Christian faith implies the expectation of eternal life. We should not imagine this life in detail, however, there are some important aspects: (1) Eternal life is participation in God's life, because 'eternity' is a divine predicate. Such a participation is possible because we participate in the unique divine history culminating in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Vice versa, the concept of eternity must include unique stories. God's eternal life is not timeless, but the fulfilment of time, revealing and encompassing the truth of our stories. Vice versa, we can experience eternity ante mortem in the life of faith. Such experiences modify our concept of time, which is more than the one-dimensional direction of our life towards our death. Death may then become transparent as confrontation with the Creator. (2) Participation in God's eternal life must not be confused with the image of an immortal soul. The concept of the soul, however, is linked to the concept of personal identity, which is more than a mere physical phenomenon. In the perspective of the Christian faith, this 'more' has nothing to do with any immanent quality of the soul, rather it is implied in God's relation to the person. On the other hand, this relation cannot be stripped of any physical realization. This is the background for the expectation of the resurrection of the body, including all the personal relations that have been essential for my personal identity, my unique story. There will be a newly created body as result of all the personal relations that become transparent for God's eternal life. The concept 'body' must then be distinguished carefully from the concept 'corpse'. This distinction is suggested by the narratives of Christ's presence after the resurrection and Paul's discussion in 1 Cor 15. The newly created body will be the result of God's powerful action that makes the unique life transparent and conforms it to divine love. This implies the ultimate crisis for all the personal relations that have resisted this love, it also implies an eternal story 'between' the individual encounter with God post mortem and the universal resurrection.
Personen: Maurer, Ernstpeter
Maurer, Ernstpeter:
Glaube und Lernen: "Ewiges Leben" / Ernstpeter Maurer. - 25, 2010. - S.3-13
Einheitssacht.: Ewiges Leben