This week’s aims To explain and analyse materialism To explain and analyse Christian religious beliefs concerning resurrection and hell

What you need to know: Ideas about body and soul:  Plato  Aristotle  John Hick  Richard Dawkins  (Rene Descartes – disembodied existence) Different views about life after death:  Resurrection  Reincarnation The relationship between the afterlife and the problem of evil

Life and death: key questions Is a ‘person’ a body or a soul/mind? Is there such a thing as a soul/mind? Personal identity How are body and soul/mind connected? Mind/body problem Which part of a person survives death? Is there any evidence of life after death? Life after death

Life and Death, p.73 What is monism? What is dualism? What is materialism?

Key philosophers, p.74 The soul is the real person: ‘The body is the source of endless trouble to us’ The soul gives the body life but it cannot survive death The mind could exist without the body: ‘I think therefore I am’ Resurrection of the body is logically possible: Three scenarios about disappearance / reappearance The feeling of being conscious is produced by processes in the brain

Aristotle Monist Soul = Life of the body Soul dies with the body Different types of soul

Evaluation of Aristotle Arguments for AristotleArguments against Aristotle

Hick Materialist Replica theory – 3 scenarios Bodily resurrection Personal identity

Task – 15 minutes Read p in your booklet  Underline key words and phrases to help you explain and evaluate Hick’s arguments  Make notes / posters / diagrams, etc.

Evaluation of Hick Arguments for HickArguments against Hick

Criticisms of Hick We can only know that a person is definitely the same if there is physical continuity Hick’s strange stories involve disappearing and reappearing which makes it hard to know that the replica really is the same person Even Hick acknowledges that any discussion of the nature of life as a replica is impossible – e.g.  What stage of life is the replica a copy of?  If the original person died from cancer will the replica also suffer from the disease?

Criticisms of Hick Penelhum – to say that the person in the afterlife is the same as the one who died is something we can do but we do not have to. Our ordinary use of the term ‘the same’ does not commit us one way or the other Williams argues that spatio-temporal continuity is the only reliable measure to use. Therefore, resurrection is not logically possible because it involves believing that people can remain the same while crossing the boundaries of time and space Booklets, p.81

Discussion What is resurrection? How does Hick’s replica theory describe resurrection? Being Human clip – Series 3, Ep 3, 52:32

Resurrection What do you know about Christian beliefs concerning life after death?

Resurrection What are the key elements in the story of Jesus’ resurrection? Do Christians believe in physical or spiritual resurrection? Is Christian belief in life after death monist or dualist? According to Christian belief, who will be admitted to heaven?

Biblical Ideas 1 Thessalonians 4:14  “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”  Death is not the end – there is hope Booklets, p.87

Biblical Ideas Luke 24:15-16  “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.”  Jesus is risen from the dead physically, but he is different somehow and his followers have difficulty identifying him

Biblical Ideas 1 Corinthians 15:42-44  “What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body.”  Traditionally Christians believe in resurrection of the body, not just the soul

Christian Belief Death is not the end of human existence but the beginning of a new stage in life The New Testament refers to the afterlife as paradise: a state of continued existence with God Jesus’ resurrection is a sign that death is not the end of life and that God does not abandon people, even when they are dying

Jesus’ Resurrection After his resurrection, Jesus is somehow changed and different Jesus is not described as being a ghost or a vision; he is risen from the dead physically Traditionally, therefore, Christianity believed in the resurrection of the body

Peter Geach Peter Geach argues for belief in bodily resurrection He argues that people are a unity of body and soul For life after death to make sense the soul must be reunited to the body – otherwise the being that survives death would not be recognisable as the same as the being who died

Key ideasStrengthsWeaknesses Literal Protestant Literal Catholic Metaphorical Realist Non-Literal 20 minutes Booklets, p.88-89

Key ideasStrengthsWeaknesses Literal Protestant Battle with devil 1000 year reign of Jesus? Day of Judgment Resurrected bodies will be judged Heaven / Hell Literal Catholic Disembodied existence of soul in heaven, hell or purgatory Day of judgment following purgatory Heaven / Hell Metaphorical Battle = inner war between good and hatred Day of judgment = ongoing Choice between spiritual life and death Realist Non-Literal Real continued existence after death But descriptions are metaphorical, not literal

Past Exam Question ‘Theories of resurrection of the body are logically incoherent.’ Discuss (35) Your last sentence should be either: Therefore theories of resurrection of the body are logically incoherent or: Therefore theories of resurrection of the body are NOT logically incoherent Materialism Hick’s replica theory Literal and metaphorical interpretations Personal identity Bodily continuity Biblical accounts

Heaven and Hell

Hell If we cannot actually show where hell is, does the whole idea of it make any sense? What is hell? Is it a physical place or more of a metaphor? What is hell? Is it a physical place or more of a metaphor?

Hell in the bible 'Gehenna' = a rubbish tip outside Jerusalem where the bodies of criminals were burned Hades = the unseen, the god of the underworld Sheol = the grave. Many righteous people in the bible talk about going to ‘sheol’ when they die, so it doesn’t seem to mean everlasting punishment in hell Tartaroo = imprisonment of fallen angels or demons

Who will go to Hell?

‘As long as I believe in God, I can do whatever I want because he will always forgive me’ Do these arguments indicate that hell is part of God’s justice? Arguments forArguments against

Hell Hell is part of God’s justice People bring punishment on themselves Retributive Justice – punishment for sins Hick – hell suggests God is vindictive Hell offers no possibility of rehabilitation God is loving and forgiving so hell makes no sense Where is it? Leibniz – rejects hell. Good will overcome evil McGrath – Hell no longer a popular view!

‘A loving God would not send people to Hell.’

The Particular Judgment Every person is judged at the moment of death People shape their relationship with God through their own actions:  “Truly I say to you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40) Some people claim they can do whatever they like because God will forgive them no matter what But Christianity also teaches us that God’s justice demands that people make up for their wrongdoing and live good lives

Heaven, hell and the problem of evil Why does God let innocent people suffer?  A possible solution is that God judges people at the end of their life and there will be justice in the afterlife

Homework Log into Moodle and click on A2 Ethics and Philosophy – Homework and Assignments. Look at the eleventh block that says 11: Materialism. Look at / read at least three links. Answer the question on p.90 in your booklet:  Does it make sense to believe in hell?