Afterlife has been a central element in most religions since the ancient times. Life after death played a significant role in the ancient Egyptian religion and forms the earliest belief system in the world. Among the Egyptians, the stages of human life, rebirth and life after death formed the reproductive cycles that surrounded them in the natural world. After death, they looked forward to continue their normal life with their descendant and enjoy all pleasures of life without pain and hardships. The idea is depicted in their burial rites that demonstrated how the deceased wished to remain after death. Life after death was experienced by the different components of the human body. The tomb was the natural location of the physical body and the illuminated spirit could live among other people, the vicinity of the tomb or in a different world. The guardian spirit resembled the person while the soul animated the individual. Most American Indians believed in some kind of existence after death and that human beings have more than one soul. The free soul can be removed from the physical body and survive death but the main soul connected to the breath cannot escape death. Most of the American native beliefs on life after death represent shamanistic themes.
Zoroastrianism is one of the ancient religions that have influenced many other religions in many ways. It was founded in Persia by Prophet Zoroaster at around 100 BC. Its main element is the struggle between good and evil which is a more or less even match. On life after death, it teaches that the human souls will be judged after death by comparing the evil deeds versus the good deeds of the individual. After judgment, the person is either taken to hell or paradise but if the judgment is not immediately defined, then the soul is placed in a transitional realm to await the final apocalypse. After the long battle between evil and good, the good individual will receive resurrection to be made immortal while the evil will be consumed. This concept of resurrection represents the earliest notion of immortality and the end of the world when good overcomes evil and people rejoice with the renewal of creation. This idea of the end time was adopted by the Jews apocalyptic thinkers and later by Christianity and Islam. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Bahai faith emerged in Persia with roots in the Islamic culture. The religion teaches that the physical world is a representation of the spirit and the basic reality of each individual is the soul. Spiritual improvement continues after the termination of the soul from the body at death which occurs in the presence of god in an eternal and more extensive stage of education.
Gnosticism emerged as a movement and school of thought in the Hellenistic era and influenced paganism, Judaism and Christianity. Its main teachings were that the world more so the human body was the creation of an evil divinity that had confined human souls in the physical world. Human beings are required to reject the pleasures of the body in order to escape from this captivity. This can only happen through intellectual insight (Gnosis or knowledge). Instead of looking for immortality in life, the Gnostic believed that life was some sort of hell and they generally believed in a circle of reincarnation like the Asian religions. During the third century, another religious movement called Manichaeism emerged in the Mediterranean which was a mixture of Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism and Christianity. Its main teaching was the brutal dualism of the spirit and body. It emphasized that the soul was a fallen divine glow from the sphere of good while the body was the creation of the evil world. The righteous were believed to ascend into the light and everyone must reincarnate until they are fully purified.
Spiritualism is a religious notion that stresses in life after death based on scientific evidence and communication with deceased persons through medium ship. Its central tenet is the continuity of the individual by being reborn into a spiritual body. After death, the soul is slowly transformed until it reaches the realm of pure spirit and the speed of the process depends on the mental and moral capacities acquired on earth. Most Christian denominations hold the view of life after death where the righteous will inherit the kingdom of God while the sinners will be condemned to eternal punishment in hell. This will come to pass after the second coming of Jesus Christ and the final Day of Judgment.
The belief in life after death will continue to enlist a lot of interest from different quarters. It can not be proved or disapproved like a scientific theorem rather it can only be sustained by the belief system. This is one question that scientists will never unravel but every at one time will come face to face with the reality. Most people believe in life after death because there is no compelling reason to believe otherwise. Death is simply the end of the physical consciousness of man but the spiritual continues to exist. It is equally one subject that has confused the human mind especially in contemporary times. It is both a source of fear and hope in equal measure. The existence of variant view points about life after death more so how it should be attained is a big dilemma for many people. All in all, we shall at least exist in some form beyond our last breath.
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