Comparing Views Of Life After Death

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. "

People who believe in reincarnation believe that the soul never dies. Our soul continues to be reborn throughout time, possibly because the soul did not finish what they wanted, or needed to in their previous lives, before their body passed away. What the soul did in their initial life and their previous past lives reflects where they will be in their next life, which is known as the “Law of Karma.”

In this paper I show reincarnation to exist. My arguments for reincarnation to be possible are as followed. Many different religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism believe it to be true and have many examples showing the possibility. Depending on the religion, reincarnation can range from souls just traveling to other bodies or animals, seeking to fulfill life lessons. Also, looking at child prodigies, how can one explain the utter talent with no previous training? Finally, many individuals believe reincarnation to be cause for this strange phenomenon. Examples from individuals explaining past lives in a way that makes it difficult to question. Such as various detailed examples of the past life which would not be common knowledge for a regular individual to possess, especially children claiming these lives.

With a beginning of life there is an end, but the nature of death and how it is view can affect how we live. Death is understood to be that one’s biological function cease to function and the body no longer is capable of anything (Pence, 2011). The nature of death is viewed by each one of us differently and this paper is going to discuss the values and beliefs of different religions on death. This paper is going to look at Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Shinto religion discussing what the nature of death virtues and values are. Finally discussing the overall understand of the nature of death within all these religions.

The Affinity Argument is the third argument for the immortality of the soul. This argument compares the soul to a greater level of reality: the Forms.

There is arguments against the idea of reincarnation found in “negative evidence from out-of-body experiences that is not considered by New Age proponents, and the idea of reincarnation has been weighed and found wanting.”

There are many theories surrounding the perils of the afterlife. Depending upon a person’s belief the place where perils reside take many names, shapes, and forms. Although there are many descriptions of the types of peril that a deceased might come across in the afterlife there is a common theme. Whatever the peril may be it is infinite. Eternal punishment and peril for acts committed on earth. In Christianity it is called conditional immortality. The belief that a soul is born mortal but, from accepting salvation through Christ gains immortality (Gray). Those who are not saved are subjected to an eternity in hell. For the short amount of time on earth that humans live, a person can suffer an eternity of perils in the afterlife. There is a movement on an idea that tries to explain that conditional immortality doesn’t mean an infinite perils and punishment. In an article by the New York Times a Christian Minister Edward Fudge and his

Death is something that everyone talks about daily, but the most important thing that people do talk about when someone is deceased is whether he or she wanted a religious burial. While many similarities exist between different religions, the beliefs and rituals surrounding death in the Hindu and Jewish religions vary greatly. The Jewish community and the Hindu community play important roles in the death of their deceased loved ones. Upon the death of a loved one, Hindu people believe that the ashes or remains must be scattered, preferably on water, while the Jewish faith strictly believes that all deceased people must have a tombstone to mark their permanent resting place. Hindu people believe in reincarnation, or life after death, while

Freud once said that death is inevitable and yet inconceivable. The idea of death, mortality, and afterlife has been a question for the human race since the beginning of time. Throughout time and space these ideas have changed and have been modified according to their own views depending in what region they were born in and the time period. To look at what has changed over the periods we have to look at our history starting with writings like the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Hebrew texture, the Bible and many more stories both historical and religious. All trying to answer the same questions regarding death, mortality and the afterlife.

Cooper, John W. Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, ©1989.

For humans, we know the universal reality for us all is that in some point we will not escape death. During the many years that humans have been on earth we have created the concept of an Afterlife. The Afterlife is an idea created to fulfill the questioning and essential part of an individual’s identity after their death, in the thought that it will continue to exist after the death of the figure. Different religions have different practices and beliefs regarding their life after their death. Some believe that their body is reincarnated and others believe that after their death the soul is raised and united with God. I will be focusing on the key beliefs of the Islam and Catholicism religions.

As with most other Pauline attributed documents, 1 Corinthians is believed to be a single document that addresses salient topics and rationalizes Paul’s view of faithfulness to Christ with Corinth citizens. The newly founded church of Corinth was in correspondence with Paul requesting his answers to questions they posed on topics ranging from marriage to the resurrection of the dead; the latter being one of the most highlighted in 1 Corinthians. Paul’s assurance of resurrection illustrates a concern for Corinth as he admonishes their disbelief in resurrection of the dead with a series of explanations as to why such doubt would render the faith of Christ “in vain”. Given the context of the time, Paul’s correspondence with Corinth clearly

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

Hey Ron! When we were last visiting, you asked me my opinion on what happens to a person when they die. I gave you my brief opinion and told you I would get back to you with scripture on why I believe what I believe. I bet you thought I forgot! I haven’t and I apologize it has taken me so long to write to you. I stay busier than I prefer.

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.