Read Ellen G. White, “The First Great Deception,” pp. 531-550; “Can Our Dead Speak to Us?” pp. 551-562, in The Great Controversy.

 “Upon the fundamental error of natural immortality rests the doctrine of consciousness in death — a doctrine, like eternal torment, opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures, to the dictates of reason, and to our feelings of humanity. According to the popular belief, the redeemed in heaven are acquainted with all that takes place on the earth and especially with the lives of the friends whom they have left behind. But how could it be a source of happiness to the dead to know the troubles of the living, to witness the sins committed by their own loved ones, and to see them enduring all the sorrows, disappointments, and anguish of life? How much of heaven’s bliss would be enjoyed by those who were hovering over their friends on earth? And how utterly revolting is the belief that as soon as the breath leaves the body the soul of the impenitent is consigned to the flames of hell! To what depths of anguish must those be plunged who see their friends passing to the grave unprepared, to enter upon an eternity of woe and sin!” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 545.

 1. Those who have talked to other Christians about the state of the dead and the nature of hell have, most likely, discovered just how adamant and firm people are in their belief, not only in the idea that the saved immediately go to heaven but even that the lost are in the eternal torment of hell. Why do you think that is? It’s one thing, understandable somewhat, for them to want to believe that their deceased loved ones are “with the Lord” (though, as we have seen, there’s still the question of how upsetting it would be for them to see the mess of things down here). But why is there such a strong attachment to the horrific idea that the lost are being eternally tormented in hell? What does this fact teach us about just how powerful tradition can be? Discuss in class.
 2. Most Christian denominations are proclaiming the unbiblical theory of the natural immortality of the soul with all its correlated theories. What else should we do as a church (in addition to what we are already doing) to proclaim to the world the biblical view of death and the afterlife?
 3. Though Dante’s poem, The Divine Comedy, was mere fiction, it became very influential in helping cement in people’s minds false teachings about what happens to the “soul” after death. What lessons can we learn from how easily Christian theology can be influenced by outside teachings? What other non-Christian ideas influence Christian thought even today, and how can we protect ourselves from them?