In Africa, the emphasis on family, marriage, and offspring suggest that there is a kind of an unwritten ancestral law that imposes on every male the duty of begetting a son. The reason is because the core of African soteriology is centered on offspring. The predicament of the childless couples, therefore, stems from the desire for immortality and salvation that culminates in the admission of the dead into the ancestral world. This quest for salvation and immortality constitute social, emotional, psychological, and spiritual problems for Christian as well as non-Christian childless couples.

Life After Death shows how representations of the widow in theeighteenth-century novel express attitudes toward emerging capitalismand women's participation in it. Authors responded to the century'sinstability by using widows, who had the right to act economically andself-interestedly, to teach women that virtue meant foregoing theopportunities that the changing economy offered. Novelists thus helpedto create expectations for women that linger today, and established thenovel as a cultural arbiter. The first study of widows in the developingnovel, Life After Death also takes the next step in merging genre, gender, and economic criticism

The obituary pages of our quality newspapers have been described as 'oases of calm in a world gone mad', 'a lovely part of the paper to linger in', and 'writing that matters'. Entertaining, inspiring and informative, they serve as a legitimate instrument of history, and have enjoyed an extraordinary revival in popularity over the past twenty years. Life After Death investigates-and celebrates-the development of the obituary form in the British, American, and Australian press. Author Nigel Starck tracks down the earliest exercise in obituary publication (in 1622), then traces the evolution of the form over four centuries, from times when the obituary was the reserve of royalty and privilege to its contemporary egalitarian mode. Along the way Dr Starck delves into a multitude of lives, from the heroic to the comic, the saintly to the downright villainous, the exemplary to the eccentric. Meet, in the posthumous cast list, Major Digby Tatham-Warter, of Britain's Parachute Regiment, who carried an umbrella into battle just in case it rained; the absent-minded Australian barrister Pat Lanigan, who drove from Canberra to Sydney and then flew back, leaving his car behind; and the eccentric American publisher Eddie Clontz, whose newspaper reported (exclusively, of course) that 'tiny terrorists' were disguising themselves as garden gnomes. Life After Death also incorporates a connoisseur's collection of ten obituaries reprinted in full: the subjects include Helen Keller, Diana Mosley, Quentin Crisp, George Wallace, and Rosa Parks. Without doubt, Life After Death is a book that will outlive its author-as an enduring celebration of journalism's dying art. 'Canon Smith expired after suffering an unfortunate disagreement with his bishop.'-The Sydney Morning Herald, 1882 'Minnesota Fats died at his home in Nashville. He was eighty-two, or perhaps ninety-five.'-The New York Times, 1996

THERE ARE FEW SUBJECTS IN HUMAN THOUGHT THAT RAISE SUCH STRONG EMOTIONS AS THE AFTERLIFE. What if anything, awaits us after we leave this physical world? Are we reincarnated to try to "get it right" through another life? Do we simply vanish? Do we enter some state of bliss or torment based on our good deeds or lack of them? It seems that there is no end of conjecture offered by human religion and philosophy on this subject. Yet, most of this seems to be nothing more than baseless speculation. As we have no evidence (indeed, we cannot have any physical evidence) of what becomes of us after our physical death, it appears that we have no choice but to pick the idea that is most appealing to us and go with it. It is true enough that we will ultimately pick the idea of the afterlife that we choose to believe to be correct, yet this is a matter of sufficiently great importance to warrant our choosing wisely. The source of information we choose to accept as the correct depiction of the afterlife is one of the most critical decisions we will ever make. While this will ultimately be a matter of belief, we owe it to ourselves to make our choice based on what these sources actually say and not on what we think they say or what others tell us they say. This book is presented as a look at the Bible's teaching on the subject of the afterlife and the choices available to us for an existence after this present life is over. The findings presented in this book are at considerable variance with the teachings of traditional institutional Christian church doctrine and dogma. It is the author's hope that the points presented here will give the reader a different perspective of the biblical view of life, death and afterlife.

While death is a universal experience, the traditions that surround it differ from culture to culture. How should the body of the deceased be laid to rest? What should be done with his or her belongings? How can a person's legacy live on through traditions and keepsakes? This volume explores practices around the world, addressing the practical and spiritual considerations that come with death and encouraging readers to keep an open mind toward the rituals and beliefs of other cultures and turn a critical eye toward their own.

Four thousand years ago, amid tragic suffering and death, Job asked the question of the ages: “If a man dies, will he live again?” Since the dawn of history, the subject of death and the afterlife has been the great question of human existence. It’s a subject that everyone wonders about. What lies behind the veil of death? Is there really life after death? Is there a place called hell? This small yet power-packed book answers, in a very straightforward, reader-friendly format, all the most-asked questions ordinary people have about death, near-death experiences, cremation, purgatory, hell, heaven, and our future bodies. You’ll be amazed at what awaits us beyond the grave. Is There Sex in Heaven? It’s a fair question! And so are the rest. Go ahead…flip to the table of contents. Discover another one, two, or fifty-four others that are guaranteed to intrigue you. Questions like: Do those in heaven know what’s happening on earth? and Will I see my pets in heaven? Because even if you’d rather avoid the topic, death will not avoid you. So fire away! Ask the tough questions, and get the dead-on answers you need. Straightforward and easy to read, 55 Answers to Questions About Life After Death satisfies that nagging, curious voice whispering from the corner of your mind. Story Behind the Book “Three key experiences in my life have come together to make this book a reality. First, as the pastor of a local church for thirteen years, I have had the privilege of visiting people who are facing imminent death, conducting funerals, and ministering to grieving families. During these times people often have probing questions about life after death. Second, due to my interest and writing in the area of Bible prophecy, I am frequently asked questions about the afterlife at conferences and via e-mail. Third, all kinds of books, TV shows, and groups out there today are fostering unbiblical views of life after death. Knowing that this is a subject of universal interest and great confusion, I have a passionate desire to create a user-friendly, clear, straightforward resource to answer all the key questions that people everywhere are asking about life’s greatest mystery.”