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The Quest For Paradise: Visions of Heaven and Eternity in the World's Myths and Religions

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"The Egyptian afterlife, like many Egyptian conceptions, was characterized by a contrasting duality: a dark and mysterious netherworld presided over by Osiris, Lord of Resurrection, and an astral dominance, in which sun god Re was supreme." Dr. Ogden Goelet, NYU

Origins and Eternity:

Almost all religions pose the question; "From where did we come, and where are we having our ultimate destination?" with Different answers to these eternal questions. In Visions of Heaven and Eternity in the World's Myths and Religions, John Ashton, a Biblical scholar, and Tom Whyte, a comparative religion expert, take the reader of "The Quest for Paradise:" in a visual utopian journey that explores the afterlife of the Ancient Egyptians and all who followed the mystical quest for eternity since ancient times, from all around the globe.

Visions of Heaven:

Belief systems of Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims, are probed while ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, Rome are explored to compare the similarities and contrast the differences on the afterlife myth and religious folklore. Greek to Celtic Paradise are linked to the Garden of Delights. The comparative treatment of Adam, Eve and the Tree of Life, is particularly intriguing to those who are exposed only to the Genesis story, while the Heliopolitan Cosmology stands clearly as the origin of the creation drama. Exploring the common historical roots and discovering the mythical fables of Alexander the Great, Gilgamesh, to the ride on Buraq are fascinating. Beautifully embedded with spectacular visual arts in drawings and photos, the book pages look real for the young and challenging for all readers.

but not enough of anything. Curious mixture of a broad survey with the arcane. Written by scholars, but vitiated by political correctness. Sumptuously illustrated, sometimes irrelevantly. Amused, sometimes by its own cleverness. A coffee table book on Paradise. A quick read on a cold night.