Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in Western ReligionRandom House Publishing Group, 23 juni 2010 - 880 sidor A magisterial work of social history, Life After Death illuminates the many different ways ancient civilizations grappled with the question of what exactly happens to us after we die. In a masterful exploration of how Western civilizations have defined the afterlife, Alan F. Segal weaves together biblical and literary scholarship, sociology, history, and philosophy. A renowned scholar, Segal examines the maps of the afterlife found in Western religious texts and reveals not only what various cultures believed but how their notions reflected their societies’ realities and ideals, and why those beliefs changed over time. He maintains that the afterlife is the mirror in which a society arranges its concept of the self. The composition process for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam begins in grief and ends in the victory of the self over death. Arguing that in every religious tradition the afterlife represents the ultimate reward for the good, Segal combines historical and anthropological data with insights gleaned from religious and philosophical writings to explain the following mysteries: why the Egyptians insisted on an afterlife in heaven, while the body was embalmed in a tomb on earth; why the Babylonians viewed the dead as living in underground prisons; why the Hebrews remained silent about life after death during the period of the First Temple, yet embraced it in the Second Temple period (534 B.C.E. –70 C.E.); and why Christianity placed the afterlife in the center of its belief system. He discusses the inner dialogues and arguments within Judaism and Christianity, showing the underlying dynamic behind them, as well as the ideas that mark the differences between the two religions. In a thoughtful examination of the influence of biblical views of heaven and martyrdom on Islamic beliefs, he offers a fascinating perspective on the current troubling rise of Islamic fundamentalism. In tracing the organic, historical relationships between sacred texts and communities of belief and comparing the visions of life after death that have emerged throughout history, Segal sheds a bright, revealing light on the intimate connections between notions of the afterlife, the societies that produced them, and the individual’s search for the ultimate meaning of life on earth. |
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... Experiences ( NDEs ) , which have a number of common themes beyond the fearful emergencies that cause them - bright ... experienced an NDE have conse- quently received an additional gift of confidence in the face of universal and ...
... Experiences ( NDEs ) , which have a number of common themes beyond the fearful emergencies that cause them - bright ... experienced an NDE have conse- quently received an additional gift of confidence in the face of universal and ...
Sida 15
... experiences will be championed , espe- cially in the chapters concerning religious experience in ancient Israel . Belief in life after death is virtually universal in human experience . Very often , these notions come together with ...
... experiences will be championed , espe- cially in the chapters concerning religious experience in ancient Israel . Belief in life after death is virtually universal in human experience . Very often , these notions come together with ...
Sida 21
... experience means that we all har- bor affirmations as well as doubts in our mind about an afterlife and that both can be helpful as well as destructive . But wherever the truth lies - if indeed , it can be put into the simple sen ...
... experience means that we all har- bor affirmations as well as doubts in our mind about an afterlife and that both can be helpful as well as destructive . But wherever the truth lies - if indeed , it can be put into the simple sen ...
Sida 138
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Sida 154
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Innehåll
1 | |
27 | |
70 | |
The First Temple Period in Israel | 120 |
Iranian Views of the Afterlife and Ascent to the Heavens | 173 |
Greek and Classical Views of Life After Death | 204 |
The Rise of a Beatific | 248 |
PART THREE Visions of Resurrection and | 283 |
The Gospels in Contrast to Pauls Writings | 441 |
The Pseudepigraphic Literature | 478 |
The Church Fathers and Their Opponents | 532 |
The Early Rabbis | 596 |
Muslim Christian | 639 |
Immortal Longings | 697 |
Notes | 733 |
Bibliography | 783 |
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Life After Death: A History of the Afterlife in the Religions of the West Alan F. Segal Ingen förhandsgranskning - 2004 |
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