‘It is natural to die as to be born’ (Francis Bacon)

Introduction

Death is usually understood as the cessation of vital functions in an organism, resulting in the termination of life. However, to say that at death life ends is somewhat misleading. In religious literature a distinction is commonly made between the body and the soul (or spirit), and with this the accompanying belief that whilst the body will die, the soul will move on into another dimension of reality. In light of this religiously minded people tend to postulate the inner, spiritual reality of the human person as constituting the real person. People do not cease to be when their bodily functions cease to work, and their body is discarded. This dualism of body and soul is typically promoted in the major worldviews of Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism right through to the primal religions (although exceptions can always be found). Although Buddhism does not distinguish between the body and soul in the same way (preferring to teach anatta (non-self)), they do accept the belief that the essence of a person (skandhas – material shape, feelings, perception, volition (will), consciousness) is reborn into a new body after death (reincarnation) (for more on this see Buddhism and Life After Death). In philosophy the most famous exponents of the body/soul dualism are Plato (428-347BCE) and René Descartes (1596-1650).

Theories about what happens at death

Theories concerning the afterlife and the place of deceased humans in it are many and varied. However we can usually group them under four main headings.

Soul Sleep/Resurrection – The belief that after death the soul goes to place where it waits for the resurrection day. In the Old Testament souls gathered in Sheol (which describes either the grave itself or ‘a place of shadows’ where souls dwelled). In the New Testament several passages teach that souls await the final return of Jesus when the dead will be resurrected to face judgement.

Embodied Existence – This is the belief that after death the soul is given a new body (although people would still recognise each other) and lives in the spiritual dimension. In Christianity this is the belief that after death the righteous go to heaven whilst the unrighteous go to hell (E.g. Luke 16:19-31). A biblical argument in favour of this belief is that a disembodied soul could not be punished (NB. ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 24:51)). It is also taught that those with physical disabilities will not have them in the afterlife.

Reincarnation – A belief commonly associated with Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism although some Christians are incorporating it into their theology as well. This is the understanding that the soul of each person is reborn into another body on earth after death. Rebirth is connected with karma in that the kind of body the soul is reborn into is determined by balancing the good and bad deeds a person has done in their former life/lives and how spiritually enlightened they are. In Hinduism the soul is only liberated from the birth/death/rebirth cycle (samsara) when a person achieves moksha (spiritual liberation and union with Brahman). Buddhism and Sikhism teach alternative versions of this.

Mystical Union – This is the belief that after death the soul becomes one with the Divine (or is incorporated into the Divine). In Hinduism this idea finds expression in Vedantic philosophy (non-dualism). In Buddhism it is called nirvana (or nibbana - which means ‘blowing out’). Mystics of all faiths/beliefs are likely to teach the doctrine of Mystical Union.

Each of these theories concerning the afterlife are formulated on the assumption that the soul is immortal (or will continue to survive after death). In the Western traditions the philosophical foundations for this belief can be traced back to Plato (or Socrates), who argued that the soul is indestructible as it is a simple entity. In other words, it is not reducible (divisible) any further and thus cannot be destroyed (which would entail it being divided into nothing). Contemporary Christian theologians have been keen to ground the immortality of the soul in God (NB. 1 Timothy 6:16), as against the notion that it has innate immortality apart from God. Thus the immortal soul is not an autonomous entity but relies solely on God for its existence (or non-existence).

For more info visit
http://faithnet.org.uk/A2Subjects/Philosophyofreligion/immortality.htm