Trevor Jones
10/21/14
Per. 7
Halls of the Dead
Heaven, the religious abode of the Christian god, and the afterlife of the deceased; The Egyptian afterlife, eternal resting place of the people of Egypt. Both places sound similar right? Well in theory, these "places" are just ideas in the heads of all those who want to believe it is true, rather than physical locations. It is true, there are records of such places in ancient documentations such as the Bible or Egyptian Hieroglyphics/tomb writings, but there is no physical evidence that any one of these places existed. Aside from that fact, even though these places have the same outcome, they both mean very different things to the people that desire to reach it, while at the same time, sharing similarities and greatly relating to each other.
Heaven, is founded upon the teaching, crucifixion, and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whose birth marks the beginning of the common ear (CE). As it says in the bible, the two original humans were the only humans to be granted free of sin at birth. Because of Adams disobedience to the word of god, all humans were born as a sinner and must work to be again seen in God's image. Sin is freely chosen, so as an individual, the stairway to heaven requires a virtuous life of making the right decisions and worshiping the one and only god, in Christianity that is. Christians believe that in order to get to heaven, they must live a good life, and not fall under the temptation of the Devil. Christianity differs from the Egyptian afterlife firstly because the Christian afterlife consists of two levels: Heaven and Hell. Your actions in your lifetime reflect on which one you will go to. Also, Christian morals are different from that of the Egyptians regarding afterlife. In Egypt, death is just a phase. A phase that comes in between life and death, but does not disturb its continuation. On other words the afterlife is a continuation of your life. In Egypt, the afterlife is focused on material things rather than the Heaven, which is more focused on reuniting with deceased friends and family. This may also show that the Egyptians didn't value family and friendship as much as the Christians did, and were more superficial with their live and afterlife.
On the other hand, the pathway and preparation to go to Heaven vs. the Egyptian's afterlife greatly differs from each other. In Christianity, the entrance to Heaven is often described as "The Gateway to Heaven". Often before you reach a gateway, you must have had to travel on a journey. This journey is following the light of God and living a virtuous life. In Egypt, the gateway to the afterlife is similar to that of Heaven, for they must fullil a long and strenuous journey as well. After a person has dies, their soul is taken to Osiris, the god of the after life for the weighing of the heart, where essentially, the persons heart is placed on a balance and is weighed against the principals of truth and justice (maat) which is represented by a feather. Basically if the persons heart weighs the same as the feather, then they may move along to the afterlife, but if the heart exceeded the weight of the feather, the heart was then eaten by the god with the crocodile head, Ammit, and the person was not permitted into the afterlife and simple, ceased to exist. Obviously, the Egyptian system was much more in-depth than that of the Christians and in a way, so were their preparations for the afterlife. In Egypt, the internal organs were taken out of the body (except for the heart) in order to preserve it, and the body was wrapped in several layers of cloth. In addition to this, Egyptians were placed in Sarcophagi, and in some cases, enclosed around a mighty pyramid (but this was mostly for Pharaohs). Compared to that of the Christians who either cremate their deceased, or bury them underground, usually in a coffin. Overall, the Egyptians pathway and preparation for the afterlife is far more complicated than that of the Christians and shows just how highly Egyptians held the afterlife.
In conclusion, Heaven and the Egyptian afterlife are similar ideas that have major differences at the same time. Like the Egyptians, Christians must live a virtuous life in order to reach Heaven, so their spirits will be granted life for eternity. However, the methods and preparation to reach the afterlife is very different, and much more strenuous in Egypt. Even though these ways were separated by several millennia, they share similar ideas and themes that must be followed, as well as traditions used to contain deceased bodies. Multiple religions have adopted these traditions which shows that the idea of afterlife is an important aspect to humanity.
Works Cited:
Christian Heaven:
http://www.sptimmortalityproject.com/background/christianity-and-the-afterlife/
http://www.christianity.org.uk/index.php/views-on-heaven-and-hell.php
Egyptian Afterlife:
http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptafterlife.html
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