Death and the after life Flashcards
(35 cards)
What is final judgement?
the judgement of all people at the end of time
What is particular judgement?
the judgement of individuals at the moment of death
What does the rich man and lazarus suggest about the afterlife ?
-Judgement is particular (straight after death not at the end of time) as the rich mans family was still alive
-Not everyone goes to purgatory - neither went to purgatory
-Heaven and Hell exist - Lazarus went to Heaven, whilst the rich man went to Hell
-Heaven is not the transformation of creation into a perfect form at the end of time – because lazarus went to heaven while the rich man’s family was still alive – so heaven existed before the end of time.
-It is suggested in the story that it is because the rich man failed to good that he goes to hell. This suggests unlimited election is true.
-The chasm between heaven and hell indicates that one cannot leave either place
Counter arguments of the rich man and lazarus - Martin Luther
-Martin Luther argues that the rich man and lazarus story is just a parable designed to teach us a moral lesson. We should not take it literally – it’s not a story about literal actual events that happened – and so it can’t actually tell us anything about the afterlife.
-Luther points to the fact that the rich man wanted to warn his family and dip his finger in water – implying he could talk and had a physical body. However, that couldn’t be possible unless he had been resurrected. But, the resurrection doesn’t happen until the end of time – but it wasn’t the end of time because his family were still alive. So, the story cannot make sense as events which literally took place. It’s just a parable. In that case, it does not have any of the implications for the afterlife that it seemed to when we viewed it literally.2
Martin Luther - why did the rich man fail to do good?
Luther followed Augustinian predestination and would have said the rich man failed to do good because he didn’t have grace, and that’s why he went to hell.
Counter argument for martin luther counter argument
St Jerome argues the story wasn’t just a parable however. In support of this view, the story includes a name – Lazarus. All the other parables just have generic descriptions, like the ‘good samaritan’, not names.
The rich man may have desired to warn his family even if he was just a soul who couldn’t speak, and the finger dipping in water may have been metaphorical even though the story overall is literal.
This suggests Luther is wrong and the story actually happened and is meant to be taken literally.
Catholic church teaching of what happens after death
at the moment of death, people are judged individually and go to heaven, purgatory or hell. at the end of time, all of creation will be perfected into a new heaven and a new earth.
What did Calvin believe happened after death?
he argued that the dead are conscious while they await the day of judgement, either in bliss or agony, depending on their future fate. This view is held by both Anglicans and Methodists - should wait to be reunited with the body at the end of time for judgement.
Judgement takes place immediately after death
-the rich man and Lazarus
-it does not make sense for judgement to be delayed. Where else can a person’s soul go while it waits for judgement?
-if Heaven and hell are not understood as literal places then there is no need to wait for final judgement for our reward or punishment
Judgement takes place at the end of time
-the book of revelations suggests that we are judged at the end of time. For example, it talks of the last trumpet that will sound before the dead are all judged.
-As time means something different after death, it is entirely possible that we will simply sleep until the moment of judgement.
Hell is eternal
-The RC Church talks of Hell as a place that people choose to go to through freely choosing to refuse follow God. It is a place of eternal separation from God with punishment by eternal fire.
- Heaven and hell are eternal because you can’t leave (chasm) (the rich man and lazarus)
-The Bible describes them in physical terms (e.g. in the sheep and the goats, hell is described as ‘eternal fire’, people are described as on earth and ‘gathered before’ Jesus and separated to his right and left – all physical descriptions implying a physical resurrected state).
-Jesus describes hell as ‘eternal fire’ and ‘eternal punishment
Hell is not eternal
-Some argue that those who don’t go to heaven are simply extinguished or annihilated after a period of punishment.
-Arguably, it would not make sense to receive infinite punishment when we can only have finite sins - Hulme
-Hick’s conclusion that Hitler eventually ends up in heaven seems uncomfortable, but his logic is unassailable. Justice in punishment does require proportionality. Hitler’s crimes were finite. So, he cannot deserve an infinite punishment. This conclusion is logically inescapable.
-No matter how bad a crime a human did, they did not do an infinite crime – because we are finite beings, we can’t do infinite things.
So, we can never deserve an infinite punishment, therefore.
-Hick criticises unlimited election because a loving God could never send anyone to hell. For punishment to be fair, it must be proportionate. It’s not fair to lock someone up for their rest of their life for stealing a mars bar, for example.
-Omnibenevolence and just
Understandings of hell
-Eternal punishment
-Finite punishment
-spiritual state where they are separated from God
-Physical place. For example, the Bible, in the parable of the sheep and the goats, it uses physical terms such as describing ‘eternal fire’ (fire is physical)
-Symbolic of a persons life on Earth. Life includes a guilty conscience that will be felt when faced by Jesus on judgement day, then the focus stops being on the punishment but on the actions that led to someone not achieving salvation. Approaching hell in this way emphasises the psychological power that the idea of eternal punishment has on a persons moral actions.
Hicks universalism
-rejects the idea that the God of love would condemn anyone to eternal suffering and so he believes in universalism
-Hell is infinite and eternal suffering which can never be just or loving
-He believed it wouldn’t be right for people like Hitler to go straight to heaven, So, Hick proposed his own view of purgatory.
-Bad people have to essentially live another life in a purgatory other world where they have another opportunity to become a good person (soul-making).People can get endless opportunities to become good.
-It might take Hitler a long time to become good – but eventually he will go to heaven too, once he’s actually and genuinely accepted his moral failures and become good.
Define universalism
the idea that all people are saved
FEvaluation of Hicks universalism
(+)This might seem extreme, but this is the point of Christianity – that no one is beyond forgiveness, that no one is ever truly eternally lost.
(-)However it goes against Biblical teachings - the Bible says that people do go to hell and it is described as eternal (parable of sheep and goats)
(+)Supports the idea of an omnibenevolent and just God + many Christians such as liberal Christians believe the Bible is not literal, therefor it needs interpreting including beliefs about the afterlife
(-)Some may argue that it wouldn’t be just for bad people to ever go to Hell, such as Hitler, it is an uncomfortable belief. Fundamental Christians may disagree with interpretation. Could be argued that actions on Earth would no longer matter if we would all just get finite opportunities to improve in the afterlife.
(+)Supports the Christian teachings of forgiveness and love.
(-)people who live bad lives shouldn’t always receive reward
Roman catholic view of Heaven
-Believe its a place where we come face-to-face with God in the most ultimate way possible - the beatific vision, the most direct revelation of God we can imagine. This is an eternal reward for those who have fully chosen Christ and his ways.
Define the beatific vision
the state of eternal happiness when we come face-to-face with God and exist eternally in his presence
What differs between the RC and the protestant view of Heaven ?
For protestants, heaven is more of a place than for Catholics, where it is understood as a spiritual state - a state where we meet God.
What is heaven described as in the new testament?
heaven is described in the New Testament as a state where God has rewarded the righteous and where all earthly and physical suffering has been removed
How does the book of revelations describe heaven?
The Book of Revelation describes the end of time as a complete renewal of heaven and earth when God will wipe away all suffering
Christian understanding of heaven
-heaven is also associated with Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God and the transformation of this world, where this world will pass away and be replaced by a perfect world or state (also referred to as the new Jerusalem)
-heaven is the community of immortal souls who continue to exercise God’s will as they reign with Christ for ever
support for final judgement
The Nicene creed states: ‘he will come in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end’
Define purgatory
-an intermediate state (not place) after death which purges us from our sins. It is a time of purification and cleansing
-Purgatory is seen as a place where those who have committed sins are cleansed by fire (the cleansing fire is an image found in the New Testament)
-However, the Catholic teaching focuses on the teaching, more than the detail:
-idea of purifying fire is symbolic, not literal - perhaps referring to an inner fire in the soul or mind
-It is possible to pray for those who have died that they may be delivered from their sins. this is seen in 2 Maccabees 12:41-45, a section of the OT rejected by protestants but accepted by Catholics.
