Life After Death and Philosophical Ideals

They used a hard vocabulary to contain the terrible softness. Greased they 'd say. Offed, lit up, zapped while zipping. It wasn 't cruelty, just stage presence. They were actors. When someone died, it wasn 't quite dying, because in a curious way, it seemed scripted, and because they had their lines mostly memorized, irony mixed with tragedy, and because they called it by other names, as if to encyst and destroy the reality of death itself. "

This may be briefly observed in: 1/ Ancient Egyptian religious view on the existence of an afterlife and how those who had lived a pious and charitable life could look forward to a “good” eternity in the ‘field of happy food’. The development of a ‘priest caste’ and a fully developed theology on death and the afterlife influenced surrounding cultures. The Israelites spent 400 – 430 years in Egypt before being led out by Moses. During this time, they would have been exposed to such views and may have incorporated them into their own beliefs, which would have influenced early Christianity.

The afterlife in ancient Greece was Known as Hades. It was a grey world ruled by Hades, the Lord of the Dead. If they had a virtuous life they could enjoy the sunny pleasures of the Elysium or paradise, if they had a wicked life, then they fell into the dark pits of Tartarus, while if they

Higgins, Joseph, and Chuck Bergman. "Evidence of the Afterlife." Death, Burial, and the Afterlife in Greece and Rome -. Web. 5 Nov. 2014. <http://www.netplaces.com/evidence-of-the-afterlife/afterlife-beliefs-in-ancient-and-modern-cultures/death-burial-and-the-afterlife-in-greece-and-rome.htm>.

In the afterword the article addresses the journey, or process of dying. In our study of death and belief we have seen civilizations and give great consideration to the crossing from life to afterlife, and an evaluation of the life lived taken place between. Ancient civilization

New scientific discoveries not only enhanced man’s comfort in life but also his appreciation of human potential and reason. It was becoming increasingly evident that it was to man’s benefit to reason and understand. With this realization came the need to determine the proper place of human reasoning in man’s life. The philosophies of the early post-Reformation period dealt with this issue—how to relate and balance faith and reason. Gone was the blind, unquestioning faith of the medieval period. Men were now free to doubt and deny. Those who believed in Christ and His claims found themselves increasingly shifting to a defensive stance and trying to accommodate human reason.

It gave them something, which was better than nothing, that made them believe they would go to heaven. Though the Greek afterlife has similarities with other cultures’ afterlives, it is unique because of the unique culture of the Greeks. Firstly, the most severe punishments were due to outraging the gods, and although this is seen in other cultures, it is mostly seen here. Perplexed and striving for answers, the people solved their questions with the existence of gods, it was their way of making sense of the universe, in a time where scientific advancement was young. To be able to make the universe as is, the gods had to be powerful, powerful enough to impact life.

The ancient Egyptians’ belief in the afterlife was greatly influenced by their understanding of the gods. The gods were said to have created many ideas involving life after death and how to act in order to be happy in the afterlife. In ancient Egypt, the soul of any living creature was known as the “ka” (“Egyptian

The birth of modern science created conflict between religion and science in European societies. With the conflicts, the people had started to question the church. These conflicted changes between religion and science, had positively impacted the common people and had greatly damaged the stability of the church itself. The idea that everything was to be perfect affected the communities of the people. The ideas that the church had displayed in decades past, rejected any further discoveries or advancements that they didn’t see fit.

In this paper I will plan to discuss in detail the funerary procedures that were used in ancient Egypt. I will pay particular attention as to how the Idea of the afterlife influenced many of the traditions in ancient Egypt that we now think of today. In surveying their beliefs on the afterlife we will begin to get a better picture as to how these ideas affected almost all aspects of their ancient culture, and indeed had impacts on neighboring cultures. I will take a look at what aspects of their religious mythology lead them to these traditions and why its observation was so key to their society.

The practicers of Greek mythology place a great deal of importance on the afterlife, and how you might get there. There is simply an underworld, there is no heaven, this means there is no way of having eternal life. This is not to say the underworld is without a hierarchy of itself. The underworld is a hopeless place, the few who receive the privilege of happiness only are given this gift while they are remembered. Burial is also very important in mythology, if buried incorrectly certain fundamental rights in the underworld were stripped. The Greek mythological concept of the afterlife makes it seem as though death, and what happens to

“In the light of modern science religion appears to be a remnant of ancient superstition that will one day be completely replaced by a scientific view of the world.”(p.104) However, with developing science, many people found themselves that God become more awardable ever because of these newly found and developed knowledge of sciences. Modern philosophers interest to know whether or not this ever booming science has affect the people’s views toward religious beliefs. For example, “Seven Reasons Why a Scientist Believes in God” by A. Cressy Morrison, a highly respected scientist. (p.105) In this paper, I will discuss what Morrison’s Seven Reasons and reasons why this particular subject is interesting.

that if X can be without Y then X and Y are distinct. This view that a

a category mistake, or a misuse of language. He even went so far as to

Many different religions around the world see the importance in life after death but these beliefs do vary a lot and each religion will believe completely different things. Two core religions in this essay that will be looked into are Islamic and Catholic. What do they believe will happen when someone dies? Is there another life after they die? Heaven? Hell? Or Paradise? Through this you will the importance in the belief of life after death, and the practices, rituals, and prayers that provide evidence and physical proof of how they show this belief. Then to go onto to discuss the wider implications holding onto these beliefs can have.