Death, Dying, and the Afterlife by Mark Berkson

from Stanford University in Religious Studies and Humanities. from Stanford University in East Asian Studies, and a Ph.D. from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, an M.A. Mark Berkson is Professor of Religion at Hamline University. Prepare for a remarkable learning experience that brings you face-to-face with the most important topic mortals like us can consider.ĭr. You’ll encounter everything from ancient burial practices, traditional views of the afterlife, and the five stages of grief to the question of killing during wartime, the phenomenon of near-death experiences, and even 21st-century theories about transcending death itself. Bringing together theology, philosophy, biology, anthropology, literature, psychology, sociology, and other fields, these 24 lectures are a brilliant compendium of how human beings have struggled to come to terms with mortality. Death, it turns out, is a powerful teacher, one that can help us think responsibly and deeply about the meaning and value of life, connect with the beliefs and traditions of cultures and faiths different from our own, and gain the wisdom and guidance to live a richer, more fulfilling life while we have it.Īs religion scholar and award-winning Professor Mark Berkson of Hamline University says, “Reflecting on death and dying is an essential part of the examined life.” Take a wide-ranging look at this undeniably confounding and fascinating subject. While we’re predisposed to look on death with fear and sadness, it’s only by confronting and exploring death head-on that we can actually embrace the important role it plays in our lives.

Death, Dying, and the Afterlife: Lessons from World Cultures is an uplifting, meaningful, and multidisciplinary exploration of life’s only certainty.

Death, Dying, and the Afterlife by Mark Berkson