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physical body, the spirit could inhabit the body even though it was dead. Having no one to explain to them that the spirit continues to live on without the confinements of the body, they left nourishment for the corpse.
Because life was so hard for them, they thought only of their next food source, keeping themselves safe, having a group to live with and keeping the corpse supplied with food so that it's spirit would continue to live.
As civilization advanced, the belief in judgment after death was introduced. A standard of right and wrong was established according to tribal customs, and continues on today. Souls were made subject to the laws of retribution, because it was eternal.
They decided that man would have to live by the laws of the land or be punished in some way. What better way than death to the body? Basic human nature dictates that we try to keep the body alive at all costs.
With failure to keep the body alive the next worst thing was for the soul to experience hardship. From customs, religion started to form and grow. Religion found ways to punish the soul in order to keep people in line: going to hell. Hell was a burning fire that was never quenched. Thus the soul would feel pain for eternity.
Christian doctrine includes the second advent of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the last judgment, the immortality of the soul, concepts of heaven and hell and the consummation of the kingdom of God. The Roman Catholic Church additionally includes beatific vision, purgatory and limbo.
Religious beliefs have evolved from man's requiring a higher power to give life meaning. In looking at the different religions, we see that they are similar. All believe in retribution of some sort.
Religious leaders in the past have made a habit of destroying any literature in which they did not believe. The first Council of Nicaea in 325AD is a prime example.
The leaders of that Council took reincarnation out of the Bible and substituted resurrection instead. If people could believe that there was life after death, and that they could be
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