Christianity- death and the afterlife Flashcards
what is the Nicene Creed?
there is one God in three states ( god as father, son and holy spirit)
“maker of heaven and earth”
“through him all things were made”
“he came down from heaven”
what is the Parable of the sheep and the goats?
-The parable teaches that how people treat others determines their future in the kingdom of God
-sheep represent those who have helped people in need, while the goats represent those who have acted in an unkind or selfish way.
- sheep go to heaven whereas goats go to hell
“he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left”
what is judgement day?
- judgement day occurs at the end of time (when you die)
what is meant by Purgatory?
- purgatory is a state of cleansing that takes place before someone enters heaven
- it is mainly a catholic belief
what are advantages and disadvantages of purgatory?
ADVANTAGES
- it proves Gods omnibenevolence
- gives you a chance to redeem
DISADVANTAGES
- what sins actually get punished? (grey area)
- does anyone actually get sent to hell?
- universal salvation- if everyone’s being saved-no point
-some people might not get the punishment that they deserve
basis for belief (purgatory)
many protestant churches reject the idea of purgatory as it is not mentioned in the Bible
- however catholic churches point to a number of sources that support purgatory
nature of purgatory
- traditionally, it is understood as a place of cleansing fire
- still a frightening prospect and one that people would want to avoid
who is Karl Rahner and what did he argue?
- he argued that in the period between death and resurrection, the soul becomes more closely united with the cosmos (Godly, Greater being) as a whole
- the soul becomes aware of the effects of its own sin of the world in general
- pain of purgatory is self-inflicted pain as the person understands the reality of sin as well as repentance and grace
who is John Hick and what did he believe?
this is purgatory outside of the catholic tradition
- John Hick believed in universal salvation.
-This means everyone will be saved.
- He argued the process of soul making continues after death.
-This means that everyone passes through purgatory in the process of attaining salvation.
-He rejected the idea of hell.
what are 2 strengths of purgatory?
- recognises that our lives are often incomplete before we die.
-It fits with the idea of a loving God as more people have an opportunity to be saved.
what are 2 weaknesses of purgatory?
-Protestants would argue that the scriptural foundations for purgatory are weak. It is not mentioned in the Parable of the Sheep and Goats.
-They would also argue that it puts too much emphasis on individual action rather than the atoning sacrifice of Jesus (see Augustine).
HEAVEN as a spiritual place
- some believers think that it is best to think of heaven as a spiritual place
- What this means is that it is not a place like the world, with time and dimensions, It is an eternal state.
- meaning it is not subject to time or the process of actuality to potentiality
heaven as a place
-Many Protestants believe the Bible points to everlasting rather than eternal.
- the Bible points to heaven as:
- A place where people who have worked for righteousness are.
- A place where people like Abraham and angels dwell.
- A place of no more pain or hunger.
- A place where all tears are wiped away.
protestants believe that heaven is a place where people live forever in the presence of God
What does N.T. Wright believe about Heaven?
- understands heaven as the world redeemed
- this will occur once Jesus has returned
- The fall brought disruption to the world as a whole, in his view, salvation would be incomplete if the world is unredeemed
- this is an embodied and physical understanding of heaven
this based on the book of revelation
what are strengths to heaven as a place?
- it matches the revealed theology of the Bible
- fulfils both human and spiritual longings
what are weaknesses to heaven as a place?
- Bernard Williams raises major objections about the desirability of an everlasting heaven
- he argued that an everlasting existence would result in boredom and intertia
- we must decide on how we spend our limited time
- unlimited time would mean that all goals would be achievable, and all choices would ultimately become meaningless
- people argued that heaven is a place that is beyond our understanding
- this means that it could simply be that we will not become bored
- they accuse Williams of having too limited and earthly a view of heaven
what are other weaknesses to heaven as a place?
- there is also a question of personal identity, if we cannot experience sadness or loss, it raises the question of whether we are still with us
- we also lose a significant amount of our free will and agency
- this would significantly undermine the assertion that our personal identity has continued after death
- it also begs the question of why God did not create us in this state to begin with
heaven as symbolic of earthly states
- some Christians see heaven as simply states that we achieve in this life
- heaven is the contentment you feel when you act in accordance with your telos or purpose
- heaven is a sum of all the positive moments in your life and is perpetuated in the lives of loved ones
- this is a radically different idea of heaven, it does require Christians to interpret the Bible very differently
Hell as a place of punishment
- Augustine argued that the purpose of Hell was to satisfy the demands of justice
- Augustine insisted that hell is a literal lake of fire
- the dammed will experience the horror of everlasting torment
- they will experience the unbearable physical pain of being burned forever
what is Dante’s inferno?
- in dantes inferno there are 9 circles of hell described
- the punishments in these circles often fit the sin that has been committed
- dantes view of hell could be interpreted as retributive punishment
example
circle one= limbo
circle two= lust
circle three= gluttony
circle seven= violence
circle eight= fraud
circle nine= treachery
what did Hume argue about hell?
- he argued that the idea of hell as a punishment is inherently unjust
- it is unjust for a finite sin to be punished infinitely
- it does not allow for gradation of sin, all sins are worthy of the same sort of punishment?
what was Anslems response to hell?
- anslem first insisted that, “God demands satisfaction in proportion to the extent of the sin”
- because God is so great, the slightest offense against God is also so infintely serious
- either the sinner does not pay for the sin at all, or the sinner must pay for it by enduring everlasting suffering
what were the objections to Anselm?
why should the greatness of the one against whom an offense occurs determine the degree of one’s personal guilt anyway? According to most proponents of the retributive theory, the personal guilt of those who act wrongly must depend, at least in part, upon certain facts about them.
When we hold someone to account, we consider their culpability and agency in their decision.
We rarely consider who the victim was when considering the correct punishment.
what are the objections to Hell as a punishment?
“Punishment, or deserved suffering, is no equipoise to sin. It is no use laying it on the other scale. It will not move it a hair’s breadth. Suffering weighs nothing at all against sin” - - George MacDonald
- Punishment, whether it consists of additional suffering or a painless annihilation, does nothing in and of itself, MacDonald insisted, to cancel out a sin, to compensate or to make up for it, to repair the harm that it brings into our lives, or to heal the estrangement that makes it possible in the first place.
- There is also a final objection that mirrors the objections made about an everlasting heaven.
- Some assert we would simply grow accustomed to the pain in hell, and we would simply find it boring ultimately.
- John Hick rejected this view of hell completely and said it was simply a method of social control.
- He rejected hell and developed a theology of universal salvation.
Hell as a chosen state
The basic idea here is that hell, along with the self-imposed misery it entails, is essentially a freely embraced condition rather than a forcibly imposed punishment.
Because freedom and determinism are incompatible, the creation of free moral agents carries an inherent risk of ultimate tragedy.
Whether essential to our personhood or not, free will is a precious gift, an expression of God’s love for us; and because the very love that seeks our salvation also respects our freedom, God will not prevent us from separating ourselves from him, even forever, if that is what we freely choose to do.
So even though the perfectly loving God would never reject anyone, sinners can reject God and thus freely separate themselves from the divine nature; they not only have the power as free agents to reject God for a season, during the time when they are mired in ambiguity and subject to illusion, but they are also able to cling forever to the illusions that make such rejection possible in the first place.
what is annihilationism
This view is adopted by Jehovah Witnesses and some Protestant traditions.
- It asserts that resurrection and the immortality of the soul are conditional.
- This means they are only possible if God allows.
- God will choose to bring to and end the existence of those who are judged to not be worthy of heaven.
- This is also referred to as a second death and is supported by the verse from Revelation.
hell as symbolic of earthly states
Some Christians see hell as simply states that we experience in this life.
- Hell is the torment you feel when you fail to act in accordance with your telos or purpose.
- Heaven is the sum of all the negative moments in your life and is perpetuated in the lives of loved ones.
- This is a radically different idea of hell, while it solves the philosophical problems of hell, it does require Christians to interpret the Bible very differently.
