October Advent, Day 10: Views on the Afterlife from Ancient Texts  

Now that I’ve cited it half a dozen times, I think I’ve exhausted my use of Wikipedia as a source for this advent calendar. From here on out, I’ll be turning to books. Here are four views on the afterlife from ancient books I have lying around the house and have read.

Whether the ideas in the excerpts are true isn’t interesting. There’s no way for us to know for certain. However, the thread of justice in each one tells us something about human nature. We’ve always wanted fairness. Good for good and bad for bad.

Here are the excerpts:

The Bhagavad Gita

Do not doubt this. Whatever occupies the mind at the time of death determines the destination of the dying; always they will tend toward that state of being.

The Aeneid

They are put to punishment, to pay the penalty for all their ancient sins. Some are stretched and hung out empty to dry in the winds. Some have the strain of evil washed out of them under a vast tide of water or scorched out by fire. Each of us suffers his own fate in the afterlife.

The Book of Revelation

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

The Qur’an

And never think of those who have been killed in the cause of Allah as dead. Rather, they are alive with their Lord, receiving provision.

For my part I cannot say if there is an afterlife. I have not been there, and I don’t know anyone who has. Some days it feels like one must exist — it has to! — and other days, nope. This is all there is, so love this moment.

It’s okay not to know. It’s also okay to note that of the four excerpts, the one from the Bhagavad Gita resonates with me most, while the one from the Qur’an resonates least. Some ideas are more useful than others. Some ideas are more moral than others. These things are okay to note.

And still, there is reason to hope.