Death and the afterlife

• What are the Christian concepts of the Soul?

  - People have souls capable of surviving death

  - Reject the idea of reincarnation

  - After death, life takes the form of resurrection, where one is given a renewed 'spiritual body' to continue journeying into the afterlife
• What examples provide Christians with the idea of resurrection?

  - The Pharisees taught of resurrection while the Sadducees taught of no afterlife

  - Jesus' tomb was empty = resurrection to an eternal life

  - Jesus seen in physical form after death, then ascending into heaven
• What is the symbolism of the story of Jesus and Doubting Thomas

  Jesus did not just return as a ghost, but was physically touched by Thomas in his actual body
• What did St. Paul state in support of Jesus' resurrection (1 Corinthians)?

  "The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable"
• What are central beliefs for Christian of resurrection?


  - Traditionally involves bodily life, being glorified and no longer capable of being corrupted/destroyed

  - Those resurrected are the same person as one who died

  - Life after death is a miracle given by God through his gift and grace
• What is Judgement?


  - Separation of the good and bad
• What is the symbolism of the story of the Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16)?

  "The beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades"

  - Those good in life receive goodness in the afterlife

  - heaven and hell can see each other.
• What is the symbolism of the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25)?

  "He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats."

  - Sheep = Done good - heaven

  - Goats = Not necessarily bad, but failed to do good - hell

  - the goat didn't accept God --> misguided
• How does A. G. Flew question the Christian idea of death and the afterlife?


  If Joe is witnessing his own funeral, who is the 'Joe' witnessing and who is the 'Joe' being buried?
• What is the Protestant idea of heaven?

  - An everlasting existence with God in eternal worship
• What is the Catholic idea of heaven described by Aquinas (1 Corinthians)?


  "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see face to face."

  BEATIFIC VISION: coming face to face with God, living eternally in the presence of God in perfect happiness
• What three elements of the soul does Aquinas identify?


  - Vegetative soul

  - Sensitive soul

  - Rational soul
• What does imago Dei mean?

  Image of God
• Who does heaven house?

  The faithful
• What statements refer to the depiction of heaven (John's Gospel and Revelations)?


  "My Father's house has many rooms"

  "The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass"
• How does Bernard Williams question the Christian idea of heaven?


  Wonders whether an eternity in heaven would be truly desirable, perfection may lead to boredom

  - boredom would occur
• How does Karl Rahner question the Christian idea of heaven?

  Argues our limited earthly lives gives them meaning, but suggests this could support an unlimited afterlife
• What is the Catholic idea of purgatory?

  - Some souls are not in a sufficient state of grace to warrant heaven = require cleansing process

  - Some need for pain or punishment but not eternally in hell

  - Purging sins in this life (confession) with repentance

  - living people on earth can do indulgences to ease the pain of those in purgatory.
• How did Karl Rahner develop the Catholic doctrine of purgatory?


  - The soul becomes aware of the consequences of sin, especially the individuals own sin, before judgement.

  - Pain is more self inflicted due to recognition of wrong doing
• What is the Protestant idea of purgatory?


  Reject purgatory as it is not a biblical concept and does not support Jesus' death on the cross and subsequent salvation
• How does Pope Gregory support the idea of purgatory in the 6th century (Matthew 12)?


  "anyone who speaks a word against the son of Man will be forgiven... either in this age or in the age to come"

  - Viewed this as referring to forgiveness, not only within this life, but the next.
• What are the two main ideas of hell?

  - Separation from God for eternity

  - Place of eternal pain and punishment
• How does David Hume question God's justice?


  A finite sin can never deserve an infinite punishment
• How does John Hick question the idea of hell?

  - Incompatibility with a belief of a God of love, instead this was developed as a form of control

  What would eternal punishment achieve, without a chance of redemption?
• What is St Augustine's idea of limited election?


  God's grace decided who will be elected

  - our election is decided before birth.

  - we are born with sin so needs God's grace to go to heaven.
• What is John Calvin's idea of limited election?

  God predestined whether one was to go to hell or heaven, holding absolute control.
• What quotes imply predestination(Romans, Ephesians, and Institutes of the Christian Religion)?


  "And those he predestined, he also called"

  " Having been predestined according to the plan"

  "Some are predestined to eternal life, others to eternal damnation"
• What is Karl Barth's idea of limited/unlimited election (Church Dogmatics)?


  Jesus brought salvation for the whole world, through Jesus you can be elected
• What is Karl Barth's idea of unlimited election?


  -Universalist idea that God will save all people, and in the afterlife people can develop faith and grow towards making a choice for God.
• How does Cardinal Ratzigner argue against the idea of unlimited election?


  - The view makes Christ's death on the cross pointless, as if all are saved regardless of faith, Jesus just become one of many ways to enter heaven
• How does Dawkins argue against the idea of afterlife?


  - Only sense of humans surviving death is through the memories of them in the living's mind, or through genes and bloodline

  - suggesting it is no physical but spiritual
• How does Bertrand Russell argue against the idea of afterlife?

  Wishful thinking, the world would be better understood without God or an afterlife.
• Gregory of Nyssa argued ? CONSCIENCE


  -judgement and the torture of hell are the result of a guilty conscience when a person is placed in front of Christ.
• Brett Salkeld view on hell


  " hell is the pathetic human reality of trying to overcome sin by self-justification"
• DR W.W.DRYER view on heaven as a spiritual place 


  "state of mind, not a location, where you equalize your spiritual and materal life through the conscious decsion to look for the spirit which is everywhere and in everything"
• Strengths of limited election


  - preserves 2 of God omni-attitudes by removing the power of our freewill.

  - follows analysis of the bible.

  - Augustine preserves God's loving nature by saving some of us.

  - example of this unfairness is present in our world, e.g those with madness or bad luck may be unable to act morally.
• weaknesses of limited election


  - Swinburne, lack of need to behave morally, as one could be punished regardless of being moral.

  - God has diminished omnibenevolent as God punishes some but not others.

  - Bible has suggested we can influence our chance in salvation.

  - Removes the importance of Jesus.
• Strengths of unlimited election


  - Swinburne, able to damn ourselves.

  - Pelagius, we're still free post fall.

  - Jesus salvation works.
• weaknesses of unlimited election


  - God isn't any of the omni-attributes as:

  ~ unable to control human free will.

  ~ gives an infinite punishment for a finite sin.

  - Hell isn't fair, as it is over brutal punishment, especially for those who are punished because they aren't christian or unable to be christian, John Hick.
• strength of universal salvation


  - preserves all the God omni-attributes.

  - it isn't discriminatory for religions.

  - removes hell, a fallacious part of the bible.

  - preserves free will, arguablely, as one is always free to chose, but one will eventually chose God.