Regarding Life After Death - Thanatology

Excerpts from draft of unfinished writing project at Seminary, 2000

Thanatology (the study or science of death) is a vast subject; its literature incorporating a motley of massive corpus with a time span of above five thousand years. In Christian theology, it is treated under the division of Eschatology (the study or science of Last Things).

Though, evidently, a significant subject, thanatology is, ironically, one of the least non-debatable subjects of the world. This is understandable, seeing that it also is one of the least verifiable disciplines of all disciplines. Yet, it is a significant one.

It is significant because of the psychological problems it addresses like the shock of bereavement, the instinct of survival, fear of future, anxiety, etc. It is also significant because of the philosophical and theological problems it addresses, viz., “Why is there the phenomena of death,” “Why is there the fear of death,” and “Is there life after death: If yes, of what nature?” Its significance is also evidenced by its resurgence in drama, movie, literature, music, and painting, etc. It appears to be one of the least soluble problems of human kind because of the complexity of elements, dimensions, and issues it addresses.

The past few decades have witnessed a considerable growth of interest in the study of death. Levit and Weldon in their “Is There Life After Death?” note that

‘There is a new interest and openness today about the world’s most fearsome mystery – where we go when we die. Invariably a taboo topic, death has lately come into its own as a conversation piece. Books are appearing one after the other, purporting to explain the inexplicable, and folks who have returned from the beyond are publicly willing to discuss their tours….Even scientists are talking seriously about death, conducting research and inquiry into a real frontier of human life. Psychology Today points out: Death is in vogue as a topic of books, seminars, scholarly articles and classes at every level from college down to elementary school(Sept, 1976, p.44). A recent Gallup Poll reported that 73% of Americans believe in life after death (National Observer, May 15, 1976, p. 10), and that large majority obviously has a more than routine interest in death.’

Billy Graham noted in 1987 that

‘More books have been written about death in the last ten years than in the previous century.’

Thanatological beliefs affect greatly one’s theological, soteriological, and ethical beliefs and conduct. The same is also true of vice versa. How a person come s to a particular thanatological belief is important. It is understood that a mystery-embedded subject such as this cannot be very easily resolved. Reports of dead people coming back to life abound. However, the variety of contradictory experiences and the possibility of psychological explanations for the same complicate the subject. In addition, there are some who regard the study of death itself impossible and useless. For instance, Epicurus said:

‘Death, feared as the most awful of evils, is really nothing. For so long as we are, death has not come, and when it has come we are not.’

According to Epicurus, death and existence, and, therefore, experience, are incompatible. Hence, any emotion related to it is a reaction to nothing. In his reply to Zophar, Job spoke these words:

‘For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet, through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? If a man die, shall he live again?’

The answer of Science is “No!” The concept of returning back from death is against the second law of thermodynamics which states that entropy is irreversible. Death in Science is, by definition, the irreversible cessation of life.

In spite of the fact that an empirical approach to the subject is understood to be an absolute impossibility (once it is experienced no one can return, by the above definition, to tell what it looks like to be dead), attempts are being made to give the subject a very scientific outlook. Authors like Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Raymond Moody, Erica Simon, and Swami Abhedananda have written books for the same end. At the turn of the 20th century, The London Society for Psychical Research and The American Society for Psychical Research were founded to investigate reports of near-death and out-of-body experiences and related psychical phenomena. Modern movies, literature, and T.V. serials are attracting public attention towards spiritualist and eastern theories. In face of all this, there is an urgency for a proper investigation of the claims and instruments of research (epistemics). There is also a need to examine their logical and theological implications, and their relevance for life and society.

TERMINOLOGIES IN THANATOLOGY
1. “Hereafter”
2. “Life after Death”
3. “Beyond”
4. “The Other World”
5. “Heaven”
6. Paradise
7. Hell
8. Hades
9. Purgatory
10. Reincarnation
11. Spirit/Soul
12. Nirvana