Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life.[2]

Biological forms have inherent

limitations which medical interventions or engineering may or may not be able to overcome.

Natural selection has developed potential biological immortality in at least one species, the

jellyfish Turritopsis nutricula.[3]

Certain scientists, futurists, and philosophers, have theorized about the immortality of the human

body, and advocate that human immortality is achievable in the first few decades of the 21st

century, while other advocates believe that life extension is a more achievable goal in the short

term, with immortality awaiting further research breakthroughs into an indefinite future. Aubrey

de Grey, a researcher who has developed a series of biomedical rejuvenation strategies to reverse

human aging (called SENS), believes that his proposed plan for ending aging may be

implementable in two or three decades.[4]

The absence of aging would provide humans with

biological immortality, but not invulnerability to death by physical trauma. What form an

unending human life would take, or whether an immaterial soul exists and possesses immortality,

has been a major point of focus of religion, as well as the subject of speculation, fantasy, and

debate.

In religious contexts, immortality is often stated to be among the promises by God (or other

deities) to human beings who show goodness or else follow divine law (cf. resurrection).

The Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the first literary works, dating back at least to the 22nd century

BC, is primarily a quest of a hero seeking to become immortal.[5]

Wittgenstein, in a notably non-theological interpretation of eternal life, writes in the Tractatus

that, "If we take eternity to mean not infinite temporal duration but timelessness, then eternal life

belongs to those who live in the present."[6]

Contents

1 Definitions

o 1.1 Scientific

o 1.2 Religious

2 Physical immortality

o 2.1 Causes of death

o 2.2 Biological immortality

o 2.3 Prospects for human biological immortality

o 2.4 Mystical and religious pursuits of physical immortality

3 Religious views

o 3.1 Ancient Greek religion

o 3.2 Buddhism

o 3.3 Christianity

o 3.4 Hinduism

o 3.5 Islam

o 3.6 Judaism

o 3.7 Taoism

o 3.8 Zoroastrianism

4 Ethics of immortality

o 4.1 Undesirability of immortality

5 Politics

6 Symbols

7 Fiction

8 See also

9 References

10 Further reading

11 External links

o 11.1 Religious and spiritual prospects for immortality

o 11.2 In literature

Definitions

Scientific

Life extension technologies promise a path to complete rejuvenation. Cryonics holds out the

hope that the dead can be revived in the future, following sufficient medical advancements.

While, as shown with creatures such as hydra and planarian worms, it is indeed possible for a

creature to be biologically immortal, it is not yet known if it is possible for humans.

Mind uploading is the concept of transference of consciousness from a human brain to an

alternative medium providing the same functionality. Assuming the process to be possible and

repeatable, this would provide immortality to the consciousness, as predicted by futurists such as

Ray Kurzweil.[7]

Religious

The belief in an afterlife is a fundamental tenet of most religions, including Hinduism, Sikhism,

Christianity, Zoroastrianism, Islam, Judaism, and the Bahá'í Faith; however, the concept of an

immortal soul is not. The "soul" itself has different meanings and is not used in the same way in

different religions and different denominations of a religion. For example, various branches of

Christianity have disagreeing views on the soul's immortality and its relation to the body (cf.

Soul (spirit)).

Physical immortality

Physical immortality is a state of life that allows a person to avoid death and maintain conscious

thought. It can mean the unending existence of a person from a physical source other than

organic life, such as a computer. In the early 21st century, physical immortality remains a goal

rather than a current reality. Active pursuit of physical immortality can either be based on

scientific trends, such as cryonics, digital immortality, breakthroughs in rejuvenation or

predictions of an impending technological singularity, or because of a spiritual belief, such as

those held by Rastafarians or Rebirthers.

Causes of death

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Main article: Death

There are three main causes of death: aging, disease and trauma.[8]

Aging

Aubrey de Grey, a leading researcher in the field,[5]

defines aging as follows: "a collection of

cumulative changes to the molecular and cellular structure of an adult organism, which result in

essential metabolic processes, but which also, once they progress far enough, increasingly

disrupt metabolism, resulting in pathology and death." The current causes of aging in humans are

cell loss (without replacement), DNA damage, oncogenic nuclear mutations and epimutations,

cell senescence, mitochondrial mutations, lysosomal aggregates, extracellular aggregates,

random extracellular cross-linking, immune system decline, and endocrine changes. Eliminating

aging would require finding a solution to each of these causes, a program de Grey calls

engineered negligible senescence. It has also been researched that aging is not driven by genes,

and that it is driven by random events. Everything in the world changes or ages without being

driven by a purpose. There is also no direct evidence that proves that age changes are governed

by a genetic program. There is also a huge body of knowledge indicating that change is

characterized by the loss of molecular fidelity.[9]

This leads to the fact that there is no longer a

chance for repair and turnover, increasing the vulnerability to pathology or age-associated

diseases.

Disease

Disease is theoretically surmountable via technology. In short, it is an abnormal condition

affecting the body of an organism, something the body shouldn't typically have to deal with its

natural make up.[10]

Human understanding of genetics is leading to cures and treatments for

myriad previously incurable diseases. The mechanisms by which other diseases do their damage

are becoming better understood. Sophisticated methods of detecting diseases early are being

developed. Preventative medicine is becoming better understood. Neurodegenerative diseases

like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's may soon be curable with the use of stem cells. Breakthroughs

in cell biology and telomere research are leading to treatments for cancer. Vaccines are being

researched for AIDS and tuberculosis. Genes associated with type 1 diabetes and certain types of

cancer have been discovered allowing for new therapies to be developed. Artificial devices

attached directly to the nervous system may restore sight to the blind. Drugs are being developed

to treat myriad other diseases and ailments.

Trauma

Physical trauma would remain as a threat to perpetual physical life, even if the problems of aging

and disease were overcome, as an otherwise immortal person would still be subject to unforeseen

accidents or catastrophes. Longevity researchers would prefer to mitigate the risk of

encountering trauma. Taking preventative measures by engineering inherent resistance to injury

is thus relevant, in addition to entirely reactive measures more closely associated with the

paradigm of medical treatment.[citation needed]

The speed and quality of paramedic response remains a determining factor in surviving severe

trauma.[11]

A body that could automatically treat itself from severe trauma, such as speculated

uses for nanotechnology, would mitigate this factor. Without improvements to such things, very

few people would remain alive after several tens of thousands of years purely based on accident

rate statistics, much less millions or billions or more.[citation needed]

Being the seat of consciousness, the brain cannot be risked to trauma if a continuous physical life

is to be maintained. Therefore, it cannot be replaced or repaired in the same way other organs

can. A method of transferring consciousness would be required for an individual to survive

trauma to the brain, and this transfer would have to anticipate and precede the damage

itself.[citation needed]

If there is no limitation on the degree of gradual mitigation of risk then it is possible that the

cumulative probability of death over an infinite horizon is less than certainty, even when the risk

of fatal trauma in any finite period is greater than zero. Mathematically, this is an aspect of

achieving "Actuarial escape velocity".

Biological immortality

Human chromosomes (grey) capped by telomeres (white)

Main article: Biological immortality

Biological immortality is an absence of aging, specifically the absence of a sustained increase in

rate of mortality as a function of chronological age. A cell or organism that does not experience

aging, or ceases to age at some point, is biologically immortal.

Biologists have chosen the word immortal to designate cells that are not limited by the Hayflick

limit, where cells no longer divide because of DNA damage or shortened telomeres. The first and

still most widely used immortal cell line is HeLa, developed from cells taken from the malignant

cervical tumor of Henrietta Lacks without her consent in 1951. Prior to the 1961 work of

Leonard Hayflick and Paul Moorhead, there was the erroneous belief fostered by Alexis Carrel

that all normal somatic cells are immortal. By preventing cells from reaching senescence one can

achieve biological immortality; telomeres, a "cap" at the end of DNA, are thought to be the cause

of cell aging. Every time a cell divides the telomere becomes a bit shorter; when it is finally

worn down, the cell is unable to split and dies. Telomerase is an enzyme which rebuilds the

telomeres in stem cells and cancer cells, allowing them to replicate an infinite number of

times.[12]

No definitive work has yet demonstrated that telomerase can be used in human somatic

cells to prevent healthy tissues from aging. On the other hand, scientists hope to be able to grow

organs with the help of stem cells, allowing organ transplants without the risk of rejection,

another step in extending human life expectancy. These technologies are the subject of ongoing

research, and are not yet realized.[citation needed]

Biologically immortal species

See also List of long-living organisms

Life defined as biologically immortal is still susceptible to causes of death besides aging,

including disease and trauma, as defined above. Notable immortal species include:

Turritopsis nutricula, a jellyfish, after becoming a sexually mature adult, can transform

itself back into a polyp using the cell conversion process of transdifferentiation.[3]

Turritopsis nutricula repeats this cycle, meaning that it may have an indefinite

lifespan.[13]

Its immortal adaptation has allowed it to spread from its original habitat in

the Caribbean to "all over the world".[14]

Bacteria (as a colony) – Bacteria reproduce through Binary Fission. A parent bacterium

splits itself into two identical daughter cells. These daughter cells then split themselves in

half. This process repeats, thus making the bacterium colony essentially immortal.

A 2005 PLoS Biology paper[15]

suggests that in a bacterial colony, every particular

bacterial cell may be considered to eventually die since after each division the daughter

cells can be identified as the older and the younger, and the older is slightly smaller,

weaker, and more likely to die than the younger.[16]

Bristlecone Pines are speculated to be potentially immortal;[citation needed]

the oldest known

living specimen is over 5,000 years old.

Hydra is a genus of simple fresh-water animal possessing radial symmetry. Hydras are

predatory animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria and the class Hydrozoa.[17]

Evolution of aging

Main article: Evolution of aging

As the existence of biologically immortal species demonstrates, there is no thermodynamic

necessity for senescence: a defining feature of life is that it takes in free energy from the

environment and unloads its entropy as waste. Living systems can even build themselves up

from seed, and routinely repair themselves. Aging is therefore presumed to be a byproduct of

evolution, but why mortality should be selected for remains a subject of research and debate.

Programmed cell death and the telomere "end replication problem" are found even in the earliest

and simplest of organisms.[18]

This may be a tradeoff between selecting for cancer and selecting

for aging.[19]

Modern theories on the evolution of aging include the following:

Mutation accumulation is a theory formulated by Peter Medawar in 1952 to explain how

evolution would select for aging. Essentially, aging is never selected against, as

organisms have offspring before the mortal mutations surface in an individual.

Antagonistic pleiotropy is a theory proposed as an alternative by George C. Williams, a

critic of Medawar, in 1957. In antagonistic pleiotropy, genes carry effects that are both

beneficial and detrimental. In essence this refers to genes that offer benefits early in life,

but exact a cost later on, i.e. decline and death.[20]

The disposable soma theory was proposed in 1977 by Thomas Kirkwood, which states

that an individual body must allocate energy for metabolism, reproduction, and

maintenance, and must compromise when there is food scarcity. Compromise in

allocating energy to the repair function is what causes the body gradually to deteriorate

with age, according to Kirkwood.[21]

Prospects for human biological immortality

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precise citations. (November 2010)

Life-extending substances

There are some known naturally occurring and artificially produced chemicals that may increase

the lifetime or life-expectancy of a person or organism, such as resveratrol.[22][23]

Future research

might enable scientists to increase the effect of these existing chemicals or to discover new

chemicals (life-extenders) which might enable a person to stay alive as long as the person

consumes them at specified periods of time.[citation needed]

Scientists believe that boosting the amount or proportion of a naturally forming enzyme,

telomerase, in the body could prevent cells from dying and so may ultimately lead to extended,

healthier lifespans. Telomerase is a protein that helps maintain the protective caps at the ends of

chromosomes.[24]

A team of researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Centre (Madrid) tested

the hypothesis on mice. It was found that those mice which were genetically engineered to

produce 10 times the normal levels of telomerase lived 50% longer than normal mice.[25]

In normal circumstances, without the presence of telomerase, if a cell divides repeatedly, at some

point all the progeny will reach their Hayflick limit. With the presence of telomerase, each

dividing cell can replace the lost bit of DNA, and any single cell can then divide unbounded.

While this unbounded growth property has excited many researchers, caution is warranted in

exploiting this property, as exactly this same unbounded growth is a crucial step in enabling

cancerous growth. If an organism can replicate its body cells faster, then it would theoretically

stop aging.

Embryonic stem cells express telomerase, which allows them to divide repeatedly and form the

individual. In adults, telomerase is highly expressed in cells that need to divide regularly (e.g., in

the immune system), whereas most somatic cells express it only at very low levels in a cell-cycle

dependent manner.

Technological immortality

Main article: Transhumanism

Technological immortality is the prospect for much longer life spans made possible by scientific

advances in a variety of fields: nanotechnology, emergency room procedures, genetics,

biological engineering, regenerative medicine, microbiology, and others. Contemporary life

spans in the advanced industrial societies are already markedly longer than those of the past

because of better nutrition, availability of health care, standard of living and bio-medical

scientific advances. Technological immortality predicts further progress for the same reasons

over the near term. An important aspect of current scientific thinking about immortality is that

some combination of human cloning, cryonics or nanotechnology will play an essential role in

extreme life extension. Robert Freitas, a nanorobotics theorist, suggests tiny medical nanorobots

could be created to go through human bloodstreams, find dangerous things like cancer cells and

bacteria, and destroy them.[26]

Freitas anticipates that gene-therapies and nanotechnology will

eventually make the human body effectively self-sustainable and capable of living indefinitely,

short of severe brain trauma. This supports the theory that we will be able to continually create

biological or synthetic replacement parts to replace damaged or dying ones.

Cryonics

Main article: Cryonics

Cryonics, the practice of preserving organisms (either intact specimens or only their brains) for

possible future revival by storing them at cryogenic temperatures where metabolism and decay

are almost completely stopped, can be used to 'pause' for those who believe that life extension

technologies will not develop sufficiently within their lifetime. Ideally, cryonics would allow

clinically dead people to be brought back in the future after cures to the patients' diseases have

been discovered and aging is reversible. Modern cryonics procedures use a process called

vitrification which creates a glass-like state rather than freezing as the body is brought to low

temperatures. This process reduces the risk of ice crystals damaging the cell-structure, which

would be especially detrimental to cell structures in the brain, as their minute adjustment evokes

the individual's mind.

Mind-to-computer uploading

Main article: Mind uploading

One idea that has been advanced involves uploading an individual's personality and memories

via direct mind-computer interface. The individual's memory may be loaded to a computer or to

a newly born baby's mind. The baby will then grow with the previous person's individuality, and

may not develop its own personality. Extropian futurists like Moravec and Kurzweil have

proposed that, thanks to exponentially growing computing power, it will someday be possible to

upload human consciousness onto a computer system, and live indefinitely in a virtual

environment. This could be accomplished via advanced cybernetics, where computer hardware

would initially be installed in the brain to help sort memory or accelerate thought processes.

Components would be added gradually until the person's entire brain functions were handled by

artificial devices, avoiding sharp transitions that would lead to issues of identity. After this point,

the human body could be treated as an optional accessory and the mind could be transferred to

any sufficiently powerful computer. Another possible mechanism for mind upload is to perform

a detailed scan of an individual's original, organic brain and simulate the entire structure in a

computer. What level of detail such scans and simulations would need to achieve to emulate

consciousness, and whether the scanning process would destroy the brain, is still to be

determined.[27]

Whatever the route to mind upload, persons in this state would then be essentially

immortal, short of loss or traumatic destruction of the machines that maintained them. Time's

futurists, as well as Dmitry Itskov, head of the 2045 Initiative predict that this technology will be

available by 2045.[citation needed]

Cybernetics

Main article: Cyborg

Transforming a human into a cyborg can include brain implants or extracting a human mind and

placing it in a robotic life-support system. Even replacing biological organs with robotic ones

could increase life span (i.e., pace makers) and depending on the definition, many technological

upgrades to the body, like genetic modifications or the addition of nanobots would qualify an

individual as a cyborg. Such modifications would make one impervious to aging and disease and

theoretically immortal unless killed or destroyed.

Evolutionary immortality

Joseph Wright of Derby, The Alchymist, In Search of the Philosopher's Stone, 1771

Another approach, developed by biogerontologist Marios Kyriazis, holds that human biological

immortality is an inevitable consequence of evolution. As the natural tendency is to create

progressively more complex structures,[28]

there will be a time (Kyriazis claims this time is

now[29]

), when evolution of a more complex human brain will be faster via a process of

developmental singularity[30]

rather than through Darwinian evolution. In other words, the

evolution of the human brain as we know it will cease and there will be no need for individuals

to procreate and then die. Instead, a new type of development will take over, in the same

individual who will have to live for many centuries in order for the development to take place.

This intellectual development will be facilitated by technology such as synthetic biology,

artificial intelligence and a technological singularity process.

Mystical and religious pursuits of physical immortality

Many Indian fables and tales include instances of metempsychosis—the ability to jump into

another body—performed by advanced Yogis in order to live a longer life. There are also entire

Hindu sects devoted to the attainment of physical immortality by various methods, namely the

Naths and the Aghoras.[citation needed]

Long before modern science made such speculation feasible, people wishing to escape death

turned to the supernatural world for answers. Examples include Chinese Taoists[citation needed]

and

the medieval alchemists and their search for the Philosopher's Stone, or more modern religious

mystics, who believed in the possibility of achieving physical immortality through spiritual

transformation.

Individuals claiming to be physically immortal include Comte de Saint-Germain; in 18th century

France, he claimed to be centuries old, and people who adhere to the Ascended Master

Teachings are convinced of his physical immortality.[citation needed]

An Indian saint known as

Vallalar claimed to have achieved immortality before disappearing forever from a locked room

in 1874.[31][unreliable source?]

Rastafarians believe in physical immortality as a part of their religious doctrines. They believe

that after God has called the Day of Judgment they will go to what they describe as Mount Zion

in Africa to live in freedom forever. They avoid the term "everlasting life" and deliberately use

"ever-living" instead.

Another group that believes in physical immortality are the Rebirthers, who believe that by

following the connected breathing process of rebirthing they can physically live forever.[citation

needed]

Religious views

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Main articles: Afterlife and Soul

The world's major religions hold a number of perspectives on spiritual immortality, the unending

existence of a person from a nonphysical source or in a nonphysical state such as a soul.

However any doctrine in this area misleads without a prior definition of "soul". Another problem

is that "soul" is often confused and used synonymously or interchangeably with "spirit".

As late as 1952, the editorial staff of the Syntopicon found in their compilation of the Great

Books of the Western World, that "The philosophical issue concerning immortality cannot be

separated from issues concerning the existence and nature of man's soul."[32]

Thus, the vast

majority of speculation regarding immortality before the 21st century was regarding the nature of

the afterlife.

In both Western and Eastern religions, the spirit is an energy or force that transcends the mortal

body, and returns to the spirit realm whether to enjoy heavenly bliss or suffer eternal torment in

hell, or the cycle of life, directly or indirectly depending on the tradition.

Ancient Greek religion

In ancient Greek religion, immortality originally always included an eternal union of body and

soul, as can be seen in Homer, Hesiod, and various other ancient texts. The soul was considered

to have an eternal existence in Hades, but without the body the soul was considered dead.

Although almost everybody had nothing to look forward to but an eternal existence as a

disembodied dead soul, a number of men and women were considered to have gained physical

immortality and been brought to live forever in either Elysium, the Islands of the Blessed,

heaven, the ocean or literally right under the ground. Among these were Amphiaraus,

Ganymede, Ino, Iphigenia, Menelaus, Peleus, and a great part of those who fought in the Trojan

and Theban wars. Some were considered to have died and been resurrected before they achieved

physical immortality. Asclepius was killed by Zeus only to be resurrected and transformed into a

major deity. Achilles, after being killed, was snatched from his funeral pyre by his divine mother

Thetis, resurrected, and brought to an immortal existence in either Leuce, the Elysian plains, or

the Islands of the Blessed. Memnon, who was killed by Achilles, seems to have a received a

similar fate. Alcmene, Castor, Heracles, and Melicertes were also among the figures sometimes

considered to have been resurrected to physical immortality. According to Herodotus' Histories,

the 7th century BC sage Aristeas of Proconnesus was first found dead, after which his body

disappeared from a locked room. Later he was found not only to have been resurrected but to

have gained immortality.[33]

The philosophical idea of an immortal soul was a belief first appearing with either Pherecydes or

the Orphics, and most importantly advocated by Plato and his followers. This, however, never

became the general norm in Hellenistic thought. As may be witnessed even into the Christian

era, not least by the complaints of various philosophers over popular beliefs, many or perhaps

most traditional Greeks maintained the conviction that certain individuals were resurrected from

the dead and made physically immortal and that others could only look forward to an existence

as disembodied and dead, though everlasting, souls. The parallel between these traditional beliefs

and the later resurrection of Jesus was not lost on the early Christians, as Justin Martyr argued:

"when we say ... Jesus Christ, our teacher, was crucified and died, and rose again, and ascended

into heaven, we propose nothing different from what you believe regarding those whom you

consider sons of Zeus." (1 Apol. 21).[34]

Buddhism

Buddhism teaches that there is a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth and that the process is

according to the qualities of a person's actions. This constant process of becoming ceases at the

fruition of Bodhi (enlightenment) at which a being is no longer subject to causation (karma) but

enters into a state that the Buddha called amata (deathlessness).

According to the philosophical premise of the Buddha, the initiate to Buddhism who is to be

"shown the way to Immortality (amata)",[35]

wherein liberation of the mind (cittavimutta) is

effectuated through the expansion of wisdom and the meditative practices of sati and samādhi,

must first be educated away from his former ignorance-based (avijja) materialistic proclivities in

that he "saw any of these forms, feelings, or this body, to be my Self, to be that which I am by

nature".

Thus, desiring a soul or ego (ātman) to be permanent is a prime consequence of ignorance, itself

the cause of all misery and the foundation of the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra). Form and

consciousness being two of the five skandhas, or aggregates of ignorance[citation needed]

, Buddhism

teaches that physical immortality is neither a path to enlightenment, nor an attainable goal[citation

needed]: even the gods which can live for eons eventually die. Upon enlightenment, the "karmic

seeds" (saṅkhāras or sanskaras) for all future becoming and rebirth are exhausted. After

biological death an arhat, or buddha, enters into parinirvana, a state of deathlessness due to the

absence of rebirth, which resulted from cessation of wantings.

Christianity

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Main article: Eternal life (Christianity)

Adam and Eve condemned to mortality. Hans Holbein the Younger, Danse Macabre, 16th

century

Christian theology holds that Adam and Eve lost physical immortality for themselves and all

their descendants in the Fall of Man, though this initial "imperishability of the bodily frame of

man" was "a preternatural condition".[36]

Christians who profess the Nicene Creed believe that every dead person (whether they believed

in Christ or not) will be resurrected from the dead, and this belief is known as Universal

resurrection.

Bible passages like 1 Corinthians 15 are interpreted as teaching that the resurrected body will,

like the present body, be both physical (but a renewed and non-decaying physical body) and

spiritual.

Contrary to common belief, there is no biblical support of "soul immortality" as such in the New

Testament, see Soul in the Bible. The theme in the Bible is "resurrection life" which imparts

immortality, not about "soul" remaining after death. Luther and others rejected Calvin's idea of

"soul immortality". Specific imagery of resurrection into immortal form is found in the Pauline

letters:

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the

dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on

immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in

victory.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of

the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

—1 Corinthians 15:51–58

In Romans 2:6–7 Paul declares that God "will render to every man according to his deeds: To

them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality,

eternal life", but then in Romans 3 warns that no one will ever meet this standard with their own

power but that Jesus did it for us.

Born-again Christians believe that after the Last Judgment, those who have been "born again"

will live forever in the presence of God, and those who were never "born again" will be

abandoned to never-ending consciousness of guilt, separation from God, and punishment for sin.

Eternal death is depicted in the Bible as a realm of constant physical and spiritual anguish in a

lake of fire, and a realm of darkness away from God. Some see the fires of Hell as a theological

metaphor, representing the inescapable presence of God endured in absence of love for God;

others suggest that Hell represents complete destruction of both the physical body and of

spiritual existence.

N.T. Wright, a theologian and former Bishop of Durham, has said many people forget the

physical aspect of what Jesus promised. He told Time: "Jesus' resurrection marks the beginning

of a restoration that he will complete upon his return. Part of this will be the resurrection of all

the dead, who will 'awake', be embodied and participate in the renewal. John Polkinghorne, a

physicist and a priest, has put it this way: 'God will download our software onto his hardware

until the time he gives us new hardware to run the software again for ourselves.' That gets to two

things nicely: that the period after death (the Intermediate state) is a period when we are in God's

presence but not active in our own bodies, and also that the more important transformation will

be when we are again embodied and administering Christ's kingdom."[37]

This kingdom will

consist of Heaven and Earth "joined together in a new creation", he said.

Roman Catholicism

Catholic Christians teach that there is a supernatural realm called Purgatory where souls who

have died in a state of grace but have yet to expiate venial sins or temporal punishments due to

past sins are cleansed before they are admitted into Heaven.[citation needed]

The Catholic Church also

professes a belief in the resurrection of the body. It is believed that, before the Final Judgement,

the souls of all who have ever lived will be reunited with their resurrected body.[citation needed]

In

the case of the righteous, this will result in a glorified body which can reside in Heaven. The

damned, too, shall reunite body and soul, but shall remain eternally in Hell.[citation needed]

Seventh-day Adventists

Seventh-day Adventists believe that only God has immortality, and when a person dies, death is

a state of unconscious sleep until the resurrection. They base this belief on biblical texts such as

Ecclesiastes 9:5 which states "the dead know nothing", and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 which

contains a description of the dead being raised from the grave at the second coming.

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils

the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (cf. Gen 2:7)

The text of Genesis 2:7 clearly states that God breathed into the formed man the "breath of life"

and man became a living soul. He did not receive a living soul; he became one. The New King

James Bible states that "man became a living being". According to the Scriptures, only man

received life in this way from God. Because of this man is the only living creature to have a soul.

"And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field ... wherein is the

breath of life." (cf. Genesis 2:19, 7:15)

"Both man and beast ... have all one breath, so that a man hath no preeminence above the

beast."(cf. Ecclesiastes 3:19)

Of the many references to soul and spirit in the Bible, never once is either the soul or the spirit

declared to be immortal, imperishable or eternal. Indeed only God has immortality (1 Timothy

1:17; 6:16). Adventists teach that the resurrection of the righteous will take place at the second

coming of Jesus, at which time they will be restored to life and taken to reside in Heaven.

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses believe the word soul (nephesh or psykhe) as used in the Bible is a person,

an animal, or the life a person or animal enjoys. Hence, the soul is not part of man, but is the

whole man—man as a living being. Hence, when a person or animal dies, the soul dies, and

death is a state of non-existence, based on Psalms 146:4, Ezekiel 18:4, and other passages.[38]

Hell (Hades or Sheol) is not a place of fiery torment, but rather the common grave of humankind,

a place of unconsciousness.[39][40]

After the final judgment, it is expected that the righteous will receive eternal life and live forever

in an Earth turned into a paradise. Another group referenced as "the little flock" of 144,000

people will receive immortality and go to heaven to rule as Kings and Priests. Jehovah's

Witnesses make the distinction that those with "eternal life" can die though they do not succumb

to disease or old age, whereas immortal ones cannot die by any cause.[41]

They teach that Jesus

was the first to be rewarded with heavenly immortality, but that Revelation 7:4 and Revelation

14:1, 3 refer to a literal number (144,000) of additional people who will become "self-

sustaining", that is, not needing anything outside themselves (food, sunlight, etc.) to maintain

their own life.[42]

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormonism)

Illustration of the Mormon plan of salvation.

In Latter-day Saint (Mormon) theology, the spirit and the body constitute the human soul.

Whereas the human body is subject to death on earth, they believe that the spirit never ceases to

exist and that one day the spirits and bodies of all mankind will be reunited again. This doctrine

stems from their belief that the resurrection of Jesus Christ grants the universal gift of

immortality to every human being.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints also believe that, prior to their

mortal birth, individuals existed as men and women in a spiritual state. That period of life is

referred to as the first estate or the Pre-existence. Latter-day Saints cite Biblical scriptures, such

as Jeremiah 1:5, as an allusion to the concept that mankind had a preparation period prior to

mortal birth: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of

the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations".[43]

Joseph Smith, Jr.,

the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, provided a description of the afterlife based upon

a vision he received, which is recorded within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint's

canonical writings entitled Doctrine and Covenants.[44]

According to the 76th section of the LDS

scripture, the afterlife consists of three degrees or kingdoms of glory, called the Celestial

Kingdom, the Terrestrial Kingdom, and the Telestial Kingdom. Other Biblical scriptures speak

of varying degrees of glory, such as 1 Corinthians 15:40-41: "There are also celestial bodies,

and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is

another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the

stars: for one star cdiffereth from another star in glory."

The few who do not inherit any degree of glory (though they are resurrected) reside in a state

called outer darkness, which, though not a degree of glory, is often discussed in this context.

Only those known as the "Sons of Perdition" are condemned to this state.

Other Christian beliefs

The doctrine of conditional immortality states the human soul is naturally mortal, and that

immortality is granted by God as a gift. The doctrine is a "significant minority evangelical view"

that has "grown within evangelicalism in recent years".[45]

Some sects who hold to the doctrine of baptismal regeneration also believe in a third realm called

Limbo, which is the final destination of souls who have not been baptised, but who have been

innocent of mortal sin. Souls in Limbo include unbaptised infants and those who lived virtuously

but were never exposed to Christianity in their lifetimes. Christian Scientists believe that sin

brought death, and that death will be overcome with the overcoming of sin.

Hinduism

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Hinduism propounds that every living being, be it a human or animal, has a body and a soul

(consciousness) and the bridge between the two is the mind (a mixture of both). If there is an

imbalance between any of these three components it can result in illness and 'death'. 'Death' as

we know it,is the ceasing of the body to function and therefore the soul which is immortal will

have to migrate to another body and occupy some-other mind thereby creating consciousness

there, be it a human or animal depending upon the 'karma' or 'past deeds' done in the previous

physical body/bodies or life/lives. Central to the philosophy of Hinduism is 'BRAHMAN' which

is the embodiment of all souls and therefore the ultimate consciousness. BRAHMAN is infinite,

has no dimensions, and is embodiment of all knowledge and the absolute truth and therefore the

ultimate bliss and enlightenment for all souls. To join BRAHMAN is the ultimate goal of all

souls, a soul can only join BRAHMAN upon becoming perfect, until such time the soul will have

to keep changing bodies and experience events based on its karma in order to perfect itself and

therefore continues the cycle of birth and death. BRAHMAN is also the sum total of the trinity

gods (and avatars) worshiped by Hindus viz. 1.Brahma, the creator 2. Vishnu, the protector 3.

Shiva or Maheshwara, the destroyer. Brahma is responsible for sending the part of the

BRAHMAN which was imperfect to perfect itself on earth and for that purpose created various

levels of physical form. Vishnu who is the protector pronounces that one must perform ones

DHARMA or duty or follow the laws in-order to obtain good karma and hence graduate to a

high physical and mental form and finally join the ultimate BRAHMAN. Maheshwara or Shiva

is the god of destruction and 'death' says that just as a new star can only be born upon the

destruction of an old star which has been burning bright, just so do we find that only in complete

destruction is there creation and that the ultimate truth, immortality and permanence is in the soul

which joins the BRAHMAN and that physical matter is recycled over and over again. A soul will

have been successful when it stops getting recycled like lowly and unconscious physical matter

does. Therefore 'death' is not the end as the soul is immortal and endless.

Differences between Hinduism and Buddhism: 1) Buddha was one of the avatars of Vishnu, the

preachings of Buddha from the Hindu perspective represent only a fraction of the whole truth.

Buddha preaches that attachment with people was the cause of sorrow when 'death' happens and

therefore propagates detachment from people. Hinduism on the other hand does not teach

detachment, but stresses duty and how relations with people have to take place based on Dharma

or duty. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva explains 'death' to be a journey of the immortal soul in pursuit

of 'Moksha' and therefore a fact of life. 2) While Buddhism says retirement into the forest for

meditation is to take place starting from childhood, this is viewed as escapism by Hinduism.

Hinduism allows for this to happen only after performing all dharmas or duties of ones life,

starting from studying scriptures, working to support children and family and taking care of aged

parents, and lastly after all the dharma is done retire to the forest and slowly meditate and fast

until physical disintegration to reach the ultimate truth or BRAHMAN.

Terminology

Representation of a soul undergoing punarjanma. Illustration from Hinduism Today, 2004

Hindus believe in an immortal soul which is reincarnated after death. According to Hinduism,

people repeat a process of life, death, and rebirth in a cycle called samsara. If they live their life

well, their karma improves and their station in the next life will be higher, and conversely lower

if they live their life poorly. Eventually after many life times of perfecting its karma, the soul is

freed from the cycle and lives in perpetual bliss. There is no eternal torment in Hinduism,

temporal existence being harsh enough, although if a soul consistently lives very evil lives, it

could work its way down to the very bottom of the cycle. Punarjanma means the birth of a

person that pays for all the karma of previous lives in this birth.[citation needed]

Sri Aurobindo states that the Vedic and the post-Vedic rishis (such as Markandeya) attained

physical immortality, which includes the ability to change one's shape at will, and create multiple

bodies simultaneously in different locations.[citation needed]

There are explicit renderings in the Upanishads alluding to a physically immortal state brought

about by purification, and sublimation of the 5 elements that make up the body. For example in

the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (Chapter 2, Verse 12), it is stated "When earth, water fire, air and

akasa arise, that is to say, when the five attributes of the elements, mentioned in the books on

yoga, become manifest then the yogi's body becomes purified by the fire of yoga and he is free

from illness, old age and death."

The above phenomenon is possible when the soul reaches enlightenment while the body and

mind are still intact, an extreme rarity, and can only be achieved upon the highest most

dedication, meditation and consciousness.

Certain peculiar practices

The Aghoris of India consume human flesh in pursuit of immortality and supernatural powers,

they call themselves gods and according to them they punish the sinners by rewarding them

death on their way to immortality. But it is to be noted that today they only consume the humans

who are already dead and only those who wish to be treated this way upon death. They are

looked down upon by Brahmins because of their fascination for physical form as opposed to the

immortal soul aspect of it. Also vegetarianism which is propagated by hinduism is so completely

diregarded in that they even consume humans be it the already dead.[46]

They distinguish

themselves from other Hindu sects and priests by their alcoholic and cannibalistic rituals.[47]

Another view of immortality is traced to the Vedic tradition by the interpretation of Maharishi

Mahesh Yogi:

That man indeed whom these (contacts)

do not disturb, who is even-minded in

pleasure and pain, steadfast, he is fit

for immortality, O best of men.[48]

To Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the verse means, "Once a man has become established in the

understanding of the permanent reality of life, his mind rises above the influence of pleasure and

pain. Such an unshakable man passes beyond the influence of death and in the permanent phase

of life: he attains eternal life ... A man established in the understanding of the unlimited

abundance of absolute existence is naturally free from existence of the relative order. This is

what gives him the status of immortal life."[48]

Islam

The Golden Gate in Jerusalem, known as "The Gate of Eternal Life" in Arabic, as it stood in

1900

This section has been nominated to be checked for its neutrality. Discussion of this

nomination can be found on the talk page. (October 2010)

This section needs attention from an expert in Islam. Please add a reason or a talk

parameter to this template to explain the issue with the section. WikiProject Islam (or its

Portal) may be able to help recruit an expert. (May 2008)

And they say [non-believers in Allah], "There is not but our worldly life; we die and live

(i.e., some people die and others live, replacing them) and nothing destroys us except time." And

when Our verses are recited to them as clear evidences, their argument is only that they say,

"Bring [back] our forefathers, if you should be truthful."

Say, "Allah causes you to live, then causes you to die; then He will assemble you for the Day of

Resurrection,

about which there is no doubt," but most of the people do not know.(Quran, 45:24–26)

Muslims believe that everyone will be resurrected after death. Those who believed in Islam and

led an evil life will undergo correction in Jahannam (Hell) but once this correction is over, they

are admitted to Jannat (Paradise) and attain immortality.[citation needed]

Infidels on the other hand

and those who committed unforgivable evil will never leave Hell. Some individuals will

therefore never taste Heaven.

(Quran,002.028) "How can ye reject the faith in Allah?- seeing that ye were without life, and He

gave you life; then will He cause you to die, and will again bring you to life; and again to Him

will ye return."

Muslims believe that the present life is a trial in preparation for the next realm of existence. He

says [man says], "Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?" Say, "He will give

them life who produced them the first time; and He is, of all creation, Knowing." [It is Allah] He

who made for you from the green tree, fire, and then from it you ignite. Is not He who created

the heavens and the earth Able to create the likes of them? Yes, [it is so]; and He is the Knowing

Creator. (Quran, 36:78–81)

But those who disbelieve say, "The Hour (i.e., the Day of Judgment) will not come to us." Say,

"Yes, by my Lord, it will surely come to you. [Allah is] the Knower of the unseen." Not absent

from Him is an atom's weight within the heavens or within the earth or [what is] smaller than

that or greater, except that it is in a clear register – That He may reward those who believe and

do righteous deeds. Those will have forgiveness and noble provision. But those who strive

against Our verses [seeking] to cause failure (i.e., to undermine their credibility) – for them will

be a painful punishment of foul nature. (Quran, 34:3–5)

Judaism

In both Judaism and Christianity, there is no biblical support of "soul immortality" as such.[citation

needed] The focus is on attaining resurrection life after death on the part of the believers.

Judaism claims that the righteous dead will be resurrected in the Messianic age with the coming

of the messiah. They will then be granted immortality in a perfect world. The wicked dead, on

the other hand, will not be resurrected at all. This is not the only Jewish belief about the afterlife.

The Tanakh is not specific about the afterlife, so there are wide differences in views and

explanations among believers.

The Hebrew Bible speaks about Sheol (לואש), originally a synonym of the grave-the repository of

the dead or the cessation of existence until the Resurrection. This doctrine of resurrection is

mentioned explicitly only in Daniel 12:1–4 although it may be implied in several other texts.

New theories arose concerning Sheol during the intertestamental literature. Some Hellenistic

Jews postulated that the soul (nefesh שפנ) was really immortal and that Sheol was actually a

destination of the dead awaiting the Resurrection, a syncretic form of Platonic Philosophy. By

the 2nd century BC, Jews who accepted the Oral Torah had come to believe that those in Sheol

awaited the resurrection either in Paradise (in the bosom of Abraham) or in Torment (Tartarus).

Taoism

It is repeatedly stated in Lüshi Chunqiu that death is unavoidable.[49]

Henri Maspero noted that

many scholarly works frame Taoism as a school of thought focused on the quest for

immortality.[50]

Isabelle Robinet asserts that Taoism is better understood as a way of life than as a

religion, and that its adherents do not approach or view Taoism the way non-Taoist historians

have done.[51]

In the Tractate of Actions and their Retributions, a traditional teaching, spiritual

immortality can be rewarded to people who do a certain amount of good deeds and live a simple,

pure life. A list of good deeds and sins are tallied to determine whether or not a mortal is worthy.

Spiritual immortality in this definition allows the soul to leave the earthly realms of afterlife and

go to pure realms in the Taoist cosmology. [52]

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrians believe that on the fourth day after death, the human soul leaves the body and the

body remains as an empty shell. Souls would go to either heaven or hell; these concepts of the

afterlife in Zoroastrianism may have influenced Abrahamic religions. The word immortal is

driven from the month "Amurdad", meaning "deathless" in Persian, in the Iranian calendar (near

the end of July). The month of Amurdad or Ameretat is celebrated in Persian culture as ancient

Persians believed the "Angel of Immortality" won over the "Angel of Death" in this month.[53]

Ethics of immortality

See also Life extension – Ethics and politics of life extension

The possibility of clinical immortality raises a host of medical, philosophical, and religious

issues and ethical questions. These include persistent vegetative states, the nature of personality

over time, technology to mimic or copy the mind or its processes, social and economic

disparities created by longevity, and survival of the heat death of the universe.

Undesirability of immortality

The doctrine of immortality is essential to many of the world's religions. Narratives from

Christianity and Islam assert that immortality is not desirable to the unfaithful:

The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also

died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham

far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send

Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these

flames.' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good

things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in

agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who

might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.'

—Luke 16:22–26 NIV Translation

Those who are wretched shall be in the Fire: There will be for them therein (nothing but) the

heaving of sighs and sobs: They will dwell therein for all the time that the heavens and the earth

endure, except as thy Lord willeth: for thy Lord is the (sure) accomplisher of what He planneth.

And those who are blessed shall be in the Garden: They will dwell therein for all the time that

the heavens and the earth endure, except as thy Lord willeth: a gift without break.

—The Qur'an, 11:106–108

The modern mind has addressed the undesirability of immortality. Science fiction writer Isaac

Asimov commented, "There is nothing frightening about an eternal dreamless sleep. Surely it is

better than eternal torment in Hell and eternal boredom in Heaven."

Physical immortality has also been imagined as a form of eternal torment, as in Mary Shelley's

short story "The Mortal Immortal", the protagonist of which witnesses everyone he cares about

dying around him. Jorge Luis Borges explored the idea that life gets its meaning from death in

the short story "The Immortal"; an entire society having achieved immortality, they found time

becoming infinite, and so found no motivation for any action. In his book "Thursday's Fictions",

and the stage and film adaptations of it, Richard James Allen tells the story of a woman named

Thursday who tries to cheat the cycle of reincarnation to get a form of eternal life. At the end of

this fantastical tale, her son, Wednesday, who has witnessed the havoc his mother's quest has

caused, forgoes the opportunity for immortality when it is offered to him.[54]

Likewise, the novel

Tuck Everlasting depicts immortality as "falling off the wheel of life" and is viewed as a curse as

opposed to a blessing.

University of Cambridge philosopher Simon Blackburn, in his essay "Religion and Respect,"

writes, ". . . things do not gain meaning by going on for a very long time, or even forever.

Indeed, they lose it. A piece of music, a conversation, even a glance of adoration or a moment of

unity have their alloted time. Too much and they become boring. An infinity and they would be

intolerable."

Politics

Although scientists state that radical life extension, delaying and stopping aging are

achievable,[55]

there are still no international or national programs focused on stopping aging or

on radical life extension. In 2012 in Russia, and then in the United States, Israel and the

Netherlands, pro-immortality political parties were launched. They aimed to provide political

support to anti-aging and radical life extension research and technologies and at the same time

transition to the next step, radical life extension, life without aging, and finally, immortality and

aim to make possible access to such technologies to most currently living people.[56]

Symbols

Ankh

Trefoil knot

There are numerous symbols representing immortality. Pictured here is an Egyptian symbol of

life that holds connotations of immortality when depicted in the hands of the gods and pharaohs

who were seen as having control over the journey of life, the ankh (left). The Möbius strip in the

shape of a trefoil knot is another symbol of immortality. Most symbolic representations of

infinity or the life cycle are often used to represent immortality depending on the context they are

placed in. Other examples include the Ouroboros, the Chinese fungus of longevity, the ten kanji,

the phoenix, the peacock in Christianity,[57]

and the colors amaranth (in Western culture) and

peach (in Chinese culture).

Fiction

Main article: Immortality in fiction

Immortal species abound in fiction, especially in fantasy literature.

See also

List of life extension-related topics

Ambrosia

Amrita

Bioethics

Biogerontology

Chiranjeevin

Consciousness after death (science)

Crown of Immortality

Dyson's eternal intelligence

Elixir of life

Eternal youth

Ghost

Immortal DNA strand hypothesis

Immortalist Society

Immortality Institute

Immortality test

Indefinite lifespan

Infinity

Internal alchemy

Lich

Life extension

List of people claimed to be immortal in myth and legend

Longevity

Methuselah Mouse Prize

Molecular nanotechnology

Negligible senescence

Tipler's Omega Point

Organlegging

Posthuman

Queen Mother of the West

Rejuvenation (aging)

Simulated reality

Suspended animation

Nikola Tesla

Transhumanism

Vampire

Xian (Taoism)

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2. ^ Oxford English Dictionary "Immortality"

3. ^ a b Gilbert, Scott F. (2006). "Cheating Death: The Immortal Life Cycle of Turritopsis".

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4. ^ de Grey, Aubrey; Rae, Michael (September 2007). Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation

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St. Martin's Press. p. 416. ISBN 0-312-36706-6.

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8. ^ Hayflick, L (2007). "Biological Aging is No Longer an Unsolved Problem". Annals of

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45. ^ The Nature of Hell. Conclusions and Recommendations by Evangelical Alliance

46. ^ Indian doc focuses on Hindu cannibal sect, MSNBC

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history. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 17. ISBN 0226120473.

50. ^ Maspero, Henri. Translated by Frank A. Kierman, Jr. Taoism and Chinese Religion

(University of Massachusetts Press, 1981), p. 211.

51. ^ Robinet, Isabelle. Taoism: Growth of a Religion (Stanford: Stanford University Press,

1997 [original French 1992]), p. 3–4.

52. ^ Translated by Legge, James. The Texts of Taoism. 1962, Dover Press. NY.

53. ^ Hoshang, Dr. Bhadha. http://tenets.zoroastrianism.com/topi33.html

54. ^ Allen, Richard James, "Thursday's Fictions", originally published by Five Islands

Press, Wollongong, in 1999, republished online in 2011 at the Australian Poetry Library

55. ^ Scientists' Open Letter on Aging

56. ^ A Single-Issue Political Party for Longevity Science

57. ^ Wilson, Ralph F. "Peacock as an Ancient Christian Symbol of Eternal Life". Jesus

Walk Bible Study Series. Retrieved January 18, 2011.

Further reading

Allen, Richard James (1999). Thursday's Fictions. Wollongong: Five Islands Press.

ISBN 0-86418-596-0.

Alexander, Brian (2003). Rapture: How Biotech Became the New Religion. Basic Books.

ISBN 0-7382-0761-6.

Bova, Ben (2000). Immortality: How Science Is Extending Your Life Span-and Changing

the World. Avon: New York. ISBN 0-380-79318-0.

Cave, Stephen (2012). Immortality: The Quest to Live Forever and How it Drives

Civilization. Crown. ISBN 0-307-88491-0.

Cullmann, Oscar (1955). Immortality of the Soul or Resurrection of the Dead?. Archived

from the original on 2009-10-26.

Endsjø, Dag Øistein (2009). Greek Resurrection Beliefs and the Success of Christianity.

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de Grey, Aubrey; Rae, Michael (September 2007). Ending Aging: The Rejuvenation

Breakthroughs that Could Reverse Human Aging in Our Lifetime. New York, New York:

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Edwards, Paul (1997). Immortality. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-57392-130-0.

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Books. ISBN 0-7596-5339-9.

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Hall, Stephen S. (2003). Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life

Extension. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-09524-1.

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ISBN 987-561-135-2.

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Scientific Prospects for Immortality. New York: Universal Publishers: New York:

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Pickover, Clifford (2007). A Beginner's Guide to Immortality: Extraordinary People,

Alien Brains, and Quantum Resurrection. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press. ISBN 1-

56025-984-1.

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Greeks. New York: Harper & Row.

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"Death and Immortality" Dictionary of the History of Ideas, etext at the University of

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The Immortality of the Soul and the Resurrection of the Body Lecture by Heinrich J.

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An Essay on the Scriptural Doctrine of Immortality by James Challis

Eternity: Christ’s Return, Chiliasm, Resurrection of the Dead, Judgment, Hell, Luther on

Eternity, Heaven J.P. Meyer, The Northwestern Lutheran, August 22, 1954, Vol. 41, # 17

to April 14, 1957, Vol. 44, #8

"How you Can Have Eternal Life" Jack Graham, PowerPoint Ministries, Christianity.com

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[6] A review by Dr. Peter Fenwick of the book Human Immortality by Mohammad Samir

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