Full Description
Over the centuries, humans have conjured images--the stuff of dreams, convictions, and ardent desire--to describe our afterlife. The vision of heaven can appear as simple as a place among the stars or as complex as a universe filled with a multitude of busy souls.
Positioned at the intersection of art, religion, and culture, this book sheds new light on human creativity in its portrayal of the afterlife.
Beginning with prehistoric burial objects that help with one's heavenly needs, it travels through history to probe ancient texts, examines enigmatic carvings, dissects the meaning of paintings, and discusses contemporary perspectives in film and media. The author demonstrates that humans around the world have always had the capacity to confront the "final frontier" in spirited, hopeful, and beautiful ways.
Contents
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Preface
Timeline
Introduction
1 Through the Mists of Time—Prehistory
2 "In those days, in those far-off days"—Ancient Mesopotamia
3 A Multimedia Guide to the Afterlife—Ancient Egypt
4 The Bridge—Zoroastrianism
5 The World to Come—Judaism
6 An Afterlife for Poet, Philosopher, Painter—Ancient Greece and Rome
7 "In My Father's house are many mansions"—Christianity
8 To the Garden—Islam
9 For the Benefit of Lady Dai—China in the Second Century bce
10 The Cosmic Body—Jainism
11 In the Company of Gods—Hinduism
12 Realms of Existence—Buddhism
13 The Way of Immortality—Daoism
14 A Traveler "enters the road"—The Maya
15 Life from Death—The Aztecs
16 Becoming Huaca, a Holy Thing—The Inca
17 Where Land Meets Sky—Traditional Pacific Island Beliefs
18 The Ancestors—Traditional African Beliefs
19 At the Crossroads—The Vikings
20 Wakan Tanka, the Great Mystery—Native North Americans
21 Personal Visions—American Outsider Art
22 We Are Spirits Passing On—Swedenborg and the Rise of Spiritualism
23 A Mother There—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
24 "What if God was one of us?"—Contemporary Western Society
25 Other Heavens in the Universe
26 The Hope of Heaven
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
