{"product_id":"heaven-and-hell-a-history-of-the-afterlife-9781501136740","title":"Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestselling historian of early Christianity takes on two of the most gripping questions of human existence: where did the ideas of heaven and hell come from and why do they endure?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat happens when we die? A recent Pew Research poll showed that 72% of Americans believe in a literal heaven and 58% believe in a literal hell. Most people who hold these beliefs are Christian and assume they are the age-old teachings of the Bible. But eternal rewards and punishments are found nowhere in the Old Testament and are not what Jesus or his disciples taught. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSo where did these ideas come from? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this \"eloquent understanding of how death is viewed through many spiritual traditions\" (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review), Bart Ehrman recounts the long history of the afterlife, ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh up to the writings of Augustine, focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers. He discusses ancient guided tours of heaven and hell, in which a living person observes the sublime blessings of heaven for those who are saved and the horrifying torments of hell for those who are damned. Some of these accounts take the form of near death experiences, the oldest on record, with intriguing similarities to those reported today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne of Ehrman's startling conclusions is that there never was a single Greek, Jewish, or Christian understanding of the afterlife, but numerous competing views. Moreover, these views did not come from nowhere; they were intimately connected with the social, cultural, and historical worlds out of which they emerged. Only later, in the early Christian centuries, did they develop into notions of eternal bliss or damnation widely accepted today. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this \"elegant history\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e), Ehrman helps us reflect on where our ideas of the afterlife come from. With his \"richly layered-narrative\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e) he assures us that even if there may be something to hope for when we die, there certainly is nothing to fear.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Simon \u0026amp; Schuster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/23\/2021\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781501136740\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352","brand":"Bart D. Ehrman","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":38607620997301,"sku":"9781501136740","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_aeb5818a-2ccf-451d-927d-e1ef03b7e9d9.jpg?v=1614089681","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/heaven-and-hell-a-history-of-the-afterlife-9781501136740","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}