self death and the afterlife Flashcards
(21 cards)
the meaning and purpose of life
1 to glorify God and have a personal relationship with HIM
2 To prepare for judgement
3 To bring about Gods kingdom on earth
to glorify god and have a personal relationship with him
christians believe that Gods glory was revealed in Jesus. Christians believe that humans are made imago dei (genesis 1) and so should reflect Gods glory in their lives
to prepare for judgement
christians anticipate God’s judgement after death, when He will decide who goes to heaven. Jesus taught in his parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25) that judgement is based on wether you have performed ‘good works’ to help those in need. Heaven can therefore be seen as a reward for good behaviour - synoptic link to justification by works
to bring about Gods Kingdom on earth
Jesus taught his followers that ‘The kingdom of God has come near’ (Mark 1:15), some believe this means Jesus inaugurated the kingdom during his earthly life. They believe it is their job to continue working to bring about the kingdom- putting their faith into action and transforming society.
The our farther includes the line ‘ on earth as it is in heaven’ liberation theologians such as Gustavo Gutierrez believed that the Gospel should be used to critique society and bring about social reform ‘A preferential option for the poor’, Christian charities e.g Christian aid seek to improve society. Quakers are a denomination who work for peace and help those in need.
continued existence after death
physical
- if we have a continued existence after death, it would be physical
-Aristotle’s influence: cannot separate body from soul (Aristotle didnt believe in life after death)
-John Hicks replica theory
-Augustine’s resurrection of the flesh
-Jesus’ physical resurrection in the Bible ‘he is risen’ (Gospels) he appeared to 500+ people
continued existence after death
metaphysical
- There is a seperate soul that survives our physical death
- Platos immortality of the soul- body is a prison for our souls
- Swinburne - mental states are soul states. Lightbulb analogy. soul is like a lightbulb that is plugged into your body as an energy source, when you die God will plug your soul somewhere else
- HH Prices disembodied souls communicate and recognise each other telepathocially
-‘flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God’ (Paul)
body is a source of endless troubles
continued existence after death
process theology
-after death, we live forever in the mind of God.
-Process theologians believe God and the universe exist pantheistical
- objective immortality means that we survive in the mind of God. Our actions, thoughts and ideas exist eternally as objects in the memory of the eternal God.
critical analysis is this truly Christian
continued existence after death
not possible
- death is no different to being unborn - when the brain stops consciousness ceases
- we might live on in the memories of loved ones, but that is it we don’t actually continue to exits
-Dawkins materialism- it is qn irrational belief no evedince
‘there is no spirit driven forces, life is just bytes and bytes of information”
resurrection
christianity is an eschatological religion - it is concerned with death, judgement, life after deatg and the final destination of our souls. The resurrection of Jesus teaches Christians that death is not the end - Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death. St Paul asks, ‘if christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? (Corinthians)
- belief in the rsurrection of Jesus Christ is foundational to christianity - ‘if christ has not been raised, your faith is pointeless and you are still in your sins(st paul). This event forms the basis for christian belief in life after death.
- all four gospels state that the tomb was empty - ‘he is risen’ the belief in Christ’s resurrection forms the basis of the Christian hope for life after death and confirms Jesus Christ as divine
what are the two understandings of resurrection
-resurrection of the flesh(Augustine)
-Resurrection of a new spiritual body(at Paul)
-resurrection of the flesh(Augustine)
st Augustine believed that the fall (genesis3) affected not only Adam and Eve but the whole of humanity. As a result of Adam and Eves disobedience, all of humanity inherent original sin and live in a fallen world. Humans are now totally dependant on Gods grace to deliver them from the eternal punishment that their sin merits. As sin entered the word through a man, God has to become man (the incarantaon) in order to ‘pay the price’ - atonement - for original sin.
Jesus’ physical resurrection - demonstarted by the empty tomb - shows that Jesus conquered sin and death. ‘death through Adam, life through Christ’(paul). The flesh is resurrected and has an ‘ascention to the heavenly places’ (city of God
heaven is a physical place
ca- jesus was fully divine as well so will we have a physical ressurection?
-Resurrection of a new spiritual body(at Paul)
st Paul wrote that ‘flesh and blood cannot inherent the kingdom of God’. He wrote to the Corinthians that ‘ if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body’. Our physical body perishes at the point of our earthly death - we are resurrection with a new spiritual and imperishable body. ‘it is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body’(corinthians)
heaven is a spiritual place and state
1corinthians 15:42-44
“the body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory”
“it is raised a spiritual body, if there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body”
Plato the body is a source of endless troubles
1 Corinthians 15:50-54
“i declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God”
Paul has a very dualistic understanding
judgement
-the nicene creed sets out the christian belief in judgement and the afterlife ‘he will come again im glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end’ (Nicene creed)
- in the parable of the sheep and the goats, jesus teaches that people will be gathered before, and judged by God based on their good works
- the book of revelation teaches that ‘the dead will be judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books’ (Revelation 20:12)
- the catholic church believes that there are two types of judgement - particular judgement (straight after death) and general judgement (takes place at the time of the second coming of christ and is upon humanity as a whole)
heaven
physical place
‘our father who is in heaven’ - to be in heaven means to be with God
- jesus taught his followers that this lifetime/world is only temporary in comparison to the perfect and eternal kingdom with God
-parable of the sheep and the goats teaches that entry is a reward for preforming good works to help others.
-Jesus- physical resurrection and ascension to Heaven. ‘my fathers house has many rooms, i am going there to prepare a place for you’ - gives Christians hope for a physical heaven
- st augustine resurrection of the flesh- our body is resurrected and ascends to heaven
not physical
-st paul- wrote to corinthians ‘flesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of God’nour physical bodies will not survive death. instead we will recieve new spiritual bodies.
-st thomas aquinas - heaven as a beatific vision. This is the state of eternal happiness when we come face-to-face with God. In heaven, we exist in a state of happiness and harmony with \god for eternity
catholic church- heaven is the ‘ultimate end’ and the ‘state of supreme, definitive happiness’. To live in heaven is ‘to be with christ’
-process theology - objective immortality. After death, an individual beings remains eternally as objects in the mind of God. in this sense they never die.
hell
passages in the new testament suggests that hell is aphysical placeof eternal punishment and torment
‘fiery lake of burning sulpher’(revelations)
st augustine described hell as a physical place of punishment
-Jesus- the parable of sheep and the goats presents hell as a place of punishment for those who have not perfomed good works to help others. Jesus says that the condemmned goats will go away to eternl punishment
catholic church- hell is an actual place, where those who ‘die in a state of mortal sin’ will descend. however, the punishment is not physical but eternals seperation from God
-pope john paul 11- famously asserted that ‘there is a hell but nobody is there’
-paul tillich- hell is a metaphor for psychological alienation from God
ao2 omnibenevolence
AO2 heaven and hell
-if physical- where actually is heaven? - the physical ressurection of Jesus suggests he had a physical ressurection, but does the same apply for human beings today
-Bernard Williams - questioned whether eternal life would really be desirable. he concludes that it would be horrible- eternal life would inevitable get boring. you will fulfill goals and projects very quickly- our lives would become meaningless
what is in heaven? how would everyone enjoy it?
-richard dawkins - there is no empirical evidence being dead is like being unborn
-Freud- rejected belief in God we created a belief in heaven because we are scred of death. our unconscious minds are convinced that we are immortal
- nature of God the existence of hell seems inconcistent with belief in an omnibenevelont God especially if God predestines people to hell (Calvin)
purgatory
catholic belief in a state of cleansing that takes place before entering heaven if someone is jusged to have been good - but not perfect - then they undergo purgatory before enetering heaven
- catechism “they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven”
• Matthew 12 - “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come”
• St Gregory of Nyssa - ‘purgatorius ignis’ is a fire that rids the soul of the minor faults amassed throughout the person’s life, so that you can be perfectly purified and ready to enter heaven.
• Origen - Purgatory is a ‘training school of virtue’ for Christians who have died in sin. It is comparable to a probationary school, and is a time of correct and change.
• 2 Maccabees 12 - Says we should pray for the dead, implying we can make a difference to someone who has died. This book is only in Catholic scripture.
Purgatory strengths
• Some scriptural support - Matthew 12 / 2 Maccabees 12.
• Consistent with God’s omnibenevolent / forgiving nature - it gives a chance for those
‘imperfectly purified’ to still ultimately enter Heaven.
• Gives hope that those who have committed venial sins can still enter Heaven.
• Consistent with the Soul-Making Theodicy developed by St Irenaeus / John Hick.
Purgatory weaknesses
• Protestants do not believe in purgatory.
• John Calvin - Double predestination: God has already decided who will go to Heaven and who will go to Hell. There is no need for purgatory to exist.
• Sola Christus - Diminishes the role of Christ in salvation. We depend entirely on Jesus Christ for our salvation, which is achieved through his sacrificial death on the cross. Our sin is removed through his crucifixion/resurrection. Also links to Sola Fides.
• 2 Maccabees is not included in Protestant Bibles.
