Full Description
A comprehensive survey of how religions understand death, dying, and the afterlife, drawing on examples from Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Shamanic perspectives.
Considers shared and differing views of death across the world's major religions, including on the nature of death itself, the reasons for it, the identity of those who die, religious rituals, and on how the living should respond to death
Places emphasis on the varying concepts of the 'self' or soul
Uses a thematic structure to facilitate a broader comparative understanding
Written in an accessible style to appeal to an undergraduate audience, it fills major gap in current textbook literature
Contents
Preface ix Acknowledgments xiii
1 Understanding Death 1
Return from the Dead 4
Debates and Definitions 9
Death and the Self 14
Ritual and Transformation 19
Notes 22
References and Further Reading 22
2 Primal Perspectives on Death 25
Soul Theories of Primal Peoples 28
The Destiny of Souls 34
Afterlife among theWarao 35
Rituals of Departure 40
A Conversation on Understanding Death 44
References and Further Reading 46
3 Death in the Ancient World 49
Egypt 51
Egyptian Soul Theory 52
Transforming the Body 54
Egyptian Afterlife 56
The Story of Osiris 58
Mesopotamia 61
Gilgamesh and the Search for Immortality 63
The Spirits of the Dead in Mesopotamian Culture 64
Persia 66
Zoroaster and the Evil of Death 67
Salvation for All 68
Notes 71
References and Further Reading 71
4 Jewish Perspectives on Death 73
The Beginning of Death 78
The Soul and Sheol 80
Resurrection and the World to Come 86
The Journey of the Soul 91
Rituals of Departure 97
A Conversation on Understanding Death 101
Notes 103
References and Further Reading 104
5 Christian Perspectives on Death 105
The Death of Jesus 107
Developments in Christian Thought on the Soul 111
Resurrection and Eternal Life 114
Heaven and Hell 119
Rituals of Departure 128
A Conversation on Understanding Death 131
Notes 133
References and Further Reading 133
6 Muslim Perspectives on Death 135
The Names of God 140
Ruh and Nafs 143
The Trial of the Grave 146
The Garden (Janna) and the Fire (Jahannam) 150
Modern Islamic Views on Heaven and Hell 154
Rituals of Departure 156
A Conversation on Understanding Death 159
Notes 161
References and Further Reading 162
7 Hindu Perspectives on Death 165
Feeding the Ancestors 166
The First Sacrifice 168
Death, the Immortal 173
The Inner Controller 174
In the House of Death 180
The Three Paths to Liberation 182
Rituals of Departure 187
A Conversation on Understanding Death 192
Notes 194
References and Further Reading 195
8 Buddhist Perspectives on Death 197
The Life and Death of the Buddha 198
The Noble Truths 201
Karma, Self, and the Wheel of Becoming 204
Nirvana: The Deathless 211
Rituals of Departure 214
A Conversation on Understanding Death 225
Notes 227
References and Further Reading 228
9 Daoist Perspectives on Death 229
The Ancestors 230
Soul Theories 235
The NamelessWay 237
Transformations of the Self 239
The Search for Immortality 242
Rituals of Departure 245
A Conversation on Understanding Death 250
Notes 252
References and Further Reading 253
Index 255
