Linked Questions

5 votes
4 answers
463 views

What is an overview of Christian viewpoints on what happens to humans after death?

My (rather superficial) understanding is that most Christians would agree that human beings are composed of body, spirit and soul. Now, I'm aware that the terms "soul" and "spirit" ...
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5 votes
1 answer
302 views

What did the Apostolic and ante-Nicene Fathers believe about Sheol/Hades?

What did the Apostolic and ante-Nicene Fathers believe about Sheol / Hades? Did they believe that it was a real supernatural place that houses the spirits of the dead? Did they believe that it was a ...
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3 votes
4 answers
336 views

How do Christians who believe that the saints enter a blissful state as soon as they die explain David, Isaiah & Job's pessimistic outlook on death?

I'm specifically talking about the following passages: David “What profit is there in my death, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it tell of your faithfulness? [Psalm 30:9 ESV] ...
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5 votes
2 answers
299 views

According to soul sleep adherents, why would God allow people to be massively misled by the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31)?

My question is NOT about how soul sleep advocates interpret Luke 16:19-31 -- that's an exegetical question that has already been asked elsewhere. Rather, my question is about understanding, from the ...
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3 votes
2 answers
258 views

What did the Early Church (ante-Nicene period) believe about Gehenna and the Second Death?

Gehenna according to Strong's Concordance geenna: Gehenna, a valley W. and South of Jer., also a symbolic name for the final place of punishment of the ungodly Original Word: γέεννα, ης, ἡ Part of ...
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5 votes
2 answers
260 views

What is an overview of Christian viewpoints on the afterlife of aborted babies?

What does the afterlife look like for an aborted baby? What happens to their consciousness (if any)? What happens to their spirit/soul? Since these are presumably controversial questions, I'm ...
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1 vote
1 answer
248 views

According to believers in the deity of Christ, is the historical evidence for this belief as strong as the historial evidence for the Biblical canon?

I ask this question as a follow-up to For Christians who are skeptical of the writings of the Apostolic & Ante-Nicene Fathers, what is their epistemological basis for trusting a canon?. I highly ...
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6 votes
1 answer
246 views

What is the biblical & patristic basis for the belief that the saints go to Heaven instead of Sheol after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus?

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words: (source) The above link already makes some good arguments, but considering that the linked site could go down for unexpected reasons and that other ...
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3 votes
3 answers
185 views

What is an overview of Christian beliefs on the current state and location of Old Testament saints?

Where and how are the Old Testament saints right now? Here are some possibilities (not exhaustive by any means): They are temporarily in a state of non-existence. They do exist (where?), but are ...
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0 votes
1 answer
91 views

What if God instantaneously moves people from one time to another? [closed]

If God exists outside of time and space, he isn't bound by their physical laws. In particular, he may be able to ignore the flow of time, experiencing different places and times in non-sequential ...
2 votes
0 answers
104 views

What is the view of soul sleep adherents on statements from the Apostolic and ante-Nicene Fathers that seem to support post-mortal consciousness?

Inspired by the answers I received to my previous question What did the Apostolic Fathers believe regarding the state of the dead and the afterlife?, I'm very curious about what proponents of Soul ...
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1 vote
1 answer
75 views

How do proponents of an intermediate state reconcile 1 Peter 3:18-20 ("spirits in prison") and Luke 23:43 ("today in paradise")?

According to believers in an intermediate state between death and the resurrection: Did Jesus go to a paradise in Sheol while he was dead (see Bosom of Abraham)? And he said to him, “Truly, I say to ...
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0 votes
1 answer
65 views

What were the early church fathers' views on the authority of the early church fathers?

Quite often we get questions about what the early church fathers (a surprisingly vast range of time, from 100-800) opinions were on some matter. Implicitly, there is sometimes an argument that the ...