LIFE AFTER DEATH REALITY OR FANTASY The Fayoum

LIFE AFTER DEATH REALITY OR FANTASY?

The Fayoum Portraits Egypt, 2 C AD

The Fayoum Portraits • The portraits were attached to burial mummies at the face, from which almost all have now been detached. • It is thought that they were painted in life and displayed in the home until needed in death. • Most of the portraits depict the deceased at a relatively young age, and many show children. According to Walker (2000), "CAT scans of all the complete mummies represented reveal a correspondence of age and, in suitable cases, sex between mummy and image. " • Walker concludes that the age distribution reflects the low life expectancy at the time.

Death was a daily occurrence “Irene to Taonnophris and Philon, greeting. I was as much grieved and shed as many tears over Eumoiros as I shed for Didymus. I did everything that was fitting and so did my whole family. But still there is nothing one can do in the face of such trouble. So I leave you to comfort yourselves. Farewell. ” 2 nd Century papyrus

The Example of Victorian Britain • Early death was the norm in society • In Wales in the 1870’s 14 out of every 100 newborn babies did not survive their first year • In Manchester in the 1850’s life expectancy at birth was only 32 years • In London in the 1840’s one third of all children died before their fifth birthday • It was not unusual for children to lose one or both parents through death, and many Victorian children grew up in single-parent families, or were looked after by relatives. • This contributed to strong beliefs in an afterlife.

Ancient Materialists • “Suns may set and rise again; but we, when once our brief light goes down, there is one unending night to be slept through” (Catullus, a Roman poet). • “No-one awakes and arises who has once been overtaken by the chilling end of life” (Lucretius, a Roman poet). • “Hopes are among the living; the dead are without hope” (Theocritus, a Greek poet). • “Alas!. . . these (plants in the garden) live and spring again in another year; but we…when we die, deaf to all sound in the hollow earth, sleep a long, endless sleep that knows no waking. ” (Moschus, a Greek poet).

Contrasting World Views • I WAS NOT; I BECAME; I AM NOT; I CARE NOT. (pagan Roman tomb inscription, 2 C AD) • I will both lie down in peace and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4: 8 – common early Christian funerary inscription)

Christianity • • Spirit – invisible part of man Soul – breath, natural life Body – the organism Death – separation of soul from body – separation of soul from God • Death is never extinguishment of being • Therefore, the soul is not ‘immortal’ • Plato & Rene Descartes

Christianity • What happens after death? – The body is buried – The spirit returns to God – The soul goes to the intermediate state • For Christians – The soul goes to be with Christ – The body sleeps in the earth to await the resurrection • For non Christians – The soul goes to Hades – The body sleeps in the earth to await the resurrection

Christianity • The Resurrection – This is a once for all event for all humanity – Some will be resurrected to eternal life; some to eternal punishment – Christ’s resurrection guarantees the Christian’s resurrection – Therefore, resurrection is based on the truth of the resurrection of Christ – he appeared to various reliable witnesses – The soul will be reunited with a transformed body that is eternal in character

Christianity • Hell – The day of judgement – Sheol – (Heb) - the intermediate state – Hades – (Gk) - the intermediate state • In Jewish theology Hades was two tier (Luke 16) • The righteous went to Paradise • The unrighteous went to a place of torments – Tartarus - (Gk) the place for the very wicked – Gehenna – (Heb) - Hell proper • The biblical “lake of fire” • Named after the valley of Hinnom

Christianity Can a God of love send people to an eternal Hell? The traditional concept of Hell is questioned for • Its crude imagery • Its literal existence (“hell is other people” – Jean Paul Sartre) • Its deficient justice – How can a God of Love justify torturing men & women? – How can God justify an eternal punishment for finite sins? – How can God consign those who have never heard the gospel to an eternity of suffering? – How can God disregard the many good things Non. Christian people have done?

Christianity Various solutions • Hell is a metaphor – for separation from God • Hell is mythical – hell is what we make of our lives in the here & now • All bad people are annihilated at death Annihilationism • The unrepentant are destroyed at the final judgement - Conditional Immortality • All bad people are given a second chance -- once they see what hell is like, they will repent • All bad people pay a limited price and then are promoted to heaven - Purgatory • Everyone will be saved – NT says that Jesus is the saviour of all (1 Tim 4: 10) – Universalism

Christianity • A gentler, kinder damnation – God will somehow find a way to save everyone – Idea is based on the love of God, but • • • What about God’s justice? Separation of God’s attributes Makes light of God’s wrath Devalues heinousness of sin What value in the death of Christ?

Hinduism • • • Circular concept of time Reincarnation – ‘in flesh again’ - sansara Resurrection New Birth Release from sansara by moksha – enlightenment • Karma – balance of good and evil acts • Dharma – what is right

Hinduism

Hinduism

Hinduism • Differences between Hinduism and Christianity – No personal God – Brahman is ultimate reality – No concept of sin and punishment – what about karma? – No redemption, no immediate hope of betterment – No heaven, no hell – Aim is nihilism rather than communion with deity

Hinduism • Hinduism’s resonance with post modern society – Many ways to ultimate reality – No absolute standards of behaviour – dharma differs between individuals • But, Hinduism’s less appealing side – The caste system – Fatalism – Callousness to the poor

Is it possible to know? • Does believing something make it true (postmodernism), or is the truth worth believing in (modernism)? • Are there personal ‘truths’ which can’t be proven, or substantiated? • If there are, is David Icke right when he declares that a reptile conspiracy rules the world? • If there aren’t, what would constitute proof?

Evidences for the afterlife • • Atheism – no possibility of proof Christianity – the resurrection of Jesus Hinduism – the nature of the cosmos Ghosts Past life remembrances Near Death Experiences Spiritualism – mediums