Death in Different Religions
Death has a great impact on people's lives in such a way that they learn to value life or even live it to the fullest. But what happens to us after we die? Many religions have answered this question for us according to their faiths. Buddhism is a religion where Buddhists believe in the concept of death and reincarnation or rebirth. On the other hand, Christians believe that after you die you go into a period of dormancy and until the second coming of Jesus will you be woken up and decided your fate whether you go to heaven or hell according to how you have lived your life. Christianity teaches salvation from sin through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Through Him, the gift of eternal life is also attained.
Christianity started as a missionary religion and has now become the world's most widespread faith. It focuses on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The traditional story of Jesus tells of his birth in a stable in Bethlehem in the Holy Land, to a young virgin called Mary who had become pregnant with the son of God through the action of the Holy Spirit. The story of Jesus' birth is told in the writings of Matthew and Luke in the New Testament of the Bible. The New Testament, a collection of twenty-seven books written in the century after Jesus' death in 30 C.E., has had importance by shaping the church's teachings, ethics, ritual, organization, and mission in the world (Van Voorst 245). His birth is believed by Christians to be the fulfillment of prophecies in the Jewish Old Testament which claimed that a Messiah would deliver the Jewish people from captivity ("The Basics").
Christians ultimately believe in two places to go after death, Heaven where eternity is spent in a state that is beautiful beyond our ability to conceive, or Hell, where eternity is spent with Satan and his demons. 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 had 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).
One of the greatest and oldest human mysteries on Earth is death, and the fate that lies beyond it. The curious minds of human beings constantly wonder about the events that occur after death. No person truly knows what happens after a person ceases to live in the world, except for the people themselves who have passed away. As a result, over the course of history, people of various backgrounds, ethnicities, and religions have speculated and believed in numerous different possibilities for the destiny that awaits them beyond the world of the living. The great ambiguity of the afterlife is extremely ancient that many different beliefs about it have been dated back to several centuries ago. These beliefs go as far back to the beliefs of Ancient Egyptians, which outline the journey that the dead travels to the land of Osiris; and the belief of Ancient Greeks that all souls eventually find themselves in Hades’ realm, the Underworld. Throughout history, views and beliefs from emerging religions continue to develop as the human conscience persists in finding answers to this ancient, unresolved mystery. Prime examples of the various and separate beliefs regarding death and the afterlife are found in the diverse faiths of Roman Catholicism, Islam, and Buddhism.
Christianity is one of the largest, followed religions composing 32% (Fairchild) of the religious people in the world, it is also one of the oldest and it has the most commonly known theory of an afterlife. Christians believe in a punishment or reward system based on the way you chose to live your life. You have complete free will to do as you want, but if you do not choose to do right and follow Gods rules you will be punished all to your own avail. Christians are given a guidebook called the bible and this is the script that they must model their life, the specific rules or generalizations are in Deuteronomy and Exodus. If you choose not to follow the rules of the bible and if you do not repent for your sins, asking the son of God to cleanse you then you will go to Hell. Hell is a place for the wicked where they will be tormented, “The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Bible Gateway passage: Matthew 13 - New International Version). Hell, according to Christian scripts is also described as a place where “the worms that eat them (the people) do not die, and the fire (that they are cast into) is not quenched.” (Bible Gateway passage: Mark 9 - New International Versi...
What is Christianity? Christianity started in the mid- 1st century. The religion is based on Jesus Christ. Jesus was in many stories of the Bible. One of them is that Jesus was the Son of God and was placed by God, onto this earth as a man. He was sent by God to die for our sins, so we can be free, forgiven, and have eternal life. Once Jesus died for our sins He was resurrected three days later, and then ascended to heaven ("Christianity"). "He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification" (New International Version, Romans 4:25). There are tons of people around the world that ask: What happens when we die? According to Christianity, si...
There is much belief that when humans die their lives are not yet over. They will live on as something else or they will live as their spirit/ soul. How is it though, that people would be able to live on in an afterlife because once you’re dead you cease to exist? There are three common explanations to how there is an afterlife. The first, near death experiences take place when someone is close to death and can either feel the soul separate from the body, or are able to see what is known as the “white light”. The second, reincarnation which occurs when someone passes on and has a second chance at life as either someone different or a whole new organism is general. The third, resurrection, the way Jesus rose from the dead, happens when someone confirmed dead return to life. Each one of these theories for life after death has a series of truths behind them, however, which one is considered the most reasonable truth? This paper will analyze each theory and conclude with the best answer possible why people should believe in the afterlife.
The Bible contains two parts, which are the Old Testament, the so-called the Jewish Bible, and the New Testament. Though many different writers involved in writing the Bible, the two Testaments are not independent; they are cross-referenced to each other. Christians often treat the Old Testament not only as the historical documents or literatures of the Israelites, but also as an important element of the foundation of the New Testament, because the writers of the New Testament lay strong emphasis on the relationship of Jesus with the prophecies of the Old Testament, which includes "the birth of Jesus, the place of His birth, the flight into Egypt, the return to Nazareth, the role of John the Baptist in preparing Jesus for His public ministry," the crucifixion of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus.
Afterlife. Many people are curious but afraid, they want to know what happens, but don't want to experience it themselves. Each person has their own belief about it, whether it be that we are reincarnated, that our spirit stays here on earth, that there are a heaven or hell, or simply that we die and that’s it there’s nothing to it. No matter what it is, we believe in something, and religions are shaped in a variety of ways to fit their own idea about the afterlife. Science has gotten really close and basically proved that there is an afterlife for the non believers and Religions have each explained what the afterlife is thought to be like for them specifically. According to Brian Harley and Glenn Firebaugh from the Journal for the Scientific
“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.”
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.
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....
Hinduism is unlike many other religions in that it does not have a single founder or text, but is more like an umbrella in ways of life. In death and life for the Hindu, “The ultimate goal of the soul is liberation from the wheel of rebirth, through reabsorption into our identity with the Oversoul (Brahma)-- the essence of the universe, immaterial, uncreated, limitless, and timeless” (Leming & Dickinson, 2011, p. 134).
...must be granted immortality by God through resurrection. “All human beings had to pay for sin with death, unless, to complete the economic symbolism, they were redeemed-literally meaning "bought back"-by Christ (Abrahamic Transcendence pg. 173). Heaven is, fundamentally, the utmost culmination for which all Christians strive for; it is “fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1024). In Heaven, the sanctified carry on blissfully conforming to God’s will in affinity to all life, they will rule with Christ for eternity. The general belief is that there will be an individual judgment after your death where God will grant you immortality in heaven or in hell and then a universal judgment where all of mankind on earth, in heaven, and in hell will have their final reckoning in front of God.
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
Socrates and Christians both believe that you should anticipate death and prepare for it. But Socrates’ view on death is far different from the view that Christians have in the fact that Socrates states that you will become nonexistent when you die. On the other hand, Christians believe that your soul lives on in either Heaven or Hell. Socrates view in not accurate because your soul lives on in Heaven or Hell, it doesn’t just become nonexistent, your soul lives forever.
What is going to happen to us when we will die? Some people never considered what it could happen to them after life. For many people, death is a redoubtable event because they do not know what to expect after their death. However, other persons, such as religious people are conscious of what to expect after their death because of their beliefs. Each religion has different ideas and different ways of looking life. Death, therefore, is viewed by different religions in many ways. Although, different religions have a distinct conception of death, they all have something in common: they all give hope to people. Among all different religions in the world, four of the most common ones - Catholic, Jewish, Islamic, and Hindu- view death in different ways.
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