Are there any dogmas / myths / doctrines / fables as to what happens
to a person who escapes death a few times ?

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Clarification of Question by dogsbollocks-ga on 25 Jul 2003 13:29 PDT

I am also looking for Oriental / Rest of World references.

Will pay $5 tip for a really good answer

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Request for Question Clarification by tutuzdad-ga on 28 Jul 2003 10:44 PDT

I am curious to know what you mean by "...what happens to people..."

Do you mean, "what eventually became of them", "if they prospered",
"if they eventually did die"? What ultimate disposition are you
seeking exactly? Please clarify.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

In Greek mythology Sisyphus is punished by the gods for cheating death
by being forced to roll a heavy stone to the top of a hill. Just as
the stone is about to reach the top of the hill, it rolls back down to
the plain. Sisyphus is doomed to repeat this meaningless activity for
eternity.
http://www.sluh.org/sisyphus/sisstory.htm

My absolute favorite EA Poe story, "The Masque of the Red Death"
features Prince Prospero, who tries to escape the Red Death by hiding
within his walled castle. Rather than wall death out however, he in
effect, walls himself within. In the end of course, death holds
"illimitable dominion over all."

EA POE - MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/masque/

-K~

Greetings Dogsbollocks:

I could find no definitive answer for you but below is some food for
thought.

Modern medicine has made it possible for many to "cheat death" -
here's a synopsis of a book "Cheating Death" that may interest you:
"To live forever is one of man's oldest aspirations--and it might be
become a reality. With advances in medicine and new gene research,
human life span could extend into hundreds of years. But is this a
good thing? "Cheating Death" examines every side of the dilemma of
aging--from improvements in diet and medicine to the grander promises
of science to the consequences of incredibly long life National author
publicity."
From http://hallsocial.com/social_sciences/1411.shtml

"Those who cheat death may find themselves flung into the world of
near-death experiences (NDEs). Yet they may also return to discover
that the world they had lived in before is gone forever...Eventually,
most survivors surrender to the realization that their near-death
experience was a re-education process to help them understand their
place in the scheme of life in accordance with Higher Laws. Each
returns with the profound knowledge that all parts of creation
interweave and interrelate with all other parts and that each gain or
loss anyone makes affects everyone else to some degree. Their
discovery that dying does not end life tells them that there is no
going back to the way things were. Their new home is an evolving
consciousness as it seeks to expand from whatever was original to it,
to something more than before."
From http://www.creativespirit.net/learners/bookdigests/atwater.w50.htm

A very interesting movie of late that deals with the intricacies of
escaping death is "Donnie Darko" - I was mesmerized by the plot line
(it's not what you may think at first).  See the details of the movie
at IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Title?0246578

Also, you may be interested in reading the answer to the question
concerning "Appointment in Samarra" at
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=95435

Best regards,
journalist-ga


SEARCH STRATEGY:

"who cheat death"
"cheating death" consequences

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but in Ingmar Bergman's film The
Seventh Seal, an actor named Skat skillfully fakes a suicide so as not
to be murdered by his lover's husband.  Afterwards, as he hides in a
tree, Death shows up (in its common allegorical state) and starts
cutting down the tree with a saw.  So much for trying to cheat death.

I don't know if this is based on anything other than Bergman's
imagination.

Did you know that the Bible states that death as we know it will be "
done away with". It also states how men came to die. Romans 5; 12,17,
19 says " Through one man, Adam, sin entered into the world, and death
through sin, and thus death spread to9 all men, because they had all
sinned. Through the disobedience of the one man, many were constituted
sinners. The story told in the Bible of Adam and Eve and their
disobedience of God`s requirement that they refrain from doing what
God had specifically told them not to " Eating the forbidden fruit"
does require faith. Genesis 2;17 " As for the tree of the knowledge of
good and bad, you must NOT eat from it, for in the day you eat frpm
it, YOU WILL POSITIVELY DIE'  Adam and Eve lived on to have children,
but in time they and every person born since has died. But back to my
first statement. The condition will not last forever. John 3;16
promises  that everyone exercising faith in Him [ Jesus] might not be
destroyed, but have everlasting life. Psalm 37;9 says " For evildoers
themselves will be cut off but those hoping in Jehovah [God] are the
ones that will possess the earth", And verse 11.. But the meek ones
themselves will possess the earth. And verse 29. The righteous
themselves will possess the earth [ not heaven] and they will reside
forever upon it. If you tie these in with the scripture at Revelation
21;4, And HE [God} will wipe out every tear from their eyes AND DEATH
WILL BE NO MORE neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore,
The former things have passed away. The Bible prophecy has yet to come
true, and having faith in it gives a  wonderful hope for the future.
But ther is a condition, and that is found at First Chronicles 28;9.
with advice to King Solomon, " And you, Solomon my son, know the God
of your father and serve HIM with a complete heart,and with a
delightful soul, for all hearts Jehovah is searching. AQnd every
inclination of of the thoughts he is discerning. If you search for
HIM, HE will let HIMSELF be found by you, but if you leave HIM, HE
will cast you off forever. A wonderful promise, but conditions apply!

You should watch the movies "Final Destination"/"Final Destination 2".
 They really absolutely suck as far as movies go, and are pretty
gruesome, nor are they entertaining.  But they DO give an interesting
look at what might happen when one cheats death.

Perhaps when one cheats death they are forced to watch those movies
over and over again forever....  ;)

I'll second andrewxmp's suggestion to watch the 'Final Destination'
films.

However, while I've only seen the first, I can only disagree with his
verdict of them. While far from cerebral, it was very well made and
highly enjoyable, at least to my family and I. It also contains the
only scene that has caused me to physically jump in the last ten
years.