The question of whether life exists beyond death remains one of the most pertinent of our existence, and theologians continue to address what relevance the answer has for our life in the present. In this book, William J. Hoye uses the phenomenon of emergence - the way higher forms of existence arise from a collection of simpler interactions - as a framework for understanding and defending the concept of eternal life, showing how it 'emerges' from our present life, our human longing for fulfilment and happiness, and our striving for knowledge of reality. Hoye uses the work of Karl Rahner and Thomas Aquinas to explore questions concerning suffering, the ultimate relevance of morality, and how the fundamental idea of responsibility changes when viewed eschatologically. Contemporary reasons for denying an afterlife are examined critically and extensively. This book will be of great interest to those studying systematic theology, theological anthropology and Catholic theology.

Seeks to understand and defend the concept of eternal life, and our human longing for fulfilment and happiness.

In this deeply personal and daring meditation, eminent theologian Jürgen Moltmann challenges many closely held beliefs about the experience of dying, the nature of death, and the hope of eternal life. Moving deftly between biblical, theological, and existential domains, Moltmann argues that while we know intimately the experience of dying--both our loved ones' dying and, ultimately, our own--death itself is a mystery. Are those who have died in fact dead? If the dead are alive, how or in what respect? When the dead awaken to eternal life, who wakes? Moltmann's interrogations yield surprising and beautiful fruits. The living soul that awakens to eternal life is not a ghost in a machine, but the Lebensgestalt, the shape and story of a life, its human and divine contexts, its whole. Drawing on themes from his oeuvre's entire arc, Resurrected to Eternal Life testifies to the inner unity of Moltmann's theology: the cross, the Spirit, the kingdom, the end, and the hope that makes the end present here and now. Seasoned readers of Moltmann will find in these pages a capstone of a lifetime of theological exploration, while those new to his complex thought will find a concise and elegant entry point into his voluminous work.

It has always been my luring ambition to write a book of the most unusual kind or a book of a very unorthodox nature, a book that is void of the glorification of sex and violence, and a book that would be acceptable to God and Man. The book has been in my head all this time but I just didn't know where to begin because the ideas weren't flowing. However, after a phenomenal and electrifying experience, the ideas for such a book came to mind like a bolt of lightning...I was literally struck on the head by a bolt of lightning! The lightning picked me up from the ground and held me in suspension for a little while with a dazzling light round about my head with my body fully electrified. The remarkable thing was that while this was happening, I was not only fully electrified but fully conscious as well. After a while in suspension I was lowered to the ground in complete slow motion on my rear. What was really phenomenal about this shocking experience was the fact that not a single lock of hair on my head was singed or burned... there was no smoke undulating from my head! After this electrifying incident, I was never the same again... I'm convinced that the bolt of lightning that struck me on the head had transformed my mind into the 'Mind of God' and I began to think and speak differently. I became an avid reader of the Bible and it was after my experience with the Bible that the book in my head became very clear to me. I knew there and then I had to write 'The Book Of Life'.It's my solemn hope that every reader will find this book not only enlightening but electrifying as well.

Drawing on a lifetime of wisdom, New York Times bestselling author and controversial religious leader John Shelby Spong continues to challenge traditional Christian theology in Eternal Life: A New Vision. In this remarkable spiritual autobiography about his lifelong struggle with the questions of God and death, he reveals how he ultimately came to believe in eternal life.

In this booklet, Andrew teaches on eternal life.

In this cross-cultural, interdisciplinary study, John Hick draws upon major world religions, as well as biology, psychology, parapsychology, anthropology, and philosophy, to explore the mystery of death. He argues that scientific and philosophical objections to the idea of survival after death can be challenged, and he claims that human inadequacy in facing suffering supports the basic religious argument for immortality.