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The Sadducees in ancient Israel rejected the very idea of there being an afterlife. They claimed that the punishment and curses as well as the blessings and rewards described throughout the Bible are earthly.

Many Jewish held beliefs carry over into Christianity, but are there any Christian denominations that believe this?

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  • @Jesse For clarification, is it fair to say that by "afterlife" you mean any conscious existence after death? I ask, due to the differences in definitions of "afterlife"--some take it to be a disembodied existence after death; others consider "resurrection" to not be afterlife, but a continuation of this life, etc... So to avoid unnecessary hair splitting, is there a specific definition you're after?
    – Flimzy
    Commented Nov 20, 2017 at 11:02
  • Merriam-Webster defines "Christian" as: "one who professes belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ." This is difficult, however, because different denominations accept different teachings of Christ and interpret them differently. As a Catholic, one might hold that he who does not accept the Eucharist is not following Christ's teachings from John Ch. 6 and is therefore not Christian. But it seems that the converse is also true - a protestant might say a catholic is wrong about the Eucharist, therefore not following the teaching. So it depends on how you define "Christian." cont.
    – J. Tate
    Commented Dec 11, 2017 at 17:52
  • I like the simple definition of one who believes in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who was both fully human and fully divine. Then any squabbling about other teachings separates out denomination vs. denomination, not Christian vs. non-Christian. In any case, you must define Christian before you examine a denomination that claims to be Christian and does not believe in an afterlife, as you say.
    – J. Tate
    Commented Dec 11, 2017 at 17:52
  • Christ is risen, He is risen indeed.
    – user38924
    Commented Dec 11, 2017 at 21:20
  • Keep in mind that the Bible describes life after death quite a bit, so they would need a way to explain those.
    – Christopher King
    Commented Jan 30, 2018 at 23:58

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I would have to say no.

Now, I'm not an expert on ABSOLUTELY EVERY denomination, but I have never heard of a denomination that denies the existence of consciousness after death.

Note that there may be small groups that are nondemoninational, who have unconventional beliefs. Seeing that nondemoninational is such a general term, we can't really give an answer, seeing that a small church in somewhere might believe that.

But to my knowledge, there are no other denominations (other than nondemoninational, as stated) that deny the existence of an afterlife, though the idea of the afterlife might be morphed a bit across denominations.

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  • Given that there is such a thing as Christian Atheism I think it's safe to say there are some Christians who don't believe in an afterlife.
    – DJClayworth
    Commented Mar 1, 2018 at 14:31
  • @DJClayworth Thank you for this comment. I did not know of the existence of Christian Atheists (I thought they were just Christian evolutionists). Now I do. But I do consider them not to be another denomination, but a seperate belief, that has come from Christianity. Like Jehovah witnesses or mormons or roman catholics. I believe that denominations are alike to the difference between baptists and pentecostals. But then again, that may just be where I personally define denomination vs. belief. Again, thanks for the comment.
    – GreenHawk1220
    Commented Mar 2, 2018 at 18:02

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