Of Death, Dying, and Resurrection

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the concept of death and dying from the religious perspective of the United Methodist Church and looks at the impact this philosophy has on one's personal experiences with death and dying. The paper reviews the Methodist tradition, which holds that death is either a great homecoming for those who are saved or a doorway to eternal damnation for the unsaved. This is followed by a discussion on how this philosophy often liberates followers from their anxiety and fear of death and the positive effect this liberation has on their lives. An explanation of the way the United Methodist Church handles possible negative effects of its traditional concept of death is provided, as well as an overview of how Methodists handle the aftermath of death.

From the Paper:

"According to official releases by the United Methodist Church (UMC), their beliefs on death and the after life are rather straightforward. All people have sinned and deserve to go to hell (a place of eternal punishment and pain) because of all the wrong things they have done. No one is good enough to escape hell by themselves, but the death of Christ is capable of saving those who believe in him. Salvation is based entirely on faith, and once one has accepted Christ nothing can take that salvation away. Those who have been thus saved get to go to heaven instead of hell. Heaven, of course, is a wonderful and perfect place full of love and mercy and so forth. All those in heaven experience a spiritual and physical resurrection, and in essence get to live again with God."

More papers on Of Death, Dying, and Resurrection:

• Analytical Essay # 25851 : "The Rage of St. Peter in Milton's "Lycidas"
• Essay # 63542 : "Cultural Conceptions of the After-Life"
• Term Paper # 112817 : "The Four Last Things"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: