 L<n'l good ror you"
··vou
ough1 10 gc•
somc rcsa,"
or ..
\Vhat
yo
u
nc:cd
to
do
IS
takc
a (,:ourse m
\pccd
rcttdmf-" And
on
and
on
or
cours.e. lhcrc are
t i me~
when advice
11¡
wantcd
and
nceded
Ir
.t
pcrwn comes
10
you
and
CISkS
for
advicc.
he will
probably
rec:eive your
Bdvu:t w1th
apprcctation and
cvaluace
il
carerully.
However. thcrc are umc40 whcn cven thc
bt$t adv1ct
•~
lllnppropriute. tol:lll)'
blod.s
communltállon,.
or.
wor~c
yet. ahen:ue) the
other
pan
y.
Let's t.akc un examplc. A
ch1ld
COI'ne:.. to
h1.s
parcnt
and <a)'\.
" 1
wash
"·e
rould
movc
10
anothcr
hou>e.'"
Ho"
m;;~ny
pJrent\
""ould
say. "\Vhy" Thos ts • b<•u11ru1 ncoghbor·
hood..
ant.l
thl$ hou..
c: '\
JU"'t
r1ght
for
our
ramoly And be>ode•. ol would <0\1 o lol of
mone)'
10
mo\·t
Plu~
O<id
1\
~o:l<hcr
to
h1s
v.ork here
"
h
m•ght
h.I\C
bcc:n
be:tter. ho"'cvcr.
to
8ELIEF IN llfE AFTfA OfATH
.....
No
No Ol)in•on
Un•led
St•res
73
18
8'
NCHWOV
54
25
21
Nttne.-lands
50
35
15
s~·u-'and
so
41
8
Wu1 Gt'trn.tny 4
t
45
14
Gru1 8n"'n
38
35
27
Austha
38
56
6
Franc:e
35
53
12
tG...,....,_.._I.'"t.ltA""
~-J~ t~l
have
'ilOpped
10
bk
thc
ob-..•ou.s quauoo.
"WJu·
do
you
wa.ot ro m.Q\c....
You
<1111
migh1 ge1 a
cry~
aru,.er. ·'Oh.
1
JUSI don'1l1le
il
around hcre.-
h~~~~
··vou don•a hle the net,s.hbor·
Chold· ••No. the neoghborhood
u
all
n&h•··
Parent: ..Wh:u don·c you
lite1..
Chold: "1 don·tlike !he tids.-
Now
•e are: !etung 10 the
real
problem
Thc
}'oung>ter
LS no1
gcuing aJons wath
h1s
rncnds. Surtl} h<re IS 1hc place ror
good
odfl~.
or
ai:
1r'
··wen. you\·e
JUSI go1
to be n..i<itr to
your
fnends:· you eould r<pl). Or JOU nugh1 add.
"You bcuer
not
be so
selfis.h:~
or ..Wcll.
1f
they
don't
wanc
you
to
play
"-Íih
l hcm.JUSl
forg.et
.;cbout them
and
come in and play
"'tlh
yourown
thtngs."
Chnnce$ are wi th ad...icc like that
you
w1ll
)Ce
l.'t
Chrtngc orexpress-ion On lhe child's face
-a
change 10 ruulity. For thc advice Mili has
n<H oome :u
the
appropriate time aod has
not
been
aske:d
for.
What
as ntctlcd
in
this instance
before
ad·
v1u 1\
undcrstandíng.
lt's 100 easy just 10 givc advice. But
whcn
renl understanding rakes place, advicc IS
\Ometimcs not cven
necded.
Thc
troubled
rttrty
may
collect
h1S
lhougblS
and work
thmg~
out for
hímself.
thaoks to 'I:'Our under·
<;:tnndtng
help.
When
he knOW$ that
you
un~
dcrsloand.
he ma)' as}. for
your
advtce. Then
your good advi"' woll be good and will be
apprtcl.lltd 8u1 before
you
undC'rst~nd
thc
other person and
h~
satu.HJOn. and bcfore
)'óUr ad..·Jce has bten a<kc:d for. your ..good
~d\H:e-
can
bt b3d!
O
00 YOU BELIEVE IN •
.1
Y
os
No
No
opiMon
God
98
2
o
H-
85
11
4
lrfe
Aftet
Oearh
73
19
8
HoiO
65
29
6
n-.o...•
60
35
5
Retncarn.t.on
20
64
16
NOTE
The U
S
leads
all olhet naltOnS tn
an me above
bel•efs.
t•ceptJno
the
non-
btbl.e.t
retnearnaoon ••
Greece
tS '"
teCOftCI
.,.
...
te-n.,..,,~.
··wHICH
1S ..
YOUR VIEW OF LIFE AFTER DEATH7'•
1 don ' bcl•eve
thet
therc
tt
hft after death
1
am unsure
whether or not
thtrt ••
.
Femah~
15%
17
M•le
18%
16
1 belleve 1here muse bo
someth•no
beyond doath.
but
heve
no
•dee
what
11 •s
hko
...
31
28
There l$ lifo aher detuh. but no punishmonr
Thoro
t$
hfo ohor dotuh. w11h
rowords
for some
and puntshmonl for othors
3
16
13
5
14
10
9
Reincarn&ttOO
UI<Pr'OSSt$
my
VIOW
Nono
of lho
above
Whertt
h
che Answtr?
E
ven
tbe
most
casual
hrsH1mc
reader of
1tus
publicauon
know)
wherc the answer C3n
be
round
We do not want 10 be crHe - but
do
want tO prc.scnt
thc
truth
The
an.swcr ts. afltr aH. m the Btble. Few
bobhcal d<>clnnes are more: plaonly provable
rl\an thc
answer
to
ahc ...
,ncr~death"
ques·
toon or <OUik. •kepucs
dehg~·
on poonlong
out that many use lhc Btble 10 JU.)IIf)' :tn)
doetnnc
th.at
can be concoc:&cd Trut! But
whcrc docs lhc (auJt he wtlh 1hc Sable or
w11h
the
mdavtdual-a·ho
uses u
an
an
auemp1
10
¡usury personolly h<ld belo.rs•
lel lhc Doble !Olerprtl ol<elr The IS$Ue
u_ndcr coru:i<krauoo a.s
1he
qunuon or
hfe
afitr dc:ath. Here scnp1ure
a:t
dtar
When a human beon¡ do<>. he os
J.ad -
,.hoc:h means 1hat hu body. mond and >Oul
are dead. He Slmply
SIOJ'S
beon&. He be·
eom<s as d<ad as the eanh uscM
uuerl)
withouc any
though"
or remembrance of
prevoous 1ore (Pulm 6:S: 146·4). He has no
COI\I<IOUSO<SS
whaCSO<\'tr (Eccl 9;S). (A
6
complete
S~udy
or
this
question
is
avatlable
m
our
booklct.
Do YQu
Ha,,~
An lmmorttJI
Soul~)
Y
e1
1here is. indeed. a life aner death.
lt
ís
dascussed
1hroughou1
the
Bibte.
h 1s as
sure
as che ris•ng of
)'~St~rdayS
$Un.
h
will
occur
at
1he
rrsurr~cllon
(Psalm
17:
IS; Job
14:14. tiC.).
According
to lhis
biblk:al
re..
'Ciauon~
the
resurrecuon
1$
10 take place at
lhe
MCMiab·s
oom1ng (1
Thes.
4:14-17: 1 Cor.
IS:SI·S4).
lñeft' ISsull
another resu.tTCCI.ion a
lhousand
years
lal<r
(Rev. 20:
1~).
(For furlher de·
tatll
.,.·ntc
for lhe booklel
Af"r
IÑalh . TltM Wltm?)
And finally. when God's plan ror lh!S
pr<$<0nl eat1h has been compleled, ••then
shall be broughl 10
pass
lh< saying 1ha1
is
,.·riuen. Oeath
is
s-'a.Uowed
up in
vletory."'
or
a>
Ooocl>peed 1nonsla1es iL ••dealh has
been lnumphanllydestroyed·· (1 Cor.
IS:S4).
This as
1he
rt\·clatlon
of God lO man
about hfc afler
dealh.
lt
l$
surc!
(Luckily.
Ood doesn·• eortsull opinion polls!) o
15