1.2 Death and the Afterlife Flashcards
COMPLETED
what did Aquinas describe heaven as?
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
biblical quotes to support heaven?
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?”
wider scholars who argue for the existence of heaven as a spiritual place?
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
what is evidence that heaven is a spiritual and not physical place?
- 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
what is a scholar to support that heaven is a physical place
- 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
what is evidence that heaven is just a symbol of a person’s spiritual and moral life on earth?
- 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 (?)
what are 2 differing accounts of parousia/judgement day in the bible?
- James 5:8 “the coming of the Lord is at hand.”
- Matthew suggests that only God knows when parousia will be
what are two bible parables about heaven/hell?
- the parable of the rich man and lazarus
- the parable of the sheep and the goats
what are Bernard Williams’ criticisms of heaven?
- 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
what are the origins of hell?
- 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’
what is evidence that hell is a spiritual place?
- 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
what is an argument that Hell is an actual place?
- 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
what is evidence that hell is a symbol of life on earth?
- 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
wider scholars criticisms of hell being an actual place?
- 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
where does the idea of purgatory come from?
- 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
what is purgatory and what denomination does it appear in?
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
what are 2 scholars interpretation of purgatory?
- 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
what are 4 arguments against purgatory
- the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross was enough to enable people to enter heaven
- purgatory led to corruption in the Middle Ages with indulgences
- it was just used as a method of control
- it doesn’t actually appear in the Bible
what did Calvin say about limited election?
- 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”
what did Karl Barth say about unlimited election?
- 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
contrasting religious views on the afterlife to christianity?
3
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
Soren Kierkegaard
- the leap of faith towards the Christian understanding of the afterlife
- an existentialist
wider scholars against a christian understanding of the afterlife
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
