It seems like a lot of people are dying these days.  In fact, the death rate is pretty constant, about 150,000 people per day worldwide.  But it does seem like an unusual number of famous people are dying, including one whose televised memorial service attracted an audience of around a billion people.  

What do you think about when you think about the death of someone you know, whether a personal acquaintance or a public person?  Probably a variety of things.  You think about death itself, which usually brings out sorrow because the person you know or admire is no longer here.  But you also think about life and all of the good things the person did.  This is where sorrow gives way to joy.

If you're like most people, you also think about life after death, also known as immortality.  Even people with no formalized belief system have this nagging suspicion that there's something beyond this life.  Others are confident that immortality is a given.  But does anyone really know?  How can you possibly prove something that is immaterial and beyond our ability to measure?  To put it another way, is it possible to find evidence for immortality?  Actually, it is. Maybe not hard evidence, but evidence nonetheless.

The first piece of evidence for immortality is based on the existence of God.  Simply put, if God exists, then immortality exists.  Just like miracles are what you would expect from a supernatural God, immortality is what you would expect from an eternal God.  If you have good reason to believe that a supernatural, eternal God exists, then it’s reasonable to believe that immortality exists.

In their book, Beyond Death, J.P. Moreland and Gary Habermas list four arguments based on God’s existence that help make the case for immortality.

Divine imprint.  The Bible tells us that God created humans in His image (imago dei).  Obviously, this doesn’t mean we look like God (impossible since God is spirit), but we do share some of His qualities.  One of these qualities has to do with God’s dwelling place.  “Heaven is a suitable place for a being like God,” write Moreland and Habermas.  “Perhaps we are like God in this respect.  We were meant to live a type of life suited for a heavenly mode of existence.”  Maybe this is what the apostle Paul had in mind: 

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives (Philippians 3:20).

Divine justice.  Another quality we share with God is justice.  All humans have a sense of justice.  We want justice to be done when someone has wronged someone else (especially what that someone else is us).  Yet on this earth, we see a great deal of injustice and inequity.  Justice isn’t always done.  If God is completely and infinitely just, He must deal with injustice.  We know He isn’t dealing with all injustice in this mortal life, so we can reasonably believe He will take care of injustice in the life to come.

Divine love.  As beings created in God’s image, we know what it’s like to love and be loved.  This argument says that an infinitely loving God wants the best for His created beings.  For humans, the best is a relationship with their Creator that goes on forever.  Besides, God has placed in each person a desire for eternity and immortality: 

God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Divine revelation.  This argument simply says that if God exists, and the Bible is His trustworthy message to humanity, and if the Bible contains God’s revelation that all people will live forever, then we can take God at His word.  

The arguments from God’s existence are great if you already believe in God.  But what if you don’t buy into Christian theism?  Is there any evidence for immortality apart from that worldview?  Moreland and Habermas talk about several, including documented cases of Near Death Experiences (or NDEs), such as the vivid description offered by Don Piper in his book, 90 Minutes in Heaven. 

In our view, one piece of evidence stands out above the others.  It’s called the argument from desire, and one of its greatest advocates is C.S. Lewis.  According to Lewis, every person desires heaven, although that desire can be hidden.  He writes:  “Sometimes we desire lesser, finite goods (such as beauty), but these are symbols of and pointers to the transtemporal, transfinite good that is our real destiny.  The desire for heaven is a desire that no natural happiness will satisfy."

What about you?  Do you believe in immortality?  Why or why not?  What thoughts do you have when you hear about the death of someone you know?  Do you ever think about your own death?  On a scale of one to ten, how strong is your desire for heaven?