Why did religions promise life after death?

The possibility of not ending one’s life, after death, is another fascinating human assumption that has never shocked me as much as I’m getting a little bit closer everyday to depart this existence. If I can say one thing, 

I certainly am not at all looking forward to that moment! But why in the world have humans and their religions encoded that promise in their dogma? For one thing, I agree that death has absolutely no appeal to me, even though it’s a natural part of life, or if you prefer the expiration date of everyone’s living permit on this earth. 

It could be that the promise of life after death was devised to lessen these fears and provide some comfort to those who were grieving. Another reason might have been a tool to guarantee moral order and ethical lives by telling people they’d be judged based on their actions during their earthly life, the good ones being rewarded with paradise, and the bad punished with hell. 

I like to think that builders of cathedrals in the middle ages that could be killed on the job or didn’t get paid much, if at all, were compensated by an easy promise of eternal after-life as an IOU… A powerful motivator indeed! 

Then, there’s the question of evil and suffering. Many people can’t understand why God, who is supposed to be good and benevolent would allow such things to happen. The promise of life after death suggests a compensation for all that suffering and injustice. 

For those of us who are scratching their heads and wondering what the purpose of their existence on this planet is, an after-life would answer that question. That promise also suggests that our lives are part of a larger, more meaningful story. As I see them, these are just some possible explanations for why religions had to promise life after death

 for a variety of reasons depending on the religion. This said, it seems clear to me that the concept of eternal life was an answer to human’s greed that couldn’t be satisfied with another one or five hundred extra years in heaven and didn’t leave much room to ponder the consequences of eternity and celestial overcrowding. 

We’ll cover this in the next blog…