Table of Contents
Preface 1
Acknowledgments 5
Prologue. An urge to immortality? 6
Part 1 Resurrection and the Immortal Soul 17
Chapter 1 Resurrection from the ancient Near East to Jesus 19
Chapter 2 The immortal soul 41
Chapter 3 Journeys to heaven and hell 67
Part 2 Transmigration and Transformation 113
Chapter 4 Reincarnation and the eternal spirit 115
Chapter 5 Immortal ancestors; death as transformation 148
Part 3 Longevity and Legacy 167
Chapter 6 From Gilgamesh to cryonics: the search for the everlasting body 169
Chapter 7 'I will establish for ever a name eternal!' 197
Part 4 Reflections on Immortality 219
Chapter 8 Science and philosophy v. immortality 221
Chapter 9 Is immortality a curse? 257
Epilogue. The ethics of immortality 279
Notes 289
Timeline 308
Further Reading 309
Bibliography 313
Select Index 334