Death and the afterlife Flashcards
Death and the afterlife - introduction
> Christianity teaches that people have souls that can survive the death of the physical body
There are divergent beliefs about life after death within Christianity as different interpretations have been given about different teachings and ideas
Death and the afterlife - Resurrection
> After death people will have a new life in a new kind of existence
Reject the idea that a human soul leaves one body and joins another in this same world and also reject Platonic ideas that the soul leaves the body and continues in a disembodied way
The soul is given a new glorified body in which to continue life after death
It is the same person but now incorruptible
Based on Biblical accounts of Jesus’ resurrection
Death and the afterlife - Paul and Resurrection
Writes about life after death in his to letters to Corinthians
>Corinthians 1: metaphor of a seed transforming into the new plant it will become - the physical body will be transformed into its full potential
>Corinthians 2: a tent being replaced with a solid house - the world is temporary and will be replaced by something long-lasting
>Corinthians 2: naked in this world and clothed in the afterlife - no longer a need to be ashamed
Death and the afterlife - Heaven
> Different symbols for Heaven - returning to a family home, no more suffering, idea of plenty, surrounded by angels, meeting God who will be on a throne
These and other descriptions aren’t meant to be taken literally (heaven isn’t a place but a spiritual state)
An eternity of endless days in which to praise God
Timeless often in terms of the beatific vision described by Aquinas
Transformation and perfection of the whole of creation
Death and the afterlife - Beatific vision
Ultimate direct self-communication of God to the individual person. A person possessing the beatific vision reaches, as a member of redeemed humanity in the communion of saints, perfect salvation in its entirety. A timeless vision where past, present and future come together.
Death and the afterlife - Heaven evaluation
> Raises more questions than it answers especially if people have physical resurrected bodies
Difficult to see how we can be the same person in heaven if we have a different body and are eternal. This makes heaven nonsensical. (Heaven is a mystery we cannot expect to know in this life)
Bernard Williams: Heaven would get boring after a while because people would run out of things to do and there would be no excitement of challenge (Life in the presence of God could never get boring, God would make sure we never felt boredom)
Death and the afterlife - Beatific vision evaluation
> Timeless vision prevents the idea of it getting boring or of us taking up room.
Karl Rahner - supported a timeless afterlife, the idea of endless days has too many problems.
Philosophical issues - how could we be resurrected into physical bodies when physical bodies exist in time
How would people continue to be the same person
Death and the afterlife - Hell
> Place of eternal punishment separated from God’s presence
In the Bible sometimes described in terms of fire and torture, darkness, and a rubbish dump. In a downward direction from this world
Death and the afterlife - Hell evaluation
> Raises difficult issues - is hell compatible with an omnipotent, loving, and perfectly merciful God?
Hume - is there anything a person could do that would justify eternal punishment? (wronging God deserves eternal punishment)
Would hell get boring after a while?
Hick - a loving God would not allow his creatures to suffer for eternity, there would eventually be salvation for everybody and the afterlife was an opportunity for spiritual journey (universalist)
Eternal punishment would achieve nothing (except perhaps a deterrent from sin). Notions of hell were made for social control
Death and the afterlife - Purgatory
> Doesn’t appear explicitly in the Bible but was developed as a concept by early Christian thinkers such as Origen and Augustine
Pope Gregory (6th century) understood Matthew’s gospel to mean that there was forgiveness after death
A place of pain and cleansing often symbolised by fire. Where the soul recognises its sin and is punished but not forever.
Death and the afterlife - Purgatory (Matthew’s gospel 12:32)
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Death and the afterlife - Purgatory beliefs
> Catholic teaching states that prayers of the living can help the souls of the dead to endure the experience
Rahner explored the idea and stated that it should be seen as a metaphor for the soul’s greater awareness for the consequences of sin and the holiness of God
Protestants usually don’t believe in purgatory because it is not explicitly stated in the Bible and the doctrine means that Jesus’ sacrifice did not bring about complete salvation.
Death and the afterlife - Election
> Belief that God chooses the eternal destiny of each human soul. God knows, before people are born, whether or not they will go to Heaven
Associated with John Calvin (16th century)
Because God is omniscient he must know what will happen they are born. Because he is omnipotent it is in his control to choose what happens to people.
Aquinas and others taught of limited election
Calvin - God chose some people for eternal life in Heaven and some for eternal punishment
Death and the afterlife - Limited election
God will save some people through grace but only a limited number. Aquinas - no one deserves salvation because of the original sin. Election was a sign of God’s grace and evidence of his love
Death and the afterlife - Election evaluation
> Contravercial and not accepted by all Christians. Barth taught a doctrine of unlimited election, saying that Jesus brought salvation for the whole world and anyone who accepted the Christian message could be saved
Hick went further and stated that everyone will be saved eventually, whether Christian or not. An all loving God will ensure that everyone is saved
Pope Benedict XVi criticised Hick and said that if everyone is saved regardless of faith then Jesus’ death seems pointless
