Life After Death Essay

According to the Bible, there is life after death. When people die, the body becomes separated from the spirit and the soul. It is the body that remains on earth while the spirit goes back to God (John 11:25). Here, depending on your deeds on earth, the spirit may be accepted into Gods kingdom (heaven) or it may be subjected to punishment through hellfire (Matthew 10:28). (625 words)

Life after death is a very controversial topic around the world and in society. Throughout our lives, we often wonder ‘what happens when we die?’. There are many different beliefs as to what happens to our bodies and to our souls after we die. Religion provides answers to this question, however different religions offer different beliefs and answers to this question. There are two basic kinds of religion in this world: Eastern and Western. Through learning about the key beliefs of Catholics and Hindus I have been able to learn some similar and some different perspectives on the forever debatable question ‘what happens when we die?’.

The afterlife is usually thought of as something even better than life as we know it. Having certain beliefs about one’s destiny after passing can help with coping and believing that one is where they belong. Thoughts about the afterlife have always varied greatly. Even so, all cultures and religions are alike in one way; they stick with their own specific beliefs because their way is the only “right” way. Although all believed in deities, the views on the afterlife of Egypt and Early Greece believed in something greater after passing while Mesopotamia was more of being fearful and not knowing, but living.

At death, the body ceases to function and decays, but the soul of everyone is immortal and will be judged immediately. The souls of those who are faithful to God will be purified and go to live with God in heaven. However, the soul of anyone who has denied God will spend eternity separated from God in hell. At the end of time, all of the dead will be bodily resurrected and each individual will be judged and either rewarded or punished according to the life that they led.

These ideals are very different from modern-day beliefs about death. Christian views about the afterlife include the two options for our souls after death: heaven- the happy, safe, and comfortable place where the good people go, and hell-the fiery, and dangerous place some go to if they made bad choices on Earth. Others believe in reincarnation, where a person’s soul lives on and takes the form of something else. Many people, no matter their religious stance, want to believe that there is something else after death, because it makes it easier when the time comes. It certainly eases some of the grief and anxiety that people face over death, and is far more comforting than the beliefs that ancient Mesopotamians held about death.

Some religious groups do not believe in heaven at all but they belief that a person will return in another life form, that is they belief in reincarnation. In other cases, it is believed a person's spirit lives on in this world. Christianity is the only religion that teaches salvation is a free gift of God received through faith (Eph. 2:8-9 NKJV) in Jesus Christ (John 14:6; Acts 4:12 NKJV).

Christians believe as it says on the bible that god created us humans from the dust hence when we die we will turn back to the dust which we were made of “till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Genesis 3:19. Christians believe heaven is a place where believers go upon dying in order to enjoy the presence of God as well as other believers. Christians believe that Christ rose from the dead. This is called the resurrection, they believed this was a sign that Christ had overcome the power of death.

Christian’s beliefs vary between denominations however, the majority of Christians believe in some kind of heaven however, there are various different viewpoints as to how we get to heaven. Many believe in hell a place where unbeliever and sinners are punished. Catholic Christians believe there is a place other than heaven or hell for people who have not confessed their sins prior to dying, purgatory, a temporary place of punishment. (Gray, n.d.) The promise that in passing from this life, we will reunite with everyone we love who has gone before us and be in the presence of god, provide a sense of

Judaism as a religion does promote the idea of life after death. While the idea of the afterlife is mentioned numerous times throughout the sacred text there are no principles laid out that describe the exact process once an individual passes away. For these reasons, much of the beliefs surrounding the afterlife relies on an individual’s interpretation. Therefore, there are many different beliefs that stem from one basic fact. Ultimately, the Torah explains that those who practice good deeds will find their loved ones after death, and that those who commit sin will never have that luxury.

In the eyes of a Christian after you die you are sent to “heaven” or a place called “hades”.

Hinduism and Christianity differ greatly in how they perceive the afterlife. Christians believe that there is only one cycle of life. While in Hinduism it is thought that only a single cycle of life is not a long enough time for one to become mature enough to live with the Gods. The religious books of both religions give insight on what the afterlife will be like. The Holy Bible describes Heaven and Hell, and The Bhagavad Gita explains

To get a good look at how death is represented in Lord of the Rings, we must take a look at the accompanying book Silmarillion. It describes the creation of Ea and Middle Earth, as well as the forging of the rings***. In the beginning, Eru Iluvitar(God) created 15 beings to help him materialize his vision for the world. From these beings came all of the different races of Middle-earth. Iluvatar gave a gift to each of his Children. Each of these races coexist on the same Earth, but all live very different lives***. Elves, the first Children of Ilúvatar, are given the gift of immortality. As such they cannot die of natural causes such as

At the time of death, one’s spirit will separate from their body and either ascend to heaven or be bound to Hell according to their deeds performed on Earth. That’s because it is believed that humans have the ability (free will) to choose between good and evil. Muslims and Christians believe that angels exist as well as Satan and his evil spirits who follow him: the enemies of humanity. Also, it is said by Muslims, that on the day Jesus returns, the Last Day, the dead will be resurrected and both the dead and alive will be judged. They will either be rewarded by going to heaven, or punished by going to hell. Likewise, Christians believe that on the last day, referred to as judgment day, God will bring forth his judgement upon all those: dead or alive. He will reward or punish them by sending them to either heaven or Hell.

On November 16th, 2016 at approximately 11:00AM I, Investigator James Poffel was contacted by the Department of Human Services Child Protection Services worker, Lauren Johns. Lauren advised me that the department had just received a referral of a near death investigation of a four month old child. The child was originally brought to Eastar Hospital in Muskogee, Oklahoma for seizures and then transferred to the NICU at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma for some more in depth follow up.

“Since ancient times people have thought and wondered about the possibility of life after death” (Life After Death, pg. 147). Chapter nine discusses various ideas about the life after death and the immortality or mortality of human life. This article explains ideas from ancient Greek Gods such as Homer and Plato to ideas and beliefs practiced by Hinduism and Buddhism. It introduces three major arguments about life after death. These arguments include the Scientific argument, Philosophical argument and the Theological argument. I found this article to be very interesting as life after death is constantly being argued and questioned bot only by philosophers but also by people that I know.