The Fault in Our Stars - thoughts, part II

Saturday night I shared some random thoughts on The Fault in Our Stars. You might say it was my review, of both the book and the movie.

I left one topic for a separate blog post though, mainly because it tied so closely to two recent posts and so I wanted it to get top billing, so to speak. That topic was a conversation between Hazel and Augustus about the afterlife. The conversation was in both the book and the movie.

Here is the context for the conversation:.

Augustus, Hazel, and Hazel's mom have traveled to Amsterdam to meet the author of a book that Hazel loves. The book about cancer and death rings true, and since Hazel has terminal cancer (not a spoiler - we know this from the first moments of the story) she wants to ask the author some questions about the ending. So, as she and Augustus are at dinner in a luxurious romantic restaurant in Amsterdam, Augustus asks her about whether she believes in an afterlife. Obviously, this is not just hypothetical speculation for them.

The conversation went something like this: Hazel thinks that forever is an incorrect concept. After a little joking, she first says a short no - no afterlife. Then she wavers, admitting she's not sure. The Augustus gives his thoughts: yes, absolutely. And then he elaborates, and this is the part I want to focus on:

Yes. Yes, absolutely. Not like a heaven where you ride unicorns, play harps, and live in a mansion made of clouds. But yes, I believe in Something with a capital S. Always have.

- The Fault in Our Stars, p. 168.

Now, I didn't expect the characters in this story to believe in a Biblical picture of heaven. It's not that kind of story. But his comments are telling.

They tell me a lot about what the world thinks a Christian view of heaven is. In summing up what he does not believe in, Augustus mentions several things that I think are the typical picture of heaven. This is the picture reinforced in movies and books such as Heaven Is for Real, and in the tendency of people to imagine their loved ones in a heaven that they have fashioned from their own minds. I don't know where the image comes from, because it's not Scripture.

So Augustus, I agree with you: The true heaven is not a place where you ride unicorns, play harps, or live in the clouds. It's also not just a place for our spirits to live forever. People do not become angels. And it's not just floating around in the light feeling happy and singing hymns.

So what is that "Something with a capital S"? This is the picture painted by Scripture: Jesus rose physically from the dead, preceding those of us who believe in him and will be raised one day. When a believer dies, he/she is in the presence of Christ right away, but that's not the end of the story. When the Messiah returns to the earth, he will redeem it, bring heaven and earth together in one reality, and we will reign over the redeemed creation with him forever. Nothing about harps. No unicorns. Just a world where man will bear the image of God forever, as we were originally intended to do. And it will be all about him, not us. It's going to be awesome!

It's soooooo much better than the images that Augustus rejects. No wonder people don't get more excited about it than they do. But if they had a true picture....oh yeah!

I love that a book like The Fault of Our Stars raises these hard questions. The skepticism of Hazel and Augustus reflects the uncertainty of our day. Stories like this make us examine life and question where our beliefs come from. Jesus came to bring us the answers to these hard questions. And that is good news.
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References for further reading:

Surprised by Hope - NT Wright

Heaven - Randy Alcorn

Resurrection

What would you do if someone you loved suddenly came back from the dead? 32 years later? Without having aged at all?

That is the premise of ABC's new drama Resurrection, which debuted last night. Eight-year-old Jacob Langston, who had drowned 32 years and was apparently dead and buried, suddenly shows up at his parents' doorstep after having woken up in China with no memory of anything since his death.

Talk about a shock!

The doctor (Jacob's cousin) finds that his heart really is beating.

Jacob's return stirs up all kinds of emotions, as you can imagine. His mother is beside herself with joy at the miracle. His father seems to be conflicted, not knowing whether to believe it. His best friend, now a minister, is questioning what it means for his faith and what he teaches at church. And the local sheriff, whose wife drowned trying to save Jacob, is very interested in the mystery.

A pretty intriguing plot, and I must say I enjoyed watching the pilot.

I saw today that the premiere drew very strong ratings, with 13.3 million viewers and the highest 18-49 rating for a mid-season series premiere in about two years. Obviously, the idea of the dead coming back to life is something that grabs our attention.

This is the great hope of Easter: Not that there is some vague afterlife where we float around on clouds, but that because Jesus rose bodily from the grave, he has paved the way for us to follow him in resurrection.

That is why he told his friend Martha, just before raising her brother Lazarus from the dead, "I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in me will live, even though they die." (John 11:25)

It is noteworthy that the resurrection of Lazarus that shortly followed was much like the characters of the new show - complete and physical, yet temporary. Lazarus was fully alive, but he would die again. Not like the resurrection of Jesus and the promise of the future - complete, physical, and eternal.

Death is a horrible thing. It is the ultimate enemy, and it can rob us of our happiness at a moment's notice. When we see a show where death loses its grip, that's something we want to see. I know it's why I tuned in last night. And why I'll watch again.

Death has lost its grip. It lost its grip, its sting, its victory at the tomb of Jesus.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to Go! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

- Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

What a thing to celebrate...I can't wait for April 20, when the Christian calendar will call us all to rejoice in the.... Resurrection.

What's next?

A little over two weeks ago, on a Sunday afternoon, I got the word that actor Philip Seymour Hoffman had died at age 46. He was a brilliant actor who enabled the telling of many stories. From all accounts, he was not only talented but also a devoted father - one who successfully fought off the demons of addiction for much of his life, but succumbed at the end. He will be missed.

But in this post I want to touch on a statement that was made at the end of People Magazine's article on his death. Not because it says anything about Mr. Hoffman, but because it says a heck of a lot about the way we look at death.

At the end of the article, his friend and former director Matthew Warchus made this statement: "All I can think is that he's sitting up there and giving one of his dark, big chuckles."

Sitting up there.
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All through human history, man has believed that there is something after death. For most, this belief involves some esoteric spiritual existence that is totally unrelated to our physical life on earth. And most believe that it is going to be a good thing. According to a book by Sam Storms, more than 80% of Americans believe in an afterlife, with another 9% saying they aren't sure. 76% believe heaven exists and almost that many, 71%, believe there is a hell. But here is the amazing part: Despite that, less than 1% believe that they are going to end up in hell. Almost all believe that they will somehow be "sitting up there."

This would lead you believe that most of our opinions about the afterlife are wishful thinking - as agnostics and atheists would affirm.

Former Mars Hill pastor Rob Bell seems to agree with this sentiment. It is affirmed in almost every discussion of someone who has passed on, just as with Mr. Hoffman. The 1974 Righteous Brothers hit Rock and Roll Heaven memorialized music greats Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, Jim Croce, and Bobby Darin with the lyrics…

If you believe in forever, then life is just a one night stand.

If there's a rock and roll heaven, well, you know they've got a h--- of a band.

(Yes, it is a clever twist of words on the two destinations.)

Yep, we fashion heaven to fit our own world view. Wishful thinking, right?
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So it is into this world of uncertainty and wishful thinking about an afterlife that Jesus of Nazareth bursts onto the scene. During his three-year ministry, he proclaimed that he would do something radical. He did not proclaim that when he died his spirit would mysteriously go to a better place. Not even close.

The message of Jesus was that after dying a sacrificial death he would physically rise from the dead and live forever. Furthermore, he would be the first fruits of his followers. The hope of the Christian faith is that because Jesus physically rose from the dead, we will do the same.  Heaven and earth will meet and God will dwell among his people forever.

And then he did it!

The hope of the Christian faith is not that our spirits will live on after we die. Most of the world, Christian or not, believes that. No! Our hope is that, while we will be in God's presence when we die, that is just the beginning. Because he lives, we will live too. We will participate in his resurrection.

How different this is from a vague belief in an afterlife. It is a specific faith in a specific future based on a specific historical event.

He is risen. And so we will rise as well if we place our trust in him.

It can't come too soon.


What do you believe about death? Is it comforting to have so many different opinions? Or does it cause you to question the concept? How is Jesus' message different from the common belief?