Ben Shapiro is a conservative political commentator. He is an orthodox Jew and takes his religious faith seriously. As a result, many on the left wing of the political spectrum have made him a target. They defame him regularly. He has often been in physical danger.
Shapiro is impressive. He has a brilliant mind and can remember large quantities of data. This ability has allowed him to win numerous debates. If you are politically conservative, you will agree with Shapiro on many issues and will be glad he is on your side.
I recently read one of his books, The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great. In it, Shapiro reviews 3,500 years of history and discusses the views of many philosophers. It is clear that he is smarter than I am and knows the subject. I can only give a summary of the book. Shapiro argues that Jerusalem and Athens are the source of the West’s greatness. From Jerusalem, we have received revelation from God. This is found in the Judeo-Christian traditions. From Athens and the Greeks we learned that we have reason. That reason allows us to understand truths found in God’s created order.
Jerusalem and Athens have provided the sure foundation that we are created in God’s image. We know we have certain individual rights and are to treat others in certain ways. Individually and communally, we have a moral purpose and are to work together for what is good. Shapiro is concerned that the West is abandoning these truths. He recognizes that the consequences of this will be tragic for any culture, as history has repeatedly shown. While I’m sure Shapiro could say it more succinctly, I think I got the gist of the book.
Most Christian readers will find much in the book with which they agree. But I was saddened by how the book ends. On the last two pages, Shapiro relates how his young daughter asked him a question that concerned life after death. Here are his thoughts on the matter:
I don’t like to think about death with regard to my own parents, let alone with respect to my children. And while I’m a believer in the afterlife, there’s no real way to know. I don’t know what comes after this. Nobody does. (pp. 217-18)
Shapiro does not have assurance that there is life after death. He says he “believes” it but does not know whether it is true. Believe is not the right word. If you believe something, you are convinced it is true. Shapiro is not convinced that there is life after death. It would be more accurate if he had said, “I hope there is life after death.”
I was also surprised by his saying that there is no way to know whether there is life after death. In his book, he said that we do know many things. The Judeo-Christian traditions are based on revelations from God to us. God has told us how to live and treat others. Shapiro believes such concepts. He is convinced they are true.
But his religious tradition also says there is life after death. The Jewish Scriptures have said so. God has spoken. Abraham, Joseph, David, Job, Daniel, and Isaiah all spoke about a coming eternal kingdom and the resurrection of the dead. Why does Shapiro say that we can know how to live because God has told us, but that we cannot know whether there is life after death––when the same God has declared that there is?
Unfortunately, many who hold to Christian traditions agree with Shapiro. We cannot know whether we will live after we die. Some say they hope it is true, but maybe Christianity is wrong. Others say they might not be good enough, while others believe they might lose the privilege if they commit certain sins. Their attitude is similar to Shapiro’s: Nobody really knows.
But we do. Just as we can look at the Scriptures and know that they speak the truth regarding how we ought to live, we can know they speak the truth about the life to come. We know there is life after death because we are convinced that Jesus spoke the truth. He said, “He who believes in Me has eternal life” (John 6:47). He also said, “I go to prepare a place for you…that where I am, you may be also” (John 14:2-3). Revelation 21–22 describes in detail the life to come.
Many will commend Shapiro for his intellectual honesty. Even though he wants to believe it, he has the integrity to say he doesn’t know whether there is life after death. The same thing is often said about those in Christian churches who express the same view. But that is not intellectual honesty. It’s an unwillingness to believe what Jesus Christ has said. I am not as smart as Shapiro, but I know I will live forever. The King, who cannot lie, said so.
