Stump the Pastor I: Howe

Question: Does the spirit go immediately to heaven upon dying?

Answer: This is a very difficult and emotional question. Let's begin by saying that all my responses (hopefully) will be based on what the Bible has to say about an issue. The problem with this question is that the Bible seems to say different things.

1 Thessalonians 4.16 says, "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first." The obvious implication is that Christians who have died will remain in the grave until the second coming of Jesus. At that time, when Jesus returns, Christians who have died will be resurrected. This passage seems to support an idea known as "soul sleep."

Another interesting passage to consider at this point, however, is Jesus' response to the thieves who were crucified with him. One joined in the jeering toward Jesus, but the other repented and asked for Jesus' forgiveness. To that thief Jesus said, "today you will be with Me in Paradise. (Luke 23.43).” Here we have to believe that the meaning is that upon death the Christian immediately goes to heaven.

I like to find a balance between the two. I believe that immediately upon death all people are judged by God. From the judgment, the spirits/souls of believers are taken to heaven. At the final return of Jesus our spirits will reclaim our bodies for eternity.

Q: Are we Jews or Gentiles? Are Jews going to heaven?

A: Strictly speaking, anyone who is not a descendant of Isaac, the son of Abraham is not Jewish. That means that most people are not Jewish. I am a gentile.

All people who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior will get to heaven. This includes Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and Atheists. Accepting Jesus is the only way that anyone gets to heaven though (John 14.6).

Q: Since judging others is a sin (Matthew 7.1), why do I often judge anyway when it feels like the other person is harming a loved one?

A: Our natural tendency is always to defend ourselves and those that we love. If you were to attack- verbally or otherwise- my family I would want to do everything in my power to come to their defense. I would want to protect and preserve them. The key is to defend without crossing the line into judging, or even worse. This is a very hard thing. Whatever the situation, we should always try to relate to others in love.

Q: As a Christian, how do you address the theory of creationism vs. evolution? Is it possible to combine science and religion?

A: To begin with, I do not believe that creation is a theory, at least in the sense that we think of scientific theories. Creation is a matter of faith. It cannot be proved or disproved. It must be believed or rejected.

There are two different stories of creation in the Bible. Genesis 1 tells about God creating the world in seven days. Genesis 2 does not give any sort of time frame, but it also includes the creation of a partner for man. The order of creating different animals, plants, etc., is different in the two chapters. Some people have even suggested that the two chapters were written by different writers. All of this leads me to believe that the details of "how" creation occurred are less important than the origin of the creation. Genesis 1.1 is true: " In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

If we are to look at the Biblical accounts of creation literally, we need to do a lot of work to reconcile the two stories. Additionally, there are a lot of things that are not addressed in these chapters. For example, Genesis does not tell us when Brontosaurus was created. I think that it is a lot safer to believe the truth that God created. It could be that he used evolution as the method of his creation, but God was the force behind the creation.