Tracing afterlife : A comparative study of visionary motifs in the Apocalypse of Paul, near-death experiences and Karl Rahner’s theology of death and dying

Sammanfattning: This essay aims to explore the tradition of visionary experience as expressed through the 4th century apocryphal text The Apocalypse of Paul. Emerging motifs from The Apocalypse of Paul is studied alongside those from the 1979 study on near-death experience, To die is gain, by German Lutheran priest Johann Christoph Hampe. A general enquiry it seeks to answer is; are the motifs in The Apocalypse of Paul of contemporary relevance, as testimony of neardeath experience? Further, this thesis aims to study possible correlations of emerging patterns through the theology of death and afterlife developed by the late Karl Rahner, as an attempt to re-cast traditional eschatological teachings of the church to modern sensibilities. Basic narrative characteristics in The Apocalypse of Paul is put in relation to the interpretation of NDE-characteristics in To die is gain. Correlations and/or discrepancies are put in relation to the eschatological thought of Karl Rahner. The study is structured around a disposition of The Apocalypse of Paul divided in seven subgroups. Each subgroup is analysed using Hampes’ tripartite division of the NDE-phenomenon.Further, granted the grouping based on Hampes’ systemisation, each section will provide a basis for study of Rahnerian theology of dying.