God is not alive

The earliest document in the New Testament is 1 Thessalonians, written circa 50-51 C.E. Christians of that time expected the last days to be imminent, and when some members of the Thessalonian church died, there was uncertainty about what to believe. Paul provided reassurance concerning the promise of resurrection and spoke of the return of the risen Christ as a time when those who are alive “will be caught up in the clouds…to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). This verse is the basis for the much-elaborated scenario of the “rapture” found in some branches ...