Between Death and Resurrection: A Critical Response to Recent Catholic Debate Concerning the Intermediate State

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Christians look with hope to the resurrection of the dead and the restoration of all things. But what of those who have already died Do they also await these things, or have they in some sense already happened for them Within the Catholic theological community, this question has traditionally been answered in terms of the disembodied souls of human beings awaiting bodily resurrection. Since the 1960s, Catholic theologians have proposed two alternatives: resurrection at death into the Last Day and the consummation of all things, or resurrection in death into an interim state in which the embodied dead await, with us, the final consummation of all things. This book critically examines the Scriptural, philosophical and theological reasons for these alternatives and, on the basis of this analysis, offers an account of the traditional schema which makes clear that in spite of these challenges it remains the preferable option.

Reviews

This splendid study is an admirably fair, thorough, and comprehensive account of its crucial if unfashionable subject-matter, and a vindication of the role of a lucid rationality in the service of orthodoxy. * Aidan Nichols O.P., Blackfriars, Cambridge, UK *
Stephen Yates begins this book by providing a clear account of theological views concerning life after death that are opposed to traditional Roman Catholic thinking. He ends the book by making a very good case for the cogency of the traditional position. Between beginning and ending the book he makes clear why the traditional account accords with both Scripture and common sense. So the book as a whole is a fine discussion of a difficult topic, one to which all theologians concerned with its subject matter should pay attention. * Brian Davies, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Fordham University, USA *

Author Bio

Stephen Yates is Programme Director for Catholic Applied Theology at the Maryvale Institute, UK.