Home > Categories > Philosophy and Religion > Other Religious Beliefs and General Terms > Religion: General > immortality

immortality

From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | Date: 2008

immortality attribute of deathlessness ascribed to the soul in many religions and philosophies. Forthright belief in immortality of the body is rare. Immortality of the soul is a cardinal tenet of Islam and is held generally in Judaism, although it is not an essentially Jewish idea. The ancient Greeks and Romans believed in an afterlife, in which the souls of men lived on, but generally only the gods were considered truly immortal. The ancient Celts believed firmly in immortality. In the East, Zoroastrianism posited immortality. The religions arising in India (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism) generally consider individual immortality undesirable and believe in reincarnation of men as a chain eventually leading to reunion with the infinite (Nirvana). Christianity teaches the resurrection of the body (in the sense of survival of personality) as well as immortality of the soul. See spiritism ; heaven ; hell .

Bibliography: See C. J. Caes, Beyond Time: Ideas of the Great Philosophers on Eternal Existence and Immortality (1985); P. and L. Badham, Death and Immortality in the Religions of the World (1987).

Author not available, IMMORTALITY., The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2008

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press

For permission to reuse this article, contact Copyright Clearance Center.

Related articles from HighBeam Research:

	"I am more fit to die than people think": Byron on immortality.(Lord George Gordon Byron)(Critical essay) Christianity and Literature; 3/22/2006; Stevens, Harold Ray; 12687 words; ... that Byron mocked the idea of Christian immortality by citing one of his best-known letters ... and significant concept of Christian immortality is illustrated in his Vision of Judgment ... 2) Byron's exploration of visions of immortality, however, is not limited to Calvin's ...
	In Defense of Immortality. First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion and Public Life; 8/1/2000; Zaleski, Carol; 5824 words; ... promising to offer evidence for the immortality of the soul. The public hunger ... Under these conditions, to suppress immortality-language is indeed to deny hope. The good news is that recent scholarship has ... position to reclaim the language of immortality. It is a good moment to rethink what ...
	ETERNAL EGYPT 'QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY' DISPLAYS THE MATERIAL 'NEEDS' OF AFTERLIFE Denver Rocky Mountain News; 9/4/2004; Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News; 1822 words; Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News Denver Rocky Mountain News 09-04-2004 ETERNAL EGYPT 'QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY' DISPLAYS THE MATERIAL 'NEEDS' OF AFTERLIFE For every being born, there will be a time to die. And just as all cultures have a ... natural that they also devise an explanation for the endgame: ...
	IMMORTALITY STRUGGLING TO REGAIN '92 FORM The Record (Bergen County, NJ); 6/11/1993; MIKE FARRELL, Racing Correspondent; 429 words; ... Record (Bergen County, NJ) 06-11-1993 IMMORTALITY STRUGGLING TO REGAIN '92 FORM By MIKE ... Nickells is a worried man with good reason. Immortality has not come back to her championship form. Immortality was virtually unbeatable last year ...
	Resurrection at Boot-up Hill: how to live forever.(Extropians, physicist Frank Tipler, and other immortality buffs) The Economist (US); 3/9/1996; 1043 words; IMMORTALITY has had a bad press. Woody Allen's advice about achieving ... believe that science and technology might one day put immortality in reach, and that present-day thinking about what minds ... faith in souls, spirit worlds or the super-natural. Immortality is mathematical, not mystical, said Mike Perry, ...
	IMMORTALITY LOOKS LIKE A LEGEND IN FILLY PACE The Record (Bergen County, NJ); 10/24/1992; MIKE FARRELL, Racing Correspondent; 460 words; ... Record (Bergen County, NJ) 10-24-1992 IMMORTALITY LOOKS LIKE A LEGEND IN FILLY PACE By ... POMPANO BEACH, Fla. -- Although only 2, Immortality has been called the greatest filly pacer ... backed up by results on the racetrack. Immortality put teeth in the lofty forecasts with ...
	The search for human immortality: the biology and the ethics.(Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension)(Book review) Journal of the Alabama Academy of Science; 1/1/2006; Bres, Jaime Bradley, James T.; 2277 words; Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life ... discovery led to suggestions that virtual immortality for humans may become a 21st century ... In his latest book. Merchants of Immortality (2003). Hall explores the science ...
	Immortality Seeking Her 8th in Row; Lady Baltimore Split Into Four Divisions The Washington Post; 9/5/1992; Jack Nowakowski; 241 words; Immortality puts her seven-race winning streak on the line tonight ... Baltimore will be contested, with each worth $52,707. Immortality's most recent victory, in a lifetime-best 1 minute 53 ... Trained by Bruce Nickells and driven by John Campbell, Immortality also won the Countess Adios, the Debutante and ...
	Immortality Captures 8th Straight The Washington Post; 9/6/1992; Jack Nowakowski; 212 words; Immortality, already being compared to some of harness racing's ... Rosecroft Raceway last night. Driver John Campbell kept Immortality under wraps in the race, guiding her to a 1:55 4/5 victory ... filly. Co-owner Jonathan Newman was also quick to praise Immortality, who sold for $97,000 as a yearling. "I've ...
	The Fear of Death and the Longing for Immortality: Hobbes and Thucydides on Human Nature and the Problem of Anarchy. American Political Science Review; 9/1/2000; AHRENSDORF, PETER J.; 15613 words; ... destabilizing hopes and longings for immortality. I then turn to Thucydides, the classical ... somber thesis: Because human hopes for immortality are more powerful than the fear of violent ... instead that human hopes, especially for immortality, tend to overwhelm human fears, even ...
	A deadly bargain: is cancer really less than immortality at the cellular level? U.S. News & World Report; 4/25/1994; Brownlee, Shannon Watson, Traci; 1102 words; ... the Greek hero Hercules, the price of immortality was a life of backbreaking labor and ... the human body, it seems, the price of immortality is the ravages of cancer. Researchers ... telomerase is responsible for cancer cells' immortality, says Elizabeth Blackburn, a telomerase ...
	'ROAD TO IMMORTALITY' A FLAWED EXPERIMENT The Boston Globe; 5/7/1987; Kevin Kelly, Globe Staff; 900 words; "THE ROAD TO IMMORTALITY: PART THREE" -- Work-in-progress ... current work-in-progress "The Road to Immortality" is subtitled "Frank Dell's 'Saint ... Places in Rhode Island," "The Road to Immortality" has not a shred of coherence. It ...
	On Immortality Jerusalem Post; 8/23/2002; Berel Wein; 635 words; 00-00-0000 Headline: On Immortality Byline: Berel Wein Edition; International ... be dealt with. The other hook to immortality naturally deals with how we will ... leave behind for our offspring. Immortality in the world to come is thus earned ...
	VANTAGE POINT: How We Can Achieve Immortality The Jewish Week; 6/30/1994; Harold M. Schulweis; 687 words; ... The Jewish Week 06-30-1994 How We Can Achieve Immortality. Woody Allen once wrote, "I want to achieve immortality, not by having children and not by writing books. I want to achieve immortality by not dying." It is a taunting joke. We know ...
	ETERNAL EGYPT 'QUEST FOR IMMORTALITY' DISPLAYS THE MATERIAL 'NEEDS' OF AFTERLIFE.(Spotlight) Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO); 9/4/2004; Chandler, Mary Voelz; 1887 words; ... Mary Voelz Chandler, Rocky Mountain News For every being born, there will be ... mysterious event known as death? Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt lays out ... visitors. Officials hope Quest for Immortality lures 220,000; the exhibit drew more ... special-ticket portion of Quest for ...