Beyond Death: Theological and Philosophical Reflections of Life after Death PDF
Preview Beyond Death: Theological and Philosophical Reflections of Life after Death
Beyond Death Theological and Philosophical Reflections on Life after Death Edited by Dan Cohn-Sherbok and Christopher Lewis BEYOND DEATH Also by Dan Cohn-Sherbok and published by Macmillan ISSUES IN CONTEMPORARY JUDAISM ISLAM IN A WORLD OF DIVERSE FAITHS (editor) RELIGION AND PUBLIC LIFE (editor) JUDAISM AND OTHER FAITHS Beyond Death Theological and Philosophical Reflections on Life after Death Edited by DAN COHN-SHERBOK and CHRISTOPHER LEWIS Introduced by Lionel Blue ~ MACMILLAN Selection and editorial matter ©Dan Cohn-Sherbok and Christopher Lewis 1995 'Introductory Reflections' ©Lionel Blue 1995 Text ©Macmillan Press Ltd 1995 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written pennission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenhaln Court Road, London WIP9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 1995by MACMILLANPRESSLTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 2XS and London Companies and representatives throughout theworld ISBN 0-333-63073-4 hardcover ISBN 0-333-63074-2 paperback A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 04 03 02 ,01 00 99 98 97 96 95 PrintedinGreatBritainby IpswichBookCo.Ltd Ipswich,Suffolk For John Hick This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix Notes on the Contributors xi Introductory Reflections: Life beyond Life Lionel Blue 1 PART I THE AFTERLIFE IN THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS 11 1 A Christian Approach to Eternal Life Peter Vardy 13 2 'Go Joyfully': The Mystery of Death and Resurrection Kallistos Ware 27 3 The Christian Heaven David Brown 42 4 The Jewish Doctrine of Hell Dan Cohn-Sherbok 54 5 Life and Beyond in the Qur'an Muhammad Abdel Haleem 66 6 The Indestructible Soul - Indian and Asian Beliefs Geoffrey Parrinder 80 7 Death's Rituals Victor de Waal 95 8 Mourning: The Song is Over but the Memory Lingers On Martin Israel 104 vii viii Contents PART II NEW PERSPECTIVES 117 9 Death and Immortality: Towards a -Global Synthesis Paul Badham 119 10 Beyond Death: The Case of New Religions Peter Clarke 127 11 Death and the Afterlife: New Approaches to an Old Question Arthur Berger 137 12 Are Near-Death Experiences Really Suggestive of Life after Death? Christopher Cherry 145 13 The Near-Death Experience: A Glimpse of Heaven and Hell? David Lorimer 164 14 Human Survival of Death: Evidence and Prospects Arthur Ellison 173 15 Life After Death: A Fate worse than Death A. N. Wilson 183 16 Beyond the Crematorium - Popular Belief Christopher Lewis 199 Suggestions for Further Reading Paul Badham 207 Index 209 Preface Throughout history human beings have been preoccupied with personal survival after death. As a consequence, most of the world religions proclaim that life continues beyond the grave, and in different ways they have depicted the Hereafter in a variety of forms. These various conceptions constitute answers to the most perplexingspiritual questions: Will we remember our former lives in the Hereafter? Will we have bodies? Can bodiless souls recog nise each other? Will we continue to have personal identity? Will we be punished orrewarded, or absorbed into the Godhead? These issues serve as the basis of this collection of essays. The volume begins with an introduction by Lionel Blue in which he reflects on the nature of the 'beyond life' which intersects with earthly existence; although reluctant to speculate about the nature of the Afterlife, he is convinced that in our daily lives we can perceive intimations of another spiritual dimension. Part I, 'The Afterlife in the World's Religions', commences with Peter Vardy's discussion of the nature of the Hereafter in Chris tian theology. Here he provides an historical outline of the doc trine of the Beatific Vision as it developed through the centuries. This is followed by Kallistos Ware's exploration of death and resurrection; death, he insists, is not the end but rather the begin ning of life. In the next chapter David Brown offers a defence of the ChristianunderstandingofHeaven in the face ofmodern criti cisms. Paralleling this treatment, DanCohn-Sherbok describes the doctrine of Hell as it evolved inJewish sources. Such a belief, he emphasises, has·been a central feature of Judaism for centuries despite the fact that today many Jews find it difficult to accept such an idea. As Abdel Haleem explains in the next chapter, Is lam too holds that human existence must be understood in rela tion to a final judgementin which the righteous will be rewarded and the wicked punished. Turning to the religions of the East, Geoffrey Parrinder provides a detailed description of central fea tures of belief in an Afterlife in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. For these faiths belief in life beyond death serves as the basis of their understanding of human existence. In the next two chapters ix
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