Habermas, Gary R.

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Liberty UniversityDigitalCommons@LibertyUniversityFaculty Publications and Presentations Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and GraduateSchoolSummer 1999Review: Life after Death in World ReligionsGary R. HabermasLiberty University, ghabermas@liberty.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/lts_fac_pubsPart of the Biblical Studies Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons,Ethics in Religion Commons, History of Religions of Eastern Origins Commons, History ofReligions of Western Origin Commons, Other Religion Commons, and the Religious Thought,Theology and Philosophy of Religion CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and Graduate School at DigitalCommons@LibertyUniversity. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@LibertyUniversity. For more information, please contact scholarlycommunication@liberty.edu.Recommended CitationHabermas, Gary R., "Review: Life after Death in World Religions" (1999). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 359.http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/lts_fac_pubs/359HOOK REVIEWS 123 Dealh in \"'t)rld Edited Harold Coward. Faith Meets Faith Series. ~!y-: ()rbis Book.s~ 1997. t 25 pages. $15,00. have received more aHention in recent studies than views of th!;; afterhf<:::. It :>':t~ms that this fashionable, both in at as well a'i quite advanta-geous for comparisons. And as with other ~hniJar vo.lumcs. what emerges is ofttcll quite The different started out R~ leel nrc" in the annual S,~ries ;,ponsored the of Victoria in British Co!umbia, Canada. All but one of the seven wfiter~ arc in western Canadian ulliversities.Each conlribution is wlitten by a in that tradition. After the edit0r's Introduction. the Hex.! six the subject of life after death in Judaism. Hinduism, Buddhism, and the Chinese religions. Although not utilizing parnJlei outlines. each chapter contains both his .. torical considerations as well as rcfen.~nces to the of the rciigion being addressed. A few, like the !·Janna Kassis, include Each also ret1ects un the current climate of reli-belief. The volume i~ well-referenced throughout, with endnotes appearing afwr every chapter. As is frequently the case in comparative stuJies of the unex-peckd features abound when to noti.ons. (;ontmry to the some VII hat common idea that the great monotheisms contain beliefs about Gary Arbll{'k!e discusses at of the afterlife as rut' underworld ten courts of heLl" the bettt:r known e.istem belief that in ,0111<: western venues, is a curse. Written ai an of clitical interactkm, Etkzcr the common-ly heard vic»,: that the kws imported many of !heir idea.s about the resunec· tion of the body and final judgment from Persian 'whkh i~ not surpnsmg in of his of Old Testament books like Daniel. Kassis reports that rvIuslims borrowed from both Jevvish and Christian ",,,,,,.w,,v. Spending rnore lime on critical section to conflicts in the Christian traditioll, "Phi.losophical difficulties in the Christian Terence Penelhum devotes wjth the assertion that. vicvv are very he comment;; on different positions like soul ~lecp, immediate final views. He sides with the tatter. even 124 PIlILOSOPHV'!. CHiUSTl. whiie ... ',· .. ·"'''''7' thal combi.nation iits hetter with lhe,um of tllt' hiblical data. issue of rhe future state of the individual also III ore than one writer, Once we find ideas that one aB wel) as some that will not be !n the fonner both Coward and Pcnelhum note the Christian vic'.v that believers will be raised in a body like that exhibited by Jesus after hi8 resurrection. But it does not [oHmly' thaI. eastern deny all nent:.; in tbe nex.t life. In with the best studies on affirms that an essential self survives death. Anantanand tinucs its existence in a "subt.k; and Rambadwn point to H~cent research in near death light on these ' .. VH,.q .. /l". to some, bot this last move is consistent with sever-al studies in the last years. One instance is Famaz Ma'sumi<m's After Death One World, 1995), where 9 is devoted 10 near deafh studies. Her conclusion is that these provide the tivc fcatnn: that lies Ir"rH"lh;,< Interested readers sh,mld nole that claims like these "'Jill be disputed in a forthcoming volume \uitkn Michael Subom. To he reieased Zondervan and Death the claim that the leads to an Eastern or occllltk concept of the afterlife. This is a v/ekome addition to the literature and an different point of inte-will rrr>f"f,"nrv efl~}!1 that may be useful as a levels. ,",pcn<nw in a cogn;:ne REVIEWED BY GARY R HABERMAS LmERTr lJNfVERSlTY 

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