self, death and the afterlife Flashcards

1
Q

what is the jewish concept of the soul?

A
  • in the OT there are two Hebrew words for soul: nephesh, ruack
  • They are associated with the principle of life
  • the word is often linked with the word ‘heart’ which was thought of as the seat of will
  • in the teaching of jesus, the word is used alongside ‘heart’ and ‘mind’ almost in the sense of ‘inner self’
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2
Q

what is the greek concept of the soul?

A
  • plato thought there were two spheres of reality:
    • the imperfect world – humans live and only have a partial understanding of reality and truth
    • the world of forms – the body perishes at death but the soul is immortal and after death it returns to the world of forms before experiencing reincarnation.
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3
Q

what is the modern thinking on the soul?

A
  • physical and mental/spiritual dimensions being inextricably linked and both perishing at death.
  • psychologists use the term psyche to refer to what makes a person an individual
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4
Q

what is the christian thinking of the soul?

A
  • the soul and physical body are seperate
  • the soul is given by God before birth and taken away after death
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5
Q

what do some christians believe about a spiritual resurrection?

A
  • the body decomposes and the soul lives on with God
  • the resurrection is spiritual not physical
  • the analogy of the butterfly; the various stages of the lifecycle are physically totally different, yet the essential identity is the same
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6
Q

what are the key beliefs about the resurrection of Jesus?

A
  • central tenet of the christian faith for a number of reasons:
    • it forms the basis of Christian hope of life after death
    • Paul expressed the sheer pointlessness of life after death if Jesus’ resurrection is false
    • all 4 gospels state that the tomb was empty
    • it was a unique event
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7
Q

what quote does St Paul say about the resurrection of jesus?

A
  • And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile… if only for this life we have hope in christ, we are of all people most to be pitited – corinthians
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8
Q

what do all 4 gospels have in common about Jesus’ resurrection?

A
  • his friends knew it was Jesus, though not necessarily immediately
  • he was the same yet different and not subject to human limitations
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9
Q

what implications did Jesus’ resurrection being a unique event have?

A
  • Jesus through God’s power conquered death, which opened the possibility of eternal life after death for humanity
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10
Q

What did Augustine believe about the resurrection of flesh?

A
  • Jesus’ death achieved atonement and his physical resurrection showed what was a possibility
  • Jesus’ resurrection and ascension was physical
  • God could perform the same miracle for anything with a soul
  • both the spiritual and physical affects of sin would be erased
  • this thinking can also be seen by the CC
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11
Q

what did Augustine believe about the Fall

A
  • the fall effected not only Adam and Eve but all of humanity
  • every human is infected with sin in every aspect of their being: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
  • humans are totally dependent on God’s grace to deliver them from the eternal punishment that sin merits
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12
Q

why is Corinthians significant for the resurrection?

A
  • Paul based his belief on 1 corinthians 15
    • he believed in the resurrection of the
      physical earthly body rather than
      immortality of the soul.
    • he believed that the second coming of christ
      and the end of the world of human
      experience were imminent
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13
Q

what are the catholic teachings on the afterlife

A
  • the catholic church believe in two types of judgment
    • particular judgement
    • general judgement
  • those who are without sin are directed immediately to heaven
  • those who knowingly and deliberately reject gods love and mercy and those who have commited mortal sin and have not repented go to hell
  • those whose venial sins have noy been remitted are directed to purgatory, where they will be prepared for heaven
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14
Q

what is particular judgement

A
  • the judgement that takes place straight after death and determines the eternal fate of the individual
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15
Q

what is general judgement

A
  • the judgement that takes place at the second coming of christ and is upon humanity as a whole
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16
Q

what is general judgement

A
  • the judgement that takes place at the second coming of christ and is upon humanity as a whole
17
Q

what is venial sin

A
  • less serious sin that do not lead to eternal seperation from god
18
Q

what is mortal sin

A
  • very serious sin that will result in eternal separation from god if those who commit them do not seek gods forgiveness
19
Q

what are the features of the belief that the afterlife is physical

A
  • its the view that was almost universally held in the west until modern times the powerful saw it as a way of controlling the peasants
  • at the end of the world, christ will return in all glory to judge all humans according to their deeds
  • those assessed as holy will be taken to heaven by angels
  • those whos sins are venial undergo a period of cleansing suffering and pain and yhis will enable them to enter heaven
  • those who have commited mortal sins will be fast into hell to suffer torment for eternity
20
Q

what are the features of the idea that the afterlife is spiritual

A
  • modern catholic thinking understands the afterlife as spiritual
  • the view of judgement is similar to that of Eastern churches, with a two fold judgement
  • heaven and hell are spiritual states
  • hell results from the deliberate choice of mortal sin without repentance and refusing gods offer of forgiveness
  • purgatory doesnt exist
21
Q

why do some christians reject the idea of purgatory and particular and general judgement

A
  • it involves the language of space and time, which ends at death
  • there can only be one spiritual judgement, which takes place at death
22
Q

what are the key features of the belief that the afterlife is a psychological reality

A
  • some christians reject the idea of life after death as it lacks empirical evidence. they believe in living in such a way as to bring heaven on earth
  • others think of judgement, heaven and hell as products of the human mind
  • a life lived in accordance with ones convictions is spiritually fulfilled and so the individual experiences joy, etc
  • the opposite is true for one whose life is one of inner conflict and this may lead to the need for psychotherapy
23
Q

what do process theologians believe about life after death

A
  • most process theologians believe in objective immortality. all individual beings remain eternally as objects in the mind of god. in that sense they never die
  • process theologians reject the idea of subjective immortality, which is the belief held by most christians that after death, humans exist as thinking beings with continued experiences