If we accept this objection in such a naked, unconditional form, then it is essentially unjust. In fact, even in the material world, we do not observe anywhere a complete cessation of existence, a transformation into nothingness. We do not know death as annihilation: there is only a transition from one form of being to another, and this is equally true of matter as well as of the various forces at work in it. In nature, it is impossible to destroy a single piece of matter, not a single atom. If you burn a log in the stove, it seems that it has been destroyed, but it only seems so. In fact, the burned log turns into smoke, which settles as soot in the chimney, into coal, into ashes. In other words, there is no annihilation, but only the transformation of matter from one state to another. The cattle ate the grass – this grass turns into manure, fertilizing the land and giving new life to new plants. And so it is everywhere and in everything. We cannot completely destroy a single speck of dust without leaving a trace of it.

The same must be said of the forces at work in nature. Here is a locomotive in front of us, ready to move: a fire is burning hot in the furnace, water is boiling in the boiler. What's going on here? The force of heat is transformed into the force of steam, the force of steam is transformed into the force of motion, but again there is no annihilation of force, there is only transformation.

In a word, in nature the sum total of matter and energy is always the same, and neither matter nor force is annihilated.

If we observe this general law everywhere, the question arises, on what grounds can we admit the destruction of the human soul, its reduction into nothing? If the human body is not destroyed, but only disintegrated in the process of decay into its constituent chemical elements, why should the force which animated this body, which we call the soul, be an exception to the all-encompassing law of the world economy? Why should it be destroyed? No matter how we define this force and its essence, whether we call it an organic force, a biological force, the force of life, or the soul, as we call it, it does not matter in this case, only one thing is important: in the living man there is some force that animates and animates him, a force without which he becomes a corpse. This difference between a living man and a dead body is so great that the most hardened sceptics are compelled to admit the presence in the living man of a special force which conditions in him life and mental activity. But since the existence of this force is certain, it is clear that it cannot be completely annihilated under any circumstances by virtue of the above law.

In the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament there is an extremely interesting story that proves the afterlife of the soul after the death of a person. This story is given in the First Book of Kings and refers to the time when Saul, rejected by God for disobedience, sought support everywhere and, finally, in a fit of cowardice and despair, turned to the Witch of Endor with a request to summon the spirit of the already deceased prophet Samuel.

And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and went, and encamped in Shunam; Saul also gathered together all the people of Israel, and encamped on Gilboa. And when Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled violently. And Saul inquired of the Lord; but the Lord did not answer him either in a dream, or through the Urims, or through the prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, Find me a sorceress woman, and I will go to her and ask her. And his servants answered him, "Here in Endor there is a woman sorceress." And Saul took off his garments, and put on others, and went himself, and the two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. And Saul said to her, I beseech you, tell me and bring me out whom I will tell you about... Then the woman asked, "Whom shall you bring out?" And he answered, "Bring Samuel out to me." And the woman saw Samuel, and cried out with a loud voice; And the woman turned to Saul, saying, "Why hast thou deceived me?" you are Saul. And the king said to her, "Do not be afraid; What do you see? And the woman answered, "I see, as it were, a god coming out of the earth." What kind of person is he? Saul asked her. She said, "An old man is coming out of the earth, dressed in a long robe." Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he fell on his face to the ground and bowed down. And Samuel said to Saul, Why do you trouble me that I may go out? And Saul answered, It is very hard for me; The Philistines are fighting against me, but God has departed from me, and no longer answers me, either through the prophets or in dreams. therefore I have summoned thee, that thou mayest teach me what to do. And Samuel said, "Why then do you ask me, when the Lord has departed from you, and has become your enemy?" The Lord will do what he has said through me; The LORD shall take the kingdom out of thy hand, and shall give it to thy neighbor David. Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, and have not fulfilled the wrath of His wrath against Amalek, the Lord is doing this to you now. And the LORD shall deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: thou and thy sons shall be with me, and the LORD shall deliver the camp of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul suddenly fell with his whole body to the ground, for he was greatly frightened by the words of Samuel (1 Sam. XXVIII, 4–8, 11–20).

Such is the story of the Bible, which proves beyond doubt that the soul of man continues to live even after the death of the body and can even enter into communion with the inhabitants of the earth.

Strictly speaking, even for the intellect it is easier to imagine the immortality of the soul and its eternal existence, only changing in form, than complete annihilation, reduction into nothingness. I can easily imagine all kinds of transitions of the form of being, but I absolutely cannot imagine the absolute disappearance of any real thing, I cannot imagine how nothing will take its place. How can we conceive of this metaphysical nothingness in such a way that it is neither light nor darkness, nor cold, nor heat, nor has extension, nor weight, nor any other physical properties? The imagination refuses to do this, and the very term "nothing" becomes only a verbal designation without real content. Meanwhile, how easy it is to think of death in the image of the Bible: the dust will return to the earth, as it was; and the spirit shall return to the God who gave it (Eccl. XII, 7)! Here the death of the body is defined quite correctly, not as annihilation, but as a process of disintegration and transformation into earth, and the death of the whole man is explained by the separation of the elements that make up him, the spiritual and the sensual. It also becomes clear why we cannot observe the life of the soul after the death of a person and why we know so little about this afterlife.

Some, admitting the immortality of the soul, reproach Christianity for not limiting itself to this, but going further, teaching about the resurrection of the dead, that is, about the secondary union of the soul with the body. This idea of the resurrection of people together with the body, they say, must be unconditionally discarded, because we do not observe facts of this kind at all.

And again, this is not true.

Even in the animal kingdom, among the lower organic beings, we often encounter the facts of death accompanied by resurrection. The Lord constantly gives us these objective lessons in the phenomena of nature. Here is a constantly recurring fact from the life of insects: a worm dies - a caterpillar, turning into a pupa; A few days later, a new living creature appears from the chrysalis. – butterfly. Is this not a resurrection? In fact, as far as the laws of biology are concerned, the resurrection of man is no more amazing than this constantly observed transformation of a miserable, nondescript worm into a smart, cheerful butterfly.

So also at the resurrection of the dead, says the Apostle Paul, it is sown in corruption, it rises in incorruption; it is sown in humiliation, it rises in glory; it is sown in weakness, it rises in strength; the natural body is sown, the spiritual body rises. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body (1 Cor. XV, 42–44).

The grain falls into the furrow, rots, decomposes, dies. But from this dead grain grows a ripe ear, and on it several dozen new grains. Again, is this not a fact of resurrection? This phenomenon is also pointed out by the Apostle Paul in explaining the picture of the resurrection. Reckless! what you sow will not come to life unless it dies. And when you sow, you do not sow the body to come, but the bare grain that will happen, wheat or whatever it is; but God gives him a body as He wills, and to each seed his own body (1 Cor. XV, 36–38).

All nature dies in winter. Green leaves fall, the growth of living tissues stops, beetles and boogers die or fall into targia, talkative streams freeze, and all nature is covered with a cold, snowy shroud. The kingdom of death is coming. But with the first rays of the spring sun, the picture changes - awakening begins. The lifeless cover of winter is falling, rivers are throwing off their ice shackles, tree buds are swelling, unfolding into young, sticky leaves, revived insects are buzzing and running in swarms, and birds are chirping sonorously. Everywhere is life again in its infinite variety, ecstasy and joy of life! All nature is resurrected from its winter sleep.