Where did the idea of biological bodies coming out of the ground come from?
I am a Christian but I joined this forum to ask if y'all might help me with this. Some Christians believe biological bodies will come out of the ground at the "end of time." I am interested in any secular literature that would present itself as a source for this belief. I am not interested in what the Bible says but rather any document that might predate the New Testament or perhaps be the source of this thinking. Thanks if you can help me.

Not exactly the sort of stuff the wackos of today believe, but old stuff on the topic:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/

Prior to Christianity the Hebrew Pharisees believed in a physical resurrection of the body. Orthodox Jews still believe that the dead will be resurrected. It is one of their thirteen main principles of the Jewish faith.

Quote:"I believe with complete (perfect) faith, that there will be techiat hameitim - revival of the dead, whenever it will be God's, blessed be He, will (desire) to arise and do so. May (God's) Name be blessed, and may His remembrance arise, forever and ever."

Chances are the Pharisees got the idea from Zoroastrianism.

http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/4zoroa94.html

Quote:The Babylonian captivity of the 6th century B. C. transformed Judaism in a profound way, exposing the Jews to Zoroastrianism, which was virtually the state religion of Babylon at the time. Until then, the Jewish conception of the afterlife was vague. A shadowy existence in Sheol, the underworld, land of the dead (not to be confused with Hell) was all they had to look forward to. Zarathustra, however, had preached the bodily resurrection of the dead, who would face a last judgment (both individual and general) to determine their ultimate fate in the next life: either Paradise or torment. Daniel was the first Jewish prophet to refer to resurrection, judgment, and reward or punishment (12:2 ), and insofar as he was an advisor to King Darius (erroneously referred to as a Mede), he was in a position to know the religion thoroughly.

The new doctrine of resurrection was not universally accepted by the Jews and remained a point of contention for centuries until its ultimate acceptance. The Gospels (Matthew 22:23 ) record that the dispute was still going on during the time of Christ, with the Sadducees denying and the Pharisees affirming it. It may be a mere coincidence, but note the similarity between the names Pharisee and Farsi or Parsee, the Persians from whom the doctrine of resurrection was borrowed. In addition to incorporating the doctrines of resurrection and judgment, exposure to Zoroastrianism substantially altered Jewish Messianism as well. Zarathustra predicted the imminent arrival of a World Savior (Saoshyant), who would be born of a virgin and who would lead humanity in the final battle against Evil. Jewish Messianism grafted these conceptions onto their preexisting expectations of a Davidic king who would redeem the Jewish nation from foreign oppression.

Religious shits in the West would do well to study Zoroastrianism to learn from whence their silly bullshit came!

Quote:with the Sadducees denying and the Pharisees affirming it.

Which ought to be another telltale blow against bible bullshit if you stop to think about it....and xtians never stop to think about anything. It always seems to be the "pharisees" who are the bad guys in the gospel narratives but with their belief in bodily resurrection they would seem to be more ally than enemy of jesus and his bullshit story.

Whereas the sadducees, who not only denounced the idea of resurrection but also were in charge of running the temple seem to be ignored as a group.

Anyone wish to hazard a guess about why that might be?

(September 18, 2011 at 9:56 pm)popeyespappy Wrote: Prior to Christianity the Hebrew Pharisees believed in a physical resurrection of the body. Orthodox Jews still believe that the dead will be resurrected. It is one of their thirteen main principles of the Jewish faith.

Quote:"I believe with complete (perfect) faith, that there will be techiat hameitim - revival of the dead, whenever it will be God's, blessed be He, will (desire) to arise and do so. May (God's) Name be blessed, and may His remembrance arise, forever and ever."

Chances are the Pharisees got the idea from Zoroastrianism.

That would explain the burial practices of the Zoroastrians. The bural practices involved dead bodies being put on top of a tower to have their flesh picked clean and then those bones were deposited in a pit at the bottom of that tower.

I thought local burial practice were dictated by the soil type and availability of someone to actually 'bury' said corpse. The whole "exposing the corpse to be picked clean" is reminiscent of Hindu and MesoAmerican practices that I have read about..I could be wrong though :S

(September 19, 2011 at 8:08 am)KichigaiNeko Wrote: I thought local burial practice were dictated by the soil type and availability of someone to actually 'bury' said corpse. The whole "exposing the corpse to be picked clean" is reminiscent of Hindu and MesoAmerican practices that I have read about..I could be wrong though :S

I think the Zoroastrian funeral practices are changing.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14721606/ns/...nc10exQjyo

Hindus cremate their dead often on funeral pyres, interesting enough I find Hindu views on the afterlife quite interesting. Since after we die the atomic particles we are composed of still exist. However they end up in different stuff (kinda of like reincarnation).

Thanks for this information, Minimalist. And thank you all for your thoughts here. If anybody has any more or any web sites I can visit to find out when these first thoughts of physical dead bodies coming out of the ground came into being, please let me know.

(September 18, 2011 at 10:13 pm)Minimalist Wrote: http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/4zoroa94.html

Quote:The Babylonian captivity of the 6th century B. C. transformed Judaism in a profound way, exposing the Jews to Zoroastrianism, which was virtually the state religion of Babylon at the time. Until then, the Jewish conception of the afterlife was vague. A shadowy existence in Sheol, the underworld, land of the dead (not to be confused with Hell) was all they had to look forward to. Zarathustra, however, had preached the bodily resurrection of the dead, who would face a last judgment (both individual and general) to determine their ultimate fate in the next life: either Paradise or torment. Daniel was the first Jewish prophet to refer to resurrection, judgment, and reward or punishment (12:2 ), and insofar as he was an advisor to King Darius (erroneously referred to as a Mede), he was in a position to know the religion thoroughly.

The new doctrine of resurrection was not universally accepted by the Jews and remained a point of contention for centuries until its ultimate acceptance. The Gospels (Matthew 22:23 ) record that the dispute was still going on during the time of Christ, with the Sadducees denying and the Pharisees affirming it. It may be a mere coincidence, but note the similarity between the names Pharisee and Farsi or Parsee, the Persians from whom the doctrine of resurrection was borrowed. In addition to incorporating the doctrines of resurrection and judgment, exposure to Zoroastrianism substantially altered Jewish Messianism as well. Zarathustra predicted the imminent arrival of a World Savior (Saoshyant), who would be born of a virgin and who would lead humanity in the final battle against Evil. Jewish Messianism grafted these conceptions onto their preexisting expectations of a Davidic king who would redeem the Jewish nation from foreign oppression.

Religious shits in the West would do well to study Zoroastrianism to learn from whence their silly bullshit came!

(September 19, 2011 at 8:47 am)Moonbeam Wrote:

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Thanks for this information, Minimalist. And thank you all for your thoughts here. If anybody has any more or any web sites I can visit to find out when these first thoughts of physical dead bodies coming out of the ground came into being, please let me know.

(September 18, 2011 at 10:13 pm)Minimalist Wrote: http://www.theskepticalreview.com/tsrmag/4zoroa94.html

Quote:The Babylonian captivity of the 6th century B. C. transformed Judaism in a profound way, exposing the Jews to Zoroastrianism, which was virtually the state religion of Babylon at the time. Until then, the Jewish conception of the afterlife was vague. A shadowy existence in Sheol, the underworld, land of the dead (not to be confused with Hell) was all they had to look forward to. Zarathustra, however, had preached the bodily resurrection of the dead, who would face a last judgment (both individual and general) to determine their ultimate fate in the next life: either Paradise or torment. Daniel was the first Jewish prophet to refer to resurrection, judgment, and reward or punishment (12:2 ), and insofar as he was an advisor to King Darius (erroneously referred to as a Mede), he was in a position to know the religion thoroughly.

The new doctrine of resurrection was not universally accepted by the Jews and remained a point of contention for centuries until its ultimate acceptance. The Gospels (Matthew 22:23 ) record that the dispute was still going on during the time of Christ, with the Sadducees denying and the Pharisees affirming it. It may be a mere coincidence, but note the similarity between the names Pharisee and Farsi or Parsee, the Persians from whom the doctrine of resurrection was borrowed. In addition to incorporating the doctrines of resurrection and judgment, exposure to Zoroastrianism substantially altered Jewish Messianism as well. Zarathustra predicted the imminent arrival of a World Savior (Saoshyant), who would be born of a virgin and who would lead humanity in the final battle against Evil. Jewish Messianism grafted these conceptions onto their preexisting expectations of a Davidic king who would redeem the Jewish nation from foreign oppression.

Religious shits in the West would do well to study Zoroastrianism to learn from whence their silly bullshit came!

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