Editing Resurrection (section)

{{Short description|Living being coming back to life after death}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
[[File:Mantegna, Andrea - La Résurrection - 1457-1459.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|''The Resurrection'', painting by [[Andrea Mantegna]], 1457–1459]]
[[File:Nuremberg chronicles - Phoenix (CIIIIv).jpg|thumb|A depiction of a [[Phoenix (mythology)|Phoenix]], a figure of revival]]
[[File:Plaque resurrection dead VandA M.104-1945.jpg|thumb|Plaque depicting [[saint]]s rising from the dead]]
'''Resurrection''' or '''anastasis''' is the concept of coming back to life after [[death]]. [[Reincarnation]] is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is another similar but distinct belief in some religions.

With the advent of written records, the earliest known recurrent theme of resurrection was in [[ancient Egyptian religion|Egyptian]] and [[Canaanite religion]]s, which had cults of dying-and-rising gods such as [[Osiris]] and [[Baal]]. [[Ancient Greek religion]] generally emphasised [[immortality]], but in the mythos, a number of individuals were made physically immortal as they were resurrected from the dead.

The universal [[Universal resurrection|resurrection of the dead]] at the end of the world is a standard [[Eschatology|eschatological]] belief in the [[Abrahamic religions]]. As a religious concept, resurrection is used in two distinct respects:

# a belief in the ''individual resurrections'' of individual [[soul]]s that is current and ongoing (e.g., [[Idealism (Christian eschatology)|Christian idealism]], [[realized eschatology]]),
# a general bodily ''universal resurrection'' of all of the dead at the [[Eschatology|end of the world]].<ref>In the language of the Christian [[creed]]s and professions of faith this return to life is called resurrection of the body (''resurrectio carnis, resurrectio mortuoram, anastasis ton nekron'') for a double reason: first, since the [[Immortality of the soul|soul cannot die]], it cannot be said to return to life; second the [[heretical]] contention of [[Hymenaeus (Ephesian)|Hymeneus and Philitus]] that the [[Scriptures]] denote by resurrection not the return to life of the body, but the rising of the soul from the death of [[Christian views on sin|sin]] to the life of [[Grace (Christianity)|grace]], must be excluded."</ref> Some believe the soul is the actual vehicle by which people are resurrected.<ref>{{cite web |title=Gregory of Nyssa: "On the Soul and the Resurrection:" However far from each other their natural propensity and their inherent forces of repulsion urge them, and debar each from mingling with its opposite, none the less will the soul be near each by its power of recognition, and will persistently cling to the familiar atoms, until their concourse after this division again takes place in the same way, for that fresh formation of the dissolved body which will properly be, and be called, resurrection |url=http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205.x.iii.ii.html |publisher=Ccel.org |access-date=24 May 2012 |archive-date=2 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002015536/http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf205.x.iii.ii.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The [[Crucifixion of Jesus|death]] and [[resurrection of Jesus]] are a central focus of [[Christianity]]. While most Christians believe Jesus's resurrection from the dead and [[Ascension of Jesus|ascension to Heaven]] was in a material body, some think it was only spiritual.<ref>{{cite web |first=R. C. |last=Symes |title=According to Paul of Tarsus, the resurrection transformed Jesus into the Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world. Christ's resurrected body was not a resuscitated physical body, but a new body of a spiritual/celestial nature: the natural body comes first and then the spiritual body (1 Cor. 15:46). Paul never says that the earthly body becomes immortal. |url=http://www.religioustolerance.org/symes01.htm |publisher=religioustolerance.org |access-date=24 May 2012 |archive-date=16 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116095209/http://www.religioustolerance.org/symes01.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref> [[Corporations of Jehovah's Witnesses|The Watchtower Society]] claims that Jesus was not raised in his actual physical, human body, but instead was raised as an invisible spirit being—who he was before: the archangel Michael. They believe that Jesus's appearances post-resurrection were on-the-spot manifestations and materializations of flesh and bones with different forms that the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]] did not immediately recognize. Their explanation for the statement "a spirit hath not flesh and bones" is that Jesus was saying that he was not a ghostly apparition but an actual materialization in the flesh, to be seen and touched, as proof that he was actually raised. But that, in fact, the risen Jesus was, in actuality, a divine spirit being who made himself visible and invisible at will. The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses believes that Christ's perfect manhood was forever sacrificed at Calvary and that it was not actually taken back. They state: "...in his resurrection he 'became a life-giving spirit.' That was why for most of the time he was invisible to his faithful apostles... He needs no human body any longer... The human body of flesh, which Jesus Christ laid down forever as a ransom sacrifice, was disposed of by God's power."—Things in Which it is Impossible for God to Lie, pp. 332, 354.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gospel-mysteries.net/resurrection-theories.html |title=Resurrection Theories |publisher=Gospel-mysteries.net |access-date=2013-05-04 |archive-date=30 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191130225957/http://www.gospel-mysteries.net/resurrection-theories.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Like some forms of the Abrahamic religions, the [[Dharmic religions]] also include belief in resurrection and/or reincarnation. There are stories in [[Buddhism]] wherein the power of resurrection was allegedly demonstrated in the [[Chan Buddhism|Chan]] or [[Zen Buddhism|Zen]] tradition{{such as|date=November 2024}}. In [[Hinduism]], the core belief in resurrection and/or reincarnation is known as ''[[saṃsāra]]''.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zhxpr82/revision/3#:~:text=life%20after%20death%3F-,Most%20Hindus%20believe%20that%20humans%20are%20in%20a%20cycle%20of,may%20exist%20in%20other%20realms. | title=What does Hinduism teach about life after death? – Life after death – GCSE Religious Studies Revision | access-date=22 March 2022 | archive-date=22 March 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322021457/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zhxpr82/revision/3#:~:text=life%20after%20death%3F-,Most%20Hindus%20believe%20that%20humans%20are%20in%20a%20cycle%20of,may%20exist%20in%20other%20realms. | url-status=live }}</ref>

Aside from religious belief, [[cryonics]] and other speculative resurrection technologies are practiced, but the resurrection of long-dead bodies is not considered possible at the current level of scientific knowledge.