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It
is one thing to believe in the existence of God and it is another to believe in
the reality of the afterlife. Not because one believes in God doesn't mean that his belief automatically translate
to a belief in the existence of the afterlife-heaven and hell. One should think
that there should never be a polarization of a belief in God's existence and a
belief in heaven or hell. Yet, a notorious atheist who claimed he believed in
God’s existence made the distinction clear.
As
I was reading a book There is a God: How
the world’s most notorious atheist changed his mind by Antony Flew, I was
shocked by the claimed he made. Flew was 81 years old when he accepted the
belief in the existence of God. He was a philosopher and a professional
atheist. In fact, his works have been reprinted, and his teachings have
dominated the 21st century atheism. For him to declare that he now
believed in God is a big blow to atheism. Nevertheless, many atheists do not
believe that Flew truly changed his mind about God's existence. Those in the
atheism camp criticized Flew’s confession merely the result of an old age or the inevitable effect of senility. Others think that this
nearing death scenario and the anticipation that he will eventually meet his Creator made him change his thoughts.
Although
Flew confessed that there must be an intelligent designer of the universe, he
denied the existence of the afterlife, the Bible-special revelation, and the
other arguments on the existence of God. In short, he is not a Christian
according to our definition of the term. He does not believe that God intervenes in the
affair of people, and that he believes only in God's existence based on the argument
that there must be intelligent designer of the universe, but does not believe
the Bible and other doctrine we Christians believe.
Not because you believe that there
is God doesn't mean you also believe that there is heaven and hell. Is there really heaven and hell? What if there is no heaven and there’s no hell? But what if there is really a hell?
Those
who believe in the Bible should also believe that there is life after death; not everyone does. Even evangelical Christians who believe the Bible define hell
differently. The traditional teaching that hell is a literal and an everlasting fire of torment is being challenged by younger thinkers, even in the evangelical camp.
Does
it matter if one believes in hell or not? For others, it does matter. As a
matter of fact, many people became Christians as a result of selfish desire to
escape hell and gain the eternal bliss of heaven. It does matter to those who are passionate about evangelism and soul-winning; the thought about eternal fire in hell fuels their passion reach one more for Jesus.
Fortunately, many of those who believe in God and the afterlife live their life day-after-day as if God and afterlife do not exist!
