To Prepare For Judgement Flashcards
Why do christians have to pre[are for judgement?
-Humans were created to be with God.
-After the creation of the world and all its contents, Adam and Eve were persuaded by the serpent to disobey God, and as a result, they were banished from the garden.
-The close relationship between humans and God was broken, and humans were forced out into a world where they had to work to survive, and where pain and death became part of human experience.
-But since the original purpose of creation was to allow humans to spend eternity in God’s presence, Christianity teaches that God paid for the sin of humanity by suffering.
Atonement
-The idea that Jesus’ death can make up for human sin is called theDoctrine of the Atonement.
-closest meaning for ‘Atonement’ is reconciliation’ - Jesus’ death reconciles God and the world: ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. (2 Corinthians 5:19)
-In order to complete God’s plan for reconciliation, humans must face judgement of their lives at the end of time.
Parable of the sheep and goats
In the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus taught his followers that they would be judged according to how they treated those less fortunate than themselves.
What are the main beliefs about judgement?
-Humanity’s ultimate purpose is to be with God, and that will happen after all life on Earth has come to an end.
-All those who have died will be raised and judged.
-Those who have treated others with compassion and justice will be welcomed into God’s eternal presence, but those who have not will be forever excluded from God.
But… what about liberal Christian’s
-Many liberal Christians today do not accept the dramatic narrative of a Judgement Day at the end of time as factually accurate.
-They argue that it is a story designed to show an important truth about the purpose of human existence.
-However, they do believe that some form of eternal existence in the presence of God is the outcome of striving for moral perfection.
-For some, judgement happens in response to Christ in this life; and being born of spirit and living eternal life is a quality of life in this life.
Another approach - John Hick
-soul-making theodicy of John Hick
-Hick agrees with St Irenaeus that the existence of evil in the world is not a flaw in God’s perfect creation, but an essential part of God’s plan for creation.
-The problem of evil can be stated simply:
God created humans as incomplete beings, with the potential to achieve a ‘likeness’ with God. The existence of evil allows humans to grow and develop virtues. God could have made humans with ready-made virtues so that they never sinned, but that would not be real moral goodness.
-Hick argues that God made humans free to choose good or evil, so that true virtues are those gained through freely overcoming temptations and trials; so in Hick’s view, the existence of evil is essential to developing moral perfection, and the purpose of life is soul-making in which evil plays an essential part.
Hick - living in a world where evil exist
-Living a life in a world where evil exists means that people can choose to overcome evil. If there is hunger, poverty or exclusion, Christians who respond to those evils with compassion and generosity become better people.
-In Hick’s opinion, this process of overcoming evil continues, perhaps through different levels of existence, until everybody reaches God’s Kingdom, so for Hick there is no possibility of God sending anybody to hell.
Where does to prepare for judgment have its roots?
-roots in the second creation story. Humans were created to be with God.
-After the creation of the world and all its contents, Adam and Eve were persuaded by the serpent to disobey God, and as a result, they were banished from the garden.
-The close relationship between humans and God was broken, and humans were forced out into a world where they had to work to survive, and where pain and death became part of human experience.
-But since the original purpose of creation was to allow humans to spend eternity in God’s presence, Christianity teaches that God paid for the sin of humanity by suffering.
Quote
‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Parable of sheep and goat
In order to complete God’s plan for reconciliation, humans must face judgement of their lives at the end of time.
In the famous Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus taught his followers that they would be judged according to how they treated those less fortunate than themselves:
(Matthew 25:31-46)
Purpose of life as judgement
-This leads to view that the purpose of life is to prepare for judgement.
-Humanity’s ultimate purpose is to be with God, and that will happen after all life on Earth has come to an end. All those who have died will be raised and judged.
-Those who have treated others with compassion and justice will be welcomed into God’s eternal presence, but those who have not will be forever excluded from God.
Evaluation
-Preparation for judgement can imply simply being good in order to earn a reward, so some might be motivated by fear of punishment.
-It would be impossible to second-guess how God might view the actions of those whose motivation is fear of judgement as opposed to a desire to do right for right’s sake, although presumably many people could be motivated by both self-interest and a desire to follow God’s laws.
