Join the Discussion | With Eyes Open

I was disappointed that the prevailing Christian view was not presented. The Methodist minister did not give a clear Christian view on heaven. To have a Budist and a Jew discussing this issue in a predominately Christian culture was surprising. Regarding your questions, the Bible tells us that for the Christian to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Jesus told his disciples just before his death that He was going to prepare a place for them to live with him forever. And what do I want to hear? "Well done, good and faithful servant." Fortunately, my 'well done' does not depend on my works, but on the work of Christ on the cross. "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I own."

To respond to Wolpe quote. I believe in an afterlife, Scripture says absent from the body is to be present with the Lord! So you shut your eyes in this world and open them in Heaven. So! The only way this is possible is to listen to wisdom of Bible which also says, The only way to the Father(God) is through the Son(Jesus). Coming in the form of a man to take on the sins of this world, because we cannot cleanse ourselves...only through the Sacrifice of the blood of Jesus, the sacrificial lamb they use to offer of Old Test. has now comes as a human offering for sinful man, to redeem us so we can be saved from death and hell and pass on to the Father in Heaven. We can never deserve Heaven of ourselves, that is why Jesus blood was shed for us. For our deeds are as filthy rags, we can never deserve redemption...we get Grace and Mercy to look to at our time of departing.

So as Wolpe says, live as though you deserve an afterlife...I say live as though you deserve it only because of what Jesus has done to make it possible. Give God the Glory!!!! We must accept this gift...of eternal life now before we die, choosing Jesus to reign in our hearts so by the power of the Holy Spirit we may be able to be helped to live this Kingdom living here on earth...apart from Jesus we can do nothing...nothing of eternal good!!! Thank you!

thank you so much for having a buddhist and a rabbi as the main presenters. both these minority religions have so much to offer and so much in common with the more familiar faiths.

First of all I want to say that this is a very important topic that we all need to address and resolve on some level. My favorite uncle died about a year ago and I must say it changed me a lot. I feel like I was day-dreaming and now I'm fully awake, with eyes wide-open. We need to talk about this topic a lot more than what we actually do. I believe in a specific kind of after life because I believe in God and in the religion of Islam. I believe in the existence of heaven and hell.

For those who believe that we will just disappear without a trace I tell you, look at this Universe and look at how human beings are so unique. Yes we are unique even though we don't want to admit it! We are the only beings on this earth that even think about such things as life after death, and can articulate our thoughts. There must be One God who created us and our spirits and intellect and He will judge us once we die on how we used all those things He gave us. For those of you who are scared of death, I say life is a test if you are not very well prepared you won't like the possiblity of failing, but if you've done a good job then you would be looking forward to the reward from God.

For those of you who think that dead relatives are looking after you, I tell you God is The-Most-Powerful, and he is looking out for everybody, be they dead of alive. May He have mercy on us all. Upon my arrival to Heaven, God-willing, I would like to hear the Islamic greeting "God's peace be unto you, and His mercy and blessings". Then I will hopefully be directed to take my place among the believers in God.

I enjoyed the last w/eyes open.I didnt get to watch all the sessions but i did tape them.I was dissapointed you did not have a catholic priest or deacon to talk about the catholic view(and some protestants) on purgatory i believe in the existance of purgatory where the effects of sin are purged(not the sins)but the risidual stains of sins depending on how we die either in the state of grace or not.Suffering is still a mystery to us and there could be redemptive value when we suffer while we are still alive.This does not mean we can not avail ourselves of good pain mngm. and care.My mom passed away june 10 1998 in a conv hosp. and she was under the Hospice plan for cancer and after watching the series i realize after i signed all the paperwork to ok the plan for my mom not much changed in her care other than a call to a hospice nurse outside the conv hospital.My sis and my bro had to pitch in and help w/her care every day otherwise she would be neglected some of the time.

I was disappointed in the Buddhist guy that was on the last show. At first I thought that he and the Rabbi were so open and kind, and accepting of other people's religions or realities. Then he smugly attacks my belief system, even laughing while he does it. What he attacked was the idea that we turn into nothing when we die. That is not exactly my belief, but very nearly. I believe we are very complex biological machines. Our consciousness is a result of electro-chemical reactions in our brains. When we die, those reactions stop. I have looked at many religions and belief systems, none so far have helped me make sense of this world.

Buddhism was one that I thought I might be interested in until I heard the Buddhist man speak in the same disrespectful, intolerant tone that I have heard so many times before. Anne in Oregon, I can relate somewhat to your feelings. I do not so much feel a void though. I feel more comfortable with the concrete, here and now. I have faith in science to explain some of the things we don't understand now. We once didn't know what thunder and lightning was. I am also getting more comfortable with the idea that we may not have an explanation for other things in my lifetime.

I envision Heaven as a kind of "cocktail party," one you enter as you leave this life. As you walk out the door of life, you enter a door. In the room a noisy, happy party is going on. Standing around talking and having a wonderful time are all the people you ever knew, ones you loved and ones you hated, or at least resented. They greet you with cheers and joy, happy you are with them at the party at last. And as you see each one, you understand why they were in your life and why they did what they did to you and with you, why you needed them and why they needed you, and then you understand everything. All is forgiven, all resentments vanish. You join the celebrants in the great celestial party.

I thought both Dr. Thurman and Rabbi Wolpe both agreed with the concept of life as a place/time of learning. A journey. A way to gain higher conciousness. They also both seemed to belive in an afterlife that had both rewards and punishments based on your choices. How you evolved next had to do with what you had done on earth. In this conciousness. If life is a learning journey, how can that be rewarded or punished? Often while learning something, a person makes mistakes. And they learn BEST from mistakes. So I question this theory and would like to hear more. I think I may be missing something important in the thread of this conversation.

My mother passed away 9 years ago of Cancer. She had been in extreme pain and was made to be as comfortable as possible with the help of Hospice. She was on a continous morophine drip making her pretty much incapable of verbal communication. While in the room with her I heard her quietly say something about "angels" I went to her and said "oh, Mama, you are dreaming about angels" she turned her face to me and said in sobering clarity "coming to pick me up.......soon." then she turned her head away and closed her eyes and went back into peaceful sleep. My best friend.."my mother" left us just two days later. The angels she spoke of came to retrieve her just as they had promised. I know this...yes I believe in afterlife...I believe that I will walk and talk and laugh again with her wonderful spirit in the presence of our Lord.

For many years I have been aclimated to death.When I was 6 mnths. old my brother, who used to climb into my crib and hold me, died an early death suddenly of mennigitis. In the past three years I have survived the death of my Father in law (Who I cared for while dying in my home), My Brother, and my Father who both died suddenly. It's very hard for me to explain what happenend when my Father and Brother died without people getting a "whoooo" feeling. When my Brother died, I had a dream. In my dream we were flying. My Brother was showing me places he had told me about the day before he died that he wanted to take me to.

I was astonished when I awoke early in the morning (always having been a late sleeper) I suddenly new with a great urgency what I needed to tell my Brother that would finally help. Four hours later I found he was killed in a car accident. Nobody will ever be able to convince me that my Brother was not connecting to me on his way to another reality.

A year later, I was at work. I was giving meds at the nursing home where I had worked for the past 3 yrs. Suddenly I felt the urge to defecate, it was so strong, I had to run to the toilet and thought I must have a virus except, while I was in the bathroom, I cried "Daddy!". I had'nt called my Father Daddy since I was in first grade. This time I felt it from the very core of my being. Within 2 min. I got a call from my Husband then, my Mother , my Father had fallen ill and was on his way to the hospital. He was dead before I got there. I knew he would be.

I know all this sounds very tragic but, it's not. Before my Brother and Father died (The very last conversations I'd had with them) we told each other how much we loved and meant to each other. I am now convinced that our purpose on this plant is to let every one who touches our life know how much that touch means. It is true that opportunity is often masked in adversity. I know the most important lessons I have learned in my life, I learned while in great pain. I would'nt give those lessons up for anything. (Except maybe one more hug!)

I believe that the bible was written to provide rules and laws to prevent chaos in the world between humans and animals. I really want to be wrong, but I feel like the bible really gives me no choice but to obey the laws of the bible because if I don't I could go to hell forever. It's like the bible is black-mailing me to believe or else. Why would God create that kind of system. It really is not a choice or a "will", because who would choose hell?

I would really like an answer, if I am wrong I will embrace everything that is taught in the bible. I want there to be an afterlife, but will I even know I'm there. Will I Jamie be in heaven or does my soul go and Jamie is left behind? I know this sounds selfish, but if I cannot know that I am in heaven than what is the point if one goes to heaven or to hell because we would not have bliss or suffering if we did'nt know about it. Please respond.

I have written a book on death and dying based on the oldest religion on the planet--the Earth-based Goddess religion that preceded every major world religion. I was disappointed that your discussion on an afterlife was male-dominated and was only inclusive of the Judeo-Christian and Buddhist philosophy--all recent developments in a patriarchal ruling paradigm. An afterlife was always a part of the Goddess cultures--death and regeneration went hand-in-hand. The megalithic structures on Malta and in such places as Ireland reveal the Neolithic belief in an afterlife--a return to the womb of the Great Mother. My book is "Into the Arms of the Mother--Death and Regneration".

I think you would find information there that could widely expand your discussion on the afterlife. For instance, hell comes from the Norse Goddes "Hel", whose domain was a womb-like place for the dead to transform after death. There was nothing weird or scary about her place. She was the Goddess of the afterlife. Anyway, there is so much more information available on this subject, that I would truly like to engage Bill Moyers himself on it, as I thoroughly discuss changing the face of death in my book. I don't mean to just plug this book--though I am because I think it is very important to understanding the human condition of why we fear death so much. Thank you.

The Scriptures declare that there is an afterlife. In the Old Testament there is a passage where King David was mourning for the child that was born after his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. In that passage he was in deep mourning for the child, but when the child died he arose up from mourning and ate bread and declared to his servants, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me (II Samuel 12:23)."

In I Samuel 28: 11-15, King Saul had requested that the witch of Endor call forth Samuel the prophet, and when she did, she was startled because it was really Samuel and not a foreign spirit of the nether world. Hence, there is something presently real about an unseen world after death. The afore mentioned passage from II Samuel 12:23 is based upon David's faith in the Lord God of Israel.

In Psalms 68:19-20, David displays his faith by stating that the issues of salvation and death belong unto God the Lord. Note also that David states in Psalm 71:1-3 that salvation is not in our own capabilities but in God's righteousness within which we put our trust. Evolution is not mentioned in any way shape or form for man's salvation, rather revolution in our hearts due to the spiritual manifestation of the third person of the Godhead; namely, the Holy Spirit ( I Samuel 16:13 ), and David wrote in Psalm 109:26-27 that the salvation he had of God was by His mercy and saving hand and not of David's inner being or self. For God has made us and not we ourselves, as in accordance with Psalm 100:3.

I say all that to say this, that in the New Testament the Lord Jesus Christ spoke concerning the afterlife in some rather strong parables and illustrations to convey the seriousness of our necessity to prepare for the eventuality of death. He spoke more on Hell and the Judgment to come than He did of Heaven.

In Matthew 4:17 He preached that people should,"Repent: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." In Matthew 10:28 He reiterates the necessity of man to "fear him which is able to destroy both body and soul in Hell." When the Saducees argued about the resurrection and marriage in the afterlife in Matthew 22:23-33, he corrected them by telling them that their own ideas about Heaven were erroneous (see verse 29). The ultimate authority in any situation is that person who has the power of personal testimony by personal experience. In this situation, Jesus Christ is that Authority.

In John 14:6 He said,"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me." For whosoever will believe on Him will not perish but have everlasting life according to John 3:16. Assurance is also given in John 10:28-30 that when a person is saved in Christ that no man can pluck him out of Christ's hand or His Father's hand, because He and His Father are one. Jesus is the person whom David spoke of in Psalm 2:1-12 and Psalm 110:1 as being his Lord.

In summary,instead of groping your way to Heaven, I would much rather have a guide who has been there by experience; namely, Jesus Christ. Secondly, for men to approach God's place of abode in a selfish, presumptuous way of thinking is like a drunken man attempting to enter another man's house by his own rules of entry. The results could be embarrassing to disastrous. So it is with our souls, in that great care needs to be taken concerning our spiritual direction when we die . We need to trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not to our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).In confidence I can say that to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord (II Cor. 5:8-11). Can you? What would I like to hear upon my arrival in Heaven? How about " Well done thou good and faithful servant; ...enter thou into the joy of thy Lord (Matthew 25:23)."

I have just perused several of the comments from people. I was shocked by the overwelming majority of people who are certain there is an afterlife. I too have had three recent deaths in my family. My father, uncle and cousin. I grieve for their departures and I would like to wish for a happy reunion someday. But people need to wake up and smell the coffee. How many people have died over the history of the earth and how often do we make contact with any of them. Are all the aborted fetuses ever conceived now adults one some far off planet doing physics research. Come on people it is time in our human history to stop believing that thunder is throwns down by Zeus and that every tadpole is going to be resurected to life on as a great frog in all of eternity. It is a difficult to accept ones own mortality and to realize of of lifes struggles are but a passing of atoms in the great cosmos. All people would life to believe we will have that reunion and may people have and will find it unbearable to kill themselves will also go on to allow the religious right an outlet for their persecutional tendencies.

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