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Native American culture
Life after death religious beliefs
What are the various religion beliefs after death
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Afterlife
Upon death, Christians believe that the soul leaves the body and ascends to heaven. The body is believed to return to dust and ashes as referenced in several places in the Bible. When Christians die, they believe that their souls will be reunited with their loved ones in heaven. At the end of all time, Christians believe that the souls of the dead will be reunited with the earthly body.
Indigenous people also believe that people were made from the dirt of the earth. Likewise, they believe in an afterlife. This is evident in their desire to reconnect with the spirit world, which they believe is possible through the Ghost Dance, as discussed in The Ghost Dance Religion. In their mourning songs, the indigenous people use words such as “my soul goes marching on”, indicating that they believe they are going to some sort of afterlife. Some tribes put a lot of care into preparing the body for burial as well. The “Traveler” is well dressed and buried with provisions necessary for the journey to the next life. The body is wrapped in a very
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Sometimes the Holy Spirit spoke through the mouths of angels as with Mary and Joseph, when they learned of Jesus’ conception. At other times, the Holy Spirit was a disembodied voice, as was the case when Abraham was promised that he would be the father of a great nation. At times, it was in a dream as with Abimelek. The Bible is said to be the inspired Word of God written by people. Often prophets foretold of coming events. Isaiah is one of the great prophets of the Old Testament. The book of Isaiah is saturated with predictions of Jesus and his life. Before the recording of stories in the Bible, the stories were preserved by being told orally from one generation to the next. Some Christians believe that after God’s word had been recorded in writing, it became the source of God’s voice and that it is rare for God to still speak to humans, if
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.
It was a great time of despair for the Native American people as the defeat of their nations by the ever westward expanding United States and subsequent placement onto reservations disrupted their culture and way of life as it had existed for hundreds of years. The decade leading up to 1890, which was a main focal point in the history of Native Americans, saw the passing of the 1887 Dawes Severalty Act which called for the breaking up of reservations and offering the Indians an opportunity to become citizens and giving them an allotment of land to farm or graze livestock on (Murrin 628). This breaking up of the different tribes’ social structure was just one of the many causes which led to the spiritual movement known as the Ghost Dance (or Lakota Ghost Dance) that swept across what remained of the Native American people in their various reservations. Other reasons for the Indian’s dysphoria at this time in their history included: lack of hunting, decease of the buffalo, forced abandonment of their religion, nearly forced conversion to Christianity, westernization, and having to farm for the very first time.
The governmental leaders of the United States of America began implementing Indian policies from its inception. As Euro-Americans they expected all non-whites in the U.S. to assimilate into a Euro-American (Christian) lifestyle, without reciprocation or sympathy to the traditions and history of our native people. Our founding fathers and subsequent leaders of the United States at varying times have used suppression, segregation, aggression, and assimilation to manage what they perceived as an Indian problem, and civilize them. The native peoples of North America have responded to these actions by, at times, complying with the U.S. government and allowing themselves to be relocated to other areas of the country leaving behind their ancestral
Garvey goes on to say how the way most Christians describe life after death does not resemble what is said in the Creed and it seems to have no biblical basis either. The soul leaves when the body dies. Pagan beliefs state that the soul becomes a lesser version after death, while Neoplatonism beliefs conclude that the soul transitions to a superior
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.
“Native American Legends.” The Ghost Dance- A Promise of Fulfillment. 2003-Present. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
“It has often been said that the North American Indians ‘dance out’ their religions” (Vecsey 51). There were two very important dances for the Sioux tribe, the Sun Dance and the Ghost Dance. Both dances show the nature of Native American spirituality. The Ghost Dance and the Sun Dance were two very different dances, however both promote a sense of community.
Other prophets have preached peace to less effect. One notorious example is the Ghost Dance religion of the Paiute prophet Jack Wilson (Wovoka). Jack Wilson's people are the Tovusi-dokado, a Numa group speaking Paiute and living along Walker River in western Nevada. They aboriginally ate bulbs of a local grass, tovusi, which gave them their name, and other plant foods, especially pine nuts, plus fish, rabbits, fowl, antelope, and deer. They were nomadic, building small round houses of tule reed thatch, they wore little clothing, and they are noted for their fine basketry. They cooperated in harvesting pine nuts and in driving antelope, ducks, mudhens, rabbits, and fish into nets or blinds; but they had no hierarchical governance structure and
“For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:21 (ESV)
“I will put my words into the mouth of the prophet who shall speak to them everything that I command” (Dt, 18:18). Prophecy is said to be the voice of God, and a prophet is simply God’s ambassador, relaying the word of God to the people. However, it is not by any means his/her choice, for once a prophet is called upon by God and com...
“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.”
These ideals have influenced our culture though our use of language and thought. The implications are apparent in the common references to one’s past lives. For instance, if someone has a natural talent for music one may refer to the person as being once a talented musician in a past life. A religion which describes death as a continuation of existance is held by the Crow tribe of middle America. They viewed death as a journey with the final destination as a place where all their anscestors have gone before them.
Most cultures generally share a universal belief that there is some form of an afterlife. In the gospel of Matthew, the idea of life after death is shown through the teachings of Jesus. Since Jesus is considered to be the Son of God, he preaches that once the body of a human has died, their soul continues to live on. Although they are physically dead on Earth, the spirit of the person moves on to the next life. Jesus says to his followers “I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matthew 26:29). His Father’s kingdom refers to the notion of heaven, where all souls gather after their death on Earth. The Christian belief in the gospel of where the soul goes after death is very different from the Greek view portrayed by Homer.
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.