self, death and the afterlife Flashcards
what is the jewish concept of the soul?
- 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’
what is the greek concept of the soul?
- 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.
what is the modern thinking on the soul?
- 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
what is the christian thinking of the soul?
- the soul and physical body are seperate
- the soul is given by God before birth and taken away after death
what do some christians believe about a spiritual resurrection?
- 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
what are the key beliefs about the resurrection of Jesus?
- 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
what quote does St Paul say about the resurrection of jesus?
- 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
what do all 4 gospels have in common about Jesus’ resurrection?
- his friends knew it was Jesus, though not necessarily immediately
- he was the same yet different and not subject to human limitations
what implications did Jesus’ resurrection being a unique event have?
- Jesus through God’s power conquered death, which opened the possibility of eternal life after death for humanity
What did Augustine believe about the resurrection of flesh?
- 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
what did Augustine believe about the Fall
- 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
why is Corinthians significant for the resurrection?
- 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
- he believed in the resurrection of the
what are the catholic teachings on the afterlife
- 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
what is particular judgement
- the judgement that takes place straight after death and determines the eternal fate of the individual
what is general judgement
- the judgement that takes place at the second coming of christ and is upon humanity as a whole