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Death and after

Death and after. A summary of Christian teaching. OCR GCSE Unit 4 Part 1: Beliefs about life after death. Life continues after death. Humans are sacred because, unlike animals, they are “made in the image of God”. Genesis 1:27 Humans are more than just material bodies.

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Death and after

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  1. Death and after A summary of Christian teaching. OCR GCSE Unit 4 Part 1: Beliefs about life after death

  2. Life continues after death • Humans are sacred because, unlike animals, they are “made in the image of God”. Genesis 1:27 • Humans are more than just material bodies. “God breathed life into the man”. Genesis 2:7 • When the body dies, the spirit lives on. • We have only one earthly life, no reincarnation. • Jesus rose from the dead, and all people will, too.

  3. Creeds: statements of faith • The Apostles’ Creed: (Recited by many Christians in church on Sundays since the earliest centuries of Christianity) “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.”

  4. Creeds: statements of faith • The Nicene Creed: (Written 325 A.D. An alternative to the Apostles’ Creed, recited by many Christians in church on Sundays since the earliest centuries of Christianity) “And I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”

  5. God is a judge Read: The Parable of Judgement, also known as the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, Matthew 25: 31-46. This teaches that people will be judged by how much they have cared for others. Those who neglect others will go to “eternal punishment”. Those who care for others will go to “eternal life”.

  6. God forgives and saves … • God is forgiving. (See the Parable of the Prodigal Son, / the Lost Son: Luke 15: 11-32). • “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 • Jesus, by dying, “took away the sins of the world”, so people can be forgiven for the wrong they have done.

  7. Judgement and the after life Some Christians believe in heaven, hell and purgatory literally as “places”. Others see these as metaphors. So, for example, heaven is the condition of being happy and hell is the condition of being unhappy at being separated from God. All Christians believe in heaven and hell, not all believe in purgatory

  8. Heaven Heaven is the place or condition in which God rules for ever; it’s a reward. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Matthew 5:3 “Rejoice and be glad when people insult you … because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” Matthew 5:12

  9. Hell Hell is the place where sinners are punished or it is the condition of being cut-off from God. “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both body and soul in hell.” Matthew 10:28 Old Testament writers do not describe hell as a place of fire or torture, but more like a place of nothingness, a place where people are abandoned.

  10. Purgatory “But if you speak against the Holy Spirit, you can never be forgiven, either in this life or in the life to come.” Matthew 12: 31  This saying of Jesus indicates that is it possible to be forgiven for sins “in the life to come”, that is, after death.

  11. Purgatory Purgatory is the place or condition in which God “cleanses” those who are not ready for Heaven. “But we must each be careful how we build, because Christ is the only foundation. Whatever we build on that foundation will be tested by fire on the day of judgment.” 1 Corinthians 3:15 “Your faith will be like gold that is tested in the fire.” 1 Peter 1:7

  12. Conclusion. Christians believe that: • There is life above and beyond our physical, animal, existence. • God made people free to choose how they live. Those that choose to live good, caring, lives will be rewarded “in the life to come”. Those that choose not to care about others are choosing a way that will cut them off from God. • Heaven, hell and purgatory may be described as “places” but these can be explained metaphorically. • All will, somehow, eventually, “rise from the dead”.

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