Defining Immortality
From EJ Hill & Friends
DEFINING IMMORTALITY
by EJ Hill (1977-)
Contents |
From The Scriptures
» "And I give unto them ETERNAL LIFE; AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (Jn. 10v28, AKJV, p.474)
Romans chapter 2 verse 7 speaks of "immortality" as "eternal life".
» "To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and IMMORTALITY, ETERNAL LIFE: ..." (Rom. 2v7, AKJV, p.498)
From The Dictionary
» AllWords Multi-Lingual English Dictionary defines "immortality" as "the condition of NOT BEING SUSCEPTIBLE TO DEATH".
» Dictionary.com as well as the Infoplease Dictionary defines "immortality" as "UNENDING LIFE".
» Irving Hexham's Concise Dictionary of Religion defines "immortality" as "some form of EXIASTENCE OF THE HUMAN PERSONALITY AFTER PHYSICAL DEATH".
» The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language as well as Dictionary.com defines "immortality" as "ENDLESS LIFE OR EXISTENCE".
» The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary defines "immortality" as "LIVING OR LASTING FOREVER".
» The Cambridge Dictionary of American English defines "immortality" as "LIVING OR LASTING FOREVER".
» The Easton's Bible Dictionary defines "immortality" as "PERPETUITY OF EXISTENCE". [1]
» The New Method English Dictionary defines "immortal" as that "which will NEVER DIE". [2]
» The Online Plain Text English Dictionary, Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary of 1913, as well as the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines "immortality" as "UNENDING EXISTENCE".
» The Online Plain Text English Dictionary as well as Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary of 1913 defines "immortality" as "EXEMPTION FROM DEATH AND ANNIHILATION".
» The Online Plain Text English Dictionary defines "immortality" as "EXEMPTION FROM OBLIVION".
» The Online Plain Text English Dictionary defines "immortality" as "PERPETUITY".
» RhymeZone, Ultralingua, The Free Dictionary, as well as WordNet 1.7 Vocabulary Helper defines "immortality" as "PERPETUAL LIFE AFTER DEATH".
» Wiktionary defines "immortality" as "the condition of NOT BEING SUSCEPTIBLE TO DEATH".
» Wordsmyth defines "immortality" as "PERPETUAL LIFE".
From The Encyclopedia
» The Catholic New Advent Encyclopedia defines "immortality" as "the human soul WILL SURVIVE DEATH".
» The Sixth Edition of The Columbia Encyclopedia defines "immortality" as an "ATTRIBUTE OF DEATHLESSNESS ascribed to the soul in many religions and philosophies". X
» The Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica defines "immortality" as "the condition or quality of being EXEMPT FROM DEATH OR ANNIHILATION". [3]
» Wikipedia defines "immortality" as "ETERNAL LIFE ... the concept of living in physical or spiritual form for AN INFINITE LENGTH OF TIME, or in A STATE OF TIMELESSNESS... immortality is THE NEGATION OF MORTALITY - NOT DYING OR NOT BEING SUBJECT TO DEATH ..." [4]
In Conclusion
We can, therefore, safely conclude, that "immortality" equates to "eternal life"; and "eternal life" equates to "immortality". In other words, the "immortal", will "live forever"; and those who "live forever" are "immortal".
Since, WHEN SPEAKING OF IMMORTALITY, WE ALSO SPEAK OF ETERNAL LIFE, this begs the question: Is immortality universal (applicable to all mankind) or conditional (only applicable to the faithful)?
Keywords
immortality, eternal life, perpetual life, unending life, life after death
Scripture References
"And I give unto them ETERNAL LIFE; AND THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (Jn. 10v28, AKJV, p.474)
"To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and IMMORTALITY, ETERNAL LIFE: ..." (Rom. 2v7, AKJV, p.498)
Footnotes
X For an example of these "religions and philosophies", have a look at The History and Development of Universal Immortality.
Bibliography
1 "Immortality": Easton's Bible Dictionary; Christian Classic Ethereal Library. (24/03/2008) http://www.ccel.org/ccel/easton/ebd2.html?term=Immortality
2 Michael Philip West, M.A., D.Phil. and James Gareth Endicott, M.A.; The New Method English Dictionary, Revised Edition (London, S.W: Longmans, Green and Co Ltd, 43 Albert Drive, UK) p.165.
3 "Immortality": Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition (1911). (24/03/2008) http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Immortality
4 "Immortality": Wikipedia. (10/05/2008) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortality
