What Happens When We Die?

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.

From the moment of conception to the day people die, there are life choices that are made through certain religious beliefs, this may have an impact on how life is in the afterlife. For Christians and Buddhists the purpose and meaning of their life and how it is lived out is determined by what they believe they will encounter in the afterlife. Through the divergent views of their beliefs, the two religions have different views on what the afterlife is for them. Because of this opposing view it reflects on how their life is lived out. Before we delve into a closer look at each faith it is important to understand the terms used within each religion as they also associate with differing terms about the afterlife.

Judaism and Christianity is a monotheistic religion. "Judaism is a diverse tradition associated with the Jewish people", and Jesus is a Jew. Many people insist Judaism is the foundation of Christianity because Christianity originated from Judaism (when God showed himself to Abraham and Moses), but not an expansion of Judaism. This two religions, both refer to Jesus Christ, even though his role in each religion differs. The Jews refer to God as Yahweh (“I am who I am”) while the Christians refer to him as God. They have the same origin, believe that Abraham was the father of faith and Moses received the Ten Commandments. Both religions relate in faith and the scripture they share, but as much as they associate, they also have differences.

In Buddhism there is a belief in a form of reincarnation or rebirth. The aim of this is to reach nirvana which is a state of perfect peace. Be aware that there are different kinds of Buddhism that deal with death in their own ways.

Buddhism began in the fourth and fifth centuries before Christ by Siddhartha Gautama. The teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, are the major beliefs of Buddhism. Buddhism is a belief and religion based on an assortment of customs, principles, and practices. The name Buddha means the awakened one. Buddha’s teachings were of the termination of suffering, attaining nirvana, and absconding from the cycle of suffering and rebirth. Buddhism has spread all across Asia and throughout the world, now with between two hundred thirty million and five hundred million followers. Buddhism is largely based around the belief of Karma. Karma is the “action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation” (Dictionary.com) or “the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person’s deeds in the previous incarnation.” (Dictionary.com) In simpler words, how you live your life now determines how you will come back when your current soul expires. Buddhists live their lives in hopes of achieving to be placed in the highest state known as Heaven. The after-life stems from Karma and leads into Rebirth. Rebirth is a course of action where humans proceed within multiple lifetimes in one or more of the six states of after-life. Each lifetime begins with birth and ends with death. Buddhists believe that we should not fear death because

The Article Life After Death by Steve Stewart-Williams explains a lot of theories and arguments as to what happens when we die. Stewart-Williams breaks down each argument from the side of the believer and the side of the skeptic. I found this article to be very interesting and eye opening to all the arguments out there as to what happens to our bodies after we die. As humans we are born and taught from the very beginning that we will someday die. We are the only animals who live our entire lives knowing that we will eventually face death.

Though many have the some of the same teachings, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity all have different afterlife's. I will start of first with the afterlife of Hinduism, in the Hindu religion there is a “heavenly paradise enjoyed by the souls of those who died with a ponderance of good karma but who must still undergo at least one more stay on earth” (ABH 456).They are allowed to stay in this heavenly paradise for only a certain amount of time before they have to go back to earth to perform the rest of their duties. After the person has finally achieved perfection back on earth, instead of going back to paradise they become reunited with the the Brahman, also called the soul of the universe.

A lot of us have asked ourselves the question what happens after death. After we ask this question to ourselves we don’t really go much into depth about the question we simply ignore it and go with our daily routines. Roach Mary, a scientist, says, “we have all wondered if there is an afterlife, but only a few are brave – or foolish – enough to try and find out.” There are many theories and ideas on what happens after death, some backed up with research and data and some are just plain silly. After researching many ideas, I came upon 3 ideas that caught my attention. One of these is published by THE JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND PSYCHICAL RESEARCH, it is a Philosophical series by Sylvia Hart Write. The other is an article by scientist Mary Roach. Lastly The 21 grams Theory by Dr. Duncan MacDougall. These 3 articles share similarities and differences, like one is more spiritual than the other and one is more scientific. After analyzing them and reading these articles profoundly I saw which were the “silly” articles and which article made the most sense and was backed up with evidence and research. This great question has created a large amount of curiosity in many scientists. Adam Withnall from independent.co.uk states, “It’s a question that has exercised humanities finest minds since those humans have been around to have them – and has been recently the subject

“Where does our soul go after we die?” This question confused me, according to the plan of salvation written about in the scriptures, we do all that we can on this Earth to prepare for the second coming. I wouldn’t say that I’m necessarily afraid of death. I would say that I personally embrace it. Yes, the idea of never seeing loved ones again is heartbreaking.

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.

Both Buddhism and Christianity believe in the idea of life after death.While Christians believe in heaven and hell, Buddhists believe in the idea of reincarnation, until reaching nirvana. Although the two religions have different interpretations of the afterlife, they both believe in the concept of life after death. Both Buddhism and Christianity set guidelines to a holy life. In Christianity, the guidelines are set by Jesus in the Bible, while Buddhism’s guidelines are set in a collection of teachings. Through these teachings, the followers of each religion learn

Both Buddhism and Christianity are a monotheistic religion but buddhism doesn't believe in a supreme creator being a.k.a God, while in the christianity we believe in God being our only supreme creator. Buddhism's goal is to let go of our desires, cravings and attachment, and try to dispel our ignorance. In christianity, the goal is to obtain salvation through christ’s passion, death and resurrection. In christianity our main goal is to love god and obey his commandment, while creating a relationship with jesus christ

We all wonder what happens to us after death that’s why I chose to write my reading summary on Life after Death. It’s the age old question of what becomes of us, we all have our different ideas mostly based on your religious beliefs or lack of beliefs. There are plenty of different ideas of what happens but nobody knows until it is your time to go. “The question of whether we survive death is one of the big questions of human life” (Steve Stewart-Williams).

Judaism as well as its offshoot and formation into the Christian religion both place great emphasis on the notion of their monotheistic God as revealed in the early scriptures. To them God has revealed Himself as the one Lord of all. Evident in the first Commandment that was

One of the hardest parts for most people’s lives is accepting death. Death is inevitable. The question that still remains is what happens after death. The idea of there being something after life on Earth is questioned by some. Christian beliefs tell of a place your soul goes after you die on Earth known as Heaven.