Death

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I recently started watching Morgan Freeman's series The Story of God, which is a National Geographic production. I've only gotten through the first episode, but I've already been struck into deep thought. The first episode focused on the different world religion's perspectives on the afterlife. With any National Geographic series, you always know you're going to get stunning video work, and this series is no different, with some amazing shots of countries around the world, including some vital religious landmarks. Rather then just talking about the different perspectives, actually seeing some evidence about the different theories really helps make an impression.

Anyways, watching this episode sparked a weird thought; how often do we think about death? I know that sounds slightly morbid, but I truly mean it as a serious question. When I was watching this episode, one thing stuck with me over and over again; how many people go through life never actually thinking about what more there could be? I actually think everyone has at least one moment in their life where they are faced with this question, and the majority of people will wrestle with it more than once. There's some part of our being that strives for something else, that something beyond. Now, the way we answer that differs majorly. Some choose to completely ignore it, while others say life goes on and on, while even others points to a God dictating the afterlife.

The interesting thing is that ultimately, whatever you belief about the after life, it influences the way you act during this life. Morgan Freeman does a decent job in this series to remain as unbiased as possible, and give you a balanced look at all the possible scenarios provided by the many different world religions. The one thing that struck me throughout his study into each of the religion's ideas about life after death was that their beliefs shaped their lives today. For instance, those who don't care about the after life simply enjoy life today. Whereas those that believe in reincarnation live their whole lives striving for good deeds. As for Christians, we live our lives striving to draw closer to God, because we believe eternity in heaven is simply that; living with God. That's what makes it so special!

The challenge is I guess, really take a look at your life and see if it reveals what you believe about the after life. And if it doesn't, you might have some changes you have to make.

As a side note, I'm really enjoying this video series, especially the information and visual look into other people's religions. This doesn't mean at all that I'm not confident in my own beliefs. However, there are two reasons why I think it is good to study other religions; you can learn from other people and how they practice their faith, and you can also see the mindset of the world around you.