What Survives after death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

What Survives after death - Essay ExampleSkeptics argue that consciousness is merely a fabrication of the brain, and near-death experiences (NDEs) ar fantasies created by the brain. Believers, in contrast, insist that there is survival after death. Many researchers have explained this idea that survival after death exists in a non-physical extract where our souls take over and continues as the human body and the brain are not the sole determinants of our human beings that is, we have a conscience nonetheless, others take that one time we die we cease to exist as there is nothing past the material realm. Apparently, for the Catholic Church, the notion of life after death is embedded inwardly the innermost part of the core teaching of the Church. There is the belief that the deeds here on earth will largely determine fate in the afterlife. For instance, if the person had been faithful and was a good person in his lifetime, there is a greater chance that he will be adjudged worthy of ingress heaven and be reunited with God. Nevertheless, this is only one of the countless interpretations and conjectures about what happens to a person when he dies. The Soul and the After Life A critical and closely universal element in the different perspectives of life after death is the existence of the soul. This is the bedrock of only beliefs that rationalize transcendence as opposed to pass with flying colors and utter cessation of life. Simply put, the soul is considered part of the human essence. In Catholicism, the soul animates the material body and is key to understanding mans power for reasoning and morality. Aside from the situation that the soul is an indispensable component of human existence in Christian belief, it also underpins most themes of natural law, which holds that there is the existence of rational order in human nature that is independent of human will and is articulated as laws and moral imperatives. The soul, hence, is not just a figment of s omeones imagination or a myth perpetuated by religion. It is related to the concept of conscience, which sets human apart from all animals. Most people, even atheists, believe in the soul and the rational explanation for its existence (Theos 10). Therefore, regardless of what happens to it after death, there is the recognition that when the material body expires, the soul lives on. Finding Answers in Near Death Experiences There are also credible empirical evidences that can attest and confirm the existence of after life. Several case studies in Weiss live ons demonstrate some of these. Consider for instance, an account regarding multiple lives wherein the soul has lived in at least eighty-six physical states (Weiss, 1988, 28). There is also the all too familiar near death experience, which gave a glimpse of what must be the souls perspective. Weiss included one account in her work A conscious part of her would leave the body around the moment of death, floating above and then bein g drawn to a wonderful, energizing light. She would then await for someone to come and help her. The soul automatically passed on. Embalming, burial rituals, or any other procedure after death had nothing to do with it. It was automatic, no preparation necessary, like walking through a just-opened door(24). Eben Alexander provided another case of near death experience. What made his account interesting was the fact that he was a neurosurgeon and he only believed on the tangible evidence and what science could explain. He suffered a rare illness, which left in swoon for seven days (7). In this period he was considered brain dead and the experience qualified as a near death experience when he eventually woke up. In order to tell his tale, he studied and collected