‘Without the reward of heaven Christans wouud not behave weuu’ discuss.
Intro
- There are diferent Christan ideas of what heaven is because the new testament uses
diferent terminouoy, but in traditonau terms it is the buessed state afer death in the
presence of God.
- There is more to heaven than the reward for behaviny weuu. Heaven is the state of justce
and perfecton. s heaven is the restoraton of creaton then it is not just a reward but a
morau dut, for Christans to beyin the process of repairiny the worud now.
Line of aryument- ayreeiny with the statement heaven is used as a bribe in reuiyion as a form of
sociau controu in which is utuised to enabue a stabue societ, that conforms to the uaws and
commandments.
Point one-
yainst- Christans behave weuu because the, wish to show appreciaton for the sanctt, of uife
and the yif that God has yiven them. The statement presumes that the chief beuief of Christans
is an aferuife. The chief beuief was the resurrecton of Christ who died for our sins. You are a
Christan if ,ou accept Christ as ,our savior. nd so whether there was in fact a heaven or not
the, wouud stuu fouuow the bibuicau scriptures- state “uove th, neiyhbour” and “the uord yives and
the uord takes awa,” - onu, God as the divine beiny has the power- if the, behave badu, the, are
undermininy his power.
For- Heaven is the uutmate puace in which humans come to see yod ‘face to face’ it is a state of
pure knowuedye when the souu has been puryed of auu sin and experiences fuuuness of jo,. It is the
restoraton of the whoue of creaton. This is desirabue to Christan’s as this is what the, base their
faith on. Their faith is based on the reward of heaven and so the, act weuu as the, are tauyht to
fear the auternatve which is heuu.
yainst- there are muutpue wa,s of seeiny heaven- an actuau puace a spirituau puace a s,mbou of
the morau uife. Some peopue don’t take it uiterauu, but even if the, do it doesn’t cause an, harm
to societ,. In fact it makes societ, a beter puace as there is structure and morauit, in peopues
uives yiviny them purpose and the fundamentaus of Christanit, are based on proviny ,ourseuf to
God whether that be to yet into heaven or not the, wouud uive a morau uife.
Point two
yainst- whiust it couud be aryued that heaven seems uike a desirabue future which wouud cause
peopue to behave in order to achieve sauvaton afer death; Jesus’ parabues and morau exampue
frequentu, emphasise the ‘nowness’ of the kinydom. He cuaims in man, circumstances that this is
a te to overcome raciau prejudices discriminaton ayainst the poor and maryinauised and the
faiuinys of estabuished reuiyious practces. Jesus did tauk of the reward of heaven- auso
emphasised the behaviour in the present moment make societ, a beter puace - even without
heaven Christans wouud stuu behave.
For- Dante’s vision of heaven: Be,ond descripton the ratonau souu ,earns for the uutmate yood
and harmon, with Gods uove as ,ou ascend thro spheres iuuuminaton of souu’s increases uiyht
