Paul Galloway`s Tempo piece on the afterlife, ”Good heavens, what`s next?” seemed at first blush like a good resume of various religious beliefs on the afterlife. But the entire piece`s accuracy was questionable after his description of traditional Christian belief, which couldn`t have been more inaccurate had he confused the Third Reich with the B`nai B`rith.
Mr. Galloway states ”your assignment (to heaven) depends on your earthly moral behavior”-a belief blasphemous in traditional Christianity because it makes Christ`s life and earth quite unnecessary by making us our own saviors. Salvation (which is spending eternity in God`s presence, or heaven) comes only through the savior, Jesus Christ. Period. Our efforts at moral behavior are a result of our gratitude for God`s provision for our salvation, not an effort to earn salvation.
Galloway`s problem no doubt arose from his discomfort with traditional Christian beliefs, evidenced by the one confused paragraph he gave it, as compared to the six paragraphs of glowing text devoted to the arrivistes of Christianity-those scriptural deconstructionists in the sideline churches.
Galloway`s infatuation with that branch of Christianity is in marked contrast to the disillusionment of the mainstream; in the past 20 years more than 50 percent of the former ”mainline” church membership have left to join the traditional churches that so confuse Mr. Galloway.
