Death Definition Essay

812 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Death and dying in differnet religions and cultures

The simplest definition of death is when a living thing permanently ceases being alive. Scientifically, the definition of death is when the vital biological functions which keep a living thing alive are irreversibly discontinued. These functions could include breathing, brain activity and heartbeat. The definition of death is different for certain cultures and religions however considering the definition of death depends on an individual’s definition of life. The meaning of death for Catholics is the separation of the body and the immortal soul. The body decomposes whilst the soul goes to particular judgement, which is when the soul immediately meets God and is judged by him. Death for Hindus is the separation of the Atman (the immaterial element …show more content…

While the body decomposes, the soul ascends to Heaven to meet God, and is given a choice as to whether to accept or reject the salvation of God. This belief is closely linked with the belief in life after death because in Catholic belief the soul is immortal, therefore after death the soul must live on. After bodily death, the soul goes to either Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. Hell, according to Catholic belief, is a state of everlasting separation of the soul from God. Those who commit a mortal sin (that is a sin of a grave matter, committed willingly by the sinner, and with the sinner’s full awareness of the sin they are committing) and do not repent before their earthly life is over will be sentenced to eternal suffering in Hell. Purgatory is a place where souls which are not pure enough to enter the holiness of Heaven go. These people are willing to accept the love and grace of God, but their souls must be completely purified before they can ascend to Heaven. Heaven, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church is ‘the ultimate and and fulfilment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness’. Heaven is different for Catholics, and it is considered a state of complete happiness and peace, whereas Moksha, or ‘liberation’ for Hindus is the state of being one with the Supreme Being Brahman. Heaven and Moksha are considerably different, but similar because for Catholics and Hindus achieving liberation or ascending to Heaven is their ultimate goal, and all their actions are performed in order to increase the likelihood of them achieving these goals. In Hindu tradition, the teaching of Moksha is related to Atman because of the nature of the unity which a liberated soul achieves. Although the majority of Hindus believe Moksha is the state of unity with God, some believe the soul remains distinct from God and

Show More
Related

  • A Tibetan Perspective on Birth and Death

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    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 a different idea about death. Both of these religions originated in India. Buddhists and Hindus believe that death is not final. They believe that a person comes back after he or she dies. This process is known as reincarnation, and it provides opportunities for people to enter the world multiple times in different forms. Buddhists and Hindus want to reenter the world as humans, and they want to improve their status through reincarnation. In ancient India, many members of lower casts wanted to come back as members of higher casts. While this is an important goal of reincarnation, the main goal is to reach either moksha (Hinduism) or nirvana (Buddhism). In other words, the goal is to reach a point of spiritual enlightenment that removes the person from the reincarnation process. Geoff Childs, an anthropologist examines the views of the Buddhist religion by studying the lives of the people in Tibetan villages. He looks at issues that adversely affect these people such as infant mortality. He carefully looks at the lives of people who have been left behind by deceased loved ones, and he pays careful attention to customs and traditions surrounding death. Tibetan Buddhists view death as a means of reaching spiritual perfection, and they seek to reach this level of spiritual perfection through living spiritually meaningful lives....

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Five Eastern Religions

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    The five Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto have some similarities when it comes to the their beliefs on death. Hinduism and Buddhism both believe in karma and reincarnation, while Daoism and Shintoism revolve their beliefs around nature. Confucianism chooses not to focus on things we do not know, so their beliefs on death are limited. In deciphering the different beliefs on death associated with each religion, it is important to understand the different belief systems and their origins. While some religions merged the views of the other religions, some came from the views of an originating founder. Each religion has their own view on life after death and whether or not their followers should be concerned

    Read More

  • Should Abortion Be Banned Essay

    1246 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...protection, and cherished as a person that has a soul, body, personality, and purpose that will never occur again. Life itself was created by God. Death was created by Satan. We should never, at any time in our life, choose to follow Satan and support the Culture of Death that kills babies every day. Bibliography

    Read More

  • The Great Ambiguity of the Afterlife

    1876 Words  | 4 Pages

    The religion of Roman Catholicism draws a prominent image of life after death. To begin, the Roman Catholic Church believes in the grant of eternal life among their believers. The death of a person simply puts an end to their mortal life; the soul itself is eternal. Everlasting life is determined by the person, through their acceptance or refusal of the Lord’s divine grace (Catholic Church 1021). Although the Church mainly speaks of the Final Judgment, Christ’s second coming, the...

    Read More

  • Death in Different Religions

    1654 Words  | 4 Pages

    All are tormented and tortured, in isolation from God, without any hope of mercy or relief (Robinson). Many Christians believe that when a person dies, they enter into complete oblivion – a state of non-existence. They remain in dormancy. At the time of the second coming of Jesus, the dead are resurrected and judged. Those who have been saved while on earth will be given special bodies and go to Heaven, unlike the unsaved who will go to Hell for eternal punishment (Robinson).

    Read More

  • Death And Afterlife In The Epic Of Gilgamesh

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Death And Dying Essay

    1240 Words  | 3 Pages

    The subject of death and dying can cause many controversies for health care providers. Not only can it cause legal issues for them, but it also brings about many ethical issues as well. Nearly every health care professional has experienced a situation dealing with death or dying. This tends to be a tough topic for many people, so health care professionals should take caution when handling these matters. Healthcare professionals not only deal with patient issues but also those of the family. Some of the controversies of death and dying many include; stages of death and dying, quality of life issues, use of medications and advanced directives.

    Read More

  • Death and Life Affirmation: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    Now that I know what death is, I can define it from my perspective. I think death is an aspect of life that everyone will experience. It is the last phase of a person’s life but there is an after death life as some people believe. No one knows when death will knock his door because death does not ask a person’s permission to take his life. It is the time you lose everything you have worked so hard and earned in your life. In addition, many of your beloved people will lose you and miss you.

    Read More

  • Hindu Religious Traditions

    1173 Words  | 3 Pages

    "In Hinduism, salvation is achieved through a spiritual oneness of the soul, atman, with the ultimate reality of the universe, Brahman. To achieve this goal, the soul must obtain moksha, or liberation from the samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. As a result of these basic teachings, Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is influenced by karma (material actions resulting from the consequences of previous actions), and dharma (fulfilling one's duty in life)"(Teachings and Beliefs, 2004, par. 1).

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Death And Dying

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    Death is the one great certainty in life. Some of us will die in ways out of our control, and most of us will be unaware of the moment of death itself. Still, death and dying well can be approached in a healthy way. Understanding that people differ in how they think about death and dying, and respecting those differences, can promote a peaceful death and a healthy manner of dying.

    Read More

  • Cultural Analysis On Death And The Afterlife

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Life After Death

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    One way in which death can be viewed comes across the Catholic religion. The Catholic believers look life after death in a prospective of three different worlds, such as Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise according to the deeds committed during life. If a person during his or her lifetime committed any sins, this person’s next world will be the Hell. The traditional view in which people refer to hell can be found in the book written by Dante Alighieri, “La Divina Commedia”. The book states that the formation of Hell was given by the crash of Lucifer (the angel that wanted to be better than God) from the sky onto the earth. Crashing on the Earth in Jerusalem, his head formed an upside down cone inside the Earth. This is where is located the Hell. In the Hell, people pay for their sins with different penitences (12-13). For instance, a person that committed homicide will freeze in a lake frozen by the breath of Satan (XXXIV canto). If a person during his or her life commits any sins but asks for forgiveness, then he or she will go to the Purgatory. The purgatory is represented by an island with a mountain (23). One source states that “Purgatory is very similar to Hell; the main difference is that one will eventually be released from torture. The souls that go in the Purgatory are tortured with fire. These souls remain in purgatory until they become sufficiently purified to enter heaven”(2). For example, if a soul in the purgatory asks for forgiveness and pays the punition with some tests, the soul will be released and moved immediately to Heaven (2).

    Read More

  • Death In Life Essay

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death is something that causes fear in many peoples lives. People will typically try to avoid the conversation of death at all cost. The word itself tends to freak people out. The thought of death is far beyond any living person’s grasp. When people that are living think about the concept of death, their minds go to many different places. Death is a thing that causes pain in peoples lives, but can also be a blessing.

    Read More

  • Death Is The Hardest Thing To Face In Life Essay

    769 Words  | 2 Pages

    Death is one of the hardest things to over come; while others have developed paganism for death it’s ultimately the scariest thing to face in life. Losing a best friend, a family member, or the love of your life. Therefore the death of someone special is definitely the hardest thing to face. Many people believe when someone dies, they’re sleeping, and they wake up when Jesus comes again and brings you to heaven with him, this is called Christianity, however, Buddhism believe when the body dies it disappears, but the mind goes on, which means you have no after life to experience. I personally believe after you die, you will go to a very special place, with past family members who have passed away. I also believe if you don’t think there is a God you will go to

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Hinduism

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    I thought that, like many other religions, there was a desirable and undesirable place to go to after death. Hindus do not believe in a heaven or hell. They believe in rebirth and this happens depending on their karma. Karma is the computation of a person’s actions. An individual’s karma will decide on what they will be reincarnated as in their next life. Their goal in life is to become one with Brhaman and this happens when there is no more karma. There is no more rebirth and karma has equalized, meaning it has balanced. The person is immersed into Brahma and they are forever with the ultimate. An example of this is how a river flows into an ocean. This stage is called Moksha and that is the ultimate

    Read More

More about Death Definition Essay

Open Document