Is there another life after death?

Abelardo N. Navarro

The best proof of another life after this one is Jesus Christ. One thing and one thing only can explain it: His disciples had encountered the real, solid, bodily-resurrected Jesus Christ. Not a hallucination. Not mass hypnosis. Not looking in the wrong tomb or any other silly excuse. If this miracle was just made up, it would have been unmasked quickly. Christianity would not have grown so rapidly in the first century. His disciples would not have given up their lives for a lie. That is simply not human nature.

Christ’s hand-picked disciples were humiliated, beaten, crucified, sawn in half, fed to wild animals and suffered numerous atrocities because of their belief in the resurrection. The flesh and blood risen Christ was also seen and touched by more than 500 people. (1 Corinthians 15, 6). That's why the resurrection story could not be silenced. That's why Christianity continues to grow today.

Nature also gives us ample evidence of another life after this one. A seed dies and becomes a tree. A larva dies and becomes a beautiful butterfly. Metamorphosis is defined as a transformation, a marked change in appearance, character, condition, or function. Isn’t that how the second life is described in the Bible?

Please pause for a moment and reflect on how you can live a more courageous life. Courage in its purest form means making a stand for love -- love of God, neighbor and self. Don't miss out on the last one.

"Let nothing disturb you, nothing affright you. All things are passing; God never changes. Patient endurance attains to all things. Nothing is wanting to him who possesses God. Alone God suffices."

St. Teresa of Avila

Making Sense of Suffering and Evil

Abelardo N. Navarro

Evil and suffering is not a disproof of God, but a constant reminder of our need for the perfect God of the Bible (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).

God did not create a perfect world. The more perfect exists alongside the imperfect. Nature has both constructive and destructive forces. Physical good will always be mixed with physical evil until creation reaches perfection. God created the world in a state of journeying so that we could be his co-creators in perfecting our world.

Suffering is a call to love one another. It is also our ticket to heaven. Much of the evil and suffering in our world is due to our failure to heed the commandment to love one another. Our love not only heals and nourishes those who suffer but also redeems us. Suffering then is a necessary part of life because without it we would be like spoiled children not truly loving God out of our own free will.

“We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” – Romans 5, 3-4

That is why God does not seem to interfere in our lives. He has a plan to get us to heaven and he does not want to make changes in that plan unless something goes wrong. But we certainly can (and should) pray that this plan includes the special favors that we ask of Him. His plan takes into account all of the free-will choices that we make, including how much we pray and how diligently we try to follow His commands. By all means talk to God all the time about a happier life here on earth.

The late President Corazon C. Aquino was a good model of this type of faith. She often said, “Gawain mo lahat ang makakaya mo at kung kulang iyon hayaan mo na ang Dios na magpuno noon.” (Do your best and let God take care of the rest.)

For more information about this subject, please go to this link and read paragraph 272 and following.
http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect2chpt1art1p3.shtml

Has Science Discovered God?

Abelardo N. Navarro

A Reflection

In my cyberspace ministry, I am often asked questions like: Can God create a rock so big He cannot lift it? How come your God can not restore an amputated limb? Why does your God demand the death of so many people in the Bible? And other similar questions which made me think.

It seems to me, many people have acquired wrong concepts of God and how He works in our lives. Much evil in the world, especially physical evil, results from the limited kind of universe we live. God did not create a perfect world although he could have done that. Instead, God chose to create a world in a state of journeying so that we could be co-creators in "perfecting" our world.

We suffer, get sick, meet an accident simply because God cannot change the biological and physical laws He created. For example, if God restored an amputee’s limb how will He answer the prayer of a prosthetics doctor for patients? If I ask God to give me clear weather tomorrow because my grandson will have a birthday party, how will God respond to the farmer praying for rain on the other side of the mountain? If a coconut is about to hit me, God will not change the laws of gravity so that I will not be hit by that nut. If He did, we would have a worldwide catastrophe.

God is also not a cosmic bellboy at our beck and call. He is also not a babysitter because God does not want us to be spoiled children. He has given us everything so that we can live in peace and be happy. If we have problems they are largely of our own making. Like a good Father, God wants us to solve our problems, but we certainly can (and should) pray for guidance and a happier life.

Still, atheists insist: “your God’s contradictory characteristics make it impossible for Him to exist.” Albert Einstein, the greatest mind the world has ever known, wrote in his book "The World As I See It" that the harmony of natural law "reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection." He went on to write, "Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe--a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble."

A very persuasuve statement, indeed. Why did Einstein say that? Simply because our universe could not have been created by chance. The force behind the Big Bang, something physicists call "the Dark Energy Term" had to be accurate to one part in ten with 120 zeros. If you wrote this as a decimal, the number would look like this:
0.000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000
0000000000000000000000000000001

But the best proof God exists is Jesus Christ himself, the Word of God who became flesh, and the revealer of God. God the Father sent Jesus not only to redeem man. He was also sent so that we have no excuse for disbelieving. What human can:

Silence a typhoon?
Walk on water?
Multiply a few loaves of bread and fish in order to feed a multitude of 5,000?
Bring dead people back to life?
Give sight to people born blind?
Change water into wine?
Rise from the dead?

These miracles demonstrate Christ's power over life and death and the forces of nature. Only a God can have such powers. And if these miracles were just made up, Christianity would not have grown rapidly in the first century. His disciples would not have risked their lives for a bunch of lies. That simply is not human nature. One thing and one thing only can explain it: These men had encountered the real, solid, bodily-resurrected Jesus Christ. Not a hallucination. Not mass hypnosis. Not looking in the wrong tomb or any other silly excuse. The flesh and blood risen Christ was seen and touched by more than 500 people. (1 Corinthians 15,6). That's why the resurrection story could not be silenced.

After his conversion from atheism St. Augustine said “our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.” God wants to show how much He loves and cares for you. Humbly seek God and you too will find Him.

"Let nothing disturb you, nothing affright you. All things are passing; God never changes. Patient endurance attains to all things. Nothing is wanting to him who possesses God. Alone God suffices." ~ St. Teresa of Avila


References:
CosmicFootprints.com
New American Study Bible
Posted by Abel at 1:20 PM
Labels: Atheism, Scientific proof of God, Understanding Suffering and Evil
4 comments:
Eufrocino Mania, Jr. said...
Nice going, Abel!

October 2, 2009 3:08 PM
Abel said...
Thanks Jun, appreciate it!

October 3, 2009 4:29 AM
Jerryd said...
I share most of your views. I differ perhaps slightly in my belief that God created a perfect world ("He saw that it was good"), a position that is much harder to defend in view of suffering. I believe that man's view is so narrow and limited such that we will only appreciate God's perfection to the fullest once we see Him "face to face".

October 4, 2009 4:37 AM
Abel said...
Jerry, In my other blog, "Making Sense of Suffering and Evil," I said the destructive and constructive forces of nature are still with us; therefore, the world God created is not perfect. The world we live in will become perfect when the prophecy in the book of Revelation comes to pass. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.." Also, the word 'good' does not necessarily mean perfect. Jerry, I am so glad to hear from you again. God bless!

October 4, 2009 4:56 AM