Appointed Time Of Death This article covers appointed time of death and the Angel of Death. Were The Times Of Death Of Those Who Die in A Disaster Destined To Be Simultaneous? The appointed time of death is the end of the predetermined life-span of a living creature. This inevitable...
Religious Views On Euthanasia There are many religious views on euthanasia, although many moral theologians are critical of the procedure. Buddhism There are many views among Buddhists on the issue of euthanasia, but many are critical of the procedure. An important value of Buddhism teaching is compassion. Compassion is used...
What Is Euthanasia? Euthanasia (“good death”: εὖ, eu; “well” or “good” thanatos; “death“) is the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering. Different countries have different euthanasia laws. The British House of Lords Select Committee on Medical Ethics defines euthanasia as “a deliberate intervention undertaken with the...
Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one’s own death. Mental disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse—including alcoholism and the use of benzodiazepines—are risk factors. Some suicides are impulsive acts due to stress, such as from financial difficulties, troubles with relationships, or bullying....
Lost And Found This article is the story of a young man’s relationship with his abusive father and loving mother. It is a family drama. The long corridor with a hole at the end of it-a doorway, of course-made him feel uneasy. The sound of his fellow-students’ footsteps, their talking...
What Is Thanatos? In Greek mythology, Thanatos (“Death”, from θνῄσκω thnēskō “to die, be dying”) was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person. His name is transliterated in Latin as Thanatus, but his equivalent in Roman mythology is Mors or Letum. Mors is sometimes erroneously identified with Orcus,...
Christian Views On Suicide This article covers Christian Views On Suicide. There has been much debate over the Christian view on suicide, with early Christians believing that suicide is sinful and an act of blasphemy. In modern times, some Christian churches reject this idea, although others still espouse and teach this view. Early Christianity...
Religious Views On Suicide Many of the world’s religions have traditionally condemned suicide because, as they believe, human life fundamentally belongs to God. In recent years many faith traditions have modified their views of suicide and looked more closely at what their role should be, in both prevention and healing....
Organ Donation In Jewish Law Certain fundamental Jewish law questions arise in issues of organ donation. Donation of an organ from a living person to save another’s life, where the donor’s health will not appreciably suffer, is permitted and encouraged in Jewish law. Donation of an organ from a dead person is equally...
What Is Second Death? The second death is an eschatological concept in Judaism and Christianity, related to punishment after the first, natural death. Judaism Main article: Jewish eschatology Although the term is not found in the Hebrew Bible, Sysling, in his study (1996) of Teḥiyyat ha-metim (“resurrection of the dead”) in the Palestinian Targums,...
Spiritual Death In Christianity Spiritual death in Christianity is separation from God caused by sin. Protestantism The phrase spiritual death is not found in Protestant scriptures, and definitions of the concept thus vary among Protestant Christians. Spiritual death is distinct from physical death and the second death. According to the doctrine...
Taoism And Death There is significant scholarly debate about the Taoist understanding of death. The process of death itself is described as shijie or “release from the corpse”, but what happens after is described variously as transformation, immortality or ascension to heaven. For example, the Yellow Emperor was said to have...
What Is Munkar And Nakir? Munkar and Nakir (منكر ونكير) (English translation: “The Denied and The Denier”) in Islamic eschatology, are angels who test the faith of the dead in their graves. Description These angels are described as having solid black eyes, having a shoulder span measured in miles, and...
Belief In The Afterlife In Non-Islamic Societies This article covers Belief In The Afterlife In Non-Islamic Societies. The universality of religious beliefs, including some kind of existence after death, is generally admitted by modern anthropologists. Some exceptions have been claimed to exist; but on closer scrutiny the provided evidence breaks...
What Is Reincarnation? Reincarnation refers to the transmigration of souls, the doctrine that after death the soul moves on to inhabit another body, then die again and then another body, and so on. Belief in some form of this doctrine of endless cycles of birth, death and re-birth can be...
Benefits Of Belief In The Resurrection After belief in God, belief in the Resurrection has the primary place in securing a peaceful social order. Why should those who do not believe that they will be called to account strive to live an honest, upright life? But those of us who...
Rebirth In Buddhism Rebirth in Buddhism refers to its teaching that the actions of a person lead to a new existence after death, in endless cycles called saṃsāra. This cycle is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful. The cycle stops only if liberation is achieved by insight and the extinguishing of desire. Rebirth is one of the foundational doctrines of...
Reincarnation Reincarnation is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being starts a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. It is also called rebirth or transmigration, and is a part of the Saṃsāra doctrine of cyclic existence. It is...
Afterlife In Ancient Religions This article covers Afterlife in Ancient Religions. The concept of resurrection is found in the writings of some ancient non-Abrahamic religions in the Middle East. A few extant Egyptian and Canaanite writings allude to dying and rising gods such as Osiris and Baal. Sir James Frazer...
Eternal Life In Christianity This article covers Eternal Life in Christianity. Eternal life traditionally refers to continued life after death, as outlined in Christian eschatology. The Apostles’ Creed testifies: “I believe… the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.” In this view, eternal life commences after the second coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead, although...