Deck 14: Beyond Deathafter Life

Question 1

Ancient Egyptians focused on

A) Ba flying to the afterlife.
B) raging against death.
C) La, the soul's force.
D) preparing for the afterlife.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

In the writings of Dante and Thomas Aquinas, earlier concepts of death are subordinated to an emphasis on

A) dualism.
B) immortality of the soul.
C) eternal union with polis.
D) unity.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Historically, in Christian beliefs, the intermediate state where an opportunity for purification is offered to eliminate any remaining obstacles to full enjoyment of eternal union with God is called

A) hades.
B) polis.
C) koan.
D) purgatory.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Two tombstone inscriptions from the American colonial period are cited in the text: "Sleeping, but will someday meet her maker" and "Gone to his eternal reward." What is the most important insight to be gained from these inscriptions?

A) They display a shared commonality of belief in time.
B) Inscriptions should be personalized.
C) Inscriptions comfort the bereaved.
D) They show how contrasting ideas about the afterlife can coexist in time.

Question 5

A basic premise of Qur'anic teaching about death is that

A) it involves intermediate states.
B) the released soul merges with the universe.
C) God determines the span of a person's life.
D) the soul journeys into transmigration.

Question 6

What has been characterized as the "most persistent image of afterlife in the history of religion"?

A) Resignation
B) Eternal light
C) Judgment
D) Rebirth

Question 7

The ancient Hebrews praised righteous conduct because

A) it guarantees peace in the afterlife.
B) it leads to harmony in the present life.
C) they feared eternal damnation.
D) they feared the physical pain of dying.

Question 8

Who emphasized the dualism of the body and soul?

A) Socrates
B) Plato
C) Ramsey
D) Pythagoras

Question 9

The Hebrew word She'ol refers to

A) the underworld of all the dead.
B) ghosts.
C) hell.
D) heaven.

Question 10

Hades was typically pictured as

A) an inviting resting place.
B) a sea of tranquility.
C) a shadowy place evoking despair.
D) a heroic mortal evoking serenity.

Question 11

The ancient Hebrews viewed the notion of human personality as an

A) incarnated soul.
B) existent phenomenon.
C) entity that will be reincarnated.
D) animated body.

Question 12

According to Jewish tradition, our lives are measured by our

A) wealth.
B) wisdom.
C) deeds.
D) children.

Question 13

The notion that life continues after death

A) originated in early Greece.
B) is one of the oldest human concepts.
C) is a relatively recent idea.
D) originated in Egypt.

Question 14

The ancient Greeks stressed the survival of the

A) ruling class and elite.
B) educated and fit.
C) polis and community.
D) soul and eternity.

Question 15

Which of the following statements best reflects the understanding of resurrection in early Christianity?

A) The soul is eternal and is released from the body at death.
B) It is a special kind of bodily existence and has symbolic or spiritual meaning.
C) It involves an intermediate state called purgatory.
D) It involves the completion of one cycle and the beginning of another.

Question 16

Islamic teachings about death include the idea that

A) God determines a person's lifespan.
B) God has no power over an individual's fate.
C) hell does not exist.
D) hellish states are only temporary.

Question 17

In, The Apology, Socrates describes death as

A) eternal bliss.
B) dreamless sleep.
C) either eternal bliss or dreamless sleep.
D) neither eternal bliss nor dreamless state.

Question 18

In what tradition are lives measured by deeds and living up to your full potential?

A) Jewish
B) Hawaiian
C) Ancient Greek
D) Bardo

Question 19

The Islamic vision of the afterlife is

A) only physical.
B) only spiritual.
C) both spiritual and physical.
D) neither spiritual nor physical.

Question 20

Which Greek philosopher believed that, through purification, discipline, and successive rounds of births and deaths, the soul eventually merges with the divine?

A) Dionysos
B) Phaedo
C) Pythagoras
D) Homer

Question 21

The Buddhist term nirvana is best defined as

A) a transitional state.
B) causality.
C) the period after death.
D) extinction.

Question 22

Among the distinguishing features of Hinduism is belief in transmigration of the soul, which is termed

A) mahakala.
B) liana.
C) samsara.
D) dharma.

Question 23

What is the most important problem for Buddhists?

A) Daily meditation
B) Cleansing of the psychic
C) Clarification of the meaning of birth and death
D) Establishing the limits of life and afterlife

Question 24

Which religious tradition believes a grave should be deep enough for the dead person to sit up without his or her head appearing above ground?

A) Islam
B) Hindu
C) Tibetan Buddhism
D) Christianity

Question 25

In China, what addressed the inner world of spiritual exploration and transformation?

A) Confucianism
B) Chuang Tzuism
C) Daoism
D) I Chingism

Question 26

The priest at a Buddhist funeral speaks

A) softly not to awaken the deceased.
B) of the permanence and restfulness of death.
C) of purgatory and the purification of the soul.
D) directly to the deceased.

Question 27

Secular, or non-religious, responses to questions about survival after death often reflect ideas about some kind of

A) human predicament.
B) life and death doctrine.
C) symbolic immortality.
D) atheistic stance.

Question 28

The view of reality in the Chinese text known as the I Ching

A) states that performing certain rituals helps one gain a happy afterlife.
B) presents a theory of the personification of time.
C) presents the view that life and death are manifestations of a changing reality.
D) states that if a person is established in "big mind" there will be no fear of death.

Question 29

Nirvana literally means

A) liberation.
B) deification.
C) elimination.
D) extinction.

Question 30

The term bardo refers to a/an

A) intermediate or transitional state between death and rebirth.
B) near-death experience.
C) principal of causality.
D) state of extinction.

Question 31

According to Islamic tradition, the angelic beings Munkar and Nakir

A) punish wrongdoers with death.
B) interrogate the deceased.
C) represent the devil.
D) inspire the deceased's family.

Question 32

Which secular alternative to religion emphasizes intellect and cultural achievements rather than divine intervention and supernaturalism?

A) Existentialism.
B) Positivism.
C) Experiential.
D) Humanism.

Question 33

Pictures of ultimate states and doctrines of last things are referred to as

A) symbolic immortalities.
B) eschatologies.
C) religiosities.
D) cosmologies.

Question 34

In Tibetan Buddhism, what term describes an intermediate or transitional state?

A) Bardo
B) Consequential dimension
C) Symbolic immortality
D) Otherworld journey

Question 35

Samsara refers to a

A) process of passing through a series of incarnational experiences.
B) hidden self.
C) holiday observing the death of Krishna.
D) belief that each person will answer for his or her deeds.

Question 36

In Asian religions, the moral law of cause and effect is termed

A) samsara.
B) moksha.
C) karma.
D) elohim.

Question 37

Tibetan books of the dead describe

A) death processes.
B) angels Munkar and Nakir.
C) purgatory.
D) NDEs.

Question 38

Which of the following statements best reflects the view of reality found in the Chinese I Ching or Book of Changes?

A) The progression of events begins with creation and ends with resolution of the cosmic story at the end of time.
B) Life and death are different manifestations of a constantly changing reality.
C) The soul journeys through a series of incarnational experiences.
D) Intellectual and cultural achievements are more important than divine intervention and supernatural religion.

Question 39

Which secular alternative disavows the comforting answers offered by religion or social convention and focuses squarely on individual responsibility for making choices that define who we are and what we will become?

A) Realism
B) Existentialism
C) Positivism
D) Humanism

Question 40

As a school of thought, positivism is BEST defined as

A) the notion that religious and metaphysical modes of knowing are imperfect and that knowledge must be based on what can be directly observed in nature and human activity.
B) a philosophy focusing on human values and emphasizing the use of optimistic reasoning.
C) a philosophy based on the teachings of the ancient Greeks that emphasizes the use of logic to solve complex questions.
D) the notion that the afterlife will be either pure torment or pure bliss depending upon one's conduct during earthly existence.

Question 41

All of the following are characteristics of near-death experiences EXCEPT

A) an enhanced ability to cope with difficulties in life.
B) a greater appreciation of life.
C) feeling a dramatic reduction in death anxiety.
D) a weakened self-confidence.

Question 42

Which of the following is a core element associated with near-death experiences?

A) Altered self-esteem
B) Departing from the body
C) Taking an afterlife pilgrimage
D) Making a journey to the underworld

Question 43

Raymond Moody, who coined the term near-death experiences, now prefers to characterize NDEs as

A) associated with a paranormal death syndrome.
B) defense mechanisms.
C) scientific proof of life after death.
D) aspects of psychedelic experiences.

Question 44

The Greek understanding of body and soul had very little influence on early Christian thought.

Question 45

In the early 1960s, studies involving the therapeutic administration of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) to patients suffering intense pain, researchers also concluded that LSD therapy

A) increased dependence.
B) diminished emotional symptoms.
C) decreased morale.
D) increased detachment from families and environment.

Question 46

Resurrection has no symbolic or spiritual meaning.

Question 47

Which of the following are neuropsychological theories devised to explain near-death experiences?
1) Drugs
2) Cerebral anoxia
3) False sight
4) Physical disinhibition

A) 1, 2, and 3
B) 1, 2, and 4
C) 1, 3, and 4
D) 2, 3, and 4

Question 48

Panoramic memory usually involves

A) reviewing all of the bad things a person has done.
B) visions of the person's future and reactions of friends and relatives at his or her funeral.
C) visions and review of the person's whole life or selected highlights of it.
D) reviewing all of the good things a person has done.

Question 49

In the 1960s, Eric Kast pioneered the therapeutic use of LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) with the goal of

A) studying the deterioration in brain function of dying patients.
B) easing the physical and mental pain experienced by dying patients.
C) comforting grieving patients who had suffered the loss of a loved one.
D) increasing knowledge about near-death experiences.

Question 50

The ancient Greeks viewed Phaedo as a sacred place inhabited by angels, evoking serenity.

Question 51

Jewish mourning rituals help the bereaved to engage in a reaffirmation of life.

Question 52

A Muslim is one who has submitted and is at peace with God.

Question 53

Islam means peace or submission.

Question 54

Psychoanalytic pioneer Oskar Pfister attributed the near-death experiences of skiers and climbers to

A) psychological defense mechanisms.
B) the Oedipal complex.
C) separation anxiety experienced in childhood.
D) beliefs in religion and eternal bliss.

Question 55

Carol Zaleski identifies which of the following as forms of the "otherworld journey"?
1) The journey to the underworld
2) The ascent to higher worlds
3) The fantastic voyage
4) The afterlife pilgrimage

A) 1, 2, and 3
B) 1, 2, and 4
C) 1, 3, and 4
D) 2, 3, and 4

Question 56

According to Russell Noyes and Roy Kletti, what are the three stages in the typical near-death experience?

A) Resistance, fear, acceptance
B) Resistance, life review, transcendence
C) Imminence ego-identity, self-identity
D) Panoramic memory, detachment, nirvana

Question 57

In terms of the "wall/door" metaphor discussed in the text, Hindus would most likely view death as

A) a wall.
B) a door.
C) both a wall and a door.
D) neither a wall nor a door.

Question 58

According to psychological explanation provided by Russell Noyes and Roy Kletti, what are the three stages of near-death experiences and in what sequence do they occur?

A) Life review, transcendence, resistance
B) Resistance, transcendence, life review
C) Life review, resistance, transcendence
D) Resistance, life review, transcendence

Question 59

Visions of God have been characterized as "the most persistent images of afterlife in the history of religion."

Question 60

What feature of NDEs consists of vivid and almost instantaneous visions of a person's life or selected highlights of it?

A) Ego-identity
B) Life review
C) Transcendence
D) Cosmic consciousness

Question 61

One theory devised to explain near-death experiences is that they may result as a side effect from drug use.

Question 62

The Islamic vision of the afterlife is spiritual and not physical.

Question 63

Panoramic memory occurs prior to the NDE in preparation for return and reconnection with spirit guides.

Question 64

Caregivers need to recognize and acknowledge the spiritual component of patient care.

Question 65

In Islamic tradition, the funeral is conducted without elaborate ceremony.

Question 66

In Tibetan Buddhism, the bardo experience is considered to be part of the basic psychological make-up of human beings.

Question 67

One function of religion in society is as a source of emotional support.

Question 68

Karma is the moral law of cause and effect.

Question 69

The majority of adult Americans answer yes when asked whether they believe in life after death.

Question 70

Existentialism reflects an anti-religious, atheistic stance in which human beings are the measure of all things.

Question 71

Questions about immortality and "life after death" engage our thoughts.