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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame 87:1.1 Death was feared because death meant the liberation of another ghost from its [[phys...'
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87:1.1 [[Death]] was feared because [[death]] meant the [[liberation]] of another [[ghost]] from its [[physical]] [[body]]. The [[ancients]] did their best to prevent death, to avoid the trouble of having to contend with a new [[ghost]]. They were always [[anxious]] to induce the ghost to leave the scene of [[death]], to embark on the [[journey]] to deadland. The ghost was feared most of all during the supposed [[transition]] period between its [[emergence]] at the time of death and its later departure for the ghost homeland, a vague and primitive [[concept]] of pseudo [[heaven]].
87:1.2 Though the [[savage]] credited ghosts with [[supernatural]] powers, he hardly conceived of them as having [[supernatural]] [[intelligence]]. Many tricks and stratagems were [[practiced]] in an [[effort]] to hoodwink and deceive the [[ghosts]]; civilized man still pins much [[faith]] on the [[hope]] that an outward [[manifestation]] of [[piety]] will in some [[manner]] [[deceive]] even an [[omniscient]] [[Deity]].
87:1.3 The [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_52#52:1._PRIMITIVE_MAN primitives] feared [[sickness]] because they [[observed]] it was often a harbinger of [[death]]. If the tribal [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_man medicine man] failed to [[cure]] an afflicted [[individual]], the sick man was usually removed from the [[family]] hut, being taken to a smaller one or left in the open air to die alone. A house in which [[death]] had occurred was usually destroyed; if not, it was always avoided, and this [[fear]] prevented early man from building substantial dwellings. It also militated against the [[establishment]] of permanent villages and [[cities]].
87:1.4 The [[savages]] sat up all night and talked when a member of the [[clan]] died; they feared they too would die if they fell [[asleep]] in the vicinity of a corpse. [[Contagion]] from the corpse substantiated the [[fear]] of the [[dead]], and all peoples, at one [[time]] or another, have employed elaborate [[purification]] [[ceremonies]] designed to cleanse an [[individual]] after contact with the dead. The [[ancients]] believed that [[light]] must be provided for a corpse; a dead body was never permitted to remain in the [[dark]]. In the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Century twentieth century], candles are still burned in [[death]] chambers, and men still sit up with the dead. So-called civilized man has hardly yet completely eliminated the [[fear]] of dead bodies from his [[philosophy]] of life.
87:1.5 But despite all this [[fear]], men still sought to trick the [[ghost]]. If the [[death]] hut was not destroyed, the corpse was removed through a hole in the wall, never by way of the door. These measures were taken to [[confuse]] the ghost, to prevent its tarrying, and to insure against its return. Mourners also returned from a [[funeral]] by a different road, lest the [[ghost]] follow. Backtracking and scores of other [[tactics]] were [[practiced]] to insure that the ghost would not return from the [[grave]]. The sexes often exchanged clothes in order to [[deceive]] the ghost. [[Mourning]] [[costumes]] were designed to [[disguise]] survivors; later on, to show [[respect]] for the dead and thus appease the [[ghosts]].
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_87 Go to Paper 87]</center>
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>
[[Category:Paper 87 - The Ghost Cults]]
87:1.1 [[Death]] was feared because [[death]] meant the [[liberation]] of another [[ghost]] from its [[physical]] [[body]]. The [[ancients]] did their best to prevent death, to avoid the trouble of having to contend with a new [[ghost]]. They were always [[anxious]] to induce the ghost to leave the scene of [[death]], to embark on the [[journey]] to deadland. The ghost was feared most of all during the supposed [[transition]] period between its [[emergence]] at the time of death and its later departure for the ghost homeland, a vague and primitive [[concept]] of pseudo [[heaven]].
87:1.2 Though the [[savage]] credited ghosts with [[supernatural]] powers, he hardly conceived of them as having [[supernatural]] [[intelligence]]. Many tricks and stratagems were [[practiced]] in an [[effort]] to hoodwink and deceive the [[ghosts]]; civilized man still pins much [[faith]] on the [[hope]] that an outward [[manifestation]] of [[piety]] will in some [[manner]] [[deceive]] even an [[omniscient]] [[Deity]].
87:1.3 The [http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_52#52:1._PRIMITIVE_MAN primitives] feared [[sickness]] because they [[observed]] it was often a harbinger of [[death]]. If the tribal [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicine_man medicine man] failed to [[cure]] an afflicted [[individual]], the sick man was usually removed from the [[family]] hut, being taken to a smaller one or left in the open air to die alone. A house in which [[death]] had occurred was usually destroyed; if not, it was always avoided, and this [[fear]] prevented early man from building substantial dwellings. It also militated against the [[establishment]] of permanent villages and [[cities]].
87:1.4 The [[savages]] sat up all night and talked when a member of the [[clan]] died; they feared they too would die if they fell [[asleep]] in the vicinity of a corpse. [[Contagion]] from the corpse substantiated the [[fear]] of the [[dead]], and all peoples, at one [[time]] or another, have employed elaborate [[purification]] [[ceremonies]] designed to cleanse an [[individual]] after contact with the dead. The [[ancients]] believed that [[light]] must be provided for a corpse; a dead body was never permitted to remain in the [[dark]]. In the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_Century twentieth century], candles are still burned in [[death]] chambers, and men still sit up with the dead. So-called civilized man has hardly yet completely eliminated the [[fear]] of dead bodies from his [[philosophy]] of life.
87:1.5 But despite all this [[fear]], men still sought to trick the [[ghost]]. If the [[death]] hut was not destroyed, the corpse was removed through a hole in the wall, never by way of the door. These measures were taken to [[confuse]] the ghost, to prevent its tarrying, and to insure against its return. Mourners also returned from a [[funeral]] by a different road, lest the [[ghost]] follow. Backtracking and scores of other [[tactics]] were [[practiced]] to insure that the ghost would not return from the [[grave]]. The sexes often exchanged clothes in order to [[deceive]] the ghost. [[Mourning]] [[costumes]] were designed to [[disguise]] survivors; later on, to show [[respect]] for the dead and thus appease the [[ghosts]].
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=Paper_87 Go to Paper 87]</center>
<center>[http://nordan.daynal.org/wiki/index.php?title=The_Urantia_Text_-_Contents Go to Table of Contents]</center>
[[Category:Paper 87 - The Ghost Cults]]