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They Seek to Defeat Death

MOST people find it hard to accept that death is the final state. Many prefer to believe that conscious life continues after death.

Many scientists may not believe this. Nevertheless, when faced with the fact of death, they seek “scientific” ways of prolonging man’s life. As the Bible says: “Time indefinite . . . [is] in their heart.”​—Eccl. 3:11.

Scientific Goals

Considerable research is carried out to discover the nature of life and the makeup of the living cell. Experiments on living human cells have shown that, under favorable conditions, they could exist indefinitely. Other research has shown that the DNA in almost every cell of any creature contains the data for that individual creature’s entire makeup.

On the basis of this, biologists are experimenting in gene transplants, or “cloning.” Some scientists feel that gene manipulation may be used to cure genetic diseases, to prolong life, and to make significant changes in man himself.

There are other theories that have proposed possibilities for defeating death. Some speak of brain transplants, suspended animation, reanimation. People have considered having their bodies fully preserved by being quick-frozen at death. They hope that scientists may find a way to reanimate them in the future.

Real Achievements

In contrast to theories for prolonging human life, medical research has produced some tangible results. Better hygiene has contributed to a lengthening of the life expectancy of people in general. Infant mortality has been reduced.

Improved methods of treating diseases have been developed, enabling patients to recover from illnesses that, not long ago, would have been fatal. Advances in medical technology, coupled with better understanding of the human organism, also have produced achievements in surgery that might have been thought impossible 40 years ago.

So it is that the life expectancy of millions of individuals has been lengthened. Yet mankind’s overall life-span has not increased. Even in countries with the highest standard of living, life expectancy is about 70 or 80 years. More than 3,000 years ago the Bible stated that “our years are seventy years; and if because of special mightiness they are eighty years, yet their insistence is on trouble.” That is still true today.​—Ps. 90:10.

Traditions That Seek to Defeat Death

But people try to soften the impact of that reality in various ways. Many think in terms of a supposed immortality of the human soul, of survival into a spirit world, and of going to heaven.

These beliefs are promoted by most religions. Churches of Christendom consider the doctrine that the soul survives into a spiritual zone as being central to their faith. While in some industrialized nations this belief is losing ground, in Central and South America, Africa and the Orient these beliefs are very strong.

For instance, Brazil is nominally a Roman Catholic country, and people in general have the Catholic ideas about life after death, of heaven, purgatory and hell. However, there is also the influence of African religions and some European spiritism. Images in the churches are identified with “saints” who are thought to have survived into the spirit world. Voodoo mediums are believed to be possessed by the spirits of African gods or ancestors. And throughout Africa there are fetishes, idols and charms that are associated with the spirits of the ancestors.

The Price They Pay

It is noteworthy that all these efforts to defeat death by clinging to traditions exact a price. Sometimes it is monetary. In other instances it is fear.

Christendom’s teaching of the immortality of the soul, for example, is accompanied by fear of hellfire. And those who believe in purgatory are taught that prayers must be offered for the release of the souls of their loved ones. But, of course, money is expected from those who want such services.

When someone in Northern Transvaal (Africa) dies, the relatives consult a witch doctor. Again, some payment is expected. The witch doctor is considered to be a go-between for the living and the dead. The deceased is believed to have gone to the land of the gods and is given honors that he never enjoyed before he died. He is greatly feared, as it is believed that he has the power to harm the living. So he is offered an appeasement in the form of a special feast on the day of his burial.

The Zulus of South Africa believe that dead ones can protect and help the living. Sacrifices are regularly offered to them in order to hold their good favor.

In the past, such beliefs in parts of Africa resulted in the practice of offering human sacrifices. When a king or chief died, some of his servants would be buried with him to serve him in the spirit realm. In Ghana, money, clothing and other items are still buried with some of the dead for a similar reason.

In St. Joseph’s Catholic Oratory in Montreal, devotees spend money to light long-burning candles. They believe that these will aid the souls of those in purgatory.

Yes, they pay a price for their efforts to defeat death​—but is it necessary? To get a truly satisfying answer, we must know what the Bible itself says death is.

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The spiral DNA molecule