1.2 Death and the Afterlife

Question 1

what did Aquinas describe heaven as?

Answer 1

beatific vision

the state of eternal happiness when our souls are in the presence of God -
all happiness in this life is temporary, only eternal in the beatific vision

Question 2

biblical quotes to support heaven?

Answer 2

Corinthians
- “a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands”

John
- “in my father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”

Question 3

wider scholars who argue for the existence of heaven as a spiritual place?

Answer 3

Aquinas
- heaven must exist as humans have a telos which is created by God etc.
- his beautific vision is where souls achieve perfect union without physical constraints

Question 4

what is evidence that heaven is a spiritual and not physical place?

Answer 4

• scientifically seems unlikely it is a physical place
• rather heaven is the moment our souls are freed from our bodies and are united with God in a non-physical sense
• influence of Plato

Question 5

what is a scholar to support that heaven is a physical place

Answer 5

• New Testament scholar N.T. Wright suggests that heaven is a transformation of this present world into God’s kingdom
• heaven is not to be found in another world but a future state of this one as described in revelation

Question 6

what is evidence that heaven is just a symbol of a person’s spiritual and moral life on earth?

Answer 6

• heaven is a representation o the sum of all positive moments in someone’s life
• it is not a physical place but is rather captured in the memories of those we leave behind
• honestly it’s just not that likely
• Bernard Williams’ criticisms (?)

Question 7

what are 2 differing accounts of parousia/judgement day in the bible?

Answer 7

1. James 5:8 “the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
2. Matthew suggests that only God knows when parousia will be

Question 8

what are two bible parables about heaven/hell?

Answer 8

1. the parable of the rich man and lazarus
2. the parable of the sheep and the goats

Question 9

what are Bernard Williams’ criticisms of heaven?

Answer 9

• is eternity desirable? wouldn’t it be boring?
• life’s challenges and the pride that comes from overcoming them would be gone
• heaven removes the pleasures from life

Question 10

what are the origins of hell?

Answer 10

• there was a rubbish heap outside of Jerusalem in the valley of Hinnom
• it was a place of child sacrifice, pollution, rubbish and was used as a symbol for the punishment of the wicked
• the burning of the rubbish inspired the idea of ‘hellfire’

Question 11

what is evidence that hell is a spiritual place?

Answer 11

• could just be a separation from God
• you might die and be separated from God forever
• Paul Tillich understands hell as a metaphor of psychological alienation from God

Question 12

what is an argument that Hell is an actual place?

Answer 12

• dante’s inferno - 14th century, 9 pits of hell
• St Augustine - said hell was a literal lake of fire where people will experience the unbearable physical pain of being burned forever
• how it is commonly described in the Bible, revelations in particular

Question 13

what is evidence that hell is a symbol of life on earth?

Answer 13

• this would be argued by Sartre ‘hell is other people’
• this is seen in the play by Sartre huis clos where 3 people are in a room waiting for hell of conventional ideas
• as time goes on they realise that hell is living with lies, deceit, false relationships and other things committed on earth
• they torment each other about each others failings until they realise they have psychologically become the torturer they were expecting of the traditional hell
• the play ends with the realisation that as the name suggests there is no exit aka there is no freedom to be a truly individual person

Question 14

wider scholars criticisms of hell being an actual place?

Answer 14

• hume argues that the punishment of finite sins is infinite which does not seem fair at all - isn’t it weird that an omnibenevolent God might eternally damn you for lying about some trivial things
• hick says hell is incompatible with a God of love and was created as a form of social control in old times

Question 15

where does the idea of purgatory come from?

Answer 15

• pope gregory from the 4th century
• took the idea from Matthew where there is the suggestion that sins can be forgiven not only in this age but also ‘in the age to come’
• therefore he concluded ther must be a temporary state after death for the opportunity to be forgiven

Question 16

what is purgatory and what denomination does it appear in?

Answer 16

only appears in roman catholocism
a state after death where the soul is purged before it is ready for heaven
* it is temporary punishment that leads to healing

Question 17

what are 2 scholars interpretation of purgatory?

Answer 17

• Karl Rahner - it is a metaphor for the souls greater awareness of the consequence of sin in time between death and judgement
• Ambrose - it is a place for souls to wait for judgement and have a foretaste of what is in store for them

Question 18

what are 4 arguments against purgatory

Answer 18

1. the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was enough to enable people to enter heaven
2. purgatory led to corruption in the Middle Ages with indulgences
3. it was just used as a method of control
4. it doesn’t actually appear in the Bible

Question 19

what did Calvin say about limited election?

Answer 19

• God already knows who is going to heaven and hell
• he is in control of the free choices we make as he is all powerful and therefore what happens after death as well
• Christians must behave, however, as if all people are called because we do not know whom God has chosen
• Matthew 22:14 “many are invited but few are chosen”

Question 20

what did Karl Barth say about unlimited election?

Answer 20

• heaven is available to all but not everyone will be saved
• all humans may be saved because Jesus has taken on our human form
• this does not mean everyone will go (this is universalism) but God ensures that heaven is open to all

Question 21

contrasting religious views on the afterlife to christianity?

3

Answer 21

Buddhism
- cycle of samsara, rebirth and the pursuit of liberation (nirvana)
- key beliefs in impermanence and karma

Islam
- Averroes (Ibn Rushd) argued the soul is immortal
- distinguished between the eternal intellect shared by all humans and the individual consciousness that perishes with the body

Judaism
- Maimonides argued for the immortality of the soul and the resurrection of the dead in the Messianic age

Question 22

Soren Kierkegaard

Answer 22

• the leap of faith towards the Christian understanding of the afterlife
• an existentialist

Question 23

wider scholars against a christian understanding of the afterlife

Answer 23

Daniel Dennett
- argues against the existence of an immortal soul from a materialist and atheist viewpoint
- consciousness and experiences of the afterlife can be explained through brain processes and psychological phenomena

Same for Dawkins