Life after Death, Reincarnation, Resurrection and Immortality of the Soul
Belief in life after death has taken many forms, some which are unique
in particular religious belief systems, though; others can be found in
more than one religion. 'For most religions, life after death is an
article of faith. In Western religions, the belief is founded in
scriptural evidence, but for all religions the belief in life after
death is the same: life after death has been promised to humans by an
all powerful'[1]
There are many views of life after death in particular which have been
much adhered to and much discussed by philosophers. This essay will
attempt to put forward some of the key ideas and arguments for and
against life after death.
One view of life after death does have a venerable philosophical
history. It can be found in Plato's Phaedo. Here we are presented with
the figure of Socrates who is about to drink poison because he has
been condemned to death. His friends are grief stricken but Socrates
assures them that he is perfectly able to survive death. His friends
ask Socrates how he wants to buried and he responds to them by saying
"however you wish, provided you catch me, that is, and I don't get
away from you". Socrates is distinguishing himself and his body, which
is soon to be lifeless. He is clearly thinking of his real self as
something distinct from his body. So according to this argument we
shall survive as a disembodied self. Many Muslims believe in a
disembodied survival of death during which the soul is questioned and
sentenced to either torment or ease until the day comes when the soul
and earthly body is reunited[2...
... middle of paper ...
... fear of non-existing is the prime reason for the fear of death.
To conclude, ultimately the only way life after death is verifiable is
via eschatological verification. All of the views supporting the idea
of there being a life after death are not coherent because they namely
lack empirical evidence.
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[1] Philosophy of religion life after death by Jonathan Webber
[2] Philosophy of religion life after death by Jonathan Webber
[3] Topic 5 Human Destiny by Sarah Tyler
[4] Philosophy of Religion by Stephen T Davis page 701
[5] Philosophy of Religion by Stephen T Davis page 703
[6] Jeff Astley- thinking about life after death
[7] Jeff Astley- thinking about life after death
[8] Philosophy of Religion by Stephen T Davis page 705
Many people contemplate life after death. Does our soul cease to exist or does it remain after we die? These were both important questions that were discussed by Plato and Lucretius. I agree with Plato’s concept of the immortality of the soul. I will discuss in detail each Lucretius’ and Plato’s positions.
Each religion has its own idea of what will happen in the afterlife. In Buddhism, they believe that dying is apart of an ongoing cycle until the dead receive enlightenment. This cycle is called Samsara and by definition means an ongoing cycle of life and death until that person reaches enlightenment (heaven). There is a three stage cycle that occurs from the moment you die until you are reincarnated; This process is called The Three Bardo's. The first bardo is when the soul goes into a trance and often doesn't realize that they have passed away. People recall seeing a bright light once in this trance and if that person welcomes the light then they will not be reincarnated, but most people flee from this light. The second bardo begins when the person realizes they are dead. The deceased will see everything that they have done or throughout their life. The third bardo and final stage contains a longing for possessing someone. When they do posses someone the rebirth occurs and they are reincarnated as a living
What if I told you that you’d be able to relive the fondest moments of your life as many times as you want in a dream world reality, would you believe me? This may seem far-fetched for some people, but if you take the time to read "The Soul Survives and Functions After Death” by H.H. Price, you’ll start to question your own beliefs about your soul and where it goes once death strikes. Price questions the nature of souls once the inevitable happens and states that the soul goes to another world, a Next World. The idea of the dream world I previously mentioned will make you question your very own beliefs about where your soul will go once life’s inevitable happens to you. So, is Price’s afterlife theory of the Next World really something to
At the most basic level of subconscious thought, every living animal possesses a desire to stay alive. Usually, this instinct lays dormant, although in dire situations, we can be led to do unexpected things. In addition to this subconscious drive, there is a socially constructed motivation for fearing death. Thanks to the pervasive nature of religion throughout history, much of humanity has, at some point or another, feared the prospect of eternal damnation and torture during one’s life after death. Although not every religion has a negative aspect of the afterlife, or even any semblance of an afterlife at all, those religions which do contain some such construct receive much more attention in this regard. Throughout history, many academics have countered people’s irrational fear of the unknown by noting that there is no definitive evidence to prove the existence of such a postmortem experience. According to Lucretius, this fundamental fear of death is completely speculative, and wholly illogical; he argues that we have no reason to fear death because there is nothing after death. What makes Lucretius’ argument so significant, is not how he counters religion, but how he bases it upon his own revision of atomism. It is because of this foundation of logical thought that Lucretius’ writing on the nature of death can still be thought of as a sound hypothesis.
Rebirth, a prominent idea in Christianity and Western thought, is often associated with rejuvenation and second chances. The idea of a second birth is both a baptism and a change in identity— all of which figure prominently in Charles Dickens’s novel, A Tale of Two Cities. Two characters, Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton, both go through the process of rebirth and a change of identity. The process of birth is in nature a responsibility of the female, in both Dr. Manette’s case and Sydney Carton’s they are reborn through the actions they do for Lucie— whose name is telling in itself, meaning light/daylight all symbolic of something new/God the light and the way. Resurrection is a reoccurring theme which can be seen through the actions of Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton.
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A classical point of departure in defining Death, seems to be Life itself. Death is perceived either as a cessation of Life - or as a "transit zone", on the way to a continuation of Life by other means.
“Our sense of self, our sense of humor, our ability to think ahead — gone within the first 10 to 20 seconds” (Shaw, 2017). The afterlife has been questioned so much, especially throughout the thoughts of religion. “Theories abound from logical to irrational, yet there is no concrete evidence about the afterlife.” (Shaw, 2017). The idea of their being an afterlife maybe hard to grasp because it is based on having faith. Due to this, hoping there is a heavenly estate after death is not wrong but there is no significant evidence to supports this idea. Therefore, what waits after death maybe neither heaven nor hell due to the varies influential factors that can contribute to the idea of the afterlife.
“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.”
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....
Death is a controversial topic that most people in society tend to avoid. Death is often difficult to talk about regarding people. People often tend to lean towards having insight and control on everything in this world. Death is one thing that people cannot have control over or do not completely understand. Death often results in sadness for friends and love ones who wont see that person anymore. Death in a sense is unclear to individuals sense there is no scientific proof to understand what happens when a person dies. There are various beliefs of what happens when a person dies, according to different cultures. Some have a stance as seeing death as termination from existence. Others have a stance on death as leaving one world and having a portal to another life. In a sense comparing these to beliefs death is either real or not real. Philosophically death would be examined through human reasoning. Personally, I believe that when you die physically your spirit man goes to either Heaven or Hell, depending on belief in Jesus. My stance is based on the Christian stance on how you will spend eternity in one place or another. Even though there is no evidence of what happens when you die, when you die you either go to heaven or hell because the Bible and Christian faith have a firm belief in this doctrine. An individual also has a spirit that is eternal.
Life after death is a topic of controversy in which Bertrand Russell and John Hick discusses the idea of whether it is possible to have life after death. Russell addresses his argument against the idea through his brief essay titled “The Illusion of Immortality” (1957). In addition, Hick also discusses the topic through his work “In Defense of Life after Death” (1983) of why life after death is a plausible idea. In this paper I will be discussing Russell’s argument against the belief of life after death. As well, I will also be addressing the opposing view by explaining Hick’s argument in defense of life after death. My goal in this paper is to highlight through the analysis of life after death how Russell in my opinion holds the strongest position.
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 had an original intent of educating and admonishing Corinth on their views on resurrection. However, modern Christianity in its many forms has established an interpretation that slightly strays from its original inscription. Regardless, Paul’s letters not only shaped the ideals of Corinthians believers but influenced the Christian ideals of post mortem resurrection or eternal life as well.
In a time where science and materialism reign, the topic of the soul is rarely mentioned, ostensibly left in the past with the philosophers of old. Nichols, however, candidly broaches this difficult topic and gives new life to the argument that humans do indeed have an immaterial, immortal soul. Nichols summarizes several popular arguments for the existence of the soul as he builds his own argument, which discusses a soul as limited in relation to its environment as well as a soul that is one with the mind and a controller of the body. He discusses both the strengths and challenges to his argument, offering rebuttals to the challenges. Because this soul is the organizing principle of the body it is involved in the Resurrection as well, bridging the gap between the material and spiritual worlds. However, I disagree with Nichols’ assessment, instead choosing the side of materialism where an immaterial soul does not exist.
Immortality is a complex idea in society, even today. Immortality is the indefinite continuation of a person’s existence, even after death. (2) Immortality implies a never ending existence, regardless of whether or not the body dies. In order to understand the immortality of the human soul it is important to understand the difference between an individual’s body and soul. The body is the physical object of an individual, which lives until death, and then decomposes. On the other hand, people connect soul to an individual’s personality. The soul may also be associated to the mind. Th...