(2) Death and Afterlife

Question 1

Definition: disembodied existence

Answer 1

Existing without a physical body

Question 2

Definition: resurrection

Answer 2

Living on after death in a glorified physical form in a new realm

Question 3

Definition: beatific vision

Answer 3

A face to face encounter with God

Question 4

Definition: purgatory

Answer 4

A place where people go temporary after death to be cleansed from sin in order to confront God

Question 5

Definition: Election (theologically)

Answer 5

Predestination, chosen by God to go to heaven or hell

Question 6

Definition: Limited election

Answer 6

The view that God chooses a small number of people to go to heaven

Question 7

Definition: Original Sin

Answer 7

A state of wrongdoing that is innate in people from the fall of man in genesis

Question 8

Definition: unlimited election

Answer 8

The view that all people are called to salvation but only a few will be saved

Question 9

Definition: universalism

Answer 9

The view that all people will be saved

Question 10

Definition: Parable

Answer 10

A story to highlight a moral message

Question 11

Definition: particular judgement

Answer 11

Judgements for each person at the point of death

Question 12

Definition: parousia

Answer 12

Used in Christianity to refer to the Second Coming of Christ

Question 13

Christian teaching about the afterlife- physical body

Answer 13

• life after death will take physical resurrection, with a renewed spiritual body
• Seen in Jesus’ resurrection

Question 14

How Christian teaching on the physical body when resurrection rejects Plato

Answer 14

• Plato idea that soul and body part of disembodied existence
• body dies but soul moves on

Question 15

Quote in Genesis about Abraham’s resurrection

Answer 15

“He was gathered to his people”

Question 16

How could Jesus’ resurrection not demonstrate that your body continues in the afterlife

Answer 16

• May be a metaphor for how his image (physical body continues to live in our memory

Question 17

Problem with Jesus’ ascension

Answer 17

• we here it was a resurrected body or a spiritual form

- people didn’t recognise Jesus after he rose

Question 18

Is the belief in a physical resurrection central to Christian doctrine?

Answer 18

Yes

Question 19

What is a common feature in Jesus’ resurrection accounts

Answer 19

• white light from clothes, gleaming
• Jesus’ reaction of hope when people were worried about where his body had gone
• resurrection early morning

Question 20

Why do the resurrection accounts differ?

Answer 20

• writer subjective
• own writing styles and personalities
• different audiences at different times

Question 21

What was Dante’s view of Hell (13th C)

Answer 21

• Dante’s inferno
• 9 levels of hell that got worst as u go down
• lower u go down is for the more sin you committed

Question 22

Central Christian beliefs about the afterlife

Answer 22

1. Some form of physical resurrection, glorified version
2. Still be the individuals we were, we will not merge with God
3. Life after death is a gift from God, not a natural process

Question 23

Aquinas on the afterlife

Answer 23

• believed that human beings had rational souls which set them apart from other life forms
• reason leads us to be closer to God
• true happiness can only come with knowing God in the afterlife where we experience the beatific vision

Question 24

What is heaven + quote

Answer 24

• a place where the faithful go
• no sin as people are purified
• “fathers house has many rooms”

Question 25

Bernard Williams view on heaven

Answer 25

- no progression | - no pleasure and potential to be boring

Question 26

What is purgatory?

Answer 26

- Temp state where your sins will be cleansed - Catholic belief - only can go to heaven

Question 27

Controversial view on purgatory

Answer 27

- indulgences | - people could “buy” place to heaven

Question 28

Karl Rahner view on purgatory

Answer 28

- state of self imposed pain during your lifetime?

Question 29

What is hell?

Answer 29

- permanent separation away from God for eternity - eternal pain - below physical world

Question 30

Potential problems with idea of hell

Answer 30

- form of social and religious control?

Question 31

Julian of Norwich view of hell

Answer 31

- saw it as empty | - God is all forgiving and everyone gets there in the end

Question 32

How do Christian teachings on the afterlife affect moral behaviour?

Answer 32

- attempt to influence us to do good - if you accept Jesus and go to Church people may use it to say it is ‘enough’ - all loving God may mean hell is empty so our actions do not matter

Question 32

Kant argument against the Christian teaching affect upon moral behaviour

Answer 32

We should do good because we know it is the right thing to do (not for any other reason)

Question 33

What other influences effect our moral behaviour outside the church?

Answer 33

Conscience

Question 34

Different approaches on the afterlife

Answer 34

- physical places, eg. Heaven with angels and hell with fire - spiritual resurrection away from our body - purgatory used to repent

Question 35

Problems with idea of perfection in an afterlife if we have knowledge of our life on earth

Answer 35

- we would be able to remember all the negative events and would lead to sadness - against perfect happy state

Question 36

Different ideas about election

Answer 36

- election that some go to heave | - everyone goes to heaven due to omni benevolent God

Question 37

Augustine’s view on election

Answer 37

- chosen when we ask for and accept God’s grace | - we need God to go to heaven

Question 39

John Calvin’s (16th C) view on the afterlife

Answer 39

- some punishes by God - God has full control - Predestination

Question 40

Problem with Calvin view on the afterlife

Answer 40

- no room for free will | - we can act as we want

Question 41

Barth (19th to 20th C) view of the afterlife

Answer 41

- unlimited election but have to be good | - Jesus’ redemption key to saving us from our sins

Question 42

Hick (20th-21st C) view on the afterlife

Answer 42

- God save everyone no matter what - universalist, everyone religion accesses God in a certain way - we grow closer to God in heaven

Question 43

Pope Benedict XVI (20th-21st C)

Answer 43

- Hick’s approach disregards Jesus and his death is pointless - Jesus’s death didn’t necessarily save everybody, was not a cosmic even

Question 44

What does the parable of the sheep and the goats tell us about the afterlife?

Answer 44

- disparity between heaven and hell - people who go to heaven are those who “fed the hungry”, “helped the sick” - moral actions act as reward

Question 45

What does Luke:19-31 teach about the afterlife?

Answer 45

- material objects don’t contribute, your ‘goodness’ is defined by how you help others or keep faith - eternal punishment or reward - rich man seeing Lazarus and Abraham and reflects and feels guilt as people had the tools (scripture) to be good

Question 46

Does God’s judgement take place immediately after death or at the end of time?

Answer 46

- Irenaeus believer in final judgement - People wait in happiness or pain until final judgement - judged at death (parable rich man and Lazarus) - Jesus said to criminal “truest I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise”

Question 47

Are heaven and hell eternal?

Answer 47

- Aquinas view on timeless as God is - no beginning or end removes sense of repetition - question wether loving God would punish eternally

Question 48

Is heaven the perfection of creation?

Answer 48

- revelation “a new heaven and a new earth” which suggests living similar to before the fall - literal approach suggest second coming, ‘Parousia’ - missionary act to transform

Question 49

Is Purgatory a state everybody goes too?

Answer 49

- Protestant segue Christ’s redemption was a victory over sin - Rise of Martin Luther who rejected indulgences - Catholic view that it is necessary purification