Welcome to Insight: Human Nature, Death, and the Afterlife
Welcome to your study notes for OCR AS Level Religious Studies (H173/03: Developments in Christian Thought). In this unit, we explore two big, foundational questions that have shaped Christian thinking for centuries: What does it mean to be human? and What happens to us when we die?
Don't worry if these theological debates seem tricky or heavy at first! We will break down every concept step-by-step using everyday analogies, simple definitions, and clear summaries so you can walk into your exam with total confidence.
Topic 1: Augustine's Teaching on Human Nature
1. Who Was St. Augustine and Why Does Context Matter?
St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE) is one of the most influential theologians in Western Christianity. To understand his ideas, we need to understand what he was arguing against:
• Manichaeism: A dualist belief system Augustine followed in his youth, which taught that the universe is locked in a battle between good and evil, and that the physical human body is inherently evil.
• Pelagianism: A movement led by the monk Pelagius, who taught that humans possess complete free will, can achieve moral perfection by their own effort, and do not need special divine grace to avoid sin. Pelagius argued that Adam's sin was merely a bad example, not an inherited condition.
Augustine rejected both views. He argued that God created human nature as good, but that humanity became deeply damaged through the historical Fall of Adam and Eve.
2. Human Nature Before the Fall (The Prelapsarian State)
Prelapsarian simply means "before the Fall" (from Latin: pre = before, lapsus = fall/slip).
• Created in God's Image: Humans were made in the image and likeness of God (imago Dei) with free choice of the will (liberum arbitrium).
• Harmony and Friendship (Concordia): In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve lived in a state of easy, unforced, rational friendship and fellowship called concordia. There was total harmony between mind, body, emotions, and God.
• Controlled Desires: In Eden, physical relations and bodily appetites were completely governed by reason and rational will, without uncontrolled passion or lust.
3. The Fall and Original Sin (The Postlapsarian State)
Postlapsarian means "after the Fall". Augustine taught that Adam and Eve's choice to eat the forbidden fruit fundamentally broke human nature.
• The Root Cause: Pride (Superbia): The primary reason for the Fall was pride — the selfish desire of humans to be like God and set their own moral standards.
• The Division of Love:
– Caritas: Generous, outward-looking love directed towards God and neighbour.
– Cupiditas: Selfish, inward-looking desire directed towards earthly, temporary things.
After the Fall, Cupiditas took over and subordinated Caritas.
• Concupiscence (Concupiscentia): This refers to the uncontrollable longing, lust, and bodily cravings that now overwhelm human reason. Augustine saw sexual lust as the clearest sign that humans can no longer control their own physical desires.
• The Divided Will (Weakness of Will / Akrasia): Humans still have a will, but it is damaged and divided. Even when we know what is right, we choose what is wrong. Augustine illustrated this in his autobiography, the Confessions, when recalling how he stole pears from an orchard not because he was hungry, but simply for the thrill of doing evil. He also pointed to St. Paul's words in Romans 7:19: "For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing."
Analogy Time: Imagine your mind is a driver steering a car. In Eden, the steering wheel worked perfectly. After the Fall, the steering wheel broke; it now pulls constantly to one side (selfishness/lust), making it impossible to drive in a straight line without outside help.
4. How is Original Sin Transmitted?
Augustine taught that original sin is not just a bad habit we copy; it is a hereditary spiritual disease passed down to every single human being:
• Seminally Present in Adam: Augustine argued that all of humanity was "seminally present in the loins of Adam". Because we were physically inside Adam when he sinned, we all share in his guilt (reatus) and corruption (vitium).
• A Mass of Sin (Massa Peccati): Humanity has become a single, corrupted "lump" or "mass of sin". We are born into a state where we are "not able not to sin" (non posse non peccare).
• Transmission via Conception: Because every human is conceived through sexual intercourse accompanied by concupiscence, original sin is automatically inherited at the moment of conception.
5. Salvation and Divine Grace (Gratia)
Because human nature is completely corrupted, Augustine insisted that we cannot save ourselves through good deeds or reason alone:
• Grace Alone (Sola Gratia): Salvation is entirely an unearned, unmerited gift of God's grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
• Baptism: Baptism washes away the inherited guilt of original sin, although concupiscence (the inclination to sin) still remains in the believer.
• Predestination and Election: Because no one deserves salvation, God, in His absolute sovereignty and mercy, chooses (predestines) certain individuals for salvation entirely out of grace, not because of any merit they possess.
6. Evaluating Augustine (AO2 Analysis & Counter-Views)
When writing essays, you must balance Augustine's view with other perspectives:
• Pelagius: Humans have full free will and moral autonomy. God would not give commandments that are impossible to keep. Sin is an imitation of bad examples, not an inherited disease.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Argued that humans are naturally good and born free ("Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains"), but are corrupted by society and unjust institutions.
• Thomas Hobbes: Agreed that human nature is naturally selfish and destructive ("solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short"), but argued this requires strong political authority (a sovereign state) to create order, rather than theological grace.
• Richard Dawkins & Evolutionary Biology: Rejects the literal Fall and original sin as biologically absurd and morally offensive. Selfish behaviours evolved through natural selection as survival mechanisms, not because an ancient ancestor ate a fruit.
• Steven Pinker: Challenges theological dogmas about inherent corruption using modern evolutionary psychology and the critique of the "blank slate" (tabula rasa).
Quick Review: Key Terms for Augustine
• Concordia: Pure, harmonious friendship in Eden.
• Superbia: Pride (the root of the Fall).
• Caritas vs. Cupiditas: Godly, selfless love vs. selfish, earthly lust.
• Concupiscence: Overpowering bodily lust and desire.
• Massa Peccati: Humanity as a single, corrupted "mass of sin".
• Sola Gratia: Salvation by grace alone.
Common Mistake to Avoid
Examiners frequently note that students claim Augustine believed humans have NO free will. Augustine believed we DO have free choice (liberum arbitrium), but our will is damaged, enslaved to sin, and powerless to choose God without divine grace!
Topic 2: Death and the Afterlife
1. Christian Eschatology and Biblical Foundations
Eschatology comes from the Greek word eschatos, meaning "last things" (death, judgement, heaven, hell). Christian ideas about the afterlife rest on several core biblical teachings:
• The Resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15): Jesus' physical and spiritual resurrection is the guarantee and blueprint for the resurrection of all believers.
• Physical Body vs. Spiritual Body: In 1 Corinthians 15, St. Paul explains that our earthly, mortal physical body (soma psychikon) will be transformed at the resurrection into an immortal, glorified spiritual body (soma pneumatikon).
• The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31–46): Depicts the Final Judgement where Christ separates humanity based on practical acts of love, charity, and compassion shown to the needy.
• The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31): Shows an immediate, conscious transition to reward or torment right after death.
2. Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory
A. Heaven
• The Beatific Vision: In traditional Christian thought, especially formulated by Thomas Aquinas, heaven is not just a nice place in the clouds; it is the visio beatifica (Beatific Vision) — the eternal, timeless, direct vision and communion with God as He truly is.
B. Hell
• Traditional View: A literal place of eternal physical and spiritual punishment, torment, and eternal separation from God.
• Modern / Psychological View: Hell is understood not as a literal torture chamber, but as a state of self-chosen alienation from God's love (the suffering of being trapped in one's own selfishness). Some thinkers suggest annihilationism / conditional immortality, where unrepentant souls simply cease to exist rather than suffer eternally.
C. Purgatory
• Catholic Doctrine: A temporary state of cleansing and purification after death. It is strictly for souls who die in God's grace and friendship, but who are still imperfectly purified before they can enter the presence of God (supported by 2 Maccabees 12:46, 1 Corinthians 3:15, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC 1030–1032]).
• John Hick's Developmental Model: John Hick offered a modern philosophical view of purgatory as an extension of his "vale of soul-making" theodicy. For Hick, purgatory is a universal process of continued person-making, healing, and spiritual growth after death, allowing everyone eventually to reach God.
Examiner Warning on Purgatory
Do not confuse Roman Catholic Purgatory with John Hick's model! In Catholic theology, Purgatory is ONLY for souls already guaranteed to enter Heaven who need final cleansing. It is not a place where non-believers get a second chance to switch destinations.
3. Judgement and Election
A. When Does Judgement Happen?
• Particular Judgement: The individual judgement of a person's soul immediately upon death (as suggested in the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man).
• General / Final Judgement (Parousia): The corporate, universal judgement of all humanity at the second coming of Christ.
B. How are People Chosen? (The Three Views of Election)
1. Limited Election (Particularism / Augustine / Calvinism):
• God, in His absolute sovereignty, has chosen only a specific, limited number of people (the elect) for salvation.
• Single Predestination: God actively chooses the elect to be saved, while leaving the rest to their deserved punishment.
• Double Predestination (associated with John Calvin): God actively and eternally decrees who is saved (the elect) and who is damned (the reprobate).
2. Unlimited Election (Arminianism / Karl Barth):
• God desires all people to be saved. Christ died for all humanity, but the gift of salvation is effective only for those who choose to respond in faith.
• Karl Barth's Christocentric View: Barth argued that Jesus Christ is both the electing God and the elected human. In Christ, God elected to take humanity's rejection onto Himself, opening election up to all humanity.
3. Universalism (Apokatastasis):
• The belief that ultimately all human beings (and all of creation) will be reconciled to God and saved.
• Defended by early Christian thinkers like Origen and modern theologians like John Hick.
• Core Argument: An omnibenevolent (all-loving) and omnipotent (all-powerful) God would never allow any of His creatures to suffer eternal damnation or fail to be saved.
Memory Trick for the 3 Types of Election (L-U-U)
• Limited: Only a few chosen by God (Augustine / Calvin).
• Unlimited: Offered to all through Christ; faith is required (Barth / Arminianism).
• Universalism: Everyone will eventually be saved because God is love (Origen / Hick).
Key Takeaways & Exam Checklist
• Augustine: Humans began in harmony (concordia), fell through pride (superbia), and are now a broken mass of sin (massa peccati) driven by lust (concupiscentia), able to be saved only by grace (sola gratia).
• Death & Afterlife: Christian hope relies on Christ's resurrection (1 Cor 15). Heaven is the Beatific Vision; Hell is separation from God; Purgatory is purification (Catholicism) or continued spiritual growth (Hick).
• Election: Limited (Calvin), Unlimited (Barth), or Universal (Hick/Origen).
• Exam Tip for AO2: Always link secular critics (Hobbes, Rousseau, Dawkins) directly back to Christian theology. Explain how their views challenge the doctrines of the Fall, original sin, and the necessity of divine grace!