The Nature of Life after Death.
Believing in Life after Death appears to be common in all human societies. Dating back to the ancient times, the view that life after death is a life without bodies is still present. This view is largely associated with Dualism; this is something that largely influenced Christianity. Dualism is the belief that the human being consists of two identities, the ‘physical self’ and the ‘spiritual self’. The physical self is the body and spiritual self is the soul and lives on after the body dies. There are two main types of disembodied life after death. These are; life after death as a disembodied spirit that keeps its human identity e.g. ghosts, and life after death as a disembodied spirit that loses its human identity e.g. becoming one with nature. Thomas Aquinas has stated how the soul can exist separately from the body as a’ spiritual substance’, this is objecting to any dualistic views, is the soul ‘the real you’? The catholic teaching of the beatific vision put forward by Thomas Aquinas appears to suggest that blessed souls receive an understanding of the mind of God.
Due to its focus on the resurrection of Jesus, Christianity has always placed a lot of emphasis on life after death. Christian beliefs about the afterlife vary between denominations and individual Christians, but the vast majority of Christians believe in some kind of heaven. Heaven is a place God has created to give righteous people everlasting reward and happiness with no suffering or disenjoyment after they die based on judgement. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. ‘’Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. ” From Hebrews 11:15, this quotes tells us how the afterlife of righteous humans is eternal in God’s eyes therefore Christians look forward to their resurrected life.
As pointed out, Christians believe that those who are saved by God are rewarded with a...
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