Friday, August 23, 2024

Spirituality: The afterlife, by Toby Wilkerson

The Rise And Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkerson covers the dynasties from 3000 BC to 30 BC, who the pyramid builders were, who the tomb builders etc, the good guys from the bad guys. The concept of the afterlife which appeared during the eighth Dynasty.


“Such rigid distinctions weakened and eventually gave way as royal authority waned during the long reign of Pepy II and the strife that followed it. Ideas of a transcendent afterlife in the company of the gods spread through the population, transforming funerary practices and the wider culture. Earthly success and being well remembered after death were no longer enough. The hope of something better in the next world, of transfiguration and transformation, became paramount. Notions of what lay on the other side of death were elaborated, codified and combined in ever more inventive formulations. In the process, the ancient Egyptians devised the key concepts of original sin, an underworld rife with dangers and demons, a final judgement before the great god, and the promise of a glorious resurrection.. These concepts would echo through later civilizations and ultimately shape the Judeo-Christian tradition."

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