resurrection

• resurrection

  jesus' resurrection is symbolic for christians of the everlasting life that comes from god, a source of all life

  on the third day after his death, jesus' tomb was empty (as told in all four gospel narratives). he was somewhat different and showed his injuries and he could appear and disappear at will and some followers no longer recognised him

  shows that death, a consequence of sin, can be overcome through the power of god

  atonement has given the possibility of eternal life for everyone
• the soul - judaism

  comes from judaism/ancient greek philosophy

  judaism - the physical body is infused with the breath of life which comes from god (genesis 2:7, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life) so he became nephesh hayahh - a living being

  everything that breathes has the spirit of god within them, nephesh is usually translated as soul

  ruach is similar, ruach elohim in genesis 1:2 is the spirit of god moving over the primeval waters during creation

  OT didnt believe in life after death, but since god is eternal human life might not end in death, something might live on after
• the soul - judaism cont, daniel

  prophecies of the end of time

  '...many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.'
• the soul - plato

  two modes of existence

  1 . the physical world which is a reflection of

  2 . a deeper reality called the world of forms

  forms is made up of perfect ideas, the things in the physical world are imperfect copies of the perfect idea

  e.g all things in the physical world are merely a reflection of the perfect idea of the thing

  plato believed the soul separates at death and goes to forms and contemplates the form of the good (like god kinda) before being reincarnated into the physical world in a womb
• the soul - plato cont

  dualism - the soul is a dualistic idea, humans have two aspects, the physical perishable body and the spiritual immortal soul

  • plato believed the soul eternally pre existed human life and is immortal in its own right
  • our ability to know what things are is a result of the fact the soul belongs to the world of forms
  • the soul can recognise imperfect copies in the physical world as its familiar with the perfect idea for each thing
• the soul - judaism/plato linked

  baby receives soul from god before birth

  soul was the inner existence of a human being, inhabiting the body during life, then leaving the body at death to return to god from where it came

  the soul was the moral and spiritual dimension of human existence and the source of humankinds response to god

  luke - my soul magnifies the lord, and my spirit rejoices in god my saviour
• the soul - dualism vs monism

  dualism - body and soul, popular ideas of the soul are what makes them who they are, the source of a persons beliefs and understanding of self and the site of thoughs and conscience

  monism - a whole creature where consciousness and thought are part of the physical reality. no existence before conception and no life beyond death
• !! resurrection of the flesh

  augustine believed that sin had an effect on every human being born, spiritually and physically. christs resurrection offers hope for the resurrection of humans, where spiritual and physical effects of sin would be removed
• !! resurrection of the flesh cont

  in augustines city of god, book 22, he says christ rose from the dead in a physical way and then ascended to heaven in a physical form - 'earthly body of christ was received up into heaven

  if this is possible for christ, then god can perform the same miracle for anything that has been created with a soul
• !! resurrection of the flesh - catechism of the cc

  'it is very commonly accepted that the life of the human person continues in a spritual fashion after death. but how can we believe that this body, so clearly mortal, could rise to everlasting life? ... god, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of jesus' resurrection'
• contrasting augustine - spiritual resurrection

  some christians argue that physical resurrection doesn't make sense. the dead body rots away and is re-used by nature, so that the resurrection of the flesh is a non sensical idea

  it is the soul that is resurrected. this is supported with pauls first letter

  1 corinthians 'it is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body' and 'we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed'
• contrasting augustine - spiritual resurrection cont

  this indicates the resurrected body will be different to the body that has died

  pauls words could imply there may be some kind of physical aspect, but the soul may be resurrected into a new heavenly body that has no physical aspect on earth

  they could also mean that miraculous change will come over physical bodies so that they become perfect, no longer subject to ageing or decaying

  this raises questions...

  • what age and condition will it be?
  • infancy, missing limbs or organs etc