A Mortals Sense Of Immortality
A Mortal’s Sense of Immortality
To fear death is to fear life itself. An overbearing concern for the end of life not only leads to much apprehension of the final moment but also allows that fear to occupy one’s whole life. The only answer that can possibly provide relief in the shadow of the awaited final absolution lies in another kind of absolution, one that brings a person to terms with their irrevocable mortality and squelches any futile desire for immortality. Myths are often the vehicles of this release, helping humanity to accept and handle their mortal and limited state. Different cultures have developed varying myths to coincide with their religious beliefs and ...
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will achieve them immortality in the sense of a life without death. Eternal life for a mortal lies in memory by one’s friends and family after one’s death.
When Adam is created in the second chapter (and second creation story) of Genesis out of the dust by the newly created world of God, he is the most innocent being ever known. It says of he and Eve, “they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed (Genesis 2:24)”, and why should they be, having no knowledge that their state was indecent? The opposite is true for Gilgamesh, who Anu grants “the totality of knowledge of all (Gilgamesh 3)”. Through the course of the epic we discover that Gilgamesh indeed does not have knowledge of all things, namely a grasp upon death. Adam does not even know that such a thing exists, thus his life, without the threat of death hanging overhead, is originally one of tranquility, happiness, and perfection. He is humble before his Lord God, with ...
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well as disappointment and rage, for He says in Genesis 4:22, “Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever”, and thus Adam and his wife are exiled. Their sin to achieve self-awareness has robbed them of any hope of immortality and presented them with the dilemma of death. Gilgamesh experiences death firsthand as his dear friend Enkidu, with whom he conquered all fears of dying while in battle with Humbaba, and is thus once again plunged in the shadow of fear of life’s end. This dread, revisited, comes about as the indirect result of his ...
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"A Mortals Sense Of Immortality." Essayworld.com. December 21, 2006. Accessed November 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/A-Mortals-Sense-Of-Immortality/57453.
"A Mortals Sense Of Immortality." Essayworld.com. December 21, 2006. Accessed November 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/A-Mortals-Sense-Of-Immortality/57453.
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