Beyond the Threshold: Afterlife Beliefs and Experiences in World Religions

by Christopher M. Moreman

Overview

In every culture throughout history, people have asked the same fundamental question about what will happen to them when they die. From the underworld to the light at the end of the tunnel, beliefs and experiences of death abound. And even though we cannot know for sure what happens to us after death, our understanding of the afterlife can have a profound impact on how we live.

Beyond the Threshold is the first book to seriously examine the afterlife through the lens of both world religions and metaphysical experiences. Christopher M. Moreman includes an introduction to the afterlife beliefs of ancient cultures, which are essential to understanding the roots of many modern ideas about death. He examines the folklore and doctrines of major world religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. He also discusses psychic phenomena across traditions, such as mediums, near-death and out-of-body experiences, and past-life memories. While ultimately the afterlife remains unknowable, Moreman's unique, in-depth exploration of both beliefs and experiences can help readers reach their own understanding of the afterlife and how to live. No other book in the field approaches the issue of the afterlife from so many angles, but Moreman weaves them skillfully together into an accessible and engaging book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781442274969
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/13/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	350
Sales rank:	306,508
File size:	673 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Christopher M. Moreman is assistant professor in the Department of Philosophy at California State University, East Bay, where he teaches courses in comparative religion.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part One: An Overview of Beliefs in an Afterlife from Major World Religions
Chapter 1: Ancient Conceptions
Chapter 2: Judaism
Chapter 3: Christianity
Chapter 4: Islam
Chapter 5: Hinduism
Chapter 6: Buddhism
Chapter 7: Chinese Religions
Part Two: An Overview of the Research into Experiences of an Afterlife
Chapter 8: Mediumship
Chapter 9: Apparitions and Hauntings
Chapter 10: Near-Death and Out-of-the-Body Experiences
Chapter 11: Past-Life Memories
Part Three: Beliefs and Experiences: An Attempt at Synthesis
Chapter 12: Comparison of the Beliefs
Chapter 13: Comparison of the Evidence
Chapter 14: Conclusions
Bibliography
Index
About the Authors

What People are Saying About This

Gary Laderman

Christopher M. Moreman has written a useful, wide-ranging book on death and dying that should be a valuable resource in courses or for general readers. It is comprehensive, covering both perspectives in the world religions and investigations in contemporary research on experiences of the afterlife, and insightful in its comparative emphasis on beliefs and phenomena. This text makes an important contribution to the literature on religion, death, and dying.

Lucy Bregman

Beyond the Threshold presents valuable summaries of two distinct and important bodies of material: an overview of how major world religions view the afterlife, and modern empirical research on paranormal experiences that might be seen to confirm or disprove the afterlife beliefs found in religion. Christopher M. Moreman analyzes this unique pairing of material in a balanced and respectful manner, opening up space for discussion about the intriguing interplay between traditional views of the afterlife and paranormal experiences.

Editorial Reviews

California State University philosophy professor Moreman surveys ideas about the afterlife taught in world religions and manifest in psychic phenomena in this ambitious but pedestrian book. The breadth of his research is impressive, and the inclusion of the paranormal and inexplicable-mediums, past-life memories, near-death experiences, apparitions-affords a rational look at what many have taken seriously in a variety of cultures and epochs. The author is at his best in a concluding chapter that explains manifestations of the transcendent. Drawn from previous work, the final chapter shows more editorial polish than the rest of the book, which suffers from dull academic prose, frequently in the passive voice. On the whole, this could be a useful text for students, but less attractive for general readers. (Nov.)

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Publishers Weekly

Christopher M. Moreman has written a useful, wide-ranging book on death and dying that should be a valuable resource in courses or for general readers. It is comprehensive, covering both perspectives in the world religions and investigations in contemporary research on experiences of the afterlife, and insightful in its comparative emphasis on beliefs and phenomena. This text makes an important contribution to the literature on religion, death, and dying.

Gary Laderman

Beyond the Threshold presents valuable summaries of two distinct and important bodies of material: an overview of how major world religions view the afterlife, and modern empirical research on paranormal experiences that might be seen to confirm or disprove the afterlife beliefs found in religion. Christopher M. Moreman analyzes this unique pairing of material in a balanced and respectful manner, opening up space for discussion about the intriguing interplay between traditional views of the afterlife and paranormal experiences.

Lucy Bregman

A valuable book....As an introductory text it is excellent, and even for those well versed in the subject there is much to surprise and interest....This book is both timely and important.

Journal of the Society for Psychical Research

This is a revised and expanded edition of Christopher Moreman’s book on afterlife beliefs. It is based on wide ranging research into a topic of key importance to the religions of the world. It is both accessible and scholarly. Moreman’s discussion of controversial issues is fair, balanced, and well informed. The book makes a major contribution to academic understanding and establishes Moreman as a leading authority in this area.

Paul Badham

Beyond the Threshold is the one textbook I know of that not only introduces beliefs about the afterlife, but also examines reported experiences of the afterlife. Students love the chapters on ghosts, séances, and near-death experiences. But they benefit from the engaging discussions of the major religious views as well. The updates and new glossaries make a great book even better.

Rebecca Moore

This thought-provoking book provides two lenses through which to perceive the afterlife: the teachings of world religions and anomalous experiences. Each is treated historically and critically, with similarities and differences noted. Clear and comprehensive, the result is unique: a highly informative compendium and an adventurous attempt at synthesis.

Tony Walter

Beliefs about an afterlife are what Carl Jung called objective interpretations of our continuing bonds with those who have died. Neither religious claims about how people live on nor the experiences by which we continue our bonds, however, fit easily into the logical positivism that dominates the contemporary Western mindset. In this excellent book Christopher Moreman takes on the question of afterlife directly. First he examines the beliefs of many of the world’s religious traditions. Then he examines the studies of mediums, apparitions and hauntings, near death experiences, and past life memories. He is respectful of his sources and at the same time he gives readers the benefit of his fine critical mind.

Dennis Klass

A valuable book....As an introductory text it is excellent, and even for those well versed in the subject there is much to surprise and interest....This book is both timely and important.

Journal Of The Society For Psychical Research