Examine and comment on Christian and Hindu beliefs about life after death Essay

Death is the most fateful experience of each individuals behavior. Whether it is the end of ones animation, or the beginning of a new life, no one knows. Death for the Hindu is merely transition, simultaneously an end to a new beginning. Death for the Christian is ordain and is a time of judgement that is made from their former performances in life. These ar very polar views from two major world religions that both question the different events that may take place after(prenominal)(prenominal) ones death.The Christian faith opines that the body is resurrected at death and the soul of an individual is immortal and continues after death. The doctrines of the church teach Christians that after one dies, they lead rise before God and be judged. They believe that Christians who cod been faithful through with(predicate)out their life by worshipping Christ and helping otherwise who are less fortunate. A quotation from Matthew 25 31-46, One day we sh on the whole be called to acc ount for the air we ware apply our gifts, our opportunities and our energies. Above all, we shall be required for the way we have behaved in relation to the poor, needy and the marginalised, supports the belief of the Christian faith and continues to teach these beliefs to mankind. This judgement that is made by God determines whether a persons soul lead spend eternity in paradise or hell.Based on Jesus teachings and other sources of revelation, Christians believe that promised land is a place of eternal life, extravagance and luxury, The best and sweetest flowers of Paradise God gives to his people when they are upon their knees. Prayer is the gate of heaven, a give away to let us in to Paradise, There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away (Revelation 214), these quotations show Christians believe that heaven is a place for those who have worshipped God and have followed the teachings of Jesus.The bible has depicted heaven as the kingdom of heaven, where kingdom refers to a place of monarchy and s everywhereeignty, where people will be reunited with God. However, Christians dejection non just enter heaven when they die, but will have to show that they are worthy of entree heaven, For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 517-20), this quotation alternatively states that a person who thinks of themselves as higher than God, will never enter heaven. The question that then arises is, where do the unworthy of entering heaven, go after death?The complete alternative of heaven is hell, where people who have carried out immoral acts, such as murder and rape which are forbidden according to the sacred doctrines of the bible, along with people who do non believe in God and have not followed the Christian faith will detain eternally in the brutal conditions that hell facilitates, The sword which shall pie rce them with the greatest sorrow will be the thought of having lost God, and of having lost Him through their own fault, this quotation gives us a small insight of what hell is portrayed as by Christians. St. Augustine says that in Hell, the damned will be forced to think of nothing but God and that will cause them terrible torment. Biblical quotations such as and shall cast them into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 1342) and In Matthew 2541, Jesus says Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, show that Jesus talks about hell as being a place of fire and where souls are burnt and tortured for eternity.Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon which was titled Sinners in the hands of an Angry God. This contained a modulation with a quotation There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery, stating that if a person enters hell, there is no crook back, and they will suffer in the fiery flames of hell. The bible also describes hell as an endless torture scene, with angels and Jesus present either as observers or as officials who are directing the torture of the victims in hell. However, there are two different concepts about the duration of the torture, Annihilationism and traditionalism.Annihilationism is the belief that unsaved individuals will be penalize in hell for only a period of time that is appropriate to pay for the nature and frequency of their sins which they were alive on earth. Annihilationists also believe that when a persons punishment has finished, and they have paid the full penalty for their sins, they will be exterminated and their soul will cease to dwell in any form. This mean that the soul will not be tortured for any longer, however, they will never enter the kingdom of heaven, which consequently promoter that at that point, their life has come to an end.In contrast, traditionalism is simply a belief that unsaved individuals will be punished in hell not only for a year, or a decade, bu t for eternity without any anticipate of relief, moderation or cessation of the pain. There are numerous passages and quotations that front to describe punishment in hell as lasting forever such as the fire that burns them will never be determine out (Isaiah 6624) and And many a(prenominal) of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12.2). These quotations from the bible inducely support the view of traditionalism which shows that even though Gods wish is for all to be saved, the ones who are not will be punished forever.Although this is the view for many Christians, others including Skeptics, Humanists, Atheists, Agnostics generally believe that there is no afterlife and accept that after death, there is personal annihilation. Roman Catholic Christians also have alternative but similar views as they believe that in between heaven and hell, there is purgatory. This is where pe ople who have sinned within their lifetime, but have not sinned to the extent that they must enter hell and be tortured for eternity, are punished for their bad deeds until all penalties have been paid. This enables them to be cleansed from sin and lav potentially enter heaven where their soul will rest for eternity. Roman Catholics also believe that people who have family and friends to pray for them after they die will be released from purgatory sooner than those who dont. This is why many Roman Catholics have an overwhelming alarm of death as they feel they will certainly suffer, whether it is in hell or purgatory.Pope John Paul issued a piece entitled Incarnationis Mysterium which suggests that Roman Catholics visit certain holy sites to try and reduce the total of time they will have to spend suffering after death. In this, there is was an appendix called Conditions for Gaining the Jobilee Indulgence which suggested ways for Roman Catholics to attempt to reduce the marrow o f time spent suffering after they die by carrying out good deeds during their lifetime such as visiting the elderly who live along, the sick, the handicapped etc. Some Roman Catholics carry out these deeds, but the question that has to be asked is, is this being done from the goodness of their punk, or for the goodness of themselves?It is clear that different Christians have different views on life after death, but are similar and can be linked together in nigh sense, for example, annihilationism is vaguely similar to purgatory in the way that people who have sinned are not punished eternally. However, can this be said for the views on life after death for Christianity and Hinduism? Certainly not, as Hindus have a completely different perspective of afterlife.For Hindus, death is referred to as mahaprasthana which mover great journey. Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is the cycle of death and rebirth after a while in spiritual spheres into a new physical body, this is where the soul, which is the true self, remains the same, while the fomite of the soul to make the needed learning experience changes. Death means nothing else but the loss of a vehicle the soul was using during its many reincarnations, which is a physical body.Saint Tiruvalluvar wrote that death is like falling asleep, and birth is like awakening from that sleep, this quotation shows that no Hindu should really fear death, as an individual is not the body in which they live, but the immortal soul which inhabits many bodies in its evolutionary journey. Samsara is the term referred to by Hindus and means go. They believe that the soul wanders from body to body in one lifetime to another. The Bhagavad Gita, which is the holy text for Hindus, teaches that death should not be feared and there is no agent to grieve, For sure is the death of all that is born, sure is the birth of all that dies so in a matter that no one can prevent, you have no cause to grieve (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2 verse 27). This quotation states that all are born again so there is no point grieving over something that cannot be avoided.However, the reason why all living things are continually reborn is based on the Hindu belief in karma. Karma means activity and the law of karma is the law of cause and effect. Hindus believe that the life they are living may not be the first one, and they may have been born many more times before that. The law of karma states that any good or bad deeds than have been carried out in ones life will give an impression and will be carried over to the next life, for example evil and selfish actions will consequently results in a life of suffering. Therefore, it is said to believe that everything has a cause and purpose, What a man becomes in his next life will depend upon his karma (Brihad-aranyaka Upunishad. IV. 4.verse 3). For a Hindu, this belief could rear a strong incentive to live a good, moral life so the fear of suffering in their next life is overcome. The l aw of karma can also explain the differences in circumstances and inequalities between people around the world.Although many Hindus aspire to a good rebirth, the ultimate goal of any Hindu is for the atman (soul) to escape Samsara altogether and this is known as Moksha. Moksha can be described as perfect peace and happiness, or as the soul losing itself in brahman. Brahman means God and moksha is a spiritual state of existence in which there is a pith with God, When all desires that rest in the heart are liberated shall a mortal man become immortal and attain Brahman, which shows that when all thoughts are put to rest and when the atman is truly set as the equivalent of the reality of Brahman, an individual will be able to make moksha their goal and achieve it.Yoga may be considered as a way of exercise to keep the body healthy and fit where as the true meaning of yoga is unity and integration, and is the means, methods and discipline that will enable an individual to bring union with a personal God, Brahman. There are three recognised ways of doing this and they are karma yoga, bhakti yoga and jnana yoga. By carrying out these, and using them as a guideline, moksha can be gained. Hindus see their religion as a way of life and many Hindus apply themselves and live their lives wanting to act to the best of their potential in hope that when they die, they will be released from samsara and gain moksha.Christianity and Hinduism are two major religions that are followed worldwide. They also have very contradistinctive views on life after death. However, both Christians and Hindus shepherds crook to their religion to find answers for existence along with death. They also hold tenaciously to the beliefs taught by their particular denominations as a way of comfort. One thing that Christians and Hindus have in common is that they both portray religion as a way of life and use scholarly teachings to influence them on which rightful caterpillar tread to follow in lif e. Death has been questioned for a very long time and no one has been able to answer the question What happens after death?, which means no one really knows what events will take place after we die, where we will go or what will happen to us.Although we try and answer all of these questions with religious beliefs, until one experiences death, the question that has caused distress to people for over 2 millennia still remains, is there an afterlife?