Resurrection

Resurrection refers to the act of rising from the dead or the revival of life after apparent death. In many religious and philosophical traditions, it denotes a bodily restoration of life or a return from death at a future time, often tied to judgment or salvation.

Religious perspectives vary. In Christianity, the Resurrection of Jesus is a foundational event, and many Christians believe in a general resurrection of the dead at the end of time. In Islam, believers anticipate the Day of Resurrection (Qiyamah) when all shall be raised for judgment. Judaism speaks of Techiyat Ha-Metim (the resurrection of the dead) in some rabbinic sources, though beliefs differ among communities. Hinduism and Buddhism describe cyclical processes of life, death, and rebirth (reincarnation or liberation), rather than a single physical resurrection, though some texts imagine reunion with divine realms or immortality.

Mythology and literature also feature resurrection motifs, such as Osiris in Egyptian myth or Dionysus in Greek myth, where revival signals renewal, transformation, or eternal life. In modern narrative, resurrection is a common device to explore fate, ethics, and identity.

In science and medicine, resuscitation aims to restore circulation and breathing after cardiac arrest, and the term resurrection is used chiefly in religious or literary contexts. Some organisms can revive after dormancy, including seeds, resurrection plants, tardigrades, and other cryptobionts; this natural revival is studied to understand desiccation tolerance and metabolic revival.

The concept raises questions about the definition of death, the ethics of revival attempts, and the boundaries between life and nonlife, topics that recur across theology, philosophy, and science.