death and the afterlife Flashcards
Heaven exists as a future metaphysical reality
Heaven exists as the place where God dwells, and where we can see him ‘face-to-face’ (1 Cor 13:12) – this is called the ‘beatific vision
Heaven is a place of eternal reward for those who have been saved (Lazarus in Luke ch. 16)
Heaven exists as a future moral and spiritual state
the state of being in God’s immediate presence
Catholics believe that heaven is the place where we meet God in the most ultimate way possible and exist in eternal happiness in his presence
- cannot visualise this kind of existence, given our creaturely, finite and sinful state.
Heaven exists as a present reality which can be understood symbolically as the transformation and perfection of the whole creation
avoids issues - If God is omnipresent then surely he is fully present on Earth as well as in heaven?
aligns with Jesus’ teachings e.g. Luke 17.1 (‘the kingdom of heaven is among you’) suggests that Heaven exists within the created order.
‘inaugurated eschatology’: the idea that some aspects of heaven/ God’s
kingdom has already begun as a present reality.
idea that God is continually transforming and perfecting all of
creation, so that ultimately ‘Heaven’ and ‘creation’ become synonymous.
BUT other passages (e.g. Lord’s Prayer) suggest that Heaven IS a separate place (‘Our Father in Heaven’; ‘on Earth as it is in Heaven’),
Universal Salvation
For Hick, Hell is the ultimate problem of evil: it is eternal torment with no ‘soul making’ as a justifying purpose.
human crimes are finite. No matter the scale of immorality a person’s actions are, they are finite. Proportionality is the view that true justice requires punishment to be proportional to the crime
own solution is to reject Hell and propose that everyone ultimately is
saved
Contradicts scripture (e.g. Sheep + Goats – Mt 25)
Equally unfair for all to receive the same infinite reward regardless of
their actions
Ratzingersaid Hick’s view of universal salvationundermines Christ’s death on the cross
Annihilationism
the belief that those who do primarily evil action will cease to exist, either immediately or after a finite time
‘the way of the ungodly shall perish’ – Psalm 1.6
arguably more consistent with God’s love, as unending suffering is avoided.
Tillich - ground of all being - if one has rejected ultimate being, then the only alternative is nothingness.
other passages do state that punishment will be ‘eternal’ – e.g. Matthew 25.46: ‘They will go away into eternal punishment’ – contrasted with ‘eternal life’.
■ BUT ‘eternal punishment’ could just mean ‘eternal non-existence’
Epicurus: ‘Why should I fear death?
The real ‘punishment’ is not one’s destruction, but rather ‘missing out’ on bring with God. This is the real thing to be concerned about.
Hell as a metaphysical place with literal torment and suffering
verses such as Matthew 25 where hell is described as a place of fire and “outer darkness” where there is “wailing or gnashing of teeth”
only proportionate punishment for rejecting God and his love is eternal punishment. (Augustinian theodicy)/original sin
Hume If God metes out infinite punishment for finite crimes, then God isomni-vindictive
Inconceivable: a God of infinite love would not consign his creatures to a punishment with no escape.
purgatory
● helps to deal with the criticism that, by punishing people who are bad but not terrible, God is being disproportionate.
● It is an intermediate state (not a place) after death that purges us of our sins: a time of purification so that we are fit for heaven.
a painful experience, meant to ‘purge’ us. Our faith is ‘tested by fire’ (1 Peter 1.7)
o imagery of ‘cleansing fire’ used often in bible
The fire is not literal, as Purgatory is a state not a place; it is meant to convey the painful, slow experience.
The parable of the sheep and the goats is biblical evidence against purgatory. In the story people are divided into the good (sheep) and the bad (goats). There is no middle ground third option for those who are somewhere in between good and bad.
Luther claimed Purgatory was ‘fabricated by goblins’
Do we all go through purgatory?
Seems to solve the problem of disproportionate punishment, yet it is more biblically grounded than universalism (Maccabees 12.43-46 in the Catholic Bible talks about praying for the dead so
that their sins will be forgiven)
In line with the idea that an omnibenevolent God would give everyone the chance to be cleansed of sins: hell becomes more plausible
However, if God’s omnibenevolence writes off sin, what attribute of his demands remorse through purging fires? Even Catholics do not believe that all go to purgatory, as some like martyrs or the sinless Virgin Mary go straight to heaven.
(Mary is the ‘immaculate conception’ – she is sinless so that she may be the mother of Christ).
Verses that talk about admittance to Heaven being postponed until the Kingdom of God comes also lead to confusion about where the dead go before then.
People like C S Lewis also argue that ‘our souls demand purgatory’, as most would rather be cleansed before entering heaven out of respect and love for God.
Jesus’ death also eliminated the need for any redemption of sin - if purgatory prepares the soul for heaven, then the Son of God’s life was futile and vain
would repentance motivated by fear of hell or escape of punishment be considered genuine sorrow?
Judgement. The word ‘purgatory’ does not appear in the Bible.
o Purgatory is unnecessary: all sins are serious rebellions against God, and Baptism cleanses you of the consequences of your sinful nature.
all people to be saved -
Hick - If we are all undeserving due to sin (Romans 3.23) God will not
arbitrarily condemn some but save others
Religious pluralism: all religions are just different ways of recognising the
same underlying reality, so all are ‘true’.
o Omnibenevolence: A loving God will not condemn people based on
ignorance.
not all people will be saved
Barth: Jesus’ death redeemed human nature, so humanity as a whole has the
potential to be saved. BUT this potential must still be actualised by accepting
Christ’s sacrifice and by having faith in him. This is called ‘unlimited
election’
limited election - Choosing some but not others is not unloving, as God does not need to save anyone according to Calvin.
● Response: arbitrary may not mean unfair.
God is sovereign, and acting justly whilst also showing love, so
we cannot complain
The Bible is clear that not all are saved e.g. Sheep and Goats,
Will God’s Judgement take place immediately or at the end of time?
The penitent thief was promised: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with
me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)
● It does not make sense for judgement to be delayed: where else can a person’s soul or
‘essence’ go whilst it awaits judgement?
Parable of the sheep and the goats: judgement will occur ‘when the Son of
Man comes in his glory’ (Matthew 25.31)
o ‘No man has ascended to heaven’ (John 3.13)
Anglican and Methodist theology holds that there is an intermediate state between death and the resurrection of the dead, in which the soul does not sleep in unconsciousness, but exists in happiness or misery until the resurrection, when it shall be united to the spiritual body
The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that there are two judgements: the first, or particular judgement, is that experienced by each individual at the time of his or her death, The second, General or Final Judgement will occur after the Second Coming.
