D&A: QUESTIONING DEATH AND AFTERLIFE Flashcards
How do some Christians see heaven, hell and purgatory as metaphorical?
They are spiritual states that rely on the view that people will have conscious thoughts and wishes after death.
What is the metaphor behind heaven?
We are with God in a non-physical sense.
What is the metaphorical idea behind hell?
If seen as a ‘state’ it is usually thought to be separation from God - self-alienation.
What is the metaphorical meaning behind purgatory?
Is seen by some as a state of cleansing where a person comes to a greater understanding of their sinfulness.
What is the issue with purgatory being metaphorical?
If it is a state, a spiritual place, how can cleansing take place?
What did Aquinas state about teachings of heaven being metaphorical?
He believed heaven was a spiritual state when we know God in a perfect way. He taught that the soul was a ‘life principle’.
What is the issue with Aquinas’ belief in the ‘Beatific Vision’?
Does not have some of the problems that the more Protestant understanding of heaven might encounter.
What is the issue with a person living in time and the beatific vision?
The difference between a living person and a timeless soul is impossible to assert.
How else could the teachings of heaven, hell and purgatory be perceived?
As symbols of a person’s moral and spiritual life as experienced on earth.
What could hell symbolise about someone’s life?
Symbolic representation of the negative elements of someone’s life.
What did Rahner develop regarding purgatory and someone’s life on earth?
Argued that purgatory should be understood not as a horrible place of pain, but as a metaphor for the soul’s greater awareness of sin.
