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The Quest for Immortality
by Gerhard Marx
In recent years major museums have played
host to a special exhibition that spotlights pre-Christian Chinese civilization.
The most spectacular facet of the exhibit features the concept of the afterlife and
to what extent the ancient Chinese tried to ensure their immortality. In an attempt
to thwart death, the Chinese, like the Egyptians before them, employed meticulous
methods in their quest for everlasting life.
Said The Times (London), which sponsored the exhibition at the British Museum:
"If the Chinese had not believed so passionately in the spirit world and the
afterlife, they would never have ensured that their tombs carried such resplendent
cargoes. The wealth of refined bronzes, jades and ceramics installed there testifies
to the importance of their faith in life after death" (Sept. 10, 1996).
The Times continued: "Avoiding death was all important. Another way this
might be achieved was by ensuring that the body was transformed into a light jade-like
substance, by following special diets and exercise regimes."
What Happens After Death?
As did the ancients, some moderns go to great lengths to hold onto life. Yet
no one can for long forestall the divine decree recorded in the creation epic: "For
dust you are, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19).
On the other hand, the Creator of the human race decreed a way to attain everlasting
life, a fail-safe formula for gaining eternal existence backed up by the highest
source of authority in the world, His own Word. A beauty of it is that this opportunity
is available as a gift to all, not just a select few.
God's Word records that the patriarch Job posed a poignant question about life and
death: "If a man dies, shall he live again?" Job's answer was unequivocal.
"All the days of my hard service will I wait, till my change come" (Job 14:14).
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