CIRCLEVILLE – Circleville resident, Brian M. Rossiter, has recently published a book that asks all of us to re-examine what we think about the afterlife. While many of us believe, or are at least aware of, what the Bible supposedly teaches on this subject, it could be that the typical understanding is actually a bit misguided. In The Death Myth, Rossiter closely examines what the Bible says about life after death, the resurrection, the nature of the human soul, the existence of ghosts or spirits, and many other topics. What he finds is that there is much more to the story than meets the eye. “Tradition” has often told us one thing, but the biblical authors have told us something a little different.
In an interesting and accessible way, The Death Myth first tells the story of how these issues have been viewed, and even hotly debated, since the earliest periods of church history. In particular, Rossiter places a special emphasis on the “interim period”—the time between death and the resurrection—because he believes that a detailed study of this topic displays the many misunderstandings that exist within the church. Rossiter suggests that if the human soul consciously survives the death of the body and lives on its own, that reality would greatly diminish (if not completely contradict) much of the biblical information concerning the afterlife. Most specifically, he suggests that this view may not be compatible with the Bible’s teachings on the resurrection, the final judgment, body-soul unity, and the very purpose of having physical bodies. More than that, belief in disembodied spirits or immaterial realms has led many people into an unhealthy, or even dangerous, fascination with the dead.
Whether or not you end up agreeing with Rossiter’s perspectives, The Death Myth will challenge you to truly evaluate what you believe about the nature of the afterlife and the very meaning of salvation.
The Death Myth is available for purchase on Amazon (link below), Books-A-Million, iUniverse, and most other major online retailers. You can keep up with the book on Facebook @DeathMyth, and on Brian’s blog (link below), where you can read updated articles about the book’s contents.
https://m.facebook.com/DeathMyth/?ref=bookmarks
(This story was submitted to the Scioto Post)
