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Death and dying in differnet religions and cultures
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Cultures like those of Egyptians, Tibetans, and some Buddhists believe in an afterlife, because of that they believe that gives reason to there being an afterlife. Every culture has their own belief in the afterlife and different rituals that they do for the dead. The reason that they believe in an afterlife is because of what they see before they almost die the light or their life flash before their eyes and when they don’t die they think that their god spared them. Since they see these types of hallucinations they believe that this proves that there is an afterlife. As of today there is no scientific evidence or otherwise to prove that there is an afterlife. Just believing that there is an afterlife based on your faith isn’t enough proof
Life after death is a mystery, some beliefs include heaven and rebirth, but no one really knows what the afterlife consists of. In Ancient Egypt, people believed that they needed to decorate the coffins with paint, images, or hieroglyphics and put objects such as paintings and jewelry inside or around the tomb for those who died. They believed that it would appease the gods and would allow their passage to the afterlife to be easier and regarded the objects and mummy as a place that the spirit of the diseased could inhibit after death. Egyptians had a strong spiritual belief that was equally important throughout the socioeconomic classes, their belief in the ka, which was the spirit that lived on after death, led them to create marvelous works
The big question. No not that, the other one. The "what happens to us after life" question. It is something that has intrigued people everywhere. It has prompted the beliefs and semantics of different cultures all around the world. It started wars, divided people, and now dictates how we are all to act. "We should do this, we should do that. If we don't, we will be punished." I, for one, am tired of it. By all means, think what you will. But this is my writing, and you will have to open your mind to my thinking if you wish to continue. If you do wish to continue, I will be brutaly honest in what I think. There will be no sugar-coating in this oppinionated essay of mine.
Many religions and philosophies attempt to answer the question, what happens after a person dies? Some religions, such as Christianity and Islam, believe there is an afterlife. They believe that good and moral people enter Heaven or Paradise and that bad and immoral people go to Hell. Other religions and cultures believe that death is final, and that nothing happens after a person dies. Buddhism and Hinduism have different ideas about death.
The ancient egyptian civilization will go down in history as one of the most successful and powerful empires ever. The certain traditions that they used give us a different idea on how other people portray the afterlife. For example, the prestige steps in wrapping the body, or how they go into the afterlife. Even what they did to the bodies and the tomb give us a different perspective. “The kingdom of heaven is within you;
We learn about ancient civilizations through literature passed down from generations. The view of an afterlife is what provokes people’s immense fear and concern about the concept of death in which they express that fear in different forms. Salvation means we receive eternal life if we have a personal relationship with God. In modern day society, most people go to church to show their faith to God in thinking they get “saved”. These ancient literature goes into elaborate detail about the horrors Hell provides. The Inferno of Dante goes into detail that there is a hell and the levels inside it are different tortures people have to endure for committing a specific crime. In Virgil’s Aeneid, it gives a description of the Elysium. The Elysium is where the heroic and virtuous go to live blessedly and happily. The idea of an afterlife is one of the main factors in why today’s society attends church and worships God. The details these stories give about Hell frightens people into thinking that Hell can be that torturous. The idea of Hell has shaped today’s society for the better and worse. The stories about Heaven is a paradise filled with peace, happiness, and enjoyment. Today, people are doing more good in their lives because of their belief in God and the
The rituals and traditions of the Indians evince their beliefs in spirits and afterlife. Indians believed that there would be a better life for them after they die, because many of them did not see a way out, but people were still fighting for their lives.
“You will be with me today in paradise,” Jesus Christ told this to the thief on the cross while they were dying. However, can people believe that there is truly life after death? In many different religions there are different perceptions of life after death. For example in the Buddhist religion, the Buddhist people believe that life is practice for death. Professor Brown, of California State University of Northridge stated, “The Buddhist people cultivate positive, happy virtuous states of mind and abandoning non-virtuous, harmful, suffering states of mind.” This teaching is mirrored by Christianity teachings as well. Professor Brown also stated, “Death is an opportunity for great spiritual achievement if one is prepared and remembers one’s spiritual practices and beliefs and understandings during the death process.”
In Egypt, praising death and the afterlife is a big part of the culture. The Egyptians make tombs and pyramids so that they can live a successful life in the afterlife. The afterlife means that a person will be dressed in all clean clothes and white shoes and will be standing in front of the God of the underworld (Attar). The Egyptians call this day Judgement Day because the God of the underworld decides the persons fate if the person passes the test that the God gives the person (Attar). If the person does not pass the test then they will a die again as a second death. Most people pass the test because the Book of the Dead, that was written in 1550 BC, gives specific instructions of learning to survive in the afterlife. The afterlife to the Egyptians mean that the spirit of the person leaves the body but only temporarily (Attar). They say that if the spirit returns every night and if it doesn’t it ruins the chances of having a successful
There are multiple views on death and the afterlife and each view is different depending on the religion or belief that someone practices. Some religions believe in a heaven but not a hell, some believe in both and others do not believe in either. The religions that are practiced today were created by our ancient ancestors who had the ability to think beyond themselves. Practicing a religion and having an idea of death and an afterlife back in ancient times laid a foundation on how religion is seen and practiced today. Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Hindu’s created the concept of death and life after death through what they believed and practiced in ancient times.
The Egyptians believed very much in life after death. As Taylor states in Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, “It is often observed that they appear to have devoted greater efforts and resources to preparing for the afterlife than to creating a convenient environment for living” (Taylor, 2001:12). The Egyptians viewed life on earth as one stage and death as the beginning of another. They believed that, “human existence did not end with death and that survival of the body played a part in the new life” (Taylor, 2001:12). One of the key elements in the Egyptian culture and religion was the preservation of the body. The body was the most important aspect because it was like a portal through which an individual could continue to live after death (Taylor, 2001:46). The Egyptians began building tombs for these bodies to keep them from decaying.
The Egyptian were very meticulous about the dead. If a person died a certain way, it would affect how the took care of the body. This was to prepare each of them to be in front of the Gods themselves. “Whoever, either of the Egyptians themselves or a foreigner…has clearly come by his death by the action of the river itself, at whatever city he comes to land must, with the greatest concern, be embalmed and treated as well as ever is possible and be buried in a holy coffin” (Herodotus). The Egyptians also believed that the burial would prepare them for the afterlife. “At death, they believed a certain series of actions…would ensure the spirit's passage into the afterlife. Their idea of heaven was a place similar to life, in which all of one's desires and needs were met” (Cowan). The Greeks believed in the afterlife in a similar way. They believed that everyone would go to the afterlife and it also was very similar to real life. Clearly, they adopted this idea from the Egyptians, and without the Egyptians they would have a very different view on the
Knowing the answer to the question where will we go when we die gives a sense of closure. A sense of peace. Likewise, to this question Miles responded, “People, I thought, wanted security.....I finally decided that people believed in an afterlife because they could bear not to” (Green 100). For most people, the thought of death is something scary. Because of religious beliefs though, if you believe in certain ones, death no longer appears as something scary. Many religions believe in some sort of afterlife and/or the soul’s existence, and this provides security. Although countless people believe in some sort of afterlife after death, not all do. Even though not believing in that, some still are able to find some sort of stability in the sense of thinking about death. For instance, Alaska professed, “Y’all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die” (Green 44). Some people don’t care. They seem to come to terms with the fact that death is just something inevitable and there shouldn’t be a reason to fear it. Knowing it’s coming, might as well be mentally
Christians, for example, believe that souls that have lived by the words of their God will exist eternally in heaven as divine beings themselves. This conception of an afterlife is generally what we people who are residents of the Unitied States hold to be true. For American culture has its roots in Europe and European culture was and is still influenced by Christian faiths. Similar to Christianity, the Hinduism also eases the fear of death by presenting a life after death. Disimilarities present themselves in the two faiths concerning exactly what kind of afterlife is lived. Believers of the Hindu faith expect to be reincarnated after their demise, either as an animal or human being depending on the manner in which their lives were carried out.
The deathly jerk caused by the huge impact of my car hitting an oncoming truck, causing my neck to stop but my inner contents to carry on running forwards, as if there was still a tomorrow to run to. There wasn’t.
Religion is commonly defined as a group of beliefs concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions and rituals associated with such beliefs (Wikipedia, 2006). Most of the major religions have evolved over the centuries into what they are today. In many cultures and times, religion has been the basic foundation of life, permeating all aspects of human existence (Fisher, 2002). Religion is passed on from generation to generation. My religious beliefs were passed on from my relatives on my mother's side. My family has believed in the Catholic faith for many generations. Since I grew up in the Catholic faith I went to Catholic schools my entire childhood. My personal experiences and the Catholic faith made me into the person I am today. Without a religious upbringing I feel that there would have been something missing in my life.