Is belief in heaven after death relatively new to Christianity?

by EndofMysteries 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  EndofMysteries

  I was surprised awhile ago when researching about cremation how until maybe 1940's or 1950's even Catholics forbid cremation.

  The reason for no cremation was because they believed in a physical resurrection and cremation was a rejection of physical resurrection.

  It seems nowadays no christians believe in a earthly resurrection, only that they all go to heaven.

  I wonder when this shift happened. If they all believed they were just going to heaven in 100 years ago, why would cremation be forbidden?
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  Crazyguy

  Maybe its a physical resurrection in to heaven, I can not think of any christian religion except jws ever thinking ones will be resurrected on to earth.
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  designs

  EOM- this is the hidden secret of Protestants and Catholics. Officially most denominations teach you end up on earth with Jesus but to hear that at a typical funeral is impossible.
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  Hairtrigger

  LXIII

  Oh threats of hell and hopes of paradise!

  One thing is certain this life flies;

  One thing is certain and the rest is Lies;

  The flower that is once blown forever dies.

  XXXVII

  Ah! fill the cup:- what boots it to repeat

  How Time is slipping underneath our feet:

  Unborn To-morrow, and dead YESTERDAY

  Whyfret about them if To-day be sweet!

  XXXIV

  Then to this earthern Bowl did I adjourn

  My Lip the secret Well of Life to learn:

  And Lip to Lip it murmur'd-"While you live

  Drink!- for once dead you never shall return".

  XXXI

  Upfrom Earth's centre through the Seventh Gate

  I rose, and on the throne ofSaturn sate,

  And many knots inravl'd by the Road

  But not the Knot of Human Death and fate.

  XX

  Ah, my Beloved, fill the Cup that clears

  To-dat of past Regrets and future fears-

  To-morrow? -Why

  , To-morrow i may be

  Myself with yesterday's sev'n Thousand Years.

  XXIII

  Ah, make the most of what we yet may spend,

  Before we too into the Dust descend:

  Dust to Dust, and under Dust ,to lie,

  Sans Wine, sans Song, sans Singer, and-sans End.

  XXV

  Why, all the Saints and sages who discuss'd

  Of the Two Worlds so learnedly, are thrust

  Like foolish Prophets forth; their words to Scorn

  Are scatter'd , and their Mouths are stopt with Dust.

  XXXII

  There was a Door to which I found no Key:

  There was a Veil past which I could not see:

  Some talk awhile of Me and Thee

  There seem'd- and then no more of Thee and me.

  From "The Rubiat Of Omar Khayaam." First edition.
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  InChristAlone

  Christians believe that the soul goes to heaven at death and the physical resurrection occurs in Revelation 20 before judgment. Those that took the word "physical" very literally would be opposed to cremation, although I could only imagine their surprise if they saw a bunch of decayed skeletons rise up. Most see the resurrection body as the one described in 1 Cor. 15, the same type of body Jesus had after his resurrection.
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  Dogpatch

  It was not an orthodox (Pharisees) doctrine. It was one of the FEW doctrines Jesus altered from Phariseeism.

  Jewish "orthodoxy" began incorporating Greek, Zoroastrian and Babylonian fantasies 4-600 years before the time of Christ. Every once in awhile, when you believe in fantasies, you must update them to be slightly credible. Jesus was taught by the Pharisees, and 90% of what he taught was exactly their doctrine! The Rich Man and Lazarus was a simple Jewish story to illustrate an event in a timeline of a belief they cherished, unlike the Sadducees or Essenes.

  Tartarus, the Lake of Fire, Gehenna, burning hell, forever, life in heaven . .. these were all borrowed from earler pagan religions and modified or discarded during the 300-year process which the Catholics and Greek Oerthodox took in arguing what to put in the "Bible" or not. They settled on 66 "books," which in the NT were not books at all... mostly letters. Was it obvious which to include or exclude?

  NO, that's why they took 300 years for the few clerics to argue it! Like Wednesday GB meetings in the days of the old GB. Half were asleep, the others dreaming or power-mongering. ! Basically it ended up which wrings had the most backup from other sources or eye-witnesses, and we all know how accurate that can be, especially from 2000+ years ago. Hey, 50 years is enough to many cultures to erase the history of the Holocaust from their textbooks! (usually Muslims).

  The tribal Jews never believed ANY of that... except that Sheol was a holding tank for the dead's SOULS - REPHAIM. (bodies were in the grave and non-cognizant.) EVERYONE went to Sheol at death... though some rabbis argued there were several levels there depending on how righteous or dispicable you were.)

  It was like making a Governing Body decision on doctrine (like blood transfusion, etc.) , only much more scholastically argued. By REAL scholars, and they were pretty good (but biased).

  Pie-in-the-sky theology is always changing to match the times and culture. :-)) That will never change.

  As an example, American Protestant theology is MUCH DIFFERENT that German theology. Read:

  Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament, 10 Volumes

  The orthodox Jews in Jesus' day believed in a glorified earth upon resurrection. See http://freeminds.org/doctrine/hellcomp.htm If he didn't and they didn't, his words have no power or do not engender fear, but would bring forth laughter or anger. Elsewhere in the Talmud this is discussed at length.

  Randy
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  John_Mann

  Mainstream christians believe in a physical ressurection when the souls will be reunited with the flesh to the last judgment in the last day.

  After that they bodies will be modified to be imperishable and they will go to heaven or hell with the glorified body, as Jesus did.

  They quote a verse from Job that says something like "these very eyes and not others will see the judgment".

  They believe the very same dust from your deceased body will came back to life.

  It's a vestiginal egyptian belief that survived in christianism.

  WT misuses some texts about the flesh ressurection.
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  Ding

  Randy Alcorn's book Heaven and Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology are examples of Protestant teaching that believes in a bodily resurrection and life on earth in paradise. Life in spirit form in heaven is considered to be the intermediate state between death and the resurrection... (2 Corinthians 5:8: away from the body, present with the Lord... Matthew 8:11.. at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven...)

  They both take the position that Revelation 21 indicates that in the end, God will dwell with his people on earth; at that time, the distinction between heaven and earth will be abolished.
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  John_Mann

  There's no such thing as life on a paradise earth in the bible.

  The bible says the earth will be burned.

  And another one will be created in a glorified form.
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  Laika

  John, the bible also references a 'new earth'

  Eom, the belief in a corporeal, earthly resurrection is probably a minority view within worldwide christianity, but it's still a common belief and not an insignificant minority. Bishop NT Wright is probably the highest profile advocate of this hope, but far from the only one.