Tales of lights and shadows : mythology of the afterlife / Robert Ellwood.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ellwood, Robert S., 1933-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Future life.

Mythology.

Physical Description:

vi, 166 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Continuum, [2010]

Summary:

Tales of Lights and Shadows offers a fresh approach to the traditional mythology and literature of the afterlife, centering on tensions and polarities in the afterlife concepts: bright vs. dismal, heaven vs. reincarnation, theocentric vs. anthropocentric heaven, etc. Presenting examples from virtually all the world's religious cultures past and present, this fascinating book puts the concepts clearly in the context of the worldview and social issues of that society. Robert Ellwood depicts the many rich mythologies of the afterlife from the ancient Mesopotamians, Japanese, Greeks of the Homeric era, to Christian views of heaven or the Buddhist western paradise. He explores views of the concept of reincarnation as well as the arduous preparation for the afterlife that must be taken in some traditions. Ellwood concludes by looking at the way varying views of the afterlife influence religious and even secular culture, and how in turn culture can influence the popular heavens and hells of the time and place.

Contents:

In that good night, what dreams may come? : myth, meaning, and afterlife

Hungry and happy fields of the dead : gloomy vs. bright views of the afterlife

The several homelands of the heart : abodes of the soul

Circling paths, endless journey : reincarnation vs. eternal life in heaven or hell

God or garden of delights? : is heaven theocentric or anthropocentric?

Ghostly fear and love : the dread of ancestral spirits vs. respect and honor

On the long march : community and religious solidarity vs. individual reward and punishment

Amazing grace : difficult vs. the easy path

The end of days : linear and cyclical time

Common and uncommon faith : the afterlife in folk religion and the great tradition

Retrospect : afterlife and culture.

ISBN:

9781441143976

1441143971

9781441170033

1441170030

OCLC:

502874677