Life After Death

Question 1

What are Christians’ beliefs about life after death?

Answer 1

Christians believe that God will either reward or punish you in some form of life after death depending on how you acted when you were alive
Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox and Pentecostal Churches believe in life after death
There are different views about what happens after death but the main Christian belief is that Jesus rose from the dead
All four Gospels record that Jesus was crucified and buried in a stone tomb. They all agree that he was not found in his tomb on the Sunday morning
The rest of the New Testament is full of references to the resurrection on Jesus - if Jesus rode from the dead then there must be life after death

Question 2

Quote: St Paul’s teaching

Answer 2

People will have a resurrection like that of Jesus:
“But the truth is that Christ has been raised from the dead, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.” (1 Corinthians 15:20)

Question 3

Expain: John the Divine’s teaching

Answer 3

Joan the Divine teaches in Revelation that the dead will be raised at the end of the world and God will judge them
Good Christians go to heaven
Everyone else will go to hell

Question 4

Quote: Catechism of the Catholic Church 994

Answer 4

“Jesus links faith in the resurrection to his own person: ‘I am the Resurrection and the life.’ It is Jesus himself who on the Last Day will raise up on those who have believed in him.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 994)

Question 5

Jesus and life after death

Answer 5

Jesus taught about resurrection on several occasions during his time on earth. He told his followers that they must believe in him and trust him in order to gain eternal life: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live.”

Question 6

What did Jesus tell a thief on the cross?

Answer 6

He (the thief) would be in Heaven that day

“I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.” (Luke 24:43)

Question 7

Quote: the creed about ressurection

Answer 7

The creed: “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.”
evidence for resurrection

Question 8

How do Christian beliefs about life after death affect the lives of Christians?

Answer 8

Christians believe that what happens to them after they die is determined by how they live this life
Many Christians believe they will be judged by God: only those who have led a good Christian life will go onto heaven

Question 9

What do Christians do to ensure they have led a good Christian life?

Answer 9

They will follow the Ten Commandments, specifically to love god and love thy neighbour as Jesus taught that these were the greatest two
Catholic Christians will attend Mass every Sunday
Most Christians will try to worship God once a week in church
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:36-37)

Question 10

What does the Roman Catholic Church believe about life after death?

Answer 10

Believe in both the resurrection of the body and immortality of the soul
Believe that the soul of a Christian who has not sinned since their last confession will go straight to Heaven
The soul of a Christian that has sinned will go to Purgatory for their souls to be cleansed
The souls who do not believe in God or have committed unforgivable sins will go to Hell
After this, Jesus will come back to Earth (on the Day of Judgement) to raise the dead and reunite their bodies and souls
God will make a new Heaven and a new Earth and the souls in Purgatory will go to Heaven and the souls from Hell will return to Hell

Question 11

What does the Church of England believe about life after death?

Answer 11

Believe that after death the body will stay in the grave, but the soul will go straight to God for judgement
There is a difference of opinion about what will happen to those who do not go to Heaven, and some believe that there is no such place as Hell

Question 12

What do Evangelical Christians believe about life after death?

Answer 12

Believe that after death the body and the soul stay in the grave until the end of the world. At this time a Christian will be judged
The good will go to Heaven
Sinners who have not repented will go to Hell

Question 13

What are the reasons (six) for life beyond death?

Answer 13

There ought to be something beyond earthly life, which gives meaning to life
Earthly life is short. An after-life would enable humans to fulfil their potential
Perhaps there should be a reward for those who lead good lives on earth and punishment for hose who have been evil
Immanuel Kant believed that the three points above prove that life after death must be real
If life is sacred, it ought to carry on beyond death
Most religions talk about an afterlife

Question 14

How many basic concepts are there for life after death are there for Christians? What are they?

Answer 14

Two
Immortality of the soul
Bodily Resurrection

Question 15

Explain immortality of the soul

Answer 15

this is the belief that humans have a physical body and a spiritual, immortal soul which is their real self. The soul survives the physical death of the body and goes to exist in a spiritual place for ever, such as heaven or hell. The idea is known as dualism since it rests on the belief that there are two parts of human nature — the physical and the spiritual

Question 16

What are the problems with immortality of the soul?

Answer 16

Is the immortal soul a person?
Are there male and female souls?
Where do these souls go when the body dies?

Question 17

What were the three possible places that Thomas Aquinas suggested the souls goes?

Answer 17

Hell — a place of eternal punishment for the worst person
Purgatory — a place where Christians who have lapsed in their faith may undergo a period of punishment and purification
Beatific Vision — Heaven; a place of everlasting joy and happiness, where God dwells

Question 18

How does the doctrine of the communion support life after death?

Answer 18

The doctrine of the communion of the saints supports the belief that Christians die and go to heaven and that it is perfectly possible for Christians on earth to pray to the Saints in heaven to ask for their help and guidance

Question 19

Explain bodily ressurection

Answer 19

this is view that, by an act of god’s love, one day the dead will be restored to life again in bodily form. On this Day of Judgement, the dead will be raised and God will judge the world. Evil will be banished forever and the righteous will be rewarded with eternal life

Question 20

Give a quote to support bodily resurrection

Answer 20

“God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those whose by persistence in doing seek glory, honour and immortality, he will give eternal life.” (Romans 2:5)

Question 21

What does God do on the Day of Judgement to do bodily resurrection?

Answer 21

God re-creates the person on the Day of Judgement, but this time their body is spiritual and will never die. this is shown by the resurrection of the Jesus Christ himself, who appears to the disciples after his death. He talks to them, eats with them and they can touch him

Question 22

Give a quote to support what God does on the Day of Judgement to do bodily resurrection

Answer 22

“Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see, a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:39)

Question 23

What are the problems with the doctrine about what God does the Day of Judgement to do bodily resurrection?

Answer 23

for instance if a person is resurrected is it really them ore something that looks like them? And what about people have disabilities on earth — will they still have disabilities in eternal life?

Question 24

Explain near-death experiences

Answer 24

Scientists have examined the cases of many people who have died and been resuscitated. In a near-death experience, people describe a feeling of floating out of their bodies and then travelling down a tunnel to emerge into another world. Here they met Jesus, or a figure associated with their own religious tradition. Non-religious believers claimed to meet a dead relative or friend. Between them and the figure was often a barrier or gate. At this point, they are forced to make a choice as to whether to cross the barrier, or return to earth. It has been suggested that such accounts are simply hallucinations, dreams, or subconscious memories

Question 25

Explain parapsychology

Answer 25

The Spiritualist Movement claims that there is a spirit world where peoples’ spirits live on after death and which can be reached through séances and mediums. However, the Spiritualist Movement has been the subject of many hoaxes that have made the whole thing appear bogus

Question 26

Why do some people not believe in life after death?

Answer 26

It does not make sense to speak of life after death since, if there is such a thing, then the person could not really be dead in the first place
Is an after-life desirable anyway?
Life is about personal identity. If a person dies and have life after death in a different form (e.g as an immortal soul) then they are not the same person who died

Question 27

What does materialism say about life after death?

Answer 27

There is no God, there is nothing non-material
we do not have immortality of the soul
there is no resurrection or reincarnation

Question 28

What do the different religions belief about life after death?

Answer 28

Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism believe in reincarnation whereas Judaism, Christianity and Islam believe in judgement, heaven and hell. If there was life after death then they should all believe in the same thing

Question 29

What is most of the evidence for life after death based on?

Answer 29

holy books or the paranormal

Question 30

Most beliefs in life after death assume that the mind/soul can survive without the body. What does science say?

Answer 30

Scientific evidence shows that the human mind developed as the brain grew more complex
The mind could not exist without the brain
e.g. brain dead people on life support machines

Question 31

What has space exploration shown about life after death?

Answer 31

there is no heaven above the sky
There is nowhere for life after death to take place
Physics shows that there in no non-material on earth

Question 32

We can only recognise people by their bodies. How does this affect life after death?

Answer 32

How can souls be recognised without their bodies?

If the souls survives death then it would not be able to contact other souls so there would not be true life after death

Question 33

What are non-Christian/non-religious beliefs on life after death often connected to?

Answer 33

the evidence for the paranormal:
ghosts
telekinesis
mediums

Question 34

What are three main parts of the paranormal that provide reasons for believing in life after death?

Answer 34

near-death experiences
spirit world
reincarnation

Question 35

What is the Buddhist belief about life after death?

Answer 35

Rebirth
There are six realms: Heaven; Human Life; Asura; Hungry Ghost; Animals; Hell
None of these stages are permanent and therefore Buddhists should not fear death as it will lead to rebirth
Karma is created by the intentional acts of body, speech and mind
Karma continues in many directions
Only acts of pure desire, hate and delusion do not produce karma effects
That which is reborn is not the same person yet is not separate from the same person

Question 36

What is the Hinduism belief about life after death?

Answer 36

Reincarnation
Hindus believe that the Jiva or Atman (soul) is intrinsically pure
However, because of the layers of I-ness and My-ness, the Jiva goes through transmigration in the cycle of births and deaths
Death destroys the physical body, but not the Jiva
The Jjva is eternal - it takes on another body with respect to its karmas

Question 37

What do Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists believe about the soul in life after death? Is there any evidence?

Answer 37

Souls are reborn into another body

There are many stories of this is India

Question 38

What has Dr. Ian Steveson for evidence for life after death?

Answer 38

He has collected almost three thousand accounts of children who have spontaneously remembered their previous life

Question 39

Who give the clearest evidence for life after death?

Answer 39

Mediums

Question 40

What is a medium?

Answer 40

A medium is a person who claims to have the gift of communicating between the material world we live in and the spiritual world for those who have died

Question 41

What are mediums sometimes called?

Answer 41

Psychics, clairvoyants or spirit guides

Question 42

What do most mediums claim about the founders of the world religions?

Answer 42

The founders of the world religions (such as Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad) were in touch with the spirit world and that religion points to the spirit world rather than truth

Question 43

What do mediums claim about God?

Answer 43

God is beyond religion and that spirits have second chances to make up for their mistakes whether through reincarnation or development in the spirit world

Question 44

How do mediums prove that there is life after death?

Answer 44

If mediums can contact the spirit world then there must be life after death