Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

b-hebrew - Re: [b-hebrew] hell

b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>
  • To: Rolf Furuli <furuli AT online.no>
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] hell
  • Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2006 10:11:58 +0000

On 18/03/2006 02:27, Rolf Furuli wrote:
... The words of Daniel 12:13 express in a clear way the view by the writer of that book: NIV says: "You will rest, and then at the end of the days you will rise to receive your alloted inheritance." The hope is not connected with an intrinsic immortality, but with God`s ability and desire to give life to a dead person, i.e., to resurrect or recreate that person. In fact, the view that every man has an immortal soul (intrinsic immortality) and the view of a resurrection of the dead are mutually exclusive concepts. A person needs not be given life (immortality) if that person already possesses life (immortality).

I see your point, Rolf. But there is in fact no inconsistency between the view that the *soul* is intrinsically immortal and the teaching that God will resurrect the *body*. While I would not claim that this is the teaching of the Tanakh (although it is not inconsistent with Daniel 12:13, Hosea 13:14 etc), this seems to have been the New Testament view and the majority view of Christians since that time; I think it was also a common view in Jewish writings of the Second Temple period and later. I am not trying to argue here that this is correct, only that it is a logically consistent position. The implication is that what intrinsically survives death is a disembodied soul, in some kind of intermediate state (perhaps this is the bleak world of "Sheol"; according to some it is an unconscious state of "soul sleep"), and that at the end of time God will provide this disembodied soul with a new body.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page