The Afterlife Project

The Afterlife

Death comes in many forms. In the encyclopedia Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena by James R. Lewis, it explains that all religions have their specific view and belief of the "afterlife". In ancient Greece death was considered the child of Night and twin brother of Hypnos (Sleep). Evil and suffering has also been associated with death. In African traditions death was viewed as a result of carelessness and stupidity. However, other traditions have seen death as an unavoidable component of human life and provides an end to suffering and aging. In Christianity death represents a transition to a better and happier form of life, such as a return to Eden, and something that should be embraced instead of avoided. This encyclopedia claims that in the Adam and Eve theory, the snake symbolizes eternal life and immorality. Reguardless, the myths of immorality are still believed by some, but the true answer will always stay unknown to humans.

The reason this chapter, Death, from the encyclopedia Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena is significant to my topic, which questions the afterlife itself and what happens when a person is no longer alive. I think the fact that no one will ever really know the answer to that question is very interesting. I beleive that each religion has its own theory of the afterlife. It is also very important to consider other religions and cultures such as the Greek myths and Gods of sleep and death that were immoral. Adam and Eve is also a popular theory to consider with Christians. All types of answers and cultural views could be suggested however, because no one can be proven wrong or right.


Source-
Lewis, James. Afterlife Beliefs and Phenomena . Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1995.