Door to afterlife from ancient Egyptian tomb found

[chloe]

CAIRO – The Egyptian antiquities authority says archaeologists have unearthed a 3,500-year-old false door from the tomb of a high-ranking Egyptian official near Karnak temple in Luxor.

False doors in ancient Egyptian tombs were meant to take the spirits of the dead to the afterlife. The nearly six-foot- tall (1.75 meters) slab of pink granite is covered with religious texts.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100329/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_egypt_antiquities

[KarlMarx]

Usually the false doors contained an image of the deceased. This was done so that offerings could be made to his soul. The Egyptians believed in resurrection, as do Christians, unlike Christians, they believed that the resurrection was almost immediate.

[chloe]

Usually the false doors contained an image of the deceased. This was done so that offerings could be made to his soul. The Egyptians believed in resurrection, as do Christians, unlike Christians, they believed that the resurrection was almost immediate.


Is that the same as reincarnation?

[Noir]

Is that the same as reincarnation?

Reincarnation means something like 'to become flesh' i.e. That after you die you come back to life on earth as another living creature.

The Egyptian belief (as far as I know) is that your soul is transported on a boat to the afterlife, where you will be meet by a gatekeeper who you must pay into get into 'heaven' thus the rich were burried with all their riches so they were certain to get in.

Disclaimer-that may be totally wrong, I haven't studied the Egyptian afterlife in about 10 years, but that is what I think I remember lol.

[KarlMarx]

Reincarnation means something like 'to become flesh' i.e. That after you die you come back to life on earth as another living creature.

The Egyptian belief (as far as I know) is that your soul is transported on a boat to the afterlife, where you will be meet by a gatekeeper who you must pay into get into 'heaven' thus the rich were burried with all their riches so they were certain to get in.

Disclaimer-that may be totally wrong, I haven't studied the Egyptian afterlife in about 10 years, but that is what I think I remember lol.

Almost, but not quite....

You were transported into the afterlife on a boat.. on the way you met a series of gatekeepers that you got past by reciting spells from the Egyptian Book of the Dead

You then got to the Hall of Justice, where Osiris, the God of the Dead, resided. You recited a negative confession ("I did not steal", "I did not lie", etc.), afterwards your heart was taken out and weighed against the feather of truth (Maat)....

If your heart passed, you were in, otherwise it was devoured by a beast...

the goodies they buried with their dead was for use in the afterworld.

[Monkeybone]

Is that the same as reincarnation?no. ressurection to coming back to life as you. Like you woke up from sleeping. Reincarnation is that i would die, and then my spirit/soul/whatever would go into something else.


Reincarnation means something like 'to become flesh' i.e. That after you die you come back to life on earth as another living creature.

The Egyptian belief (as far as I know) is that your soul is transported on a boat to the afterlife, where you will be meet by a gatekeeper who you must pay into get into 'heaven' thus the rich were burried with all their riches so they were certain to get in.

Disclaimer-that may be totally wrong, I haven't studied the Egyptian afterlife in about 10 years, but that is what I think I remember lol. I believe the paying to get in, or at least the boat part is Greek Mythology.

[KarlMarx]

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/25/83825-004-8B847ABE.jpg

The measuring of the heart scene from "The Book of the Dead". Here, Anubis, the jackal headed god (who was the god of the embalmed dead), measured the heart of the deceased (on the left hand side of the balance) against the feather of Maat (the god of Truth and Order) on the right hand side of the balance while Toth (the ibis headed god of scribes) on the extreme far right, recorded the results of the trial on scroll.. (kind of like a court stenographer!)

[Mr. P]

Usually the false doors contained an image of the deceased. This was done so that offerings could be made to his soul. The Egyptians believed in resurrection, as do Christians, unlike Christians, they believed that the resurrection was almost immediate.

I wonder why they removed organs to jars? Including the brain.

[Monkeybone]

I wonder why they removed organs to jars? Including the brain.
Zombies.

[cat slave]

I wonder why they removed organs to jars? Including the brain.

Probably because those would start to rot first and spoil the whole thing.

I was watching one of those ancient alien programs recently and they
were showing what looked like light bulbs and they thought maybe they
were really just that, since there was no soot on the ceilings.

I think Von Danikin is on to something. And I also reading a book about
Atlantis and Lumeria...very interesting and explains some things I had
wondered about before. I have O negative!

Reincarnation? That would be a dirty trick. Get through this life with
all its grief, joys, enlightenment, knowledge, struggles, then ultimately
death......come back and start all over. What part of do overs is not
appealing? Do you get a choice or is it a conviction????

I didnt care for the Tibetan Book of the Dead theory of the afterlife
either.

Cant we just cross over into a beautiful land with all our friends and family
and animals and live happily ever after as an orb of light/energy????

[Mr. P]

I wonder why they removed organs to jars? Including the brain.

I know that this was part of the mummification process, but if they believed that one would pass "almost immediately" to the after life it puzzles me why there would even be a need to mummify.

[KarlMarx]

I wonder why they removed organs to jars? Including the brain.

To make the mummification process possible... the internal organs hold on to moisture, therefore, the possibility of decay increased.

After removing the internal organs, the body was packed in natron, a form of salt, for 70 days. This extracted all moisture from the body. After that, the body was wrapped in linen bandages, with amulets, etc to help ward off evil spirits, etc.

[KarlMarx]

I know that this was part of the mummification process, but if they believed that one would pass "almost immediately" to the after life it puzzles me why there would even be a need to mummify.

They believed that the body would be resurrected and go on living, as before. The Egyptians' idea of a soul was a complex one... you had a "ka" - a double, and a "ba" which is roughly translated to mean your body. If the body was destroyed, the soul could not enjoy the afterlife and would be condemned to something like an eternal form of starvation.

[Noir]

Almost, but not quite....

You were transported into the afterlife on a boat.. on the way you met a series of gatekeepers that you got past by reciting spells from the Egyptian Book of the Dead

You then got to the Hall of Justice, where Osiris, the God of the Dead, resided. You recited a negative confession ("I did not steal", "I did not lie", etc.), afterwards your heart was taken out and weighed against the feather of truth (Maat)....

If your heart passed, you were in, otherwise it was devoured by a beast...

the goodies they buried with their dead was for use in the afterworld.

ah, I see, how interesting,

Would the everyday man and woman of Egypt known about this and been able to recite from the book of the dead, or was that only for higher ups?

@Monkeybone, indeed I do also vaugly remember simalar stories for Greeks, which is why they had coins placed on there eyes to 'pay the boatman' or something simalar.

[PostmodernProphet]

tell them not to go in.....

[KarlMarx]

ah, I see, how interesting,

Would the everyday man and woman of Egypt known about this and been able to recite from the book of the dead, or was that only for higher ups?

@Monkeybone, indeed I do also vaugly remember simalar stories for Greeks, which is why they had coins placed on there eyes to 'pay the boatman' or something simalar.

Unfortunately, only the nobility could read or afford to have a copy of the Book of the Dead written for them (the most famous one is the papyrus of Ani in your British Museum)

In the Old Kingdom, it was believed that only the pharaoh could pass into the afterlife, in the Middle Kingdom, the theology changed so that nobility could pass into the afterlife too... and finally in the New Kingdom, the afterlife was completely democratic, even commoners could go in...

I think, that nowadays, the theology also includes Republicans and Democrats... :-)

[HogTrash]

The "Door to afterlife" is wherever you happen to be when your spirit exits your body.

If we go by Egyptian standards, pretty much only royalty and the elites get to paradise.

[Mr. P]

Unfortunately, only the nobility could read or afford to have a copy of the Book of the Dead written for them (the most famous one is the papyrus of Ani in your British Museum)

In the Old Kingdom, it was believed that only the pharaoh could pass into the afterlife, in the Middle Kingdom, the theology changed so that nobility could pass into the afterlife too... and finally in the New Kingdom, the afterlife was completely democratic, even commoners could go in...

I think, that nowadays, the theology also includes Republicans and Democrats... :-)

:laugh2::laugh2::laugh2: