Immortal: How the Fear of Death Drives Us and What We Can Do About It

Immortal: How the Fear of Death Drives Us and What We Can Do About It

by Clay Jones
Immortal: How the Fear of Death Drives Us and What We Can Do About It

Immortal: How the Fear of Death Drives Us and What We Can Do About It

by Clay Jones

Paperback

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Overview

Is There Life After Death?
 
For many, death is terrifying. We try to live as long as possible while hoping that science will soon find a way to allow us to live, if not forever, then at least a very long time.
 
Whether we deny our mortality though literal or symbolic immortality or try to turn death into something benign, our attempts fail us. But what if the real solution is not in denying death’s reality, but in acknowledging it while enjoying a hope for a wonderful forever?
 
Clay Jones, a professor of Christian apologetics, explores the ways people face death and how these “immortality projects” are unsuccessful, even destructive. Along the way, he points to the hope of the only true immortality available to all—the truth that God already offers a path to our hearts’ deepest longing: glorious resurrection to eternal life.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780736978279
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
Publication date: 04/28/2020
Pages: 272
Sales rank: 645,729
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range: 3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Clay Jones (DMin) is an associate professor of Christian apologetics at Biola University and the chairman of the board for Ratio Christi, an international university apologetics ministry. Previously he hosted the nationally syndicated talk radio program Contend for Truth and served on the pastoral staff of two large churches. Clay and his wife, Jean E., live in Southern California.

Table of Contents

Preface 9

Introduction 13

1 The Human Condition 19

Denial of the Fear of Death

How the Fear of Death Drives Human Behavior

2 Literal Immortality Projects 25

Healthful Living and Medical Science

Transhumanism

The Singularity

Cryonics

The Evil of Literal Immortality Projects

3 Symbolic Immortality Projects 57

Procreation and Adoption

Ancestor Worship/Veneration and Genealogy Research

Creation

Heroism

Activism

Making a Difference

Correct Belief

Celebrity

Fandom

"Just Spell My Name Right"

"Want Me"

Victimhood

Infamy

Seeking Symbolic Immortality Is Often Evil and Always Futile

4 Mortality Mitigation Projects 95

Immortality Would Be Boring

Death Is Necessary for Life to Go On

We're Just Lucky We Were Born

"Death Is Nothing"

Detachment

Live in the Present

Individual Existence Is Unreal

Our Particles Go On

The Misery of the Mortality-Mitigation Mind-Set

5 The Failure of All Secular Salvations 141

Denial, Distraction, and Dissipation

Sexual Addiction

Meaninglessness

Anxiety

Depression

Psychosis

Drugs

Suicide

Anarchy

Debris

Death

Eternal Punishment

6 The Evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus 169

There Is a God

Reliable Primary Sources

Jesus Died of Roman Crucifixion

Jesus Was Buried, but Later His Tomb Was Found Empty

Jesus's Disciples Proclaimed That Jesus Was Raised

Jesus's Disciples Were Willing to Suffer and Die for This Belief

7 Living the High Life-Enjoying True Immortality 187

The Reason You Might Wish to Stay Alive

Staring Down Death

8 Our Heart's Desire-Glorious Immortality 203

Resurrected

Perfected

Resplendent

Renowned

Conclusion

Appendix: Why Do People Reject Jesus's Offer? 223

Notes 229

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Honest, hard-hitting, unflinching—this book dares to tackle the uncomfortable topic of death but does so with creativity, wisdom, grace, and hope. You’ll cheer my friend Clay Jones for his insights, compassion, and wit. But most importantly, you’ll walk away grasping the only truth that can ultimately save you.”
—Lee Strobel, bestselling author of The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith

Immortal is exactly what I have come to expect from Clay Jones—insightful, well-researched, and convicting. This book is a game-changer for how Christians can think about the inevitability of death with both hope and biblical clarity. If every Christian would read this book and take its message to heart, it would transform how we relate to our nonbelieving friends and neighbors."
—Sean McDowell, PhD, Biola University professor, speaker, and author

“You should be dying to read this book. Actually, you’re dying regardless. That’s why Immortal could be one of the most important books you’ll ever read. After revealing the fascinating but ultimately futile ways modern people are trying to secure their immortality, Clay Jones brilliantly shows us what eternity will be like and how we can secure the glorious future that awaits us. But Immortal isn’t a book just about the eternity— it will help you live more fully right now. Highly recommended!”
—Frank Turek, DMin, coauthor of I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist

“This is an extraordinarily insightful book that I couldn’t put down. No matter what you believe happens after you die, this book will convict you that death is truly staring you in the face every day, and if you don’t confront that reality, you’re living in denial. But it will also convict you that if you confront death in Christ, there is nothing to fear—a perspective Christians often lose but desperately need. I love this book!
—Natasha Crain, speaker and author of Keeping Your Kids on God’s Side and Talking with Your Kids About God

“If you are a Christian leader and you want to see those in your care get truly serious about their own faith and about spreading the gospel, Clay Jones has provided the perfect tool—Immortal. In this utterly convincing and engaging study, Jones pulls back the black curtain to reveal all the ways we attempt to suppress and avoid thinking about something that is more certain than birth and taxes—death. Clear thinking about death inevitably leads to clear thinking about sin and our desperate need for the Savior. Jones takes us down that path and leads us to the joy that comes from knowing that we have eternal life through the resurrected Son of God. Do everyone you know a great favor and get one of these books into their hands. It is accessible, transformative, and a source of immense hope.”
—Craig Hazen, PhD, professor and director of Christian Apologetics, Biola University, and author of Fearless Prayer

Immortal is a deeply insightful treatment of a phenomenon many people haven’t recognized: the immortality project. I believe Christian readers will find Jones’s book to be tremendously helpful, not only for self-examination and cultural understanding but also for thoughtful engagement with nonbelievers who are seeking meaning and purpose through such projects.”
—Melissa Cain Travis, PhD, Houston Baptist University, author of Science and the Mind of the Maker

“In Immortal, Clay Jones examines our cultural interest in eternity and offers a reason why every Christian ought to celebrate the hope we have in the promises of God.”
—J. Warner Wallace, Dateline-featured cold-case detective, author of Cold-Case Christianity and God’s Crime Scene and creator of the Case Makers Academy for Kids

“Thank God for Clay Jones’s declaration and affirmation of what God says about death and immortality. Very few people have the voice and clarity that Clay brings on a subject that can bring the greatest anxiety or the greatest peace. We get to choose! I am so excited that you have this book in your possession. Drink deep at this well of wisdom and insight and sense and feel your fear of death swallowed by truth and faith.”
—Kenny Luck, leadership pastor, founder of Every Man Ministries, and author of Dangerous Good

“With both an insightful mind and a compassionate heart, Clay Jones speaks with a prophetic voice against the idols of our time and the spirit of the age. This is a fascinating, powerful book about our deep longing for immortality, the fear of death, and misguided human attempts to overcome death or to trivialize its sting. This book repeatedly points us to the good news of the gospel—that Jesus Christ is able to rescue us from the kingdom of darkness and death and that he has graciously provided a sure way to everlasting life with the redeemed in God’s unfading, glorious presence.”
—Paul Copan, Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach Atlantic University and author of A Little Book for New Philosophers

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