San Lorenzo Ruiz Seminary

Monte de Maria, Poctoy, Odiongan, Romblon

First Semester A.Y. 2014 2015

Term Paper
on

DEATH AND HUMAN DESTINY

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements
On the Subject

PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

Submitted by:
Bro. IAN GLENN O. GAAC
4th Year A.B. Philosophy

Submitted to:
REV. FR. BILLY V. GREGORIO
Professor

Introduction
What is death? For many us, it may be the loss of a loved one as he/she passes away from
this earthly life going to the afterlife to be together with our Creator. Our deceased loved-one
could never be with us anymore for he/she has already passed away. As we observe deaths and
funerals, do we really understand what does it really mean? Is death really the passing of a
human being to the afterlife? Is it the finality of the life of a being?
We know little of death even that it is a common and obvious phenomenon in every
person. We try to avoid talking about it as if we know a lot but on the contrary, we really know
only a bit and worse, absolutely nothing. As we view death as the final stop of a man, lets ask
ourselves if it is the pit stop of human destiny; that if at death, everything in us ceases. As we ask
ourselves in this question, let us find out what death really means for us and what death, for us
human beings, is. With the help of some ideas and concepts of different theologians,
philosophers and beliefs, we can shed light on our inquiries at the phenomenon of death and
know its relation to our life and in our faith to our Almighty God.

Three (3) Types of Attitude towards Death

Through the span of time, there had been three known attitudes of man in regards to
death; namely:
1. The soul is immortal by nature and will survive the dissolution of the body.
2. There is no separate soul substance but that the soul or life of the body is merely a
function of the material nature of the body.

3. The soul or life of the nature of the individual is not immortal by nature, but
through the sovereign love and power of God the life of the individual can be
recreated beyond death in terms of a new bodily existence.

The first view is authored by Plato which man is composed of body and soul in which in
the time of death, the soul leaves the body and will continue to exist. This was also the view of
Christian and Jewish thoughts in the middle ages.
The second is from the ancient Greek materialists and is represented also by the 20 th
century philosopher, Bertrand Russell. When the body dies, life also ceases for it is only a
function of the body and there is no continuity of it after death.
This third belief of resurrection is the view of early Christianity. Even if the person is
already dead, his soul is resurrected by the sovereign power and love of God in a new bodily
substance in compared to his old one.1

Death and Resurrection from Different Views

A. Bertrand Russell
Russells views were adapted from the ancient Greek atomists Democritus and his
contemporary Leucippus. His materialist view says that our activity, memory, habits
acquired traits depend on the physical body; when the body decays, all the activities that
are associated with the body likewise cease.2
1

Three Attitudes Toward Death in Exploring the Philosophy of Religion by David Stuart. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Inc., 1992, p. 289

Bertrand Russell, The Finality of Death in Exploring the Philosophy of Religion by David Stuart. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Inc., 1992, p. 293

For Russell, in order for a man to survive death, we must believe that the
memories and habits which constitute the person will continue to be exhibited in a new
set of occurrences.3 Our characteristics and traits must remain in us even in a different
circumstance for only by it, we can tell that man can survive death but as Bertrand says,
the brain is dissolved at death and the memory, therefore may be expected also to be
dissolved;4 like a channel of a river being eroded by rain and the river flow made a new
route channel. He also told that human existence is somewhat an accident and the
purpose of the Intelligent designer is like one of a fiend for the values and hopes of men
are not in accordance to nature and despite of human compassion, there is a counterpart
of human cruelty.
B. Jewish Reflection
The body belongs to the empirical world and is by nature corruptible and the soul,
in difference to the body, continues to exist even at death and is eternal. Like the Greeks,
the ancient Hebrews had a vague notion that the soul (nephesh) of a person went at death
into the shadowy world of Sheol, a place comparable to the Greeks Hades before the
emergence of Christianity for it is on the late books of the Old Testament: Job, Daniel and
the later parts of Isiah that the message of resurrection been seen.
The hope of resurrection among the Jews can be seen in the book of Daniel:
At the time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There
shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into
existence. But at the time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written
in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to

Ibid, p. 295

Ibid, p. 296

everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky and
those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. (Daniel 12:1-4,
New RSV)
In Jewish thought, there is an important relationship between faith in God and
hope that death is not the end for human life. 5 It is on this that Christianity and Judaism
agree but still disagree as Judaism puts emphasis on the present life and not really on the
afterlife and for the Christians, as St. Paul said, If for this life only we have hoped in
Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:19)
C. Maurice Lamms The World Beyond the Grave
The concept of afterlife for the Jews according to Maurice Lamm has no real formality
for they only follow the traditional consensus. We cant have a real understanding or idea of the
afterlife for it is only by experiencing it that we can capture its essence and reality; like a person
who told his friend that the burger he ate was delicious. His friend cant have a distinct idea of
that deliciousness for he didnt have a taste of it. Because of the Jews meticulous obedience to
the ancient law, what they are observing and following is not really clear to them; the real idea is
not present or understood; only strict compliance.
Judaism also believes that God will resurrect the dead and it is not only exclusive to
some. It is by Gods power and mercy that we are going to be resurrected and not because we
have an immortal soul. The body, despite corruptible, is also important in Gods eyes for it is also
His gift to us as His creation. Their belief in resurrection is to affirm the value of Gods world,
and to heighten, rather than to depress, the value of mans worthy striving in this world. 6
Lamms idea of death is dependent on how an individual perceives his own life and what
it means to him. If life is like a stage and we are the performers; performing only until the end

5
6

Jewish Reflections on Death in Exploring the Philosophy of Religion by David Stuart. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Inc., 1992, p.303

Maurice Lamm, The World Beyond the Grave in Exploring the Philosophy of Religion by David Stuart. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Inc., 1992,
p. 397

which all the audience already went away, death is not important for life itself has no meaning for
it is only like a pointless performance.
If life is only like a total of cosmological setup where we define of ourselves as only
composed of molecules, the world without a purpose and where everything will end, death has no
importance for life is nothing like a game of chance where we are just only waiting for our end.
Even the cadaver of the deceased doesnt need any ceremonial burial and can be disposed just as
it is.
When life is like a jungle or as what Schopenhauer says, as a great battlefield where we
have to battle for our life, it is only by the way of survival of the fittest that anyone must survive
and death is only nothing and without significance for life is only about survival and that is all
that matters as death is loss of the battle.
But when we believe that God is the one who made life, that we are all His beloved
creation and our life is significant in His eyes, we will have faith that there is resurrection for the
dead for God is the source of all life and death is conquered by Him and not part of his essence.
Death has meaning for all of our strivings and pains we experience are seen by God and He is the
one sustaining and causing us to be alive.

Human Destiny: Immortality and Resurrection by John Hick

According to protestant theologian, John Hick, only through the sovereign creative love
of God can there be a new existence beyond the grave.7 The belief in resurrection roots from the
faith that the unfailing love and purpose of God cant be prevented by death and He is the One
who speaks, and the Word, show that we are creatures with whom God wills to speak, right into
eternity, and in an immortal manner.8

77 John Hick, Life and Immortality in Exploring the Philosophy of Religion by David Stuart. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Inc., 1992,
8

Ibid, 317

p. 316

He looks for another source of proof that human beings survive after death. He turns to
the study of spiritual communication as a way of proving that there is life after death and that it
gives assurance to the belief that the soul survives death and the corruption of the body. He sees
extrasensory perception (ESP) as a way to communicate with the spirits not present already in
the empirical world.
By the use of telepathy or thought transference from one mind to another than through
the channel of sense9, we can know and determine the thoughts and ideas of spirits and is a
probable evidence in which souls survive death and resurrection is possible. Despite of the good
chance and positive hypothesis of Hick, ESP doesnt provide a clear and distinct conclusion that
the soul survives until the resurrection and the communication with souls also dont say anything
about the whereabouts or on how the soul survives and what their present states are. Even though
that it is a genuine psychic or medium performing the ESP, it is still not dependable for what
might he/she be perceiving may only be a portion or blurred impression of what the sender is
conveying.
In his conclusion, he says, ghosts maybe psychic footprints, a kind of mental trace left
behind by the dead, but not involving the presence or even the continued existence of those
whom they represent.10

Life after Life: Raymond A. Moodys book on Near-Death Experiences

Merriam-Webster, Websters Third New International Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster Inc. Publishers, 1993, p. 2350

10 Life and Immortality by John Hick, p. 322

Raymond A Moody Jr. is a doctorate degree holder of both philosophy and medicine and
develops a hypothesis that we can gain insights or information about the nature of death to
persons who were declared clinically dead but been brought back to life by modern medical
apparatuses.
He interviewed many persons who had near-death experience and many of their claims
seemed to be similar to each other in one way or so. Though he interviewed and said something
about the subject, Mr. Moodys research doesnt say anything about the afterlife for he talks only
about near-death experiences; only experiences being close to dying and not the deceaseds soul
being in the afterlife. He didnt found any claims that we survive death but only questions, ideas,
concepts and problems that for him, has to be answered.
In spite of not finding any leads, Raymond Moody says that near death experiences are
real as what he felt during his interviews with the people who experienced the phenomena and
not even words are able to describe it He concludes that we cant fully have an idea about the
afterlife if we dont touch or felt it ourselves.

Conclusion
Death is really a mystery for us persons still living in this world. Even though we have
thought of an idea for us to fathom it, we still fail to see and know anything about it for it is a
phenomenon in which we can only know when we already have a glimpse of it. Whatever may
be our attitude towards death, it is still a reality that all of us will pass through. Bertrand

Russells thought says, as a materialist, at death, everything ceases and that there is no more life
in the next. St. Paul and the Judaist reflections teaches that there is really a life after death as our
Almighty God, by His sovereign love and mercy for us, will resurrect us on His day of judgment
and will gather us all who love Him to His kingdom while the ones who didnt will be at the
eternal kingdom of eternal sadness and lamentation. Maurice Lamm says that the value of death
is seen as on how we value our life and Raymond Moodys book gives us an insight of the
feeling of being near at death.
Whatever we might thought about the reality of death being unknown to us, maybe it tells
us that we must not worry on the things that is still not before us. When it comes on us, it is by
that time that we will know what it is; its essence and reality. We must not be anxious of anything
that is still not arriving at us for it will arrive at the perfect moment in which our Almighty God
has designated. Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each
day has enough trouble of its own. Mt 6:34

Bibliography
David Stewart, Exploring the Philosophy of Religion. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Inc., 1992
Merriam-Webster, Websters Third New International Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts:
Merriam-Webster Inc. Publishers, 1993