To understand death, we must first consider life. Where did life come from? Why are we here? What is our purpose? Are human beings any different from other living things? The answers are crucial if we are to grasp the big picture.
To understand death, we need to first consider: What is life? The
world's greatest thinkers, including the Greek philosophers Plato, Aristotle
and Socrates, have struggled with this question. Scientists and theologians
have dedicated lifetimes to trying to find the keys that unlock the mystery
of human existence.
But only the One who created life in the first place can supply the answers
we so desperately need. We must look at the very beginning of life to
understand it.
Religion, philosophy and science acknowledge that physical life had a
beginning. Some believe that life evolved over millennia. But the Bible
reveals a God who boldly claims that He is the Creator of all life and
that He created human life for a tremendous purpose. Through His Word,
God gives us His answers to life's most important questions.
Why human beings differ from animals
Much of humanity is familiar with the account in Genesis, the first book
of the Bible. Genesis simply means "beginning" or "origin." In
Genesis God reveals the origin of the forms of life we find on planet earth.
Notice what God says about human life in Genesis 1:26: "Let Us make man in
Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over
the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle,
over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth" (emphasis
added throughout). God intended that other forms of life be subject to
man as part of an extraordinary higher purpose for man.
