The Dead Praise Not the Lord

Blog October 22, 2024

“In death there is no remembrance of Thee: in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?” “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.” Psalm 6:5; 115:17

As Seventh-day Adventists, we believe that when we die, our body decays, as all organic matter does. Our spirit, or soul, rests in a state of unconsciousness, waiting to be resurrected and reunited with our re-created body by God when He returns.

To find out how many church members believe this, the Global Church Member Survey asked participants whether they agreed that “the soul is a separate, spiritual part of a person and lives on after death.”

In 2018, 18.6% strongly agreed with the statement, 13.9% agreed, 8.3% were unsure, 11.4% disagreed, and 47.7% strongly disagreed.

In 2023, the figures were almost identical: 18.8% strongly agreed with the statement, 13.7% agreed, 8.1% were unsure, 11.2% disagreed, and 48.1% strongly disagreed.

In both surveys, almost a third of the members around the world believe that our souls have an existence separate from our bodies and survive death in some way!

GCMS 2018

GCMS 2023

When broken down by Division, the 2018 survey found that 73% of members in the Trans-European Division, 76.9% of members in the Euro-Asia Division, and 77.8% of members in the Inter-European Division (the three European Divisions) strongly disagreed with the statement that “the soul is a separate, spiritual part of a person and lives on after death.” In 2023, the three Divisions whose members most strongly disagreed with the statements were, again, the Inter-European Division, where 71.8% strongly disagreed; the Trans-European Division, with 77.9% strongly disagreeing; and the Euro-Asia Division, with 87.9% disagreeing.

This may partly reflect the increasingly secular post-modern nature of Europe, where most people believe that this life is all there is, and that there is nothing after death but oblivion.

In 2018, 25.7% of members surveyed in the South Pacific, 31.2% of members in the East-Central Africa Division, and 32.0% of members in Southern-Asia Pacific Division strongly agreed that “the soul is a separate, spiritual part of a person and lives on after death.” In 2023, 26.7% of members surveyed in the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, 27.7% of members in the East-Central Africa Division, and 37.8% of members in the South Pacific Division strongly agreed with the statement.

This may reflect the religious nature of these areas, in which people are generally more inclined to believe that there is more than mere oblivion after death and in which most of the religions that are widely practiced teach that the spirits of the dead can be communicated with.

The state of the dead is one of the pillars of Seventh-day Adventist doctrines and is one way that we differ with mainstream Protestantism. Fundamental Belief no. 26, “Death and Resurrection,” states that “[t]he wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people.”

Ellen G. White explained clearly in The Great Controversy:

But if the dead are already enjoying the bliss of heaven or writhing in the flames of hell, what need of a future judgment? The teachings of God’s word on these important points are neither obscure nor contradictory; they may be understood by common minds. But what candid mind can see either wisdom or justice in the current theory? Will the righteous, after the investigation of their cases at the judgment, receive the commendation, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: … enter thou into the joy of thy Lord,” when they have been dwelling in His presence, perhaps for long ages? Are the wicked summoned from the place of torment to receive sentence from the Judge of all the earth: “Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire”? Matthew 25:21, 41. Oh, solemn mockery! shameful impeachment of the wisdom and justice of God! (p. 549)

Despite knowing from the 2018 survey that there is great misunderstanding in the worldwide Church about the non-immortality of the soul, no progress seems to have been made in recent years, as the 2023 survey shows, in educating members. The knowledge that our souls rest until Jesus returns to take us home underpins our understanding of salvation, and it is crucial that we ensure that church members everywhere understand this. Every church leader, every pastor, every teacher in an Adventist educational institution, needs to take responsibility for ensuring that the Adventist, biblical understanding of the state of the dead is understood by our church members.

You can access the full report here.

Created in collaboration with the Institute of Church Ministry.

Published by ASTR on 10/22/2024.