Related tags:
Death + (6)
religion + (4)


Users that often use this tag:
dhruva (2)

A New Meaning for “Soul Mate” [PDF] - the curious case of a game of chess between Hungarian Géza Maróczy and Russian GM Viktor Korchnoi... curious, at the very least, because it began more than thirty years after Maróczy's death. The game itself, and further analysis [PDF again].
posted by Wolfdog on Aug 3, 2011 - 18 comments

Baptizing Dead Quakers. One woman's perspective on a family struggle over genealogy, proxy baptism, and discerning the best interests of those long gone.
posted by Apropos of Something on Jun 1, 2011 - 316 comments

Famous physicist Stephen Hawking calls the notion of heaven a "fairy story" in an interview with The Guardian newspaper published today. He made the comment in response to a question about his fears of death.

"'I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I'm not afraid of death, but I'm in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first,' he told the newspaper. 'I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people who are afraid of the dark.'"*

[more inside]
posted by ericb on May 16, 2011 - 496 comments

Who Goes to Hell? An editorial response (by Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, posted on Foxnews.com) to the controversy of Chad Holtz, a Methodist Church pastor in North Carolina, having been fired for questioning whether hell exists.
posted by rodmandirect on Mar 29, 2011 - 397 comments

Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris Debate Rabbis David Wolpe and Shavit Artson on the existence of an afterlife (video) [more inside]
posted by AceRock on Mar 9, 2011 - 92 comments

Professor Brian Cox: "If there were an afterlife I would have to reconsider the engineering design of fridges with a very critical eye" The field of cessation thermodynamics considers how the hereafter might be powered - probably without 21 grams of human soul - and whether this may mean hell will freeze over. [more inside]
posted by rongorongo on Nov 15, 2010 - 19 comments

Is there facebook after death? Also, here's how to send emails from beyond the grave.
posted by DZack on Jun 15, 2010 - 21 comments

So we're stuck in a position where we know too little to commit to atheism and we know too much to commit to religion. That put me somewhere in the middle. I don't prefer the term agnostic because agnosticism is often used as a weak term that means I'm not sure if the guy with the beard on the cloud exists or doesn't exist. So I call myself a possibilian. [more inside]
posted by philip-random on Apr 10, 2010 - 229 comments

There is a remarkable collection of books partially exhibited online at the Richter Library at the University of Miami. The library's physical exhibit includes a sample display of books on spiritual photography, clairvoyance, and a nice run of FATE Magazine. The collection contains over 1700 books and there is a full bibliography. You might ask, what's so special about this collection? Well, the books are all From the Library of Jackie Gleason. [more inside]
posted by cinemafiend on Feb 18, 2009 - 13 comments

Never Say Die: Why We Can't Imagine Death. Why do we wonder where our mind goes when the body is dead? Shouldn’t it be obvious that the mind is dead, too? Examining self-consciousness and mortality.
posted by amyms on Oct 16, 2008 - 219 comments

The Comic Bardo Thodol, or: Everything you ever wanted to know about the Tibetan Book of the Dead but were afraid to not read in a streamlined comic context. [via mefi projects]
posted by cortex on Jul 23, 2008 - 23 comments

Afterlife marriages in remote China "To ensure a son’s contentment in the afterlife, some grieving parents will search for a dead woman to be his bride and, once a corpse is obtained, bury the pair together as a married couple." (NYT article)
posted by dhruva on Nov 5, 2006 - 22 comments

The Coffee Pot Ghosts. In November of 2000, a Maryland woman bought a black Krups coffee maker from Sears. Shortly thereafter, her lizard died mysteriously, strange white lights appeared and she began experiencing “classic Poltergeist phenomena of every description.” Then the spirits began to speak.
posted by jrossi4r on Mar 18, 2006 - 34 comments

Is there any real possibility of an after-life? Some argue that belief in the after-life is an inherently unfalsifiable proposition. Others argue that science has already ruled out the possibility. Buddhism takes a radically different view, embracing a conception of the after-life far different from any found in the Judeo-Christian faiths. What about the possibility of Eternal Recurrence, as proposed by Nietzsche? Just what do we mean when we speak of the "after-life" anyway?
posted by all-seeing eye dog on Oct 13, 2005 - 129 comments

Hell Money "the Chinese believed Hell was the English term for the Afterlife. The word was incorporated and printed on the traditional Chinese Afterlife Monetary Offerings, otherwise known as Hell Bank Notes."
posted by dhruva on May 5, 2005 - 21 comments

Prop me up beside a jukebox is one option. Some think you'd be better off in a pinebox, there's always an Eternal reef. But now, there's an ecofriendly way to spend eternity, or at least a short time.
posted by SuzySmith on Oct 24, 2002 - 11 comments

African fantasy coffins are produced by the Ga and other tribes of the Ghana coast to confer the status of travel and luxury goods upon the deceased. The coffins themselves are incredibly detailed works of art that range from miniature Mercedes automobiles and cellphones to giant fish and Coke cans. What would you like to be buried in?
posted by MrBaliHai on Dec 29, 2001 - 13 comments

Ladies, the Lord is no longer available for dates except in the afterlife.
I was really shocked to read about this, as I thought this guy was long since dead. It seems that Jesus, from Jesus.com was involved in an accident this morning in Westchester Pennsylvania. I'm going to Church.
posted by DragonBoy on Aug 31, 2001 - 35 comments