Death

Death is the end of a living thing's life. What death is and what occurs after death is a matter of some debate, particularly where religion is involved, since due to the inherent nature of religion, it means nobody can agree on anything.

The most reasonable assumption is that nothing happens after one dies and the body simply rots away (this would imply people do not have spirits or souls). However, since death is something people fear to varying degrees (and is a matter of taboo in some cultures), they require something comforting to help them deal with the idea they will die at some point. Generally this comfort is provided by religions, which deal with the issue in different ways. The concept of the afterlife is reassuring, dispite the inability to prove or disprove the claims - as, by definition, noone can return to confirm the myths.

As the body of the deceased remains observably dead and eventually decomposes, afterlife belief requires the concept of a soul - a version of the deceased which contines to exist in some form after death. Although no soul has ever been detected, its existance is assumed due to the difficulty of accepting existance without an afterlife, and the resulting tendency to clutch at straw.

Religious Interpretations

Christians believe only their bodies die, not their souls. They believe they have everlasting life in either heaven or hell once their corporal life has ended. This belief brings up the obvious issue that there is a steady accumulation of souls and thus is entropically unfavourable. Therefore the belief in reincarnation is probably more plausible.

Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

I am that bread of life.

- John 5:46-48 King James Version

Other religions, such as Paganism, believe in reincarnation - the body will die but the soul will be transferred into a new-born, and they will live again.