The Late Show on CBS had its last episode on Thursday night. The show had been started in 1993 when David Letterman didn't get the Tonight Show gig after hosting Late Night on NBC for years. Letterman took his show to CBS and hosted it until eleven years ago when Stephen Colbert became the second and last host of the program. The program was cancelled and there are a few, possibly concurrent, things that brought about the end of the show. I don't have any care to write about that here.
However, a popular segment on Colbert's iteration of the program was the Colbert Questionnaire. This bit came about after Stephen enjoyed the answer he received from Keanu Reaves when he asked him, "What happens when you die?" Colbert decided he should ask more people this question and so he designed the questionnaire around it.
On the penultimate episode of the show Stephen took his own questionnaire answering questions from a variety of celebrities. Many of the answers were insightful and cute, but his answer of "What happens when you die?" caught my attention.
Stephen is reportedly, as reported by himself, friends and priests, a devout Catholic. Because of that fact his answer surprised me. Take a listen to it below:
It caught my attention because it is neither Catholic nor any kind of orthodox Christian. The answer given would fit very well in the New Age, Gnostic or "spiritual but not religious" camps.
To be fair to Stephen, I have not heard a single answer to the Colbert Questionnaire that would fit an orthodox Christian view. That, in part, was why I was interested to hear him answer. I thought, even if he included purgatory (a belief held only by Catholics), that it would be refreshing to hear a Christian answer.
Let me assure you this: My point in writing this is not that I was disappointed that Colbert didn't give a better answer.
I write this to remind Christians that to be a Christian is to believe Christian beliefs. There is more to being a Christian than just ascribing to set of beliefs, but to be Christian is to believe as a Christian. To find a basic understanding of Christian beliefs we can look to the creeds.
The Nicene Creed states "I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and to life in the world to come."
The Apostles Creed states "I believe in... the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting."
The Athanasian Creed says "At his coming all people will arise bodily and give an accounting of their deeds."
The Westminster Shorter Catechism says this in Question 37 "Q: What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death? A: The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, still being united to Christ, do rest in their graves til the resurrection."
The New City Catechism says this in Question 28 "Q: What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith? A: They will be cast out from the presence of God, into hell, to be justly punished, forever.
And to add a Biblical citation to the creeds as to what happens when specifically the Christian dies "We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord."
My point in reacting to what Stephen Colbert said is not to attack Stephen. My point is to remind Christians that a MAJOR part of being a Christian is believing the Christian faith that has been handed down to us for 2,000 years. You aren't a Christian because your parents were. You aren't a Christian because you go to church. One of the fundamental parts of being a Christian is actually believing what Christ teaches us through the Bible.
I encourage you to look at the creeds again if you don't regularly recite them in service, and if you do recite them regularly, I would have you really engage your mind with what you are saying. I ask you to read your Bible and believe it. I recommend you work through a catechism with yourself and with your family. I remind you that to be a Christian is to believe what Christians believe. So, take the time to re-school and remind yourself today.
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