Notes on Death and the Afterlife in accordance with the OCR Religious Studies specification. The notes provide information, scholars, ideas and quotes compiled from various resources from both within and outside of the curriculum.
Physical Place
Heaven
‘it is sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body.’ 1 Corinthians 15
‘we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven not built by human
hands.’ 2 Corinthians 5
- empty tomb tradition asserted by Augustine as Jesus’ resurrection was
physical which represented hope of physical resurrection for all Christians
‘flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God’ St Paul
- idea of New Earth is physical as it is Earth returning to the state of the Garden
of Eden after final judgement. ‘on Earth as it is in Heaven’ Sermon on the
Mount
- the poor man ‘died and was carried away by the angels’
Hell
- importance of physical suffering and torture, ‘weeping and gnashing of
teeth’ Matthew 22:13
- the rich man is tortured n Hades
Strengths
1. ‘with God all things are possible’
2. ‘man does not have a body he is a body’ Robinson
Weaknesses
1. our earthly bodies are associated with sin and ugliness
2. our body rots and the ‘cannibal problem’
3. Penitent Thief potentially undermines the concept of new earth as Jesus tells
the thief he will be in paradise on that day. (however, translation is important
and may have alter his meaning. also, Jesus says he had not ascended to God
yet when he is resurrected
4. the idea of the ‘New Earth’ is undermined by lack of scientific evidence or
logic
Spiritual State
Heaven
- Aquinas asserts it as spiritual bliss in union with God
- spiritual resurrection is symbolised by the resurrection rather than physical
as Jesus’ body takes on a non-physical form as he could disappear at will. This
is asserted by Docetism who deny Jesus’ physical form as Platonic thought
associated physicality with imperfection
- the Beatific Vision in Roman Catholic theology
Hell
- separation from God
- ‘psychological alienation.’ Tillich
Purgatory
- the soul being purified before entering heaven.
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