Perhaps we might think the fiercest opposition to Jesus came from the Pharisees.
Not so.
It came from the Sadduces. It is they who come forth today
and try to trip up Jesus with clever mind games.
The issue they raise has to do with the possibility of life after death.
They denied its possibility and their multiple wives story
was their attempt to trap Jesus who affirmed it.

Of course, Christians today believe in life after death.
There is still division among Jews today.

Rabbi Heschel is one of America's most quoted Hebrew scholars.
Here is one of his comments on the subject:
"Do souls become dust? Does spirit turn to ashes?
How can souls capable of creating immortal words
and art be completely dissolved and vanish forever?"

November is the month when our Catholic liturgy focuses our attention and our prayer
on the souls of the faithful departed.
They are never forgotten - which is a wonderful thing.
And so we can remember them in our prayer from the Catholic funeral rite:
Almighty God and Father
It is our certain faith that your Son
Who died on the cross
Was raised from the dead,
The first fruits of all who have fallen asleep.
Grant through this mystery
Your servants
Who have gone to their rest in Christ,
May share in the joy of his resurrection.
Amen

Today on the Crystal Symphony,
we sail from the western Caribbean southward and westerly
approaching the coast of South America where we will land on
Curaçao and Aruba which are Dutch islands.