Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which involves the same person or deity coming back to a body, rather than the different one. Disappearance of a body is another similar, but distinct, belief in some religions.
With the advent of written records, the earliest known recurrent theme of resurrection was in Egyptian and Canaanite religions, which had cults of dying-and-rising gods such as Osiris and Baal. Ancient Greek religion generally emphasised immortality, but in the mythos a number of men and women were made physically immortal as they were resurrected from the dead.
The general resurrection of the dead is a standard eschatological belief in the Abrahamic religions. As a religious concept, it is used in two distinct respects: a belief in the resurrection of individual souls that is current and ongoing (Christian idealism, realized eschatology), or else a belief in a singular bodily resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. Some believe the soul is the actual vehicle by which people are resurrected. The death and resurrection of Jesus is a central focus of Christianity. While most Christians believe Jesus' resurrection from the dead and ascension to heaven was in a material body, some believe it was spiritual.Like the Abrahamic religions, the Dharmic religions also include belief in resurrection and reincarnation. There are stories in Buddhism where the power of resurrection was allegedly demonstrated in Chan or Zen tradition. In Hinduism, the core belief in resurrection/reincarnation is known as saṃsāra.Aside from religious belief, cryonics and other speculative resurrection technologies are practiced, but the resurrection of long-dead bodies is not considered possible at the current level of scientific knowledge.
