Life, Debt, and the Egyptian Afterlife
We work hard throughout our adult lives to buy things we don’t really need. If you’re like most Americans, you find that the things you supposedly own are still being paid off. That house, that car, your college education, and your kids’ dental plans… it’s all on credit these days. So what do we gain? You hope to live a long and healthy life, aiming to pay off that debt before you retire.
One thing life has taught me is that tomorrow is never promised. And the things we supposedly own, won’t travel with us into the afterlife. But what if we could take these items into the afterlife? Would you rack up more debt, buy more jewelry, more electronics, a cooler pet?
The Wealth of King Tutankhamen
Today I would like to share an ancient worldview that was prevalent in dynastic Egypt of antiquity. When the most famous archeological Pharaoh’s tomb was found, that of King Tutankhamen, the spoils and riches were endless.
In Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, British archaeologists Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon first entered King Tutankhamen’s tomb in over 3,000 years. Tutankhamen’s sealed burial chambers were miraculously intact, and inside was a collection of several thousand priceless objects. They uncovered several thousand objects including jewelry, gold, statues, furniture, clothes, a chariot, and weapons. The most splendid find was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins nested within each other. The final coffin, made of solid gold, contained the mummified body of the boy-king Tutankhamen. His body was preserved for 3,200 years.
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Common Burial Practices
This was the most lavish discovery to date. But not all tombs were this splendid. Common Egyptians couldn’t afford this but still practiced taking basics to the afterlife.
Common items included pots, combs, stone vessels, green eye cosmetics, small statues, amulets, and lucky charms. However, all Egyptians were buried with the Book of the Dead and four canopic jars.
Canopic Jars and the Book of the Dead
Canopic jars held internal organs removed and embalmed separately before mummification.. They held the liver, intestines, lungs and stomach.
The Egyptian Book of the Dead consists of spells that help the deceased’s soul navigate the afterlife. The Ancient Egyptians referred to this collection as the Spells for Going Forth by Day.
The Egyptian Belief in the Afterlife
This all sounds wonderful to us in modern America, known for hoarding items we will never use. But not everyone gained entry into the afterlife. The ancient Egyptians shaped their attitudes towards death through their belief in immortality. To ensure the continuity of life after death, people paid homage to the gods during and after their lives on earth. When they died, they mummified their bodies so the soul could return. This process would give the body breath and life.
Weighing the Heart
In Ancient Egypt, it was believed that upon death, one’s fate in the afterlife was determined by the weighing of one’s heart. One’s heart was kept within the body during mummification so that it could travel with the deceased into the afterlife. If the heart outweighed the feather, Ammut, a demon with a crocodile head, leopard front, hippopotamus back, and goat arms, devoured it. If a person’s heart was devoured by Ammut, then he would die a second death and be completely annihilated from existence.
Now tell me. Are you ready to have your heart weighed by the God of Death. Anubis, or do you fear eternal damnation? If you believe you have done more righteousness than evil, what would you take into the afterlife?
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