death and the afterlife Flashcards
disembodied existence
existing without a physical body
beatific vision
a face-to-face encounter with God
election (in a theological sense)
predestination, chosen by God for heaven or hell
limited election
the view that God chooses only a small number of people for heaven
unlimited election
God calls all for salvation because Jesus died for sins of the whole world
universalism
the view that all people will be saved
particular judgement
judgement for each person at the point of death
parousia
used in Christianity to refer to the Second Coming of Christ
although the Bible implies that we have free will to choose our moral actions and religious beliefs
an omniscient God knows the choices he has made for us. Therefore we don’t have free will and God unfairly judges us
which Ancient Greek influenced Christian ideas about life after death and what did they say
Plato’s dualist ideas influenced the Christian view that our souls can seprate
what evidence in the gospel accounts suggests we have physical bodies after death
in the gospel accounts
Jesus was seen as a physical person after he died, he was physically present and could be experienced by those who were there
why do christians believe we are resurrected
after Jesus dies on the cross he is resurrected
Aquinas believed that the beatific vision is
eternal moment of being in the presence of God
Bernard Williams on aquinas’ beautific vision
wondered whether an eternity in heaven would really be desirable. he argued that the pleasure of living is making choices about what we’ll do in our limited existence
David Hume on Hell
Surely a finite sin doesn’t deserve infinite punishment
why does Hick reject the traditional belief of hell
incompatible with loving god
what does Hick argue hell was created for
a form of social control
encouraging people to be fearful of disobeying the teachings of those in religious authority
why did pope Gregory expand the definition of purgatory
to explain traditions of praying for the dead
In Augustine’s life there was a popular view called pelagianism
- what is this
which proposed that people were born with a blank slate, they were neither good or evil
what did Augustine believe people were born with instead of a blank slate
original sin
what did John Clavin believe about predestination
he thought God was in absolute control over everything that happens so God would have to have chosen the destiny of each human life
what are the issues with predestination and therefore limited election
God already knows and controls everything we do
then there is no motive to act morally and there is no freewill
Karl Barth (1886-1968) developed the doctrine of
unlimited election.
what is Karl Barths doctrine of unlimited election
election is the choice that God made to send Jesus to save humanity.The election of individuals is bound up with the election of Jesus Christ so everyone has the possibility of eternal life
particular judgement vs general judgement
p - gods judgement immediately after death
g- judgement at the end of time
‘new earth’ meaning
view of heaven that at the end of time god will restore the earth to its pre-fallen state where ressurrected bodies of righteous will lice
what does Jesus mean by Gehenna
place of fire sinners are sent to
Rich man and Lazarus overview
rich man ignored pleas from beggar Lazarus and so is sent to hell and tormented (Lazarus at heaven)
- rich man asks to warn his family but is denied
what parable explains that heaven and hell are physical places
rich man and Lazarus - rich man is sent there and there’s a chasm between him and Lazarus
what parable explains particular judgement
rich man is in hell before his family (he wanted to warn them)
Luther on rich man and Lazarus
just a parable ! symbolises state of consciousness after we do bad
how can it be a physical place if our bodies are in the ground - Lazarus can’t converse etc
What does Paul mean when referring to ‘the first fruits’
Jesus’ resurrection was the first fruits and ours will follow
our bodies must be improved and different because human bodies are imperfect
St Augustine on a physical afterlife
bodies must be physical because Christs resurrection was a phsyical body
how is an empty tomb used as evidence for a physical afterlife and body
is Jesus left an empty tomb when he resurrected the physical body must be involved in that process - not just the soul
the cannibal problem for resurrection
- earthly bodies are incompatible with resurrection - body rots, cremated, someone eats it etc
