Afterlife

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Belief in an afterlife is central to most religions. But what evidence is there that some aspect of a living creature – a soul – survives death in another form, and what do we know about that next state of existence?

  Clint gives us a peek at the 'Hereafter'
Jan 29, 2011
Hereafter posterWhat happens when we die? That's the question veteran actor and director Clint Eastwood sets out to answer in his latest movie, Hereafter. At the age of 80, it has been suggested that it must be something he asks himself most days. But that's not as unkind as some of the movie critics have been about the film. Among the reviews I've read – Hereafter went on public release in the UK and Europe yesterday – one describes watching it as coming close to "a near-death experience", another says "it's a messily-structured, rambling film with stilted dialogue", and a third dismisses it as "a baby-brained meditation on the afterlife". I decided to make my own judgment.... more
  Government pays respects to the dead in a virtual world
Jun 25, 2010
Memorial websiteA government department has decided to extend its responsibilities from this world to the next by launching a £100,000 memorial website which will require annual running costs of £78,000. It will give friends and relatives the opportunity to set up a page for deceased people on which they can pay tributes and make offerings. I learned about this unusual government involvement in matters of life and death during a visit to Hong Kong from which I have just returned. Ancient and modern beliefs happily co-exist, without apparent conflict, in this former British colony.... more
  In life and death: proving you still exist
Feb 21, 2010
When I first heard the story of Rom Houben, a Belgian man who had spent 23 years in a coma before doctors realised that he was conscious, it struck me that their efforts to prove he could communicate were very similar to those of researchers studying afterlife communications. What the medical specialists appeared to be overlooking ... more