Resurrection

What is “resurrection”? Is it the same thing as eternal life? Does anything in Dr. Ward’s presentation make it easier for you to believe in the possibility of a life beyond death?

The video in our class material states that death is the way to life. This is resurrection – life that follows death. It can be the glorious resurrection of Jesus, but there are other ways we experience resurrection. When my mother-in-law died from the effects of Alzheimer’s, we met with our pastor as he was planning the funeral. He asked us questions about her, and the conversation brought her back to life in the room with us. I don’t mean that she came back to physical life, but the memories of her – her photography, her lists, her lively existence with us – was returned to us as we talked to our pastor. It felt like a resurrection. Death bringing life.  It isn’t always the same thing as eternal life, although it can be, as it will be (we hope in our faith) for us.

 

As I think about the universe Dr. Ward explains – matter created and held together in the mind of God – I can see how eternal life with God could work (or at least a little bit). We won’t be the people we are now (Jesus tells us that), but we will be the children of God that God created, existing in the consciousness of God, like the universe. Of course, that is also the case now, as we exist in this world.