2.1 death and life after death Flashcards
Why so people bdlieve in life after death?
Non religious
- for feuerbach, religion is based on wishful thinking
- many atheists believr that religious people only have faith that there is life after death because people are scared of the alternative
Religious
- belief in life after death seems to follow on naturally from belief in god
- it seems impossible for a loving god to allow things to be this way unless there was some way that things are made right after death
- Jesus’ resurrection
- the bible says so
- NDA
-remembering past lvies
describe jesus’ resurrection
- for christians, one of the greatest evidences for life after death
- gospel describes how jesus paschal mystery(passion desth and resurrection)
- St paul also makes reference to resurrection appearances including one to five hundred people at once (1 Corinthians 15:6)
- the story of doubting thomas
1. jesus appeared to his disciples except thomas
2. he did not believe unless he saw the risen jesus for himself and touches him
3. jesus then appeared to thomas and invited him to put his finger in the holes in his hands, thomas then believed
4. if thomas could touch jesus, then he must have existed in a physical ressurrected way, he could not be jst an illussion or a ghost - in lukes account jesus ate fish in fromt of his disciples and told them to touch him which also emphasizes that he is alive in a bodily sense
is this good evidence
- there were multiple witnesses to the resurrection
- many of the early disciples were willing to die for their faith so they must have had good reason to be convinced by what they had seen or heard
- the first witnesses were woman, during biblical times woman would not have been considred reliable witnesses. if the early christians had made up the storu then they would not hsve chosen women to deliever the news.
however skeptics argue that
- the account is from2,000 years or so, therevis no wau to confirm or be sure of the repiability of the accounts. most scholars do not believe that the gospel writers were themselves eye witnesses, merely editors compiling earlier accounts
- more likely there is a rational explanation than that a miracle occured: perhaps jesus survived crucificixion? it has been claimed that the herbs that the women took to the tomb were not used fir anointing a deady body, but were used for reviving people who had fainted.
-qur an says jesus was not crucified but someonecelse died in his place
what does the bible say of life adter death
- jesus resurrectec lazurus, jairus daughter
- the widow of nains son
- he had warned people of judgement day and promised eternal life to those who believed in him and trusted his message
- the apostle paul entered into discussion about the nature of life
descirbe near death experiences
- first record of NDe was written vy plato
- invilves a person who is very ill or involved in an accident will have an experiencd which occurs during the time they were unconscious, in which they believe thst they have visited the afterlife
features of NDE
- strong emotions
- beight light or a tunnel, a sensation of being pulled toward it
- life changing, often people post NDEre evaluate their life and take radical adjustments to their life style
- visiins of dead relatives or religious figures
- out if body experience
is it good evidence?
- skeptics argue NDE are results of the brains way of dealing with trauma, a sense of euphoria could be accounted for by a release in endorphin. or a side rffect of medical treatments, the tunnel of ligjt could be the result of an over stimulated visual cortex.
- visions r jst dreams
- dr susan blackmore has studied NDES and concluded there is nothing in a NDE which does have a rational explanations
what do christians believe when we die?
RESURRECTION
St Paul
- the perishable will become imperishable
- earthly bodies will become heavenly bodies
- resurrection wiill be physical,but different to earthly physical
for many christians
- see resurrection as more of a spiritual affair
- in the anglican funeral service the soul is commended to god and the body to the earth
- there is also a certain anount of ambiguity as to whether or not the soul is naturally immortal or whether it too needs to ve actively resurrected by God
key thing to remember of resurrection is that the resurrected you is still you, and resurrection is not the same as reincarnation
JUDGEMENT
- when people die they will face judgement
- in the apostles creed, jesus will come to judge the living and the dead
- in the bible “we must all appear before the judgement seat of christ”
what criteria does jesus use when judging?
FAITH
- mark 16:15-16: whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned
- some christians believd that regardless of whether or not you lesd a good life, you will only get tovheaven if you actively believe in jesus. this is because only by believing in jesus do you accept the gift od salvation that he offers
ACTION
- bible implies that people are judged on the basis of their actions
- ROMAN 2:6-8 “he (god) will give to dach one according to his works: to those who by patience in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give rternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrigteousness, there will be wrath and fury”
- the parable of the sheep and the goat
jesus uses the analogy of a shepherd dividing up his flock
GOAT will be sent away because they have not fed the hungry, taken care of the sick and visited those in prison
SHEEP will be rewarded with eternal life because they have done these things
- jesus says that whenever one person helps another in need, they are helping him
when will jesus judge us?
- ommediately when a person dies or at the end of time
- jesus to rhe penitent theif “today you will be with me in paradise” (immediate)
- book of revelations: jesus is described as coming st the end of time when rhe dead are raised
- most christians now a days believe that people are judged when rhey die, but that there will be also a general day of judgement when jesus will return to those still living on earth and judge them
describe hell
- trsditional medieval christian view, a place of fire, darkness and punishment where sinners will be cast for eternity
- based on various biblical verses: “the unquenchable fires of hell” (mark 9:43) “wheeping and gnashing of teeth” (matthre 13:50)
however not sll christians stil bdlidvd in a traditional view of hell
- hell as an absence of God: peeople who have rejected god throughout life are rejected by him after death, lacks the traditional tortures and torments so popular in medieval judgement day paintings,
Liberal christians: hell in terms of psychological pain, caused by the conscious whne people finally face up to their own sins
for others: god does not resurrect sinners to eternal punidhment, jesus daves people from death, resurrection is for those who believe in jesus
liberal christians: totally reject teachings of hell, a loving god would save all human beings
describe purgatory
- common mistake: the place people go before they are judged, this is wrong
- not all christians believe in purgatory
- it is a place that the saved go on route to heaven, a place of temporsry punishment
- the saved are punished forcsins they did not confess
- the idea behind the concept of purgatoory is that the perfection of heaven means that a person cannot enter intovheaven unless their are entirely sinkess: purgatory is therefore a vit like a place of quarantine
- purgatory is nit mentioned in the bible. it is most likely to be believed by roman catholics
describe heaven
Christians
- a place of union with god
- paradise, drawing from descriptions of the garden of eden
- a placeo d harmony and peace, where the lion shall lie down with the lamb and a little child shall lesd them
- place without suffering, illness or festh
- plenty of room
- a place of hope and justice, in which the first shall be last and the last shall be first
- acplace where they will meet those who died before
christian view of afterlife is linesr
what do hinduscand buddhists say of life after deathV
believe in a cyclical view of life after death
hindu
- throughout your lfie you get karma for voluntary actions
- when you die, your atman will be reincaranated and the type of reincarnation you gain depends on the type of life uou have lived and the karma you gained
- good karma = positive rebirth, bad karma = negative rebirth
- besst type of reincarnation is to be born into Brahmin family(priestly)
- rrom there you can escape samsara and reach moksha
- Moksha is union with vrahman, your atman returns to beahman like a drop returning to the ofean
Principle of karma
- referred as the law of cause and effect
- different to judgement, there is no need for any god or goddess to enforce karma, jst exists
- bad jsrma id the inevitsble and natural consequence of bad actions
which is more appealing? linear or cyclical
case for linear
- advantage of the linear view is thst you get to remain you in the afterlife
- you dont have to keep being revorn and making the similar mistakes in each new existence
case for cyclical
- you get multiple chances to get life right whereas ceetain versions of the linear view mean that if you make the weong choices, you will be condemned to hell for eternity
- idea of being reborn on earth might be appealing because it is ramiliar wheread heaven is not
