Beyond Death/After Life

This chapter contains various living themes concerning life after and beyond death. These themes range from secular to religious points of view. Furthermore, the chapter includes a detailed account of human near-death experiences. In terms of the present, the chapter presents an overview of beliefs and notions concerning immortality and the afterlife. Above all, it investigates the ramifications of death belief views as a barrier or gateway to human existence.

The writers attempt to resolve the subject of human mortality and its meaning by first considering the concepts of soul immortality. These concepts provide information that intends to bring to the reader’s attention that after death, the human soul remains alive. Although there will be mourning rituals carried out once one is dead, in reality, these rituals acknowledge death and affirm life. Therefore, by being immortal, the authors of the book are fundamentally trying to pass a clear message to the audience that after physical death, the soul does not cease to live rather remains to be immortal and in other different forms, life continues. In this manner, when one is dead, his/her soul is still there, hence, the soul is around him/her somewhere. This clearly illustrates that there can be a way through which the already dead can become alive and have a life. Above all, ancestors’ guardianship is important in the soul’s journey to the afterlife and by the dead coming to life, the immortality concept of the soul is fulfilled.

Secondly, the chapter extensively looks at paradise and Christianity concepts. In regard to these two concepts, the earth will be similar to paradise since heaven will be brought to earth for Christians to stay in love, peace, and harmony. In paradise which is connected with heaven, there will be an everlasting life, where people shall live without suffering or working hard to sustain life, only enjoy life. However, the ones who will inherit the kingdom of heaven shall be limited to only those who had true worship in God’s spirit and believed in their religiousness. Moreover, numerous afterlife concepts are discussed widely by the authors throughout the chapter. For example, in Buddhism, dreams about death are typical to the lives of humans. Moreover, all these concepts precisely indicate that after death there is always life. Additionally, this life after death assertion is reaffirmed by the Hellenistic and Hinduism religions, hell and Hebrew traditions of afterlife, thus, religiousness is placed in thoughts of the Christians.

Thirdly, there is the judgmental day where each person shall receive his/her judgment after death. This judgment shall be according to one’s deeds while living on earth, both righteously and in an evil way that shall determine external destiny, either reward or punishment. Therefore, each individual soul shall be accountable before God. In addition, there is near death experience concept that reveals an individual experience that human being undergoes while on earth before death. Therefore, higher life appreciations and relationships will emerge only from those people who have tested new death experience. Nevertheless, this experience identifies death threat as imminent and transitional stage which is an entry to dark path of death

After one is death, his/her soul enters transcendence and transmigration stage. This implies that once one is dead, the soul migrates from him/her body. According to the religious beliefs of Christians, when one is dead his/her soul goes directly to heaven. This is demonstrated by the soul transmigration process where after death, individual’s soul migrates by moving from the body of the dead to a place where many people with different religions believe it goes. These religions believe that the soul automatically moves to the new another world after death; the world where spirits go and roam within, an area where they rest as they await judgment from God.

In addition, Christians believe that those who died shall be resurrected after death and their soul shall migrate back for the otherworld to the resurrected body. They refer mainly to Jesus Christ as their savior who died for their sins and resurrected from the dead after three days. Moreover, in Christian religion, those people who died while being considered righteous in the eye of God will have spiritual care once they are resurrected after death. Therefore, Christian beliefs about afterlife are persistent throughout their religion as demonstrated by concept exchange between the resurrection and immortality ones.

Finally, the book authors explore the beliefs about death as a door or a wall to the afterlife. Death is merely not a biological outcome rather a human, spiritual and social event. The spiritual component which influences the human and social ones plays a significant part in the life of the people. Henceforth, caregivers should acknowledge patients and grant special care to them since the actions taken when people near death is largely influenced by their individual beliefs. Therefore, respect should be shown to each person’s spiritual preferences and beliefs (DeSpelder and Strickland 565).

Work Cited

DeSpelder, Lynne Ann, and Albert Lee Strickland. The Last Dance: Encountering Death and Dying. Mayfield Publishing Co, 1996.