Christian ideas about

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Christian ideas about

• THE
• AFTERLIFE

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Have you ever thought about what happens to a
person after death?

• Answers can be given on a variety of levels
• You could answer in terms of what happens to the
  physical body
• You could talk about whether people have a soul
  as well as a body
• You could refer to a whole variety of religious
  beliefs.most religious people believe that there
  is some form of life after death

What do you believe? Discuss ideas with a friend
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Plato (ancient Greek philosopher who lived in
the 3rd century BC)

• Plato said that people are made up of two parts,
  a body and a soul. This idea is known as dualism.
• He believed that the body is physical and dies
  (mortal) but that the soul survives (immortal)
  and actually existed before birth in a perfect
  realm of forms.
• Plato saw the soul as being trapped in the body.
  He had a negative view of the body as he thought
  that your physical body was subject to physical
  urges (for food, sleep, sex etc.) that tend to
  distract from the higher pursuit of truth.
• Plato went as far as to say that at death a
  person was released from their physical body and
  so their death was, in a sense, the best day of
  their life!

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The Christian view of life after death

• This grew slowly and was influenced by a variety
  of ideas, for example
• Plato
• Jewish ideas (after all, Jesus was a Jew)
• Developing ideas about how behaviour in this life
  may influence life after death
• NB Jewish ideas about life after death at the
  time of Jesus varied. Some believed in life after
  death and some did not.

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Christian beliefs about the afterlife are very
strongly connected to beliefs about the nature
of Jesus, his death and resurrection,
sin,judgement,forgiveness,salvation and
eternal life
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• CREEDS
• Christian beliefs are expressed in the creeds of
  the church.
• A creed is a statement of belief (from the Latin
  Credo I believe).
• The Nicene Creed was created after the Emperor
  Constantine made Christianity the official
  religion of the Roman Empire.
• He called a council of Christian leaders and they
  met at Nicaea in 325 AD.
• In reciting the creed Christians are stating what
  they believe.

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The Nicene Creed

• We believe in one God,
• The Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and
  earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We
  believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son
  of God, Light form Light, true God from true God,
  begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
• Through him all things were made. For us men and
  for our salvation he came down from heaven by
  the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate
  from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
• For our sake he was crucified under Pontius
  Pilate he suffered death and was buried. On the
  third day he rose again in accordance with the
  Scriptures he ascended into heaven and is seated
  at the right hand of the Father.
• He will come again in glory to judge the living
  and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
• We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the
  giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and
  the Son, he is worshipped and glorified.
• He has spoken through the Prophets.
• We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic
  Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the
  forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection
  of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
  Amen.

1. Make a note of any statements that relate to
the afterlife
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Jesus death

• That Jesus suffered, was crucified, died and was
  buried are important elements in the creed.
• In the early church it was a common suggestion
  that Jesus could not have died as he was divine
  (some suggested that Simon of Cyrene who helped
  to carry his cross died in place of Jesus).
• For Christians it is important that Jesus died so
  that peoples sins might be forgiven. All humans
  sin and so are separated from God.
• Jesus death was part of Gods plan for
  reconciling people to him.
• The New Testament teaches that Jesus took on the
  punishment for all the sins of the world on
  behalf of people. This teaching is called the
  Atonement.

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Jesus resurrection

• The resurrection has always been of great
  importance to Christians it is proof that Jesus
  is Messiah and that there is life after death.
• The resurrection is celebrated at the Christian
  festival of Easter, but also every Sunday and at
  every Eucharist.
• For the early Christians the resurrected Jesus
  was a real presence and not a ghost. The gospel
  writers emphasise that Jesus really did die, and
  that he really did come back to life.
• The New Testament recounts various resurrection
  appearances where Jesus eats and drinks with his
  disciples.
• See Luke 241-53 John 201-2125 Matthew 28
  Acts 232 and 36b 1 Corinthians 153-6

Look up these references in a Bible
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Sin

• In the New Testament the word for sin is
  hamartia (Greek) missing the mark.
• It is used to mean missing the standards expected
  by God and so falling away from Gods perfection.
• People who commit sins are called sinners.
• Sins can include things that are not done sins
  of omission.
• The Genesis 3 story of Adam and Eve tells the
  story of the first sin, called the Fall. It
  explains that although God created the world and
  everything in it humans have free will and can
  choose how to behave.
• The idea that all humans are born in a state of
  sin and so are naturally tempted to do wrong is
  called original sin. Christians hold different
  ideas about this.
• In the Bible, sin is something that separates
  people from God. Baptism is one of the ways that
  sin may be washed away and a new life started.

2. Why do you think that belief in original sin
can be a problem for some Christians?
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Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden Genesis
chapter 3
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Judgement

• Both the Old and New Testaments describe God as a
  God of justice.
• Sin is wrong-doing, so God must punish those who
  do wrong.
• Christians believe that this life influences the
  afterlife life after death.
• Christians do not believe in reincarnation. They
  believe that each person only has one life here
  on earth, and how they behave is crucial.
• Believers will go to Heaven to be with God.
• Sinners will be separated from God they will be
  in Hell.
• Roman Catholics believe that there is also a
  state of existence called Purgatory where people
  who deserve some punishment or are not yet ready
  for Heaven will go to be cleansed of their sin
  and made ready to meet God.

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3. What might Christians say about those who have
never heard the Christian message? Is it fair for
them to go to hell?
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• Many Christians believe that there will be an
  actual Judgement Day at the end of time when
  the world as we know it will end.
• The Old Testament book of Daniel (Daniel 713)
  tells of a prophecy where one like a human
  being comes in the sky. It can be translated as
  one like a son of man and as Jesus used this
  phrase of himself many Christians believe that
  Jesus will return (called the Second Coming.)
• The Creeds refer to the return of Christ and the
  Final Judgement.
• There are some Biblical prophecies about the end
  of the world. Some interpret these as a literal
  prediction of what will happen others say that
  they are descriptions in picture language (myth)
  to show belief in Gods kingdom in a final
  triumph over evil.
• In the middle ages many churches had pictures of
  the Last Judgement with people being divided into
  groups to go to Heaven or Hell.

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4. How do you think that seeing a picture like
this may affect a Christian?
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Oil on wood, 60 x 114 cmAlte Pinakothek, Munich
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• In the New Testament, Hell is sometimes called
  Gehenna. This was a reference to the valley of
  Hinnom, a place outside Jerusalem where the
  rubbish was dumped and the fires burnt
  constantly. This provided a vivid metaphor for a
  place of eternal punishment.

Christians strongly believe that how a person
behaves in this life affects their afterlife
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Free will

• The fact that an individual has responsibility
  for her actions implies that humans are all
  created with free will. People may choose to
  follow Christian teachings or reject them but
  they must account for their choices at the Last
  Judgement.
• It seems difficult to reconcile this with the
  idea that God is omnipotent, omniscient and
  omnibenevolent.

How can God be omnipotent and allow evil to
happen?
Why are humans tempted to do evil?
5. What other questions are raised by the concept
of free will?
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Beliefs about angels and the Devil

• Christians believe that Gods creation was
  perfect, and included other unseen worlds as well
  as our physical natural universe.
• Other beings were also created. Angels, or
  messengers of God, have no free will and no
  physical bodies (although they may take on human
  form).

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Virgin and Child with Angels1477-79Galleria
Nazionale dell'Umbria, Perugia
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The Angel Gabriel
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• Devil pics

Bruegel Rebel Angels
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• Many Christians believe that a fallen angel,
  Lucifer, was cast out of heaven but is allowed
  to tempt humans until the Day of Judgement.
• This tempter is also called Satan or the Devil.
• In the gospels, Jesus is tempted in the
  wilderness by the Devil.
• Christians believe that no matter how bad things
  get, good will always be more powerful than evil.
  There is only one God, who is certain to win over
  the forces of evil. The main victory has already
  been won as Jesus was crucified

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Some interpretations Of Lucifer
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Forgiveness

• Christians are taught to pray for forgiveness of
  their sins (The Lords Prayer asks Forgive us
  our trespasses)
• Repentance is needed before forgiveness can
  happen. Repentance means being genuinely sorry
  for the wrong things done it also means trying
  to make amends.
• Jesus taught that those who truly repented would
  be forgiven they could make a fresh start in
  life.
• For some people this new start is like a new
  life. They will feel emotional and as if a huge
  burden has been taken off them.
• As a result of experiencing forgiveness by God,
  Christians are expected to forgive other people.

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• Some Christians find it easier to confess their
  sins in public they may have a part of the
  service in church where there is a general
  confession spoken by the whole congregation,
  followed by absolution in the communion service.
• Others prefer to confess their sins to a priest
  in confidence. In some churches the priest is
  believed to have the power of absolution, acting
  on behalf of God.
• Roman Catholics distinguish between
• Venial sins the failings of everyday life
• Mortal sins serious matters (e.g. murder).
  Mortal sins have to be confessed to a priest.
• Priests are supposed to keep secret the sins told
  to
• them in the confessional and this has been a
  church
• law since 1215.

6. What are the positive and negative aspects of
this?
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Roman Catholic Confessionals
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Salvation

• Jesus Christwho for us men and for our
  salvation came down from heaven. Nicene Creed
• Christians who have experienced forgiveness and
  committed themselves to following Jesus say they
  have been saved.
• The New Testament describes Jesus as the Saviour
  of the World
• Jesus is called the lamb of God who takes away
  the sin of the world (John 129)
• Another title used of Jesus is Redeemer. This
  comes from the idea of buying back and relates
  to the idea that because Jesus took the sins of
  the world upon himself in his death on the cross
  he redeemed mankind he took on the penalty that
  should have been taken by sinners. He did no
  wrong but took the place of sinners.
• This may sound a bit harsh on Jesus! Christians
  explain that because God loves humans it provided
  a solution to the problem of sin.
• (Many ideas here have come from a strong Jewish
  tradition)

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7. See if you can find out why Jesus is described
as the Lamb of God.
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Eternal Life

• Christians believe that if they have been saved
  then they are in a state of grace and their souls
  will go to heaven where they will enjoy eternal
  life. God is eternal and so their relationship
  with God will be eternal.
• Life after death is sometimes described as
  everlasting life because it goes on for ever.
• In Johns gospel eternal life is described not
  just in terms of its length but also the quality
  of life enjoyed. It will be so good and wonderful
  that it is beyond what we can possibly imagine as
  humans. Christians may get a glimpse of this
  eternal life because in some ways heaven and hell
  begin on earth. Johns gospel describes the joy
  at the moment of accepting the Christian faith
  and a new start it is like being born again. So
  for the believer, eternal life starts at that
  moment. This is sometimes called realised
  eschatology.

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Everlasting life for unbelievers

• Unbelievers are said to spend everlasting life in
  hell.
• Christians have different ideas about hell.
• Some take New Testament descriptions of flames,
  weeping and the gnashing of teeth in outer
  darkness literally
• Others say that it is a way of describing how bad
  separation from God will be.

Dantes Inferno
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