Death and the afterlife

Question 1

Disembodied existence

Answer 1

Existing without a physical body

Question 2

Beatific vision

Answer 2

A face-to-face encounter with God

Question 3

Purgatory

Answer 3

A place where people go, temporarily, after death to be cleansed of sin before they are fit to live with God

Question 4

Election

Answer 4

Chosen by God for heaven or hell

Question 5

Limited election

Answer 5

The idea that God only choses a small number of people for heaven or hell

Question 6

Unlimited election

Answer 6

All people are called to salvation but only a few will be saved

Question 7

Christian rejections

Answer 7

Reincarnation

Disembodied existence - an idea supported by Plato despite his dualist ideas being influential in Christianity

Question 8

Bible quote supporting life after death

Answer 8

“Those in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to everlasting shame”

Question 9

Jesus quote on life after death

Answer 9

“The one who believes in me will live, even through they die”

Question 10

Aquinas on the afterlife

Answer 10

Belief in the beatific vision. The afterlife is out of time/space and is an eternal moment with God.

Question 11

Aquinas on The Fall

Answer 11

The Fall didn’t corrupt our morals, we can choose right and wrong.

Question 12

Aquinas on purgatory

Answer 12

For those who are neither condemned or elected - a mortal sin needs to be committed for immediate entry to Hell.

Question 13

Strengths on Aquinas’ view of the afterlife

Answer 13

\haven being out of time/space means that the issue of having eternity in heaven with days to be filled is solved

Question 14

Weaknesses of Aquinas’ view of the afterlife

Answer 14

If the beatific vision is when the soul is timeless in God’s presence - how is this the same person who died?

Characteristics we have depend on time.

Question 15

Bible quote on heaven

Answer 15

“My Father’s house has many rooms”

Shows the comfort and familiarity of God’s unconditional love in heaven.

Question 16

Bernard William’s criticism of heaven

Answer 16

The pleasure of living is choosing what to do in our limited existence - eg setting goals/targets.
If we have unlimited time to make choices (like in heaven) then the pleasure is gone.

Question 17

Karl Rahner’s response to Bernard Williams

Answer 17

Limited earthly life (making decisions and goals) might be dependent on unlimited afterlife

Question 18

Bible quote on hell

Answer 18

“A fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death”

Question 19

Hume on hell

Answer 19

The idea of hell calls God’s justice into question - does a finite sin deserve an infinite punishment?

Question 20

Hick on hell/afterlife

Answer 20

Hell is an intermediate state, if it were to be eternal then this is contradictory to an omnibenevolent God.

The afterlife is a continuation of soul-making started on earth.

Question 21

Catholic belief on purgatory

Answer 21

Where the soul is cleansed after death. Prayers from the living can contribute to the cleansing process. This cleansing can be done in earthly life through repentance and confession.

Question 22

Karl Rahner on purgatory

Answer 22

Shouldn’t be understood as a place of pain but as a metaphor for the soul’s greater awareness of consequences of sin in the time between death and last judgement.

Question 23

Protestants on purgatory

Answer 23

Reject - as it is not supported in the Bible and contradicts the idea of salvation. Suggests that Jesus did not complete the final act of salvation on the cross.