In Christian doctrine, salvation is a rebirth, and a rebirth can never happen unless a death precedes it. Christian doctrine teaches that Jesus’s sacrificial death made salvation possible for humankind; as the only sinless person to ever live, he was the only one who could make such a sacrifice. Additionally, the Bible teaches that each person’s sinful nature must be put to death in order for them to attain salvation. This doctrine does not mean that a redeemed person will never sin again after accepting God’s grace, but rather that they will experience a new orientation toward God and holiness and will be in the continuous process of trying to root sin out of their lives.

In The Great Divorce, every Ghost but one ultimately remains unwilling to put their sinful natures to death. Many seem to find certain elements of Heaven appealing, but they are not willing to sacrifice anything to get it. Lewis emphasizes the idea that choosing faith is the difficult choice, not the easy one. Laypeople and famous philosophers alike often discuss faith and religion as a coward’s choice, arguing that belief in a glorious afterlife can ease the burden of life’s difficulties and even prevent people from laboring to make the world better.