Not Afraid to Die

Overcoming the Fear of Death

By: John Alan Shope MDiv

Narrated by: John Alan Shope

All of us fear death at some level - both our own and the death of those we love. Religion and politics exploit that fear. There are better and more credible ways to confront the anxiety that death causes and even find hope. This audiobook will help you do that.

Drawing from science, philosophy, psychology, psychic phenomena, history, and various spiritual traditions, the listener will discover a balanced approach to death that takes into account all the possibilities.

©2018 John Alan Shope (P)2019 John Alan Shope

Theories From Science to Religion to Plain Wacky

This book is for the open-minded. If you are sensitive to having other explanations for our existence being presented other than what your religion details, this book is not for you. While religious theories certainly are given as possible explanations for what occurs to us after death, they are in the minority. Much of what is written you would find agnostic scientists presenting on the Discovery or History Channels, or in articles written in Popular Mechanics (of which there are a lot lately) or National Geographic magazines. To get angry that the book does not present strong evidence for formal Christian theological beliefs is like being an atheist and reading a book by Billy Graham and leaving a poor review because it focused way too much on God and Jesus Christ.

Overall I found it interesting. I am firm in my Christian beliefs and was not "offended" by any of the information presented. The author himself states that his father used to confirm the well-known trope that "The more someone knows on a topic, the more they realize they know nothing at all". John Alan Shope seems to conform to this idea and doesn't bear witness to the truth of anything - only presenting a wide range of "possibilities" that to me were simply pathways to understanding the thoughts and ideas of others.

I did dock a star because Mr. Shope has a couple ending chapters on "Problems With Religion". Which is fine in-and-of-itself, except like nearly all modern-day writers, Mr. Shope only focuses on one religion in particular - and I'm sure we can all guess which. I do not respect people who will take a stand against "religious beliefs" but then only bash only one single doctrine. If you want my admiration and attention, have the courage to stand up against others like Islam and Judaism as well. Include the inherent issues within those faiths in your writing, as they obviously exist to a great degree too. Sadly, very little people have the intestinal fortitude to do so, and John Alan Shope is no exception.

Ultimately a good read if you are interested in learning about all the vastly different ideas people have about what happens to us after we die. There is no need to be offended by what you hear. That's why James 1:5 exists in the Bible. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him". When Mr. Shope begins to vigorously attack the tropes taught by Christianity, we are all given the ability to ask and ascertain whether he speaks the truth or whether he speaks with the great wisdom and cunning of Lucifer. We can then form our own judgements. As someone though who constantly sees articles regarding the topics discussed within this book constantly popping up in my newsfeed every day, I was glad to be able to get a thorough compilation of them all within one source to further my knowledge and understanding. I can thus recommend to others who wish to broaden their minds to differing ideas.