2009 – Life After Death Question

2 a) ii) Assess which of these two views may provide a stronger philosophical basis for a belief in life after death?

Resurrection		Reincarnation
Pro	Anti	Pro	Anti
Bible – Jesus Life gift from God Fair Encourages morality	Jesus only example Jesus’ example different in character to ours Only available through faith in Christ Marxists would argue that the belief holds man back from development or changing bad circumstances Unclear details on what kind of body? Perfect? Recognisable? Damaged? Identity?…	Taught in the Vedas and Bhagavad-Gita Fair – in the end! Respect for all life Available to all who work at selflessness	Loss of identity and memories not carried forward each new life – so how does one learn? Encourages acceptance of the status quo! Loss of self at end – how is that a benefit? Who will recognise us? What has been gained? How many souls? More people are alive now than ever before where do the new souls come from?

Conclusion:

Neither!!
Belief in Life after death is a crutch for weak people
No evidence either way and what there is has been mostly discredited
It weakens man by making him think that all wrongs will be righted in the next life and taking the responsibility for it away from him. Yet in Christianity God’s epistemic distance means the onus is on us!!

(Think about people on benefits who don’t try to find work or those who sponge off parents or relatives or trust funds etc!!)