Throughout history, philosophers and theologians have debated two specific questions: What happens to one’s soul after death? and What happens to one’s body after death? Perhaps these aren’t the top two questions that come to your mind, but they are relevant to our daily lives. If you have a loved one who is slowly dying of cancer, you know that his or her body is decaying. It’s not what it used to be. You want to have certainty that, for your friend or family member, wholeness and life and hope exist beyond the grave.

Throughout history, great thinkers have talked about life after death. Even though Socrates (and Plato) had confidence that the human soul lives on, their devout followers had no proof that whether their teaching was correct. In addition, most of these philosophers and spiritual teachers, though they spoke a some truth, had a negative view of the physical body. Plato thought that the body was a prison that the soul was anxiously waiting to escape―just like a bird trapped in a cage, desperately wanting to escape and soar through a bright blue sky.