Death and the afterlife Flashcards
Christian belief on the afterlife
-given a renewed spiritual body to continue into the next life
-e.g jesus’ body not being in his tomb, gone from death to eternal life
Aquinas on the the soul
-the soul was a life principle and the character of living things
-the ability to think and philosophise came from something non-physical
-the soul allows us to reach their potential and live in god’s presence
Aquinas on the afterlife
-we can only achieve perfect happiness after death by living eternally
-faith in god is replaced by knowledge of god
-called the beatific vision, see god face to face
-as there is no time people dont get bored
The rich man and lazarus
-gives the message that there will be separation after death between kinds of people
-the rich man is sent into eternal punishment whereas lazarus, the beggar, is united with god in heaven
Traditional christian teachings on heaven
-the faithful go to heaven after death
-must be described in metaphors and symbols to encourage the believer
-johns gospel ‘my fathers house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that i am going there to prepare a place for you?’
-god does not live in heaven he is in all places at all times
Bernard Williams on heaven
-questioned whether heaven would become boring after a while
-what ever we wanted to do we could do so whats the point
-part of pleasure is choosing what to do with our limited time
-setting objectives is rewarding when we suceed coz we may not complete them however in heaven we will always achieve everything
Christian teachings on hell
-sometimes seen as a place of eternal pain and punishment
-bible describes hell as a rubbish dump where useless people are thrown
-in revelations the writer has a vision of people being thrown into a ;ale of fiery sulphur
Problems with the christian hell
-can it be compatible with an all-loving god
-what sin deserves eternal punishment with no chance of parole
-eternal punishment must become as boring as eternal pleasure, we become immune to it and it achieves nothing
John Hick on hell
-rejects the traditional idea of christian hell, incompatible with a loving god
-argues this was developed as a form of social control to stop people disobeying religious authorities
Second death view
-hell is not eternal punishment but a death of the soul
-revelations 21:8, ‘the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, the idolates and all liars - they will be consigned to the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death’
Catholic ideas on purgatory
-a place where the soul is purified so it is ready to enter heaven
-some souls need non eternal punishment which has an end result
-the prayers of the living can contribute to the cleansing process
-the purging of sin can begin in life with confession/repenting
Karl Rahner on purgatory
-purgatory should not be understood as a place of pain but where the soul gains greater awareness of the consequences of sin
-the pain of purgatory is therefore self inflicted
Augustine on election
-only a few christians are saved so there is limited election
-people were born with original sin so no one could earn salvation
-god chose who was going to be saved and receive gods grace
-election was a sign of the grace of god, no one deserves salvation so its evidence of gods love and mercy that he allows this
John Calvin on election
-god had predestined some to punishment and some to eternal love
-god is in control of everything that happens so its impossible for something to happen which is outside of it
-god must know who would be saved as we cant make a choice outside his knowledge
Karl Barth on election
-jesus brought salvation for the entire world, god chose to save humanity by sending him so a loving god must save everyone if he chooses some
-‘jesus is both the electing god and the elected man in one’
