What was Philosophy? Like with Ethics Philosophy was broken down into 2 units and each unit had a selection of topics. Philosophy 1: Topic 1 – Beliefs about deity Topic 2 – Religious and Spiritual Experience Topic 3 – The End of Life Philosophy 2: Topic 4 – Good and Evil Topic 5 – Reason and Revelation Topic 6 – Religion and Science

As with Ethics you only need to know two from each unit

so in P1 we will look at Topic 1 and Topic 3 and in P2 we will

look at T4 and T6.

Remember – the exam paper asks you to ‘choose 2 from the three topics’ so we just

don’t learn one of them!

Philosophy 1: Topic 3: The End of Life

Always a cheery topic!

What do you need to know?

1.Beliefs about the body and soul 2.Heaven, Hell and Purgatory 3.Salvation, Redemption and Suffering (this is the really hard

bit) 4.God as the Judge

5.Funeral Rites

One of the most important beliefs in Christianity is that there is a life after death. This is central to their teachings because Christianity is built on the idea that Jesus survived death so the rest of us can too! Even more – the belief in life after death is linked to why we should act well in this life (so a nice link with Ethics).

Most people who believe that there is something after this life will appeal to one of the following three examples: 1. Near Death Experiences 2. Ghosts, Apparitions and Spirits 3. Communication with the dead

through a séance or similar medium.

However, Christians believe there is a life after death because it is written in the Bible (and this is the absolute word of God! Christians believe that each person is made of a psychical body but also an immortal soul (sometimes called a ‘spirit’). A soul is the unseen, eternal, non-physical part of a human being.

Why we do have a soul: 1. Jesus conquered death by being

resurrection after he died 2. God made Adam from the dust and

“breathes into his nostrils the breath of life” (Genesis 2:7). Christians use this to show the God gave humans a soul.

3. God made human beings separately to all of the other animals – we are special so God gave humans a soul and not other animals

4. In the Bible it says that humans were made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis) and if God is eternal then humans must be too.

5. There are references in the Bible to Moses, Abraham and Elijah appearing on Earth with Jesus that suggests that you still exist after you die

Why we don’t a soul: 1. You can’t see the soul so it is

impossible to say whether you do or don’t have one – it is easier just to say that you don’t

2. When a person dies there is no physical change to their body – everything that was there is still there, so where is the soul?

3. The Bible never clearly says what a soul is, so it would be impossible to ever know for sure what we are looking for – is it just the body?

4. Modern science shows that the personality and ‘individual-ness’ of each person exists somewhere in the brain – what is the difference between that and the soul?

5. Richard Dawkins believes that the soul is just wish-fulfilment

But why is the soul important for Christians?

This could easily be a 6 mark question!

1. It is what separates humans from animals so give us our morality (use a quotation from Genesis

where God breathed life into Adam) 2. It was breathed into humans by God, so a part of

God is alive in every person (God’s spirit dwells within you)

3. It is what gets judged when we die – link to a belief in heaven and hell

4. It is what gets sent to heaven or to hell for eternal punishment or reward

Due to the fact that Christians believe in a life after death they also believe that our lives continue once we die in a different place. You will be expected to know the three different views (heaven, hell and purgatory) with at least three different bits of information on each one (preparing you for the 6 mark questions). This is a really common area for 12 mark questions to come up on, so be extra double really uber prepared!

Heaven: Heaven is described as a place in the eternal Presence of God with “there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain”. Revelations In Revelation, Heaven is described as having “a rainbow, resembling an emerald” in front of God’s throne and the floor forming “a sea of glass, clear as crystal”. Heaven comes straight from the Bible and even Jesus talks about it in the Lord’s prayer “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name”.

Roman Catholic and Protestant churches teach that the only way to get to heaven is to accept Jesus into your lives and live a

good life.

Other more liberal Christians believe that all can reach heaven if they

follow a moral life.

Hell: Hell is described as a place of extreme torture which is as separated from God as you can get “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42). Hell is considered to be an annihilation of the soul with fire and pain. Hell is often described as being a place for those that live a bad life, but middle age writings such as Dante’s Inferno have made famous the idea that hell is for not being baptised, lustful, gluttonous, hoarders, wrathful, heretics, violent, fraudulent and traitors!

“if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was

thrown into the lake of fire” Revelations

“it is better for you to enter life with

one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell”. Matthew

Many exclusivist Christians believed that if you do not believe in God you will also

go to hell since Jesus did say that only through him can you reach the father!

Purgatory: Purgatory is a purely Roman Catholic teaching which argues that souls that aren’t good enough for heaven but have not committed enough sin will go to be cleansed. Roman Catholics teach that all the souls in Purgatory will eventually go to heaven, it might just take a long time. St Augustine (a famous Christian philosopher) said that "The fire of Purgatory is more terrible than man can suffer in this life." Others see hell as a form of waiting room before heaven.

Beliefs about purgatory are not found in the Bible

– they have been adapted by middle-age

Christian writers!

The rest of the course focuses on what Christians need to do to ensure that they get to go to heaven. This involved some really tricky ideas, but the main point is that Jesus gives us the example to follow to ensure that we can go to heaven. This involves two really key ideas: Salvation: Jesus came to Earth to save people from their sins and achieved this through his sacrifice in dying on the cross Redemption: The idea that sins can be forgiven and a person ‘saved’.

Why did Jesus need to save us?

This is a really important part of Christianity and involves in a bit of Christian history…

1. Christians believe that when God created Adam and Eve He created

them perfectly. 2. In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve were given the instruction not to

eat from the tree in the middle 3. However, when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge they

allowed evil into the world and were marked with Original Sin. 4. This Original Sin was passed from Adam and Eve to all people and by

having this sin people were unable to access heaven. 5. Jesus, who is God on Earth, had led a pure and good life. Jesus was also

the son of God (meaning that he never had Original Sin because he was not from the same family line as Adam).

6. When Jesus died on the cross he cleansed this sin and saved everyone’s relationship with God.

7. Now humans have the ability to go to heaven because Jesus cleaned the slate – but it is still our actions that decide where we go

But why did Jesus have to suffer?

1. The view that people have ‘Original Sin’ because of Adam and Eve and their relationship with God is strained so Jesus had to fix it as a

role model 2. God sent His Son to die in place of human sin so that they could be

forgiven and get Salvation and Redemption showing the important of love “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to

serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). 3. The view that Jesus had to die because he was without sin – it was

God’s way of wiping the slate clean and Jesus was the only one without sin

4. When Jesus died God turned away from him because Jesus sacrifice meant more when he thought he would not be saved “My God, why

have you forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46) 5. Jesus death meant that there was now a way to be redeemed by

Christians understanding and recognising his sacrifice

The whole idea of Salvation and Redemption is one of the trickiest ideas in Christianity. This is largely because not all Christians agree with Original Sin (Roman Catholics and the other Old School Christian denominations do). What you need to be clear on though is that Jesus died to show us how to behave and to give us a way to get to heaven!

No – not this type of redemption!

The final part of the heaven issue is to consider who actually decides if I am good or not. Christians believe that God is the judge and has the final say when it comes to issues of heaven and hell. The Bible is full of references to Judgment (The Apostle’s Creed says that God will judge the ‘living and the dead’ at the end of time and the Book of Revelation (the last book in the Bible) says that there are two books – one containing the names of those who have shown belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus and one with all of their deeds Essentially the message is clear – God will judge me and His judgement is final!

The main teachings about God as judge comes from the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25: 31-46.

Here, Jesus described how God divides people, like a shepherd divides his flock. It

gives key characteristics and ideas about each of the sides (those in heaven and those in hell).

God’s Right Hand (where we get right

hand man from) – these are shown by the sheep

“blessed by my father”

What does the Parable say?

When I was hungry you fed me, When I was thirsty you gave me drink, When I

was naked you clothed me, When I was in prison you came to visit.

Characteristics

Compassionate, kind, loving, helpful, charitable

God’s Left Hand – these are shown by the goats

“Depart from me, you who are cursed, into eternal fire”

What does the Parable say?

When I was hungry you gave me nothing to eat, When I was thirsty you have me

nothing to drink, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was in prison you didn’t

come and see me.

Characteristics

Uncaring, unloving, unhelpful

In really simple terms this means that God will punish those who have led a bad life. However, don’t forget that Christianity is also massively into forgiveness and teaches that if we truly repent we can be forgiven (bring in your equality knowledge here). However, because God is the judge, this encourages them to live morally – they should acknowledge when they sin and ask God for His forgiveness.

How does a belief in life after death change the way a Christian would live their life / affect moral behaviour:

1. Would follow the teachings in the Bible to ensure that

they go to heaven – link to what heaven is and why it is important

2. Would follow the teachings of Jesus and see him as the perfect role model (since Jesus is perfect and he

conquered death it must be possible for me too) 3. Avoid acting badly / being an atheist to ensure that

they don’t go to hell 4. Christians will ask for forgiveness and repent (some

will even go to confession such as the Roman Catholics) in order to get forgiveness from God

Now that Christians know how to behave and why to behave it is important to examine what they do at the very end of life. Like with weddings, you need to know what happens in a Christian funeral and how this reflects Christian beliefs (what is the point in doing it). Although a funeral happens because someone has died, most funerals are designed with other people in mind. Christians believe that funerals help those behind cope with their loss, provide comfort and an opportunity to say goodbye. It is because of this that special ‘rites’ or rules feature in funerals to make sure that they are done in the correct way.

Not this kind of

comfort!

What happens at a Christian funeral?

Bible Readings – This will focus on some passage of the Bible “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he

dies” John 11:25 Prayers – Prayers are said for the friends and family, asking God to

support them in their time of grief. The dead person is entrusted into the care of God.

Eulogy – A talk or speech given to remember the deceased Hymns – Hymns are often sung during the service to celebrate the life

of the deceased and to show hope for a good afterlife Holy Communion – In Catholic funerals mass (bread and wine) is

almost always given Final Committal – This is the last part of the funeral where the

deceased person will be laid into the ground or cremated. The wording of the committal can vary, but the Church of England Version is “We

therefore commit his body to the ground, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life”

How does a Christian funeral reflect Christian beliefs?

1. Bible readings show that they are devoted because they want to follow the teachings of Jesus and the

Bible 2. The Final Committal is linked to Jesus’ resurrection and

the idea that we can also achieve a life after death 3. The Holy Communion is in honour of Jesus and his last

meal with the disciples showing the importance of brining Jesus into the actions

4. During the funeral the body will be sent into God’s care which reflects the importance of God

5. Hymns and Prayers often focus on heaven and wish for the person to achieve a good life after death

How might a funeral support those left behind?

1. The prayers and hymns let the bereaved focus on the dead person going to heaven and receiving eternal grace with

God.

2. The Bible readings chosen speak of a life after death and resurrection – this can comfort the bereaved because they

know the person will live again.

3. The Eulogy gives an opportunity to focus on all the good that the person has done in their life.

4. The funeral will take place in God’s house where they can

bring God into the relationship and hope that God will care and look after them (a nice link to God’s omni-

benevolence).

Part (d) These questions usually focus on the idea of a life after death and on funerals. The last 4 exam papers have asked the following: 1. How may Christian funeral rites reflect beliefs about Life after

Death? 2. Explain how beliefs about life after death could affect a Christian’s

moral behaviour 3. Explain how Christian funerals might support the bereaved

4. Explain the importance of the soul in Christianity

Part (e) These are the hardest questions to anticipate. You need to be really prepared for these and know the information inside out. Remember, the questions will not be nicely linked to our lesson

objectives because the examiner wants to see how you handle the information. The last 4 exam papers have asked the following: 1. “When people die that is the end” Discuss this statement…

2. “We only have on life and it is on Earth” Discuss this statement… 3. “It’s my life so I can do what I want” Discuss this statement…

4. “Heaven can be reached by everyone” Discuss this statement…