Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife
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- Create Date：2021-11-30 09:51:44
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- Author：Bart D. Ehrman
- ISBN：0861541200
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Summary
A New York Times bestselling historian of early Christianity takes on two of the most gripping questions of human existence: where did the ideas of heaven and hell come from， and why do they endure？
What happens when we die？ A recent Pew Research poll showed that 72% of Americans believe in a literal heaven， 58% in a literal hell。 Most people who hold these beliefs are Christian and assume they are the age-old teachings of the Bible。 But eternal rewards and punishments are found nowhere in the Old Testament and are not what Jesus or his disciples taught。
So where did the ideas come from？
In clear and compelling terms， Bart Ehrman recounts the long history of the afterlife， ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh up to the writings of Augustine， focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers。 He discusses ancient guided tours of heaven and hell， in which a living person observes the sublime blessings of heaven for those who are saved and the horrifying torments of hell for the damned。 Some of these accounts take the form of near death experiences， the oldest on record， with intriguing similarities to those reported today。
One of Ehrman’s startling conclusions is that there never was a single Greek， Jewish， or Christian understanding of the afterlife， but numerous competing views。 Moreover， these views did not come from nowhere; they were intimately connected with the social， cultural， and historical worlds out of which they emerged。 Only later， in the early Christian centuries， did they develop into the notions of eternal bliss or damnation widely accepted today。
As a historian， Ehrman obviously cannot provide a definitive answer to the question of what happens after death。 In Heaven and Hell， he does the next best thing: by helping us reflect on where our ideas of the afterlife come from， he assures us that even if there may be something to hope for when we die， there is certainly nothing to fear。
What happens when we die？ A recent Pew Research poll showed that 72% of Americans believe in a literal heaven， 58% in a literal hell。 Most people who hold these beliefs are Christian and assume they are the age-old teachings of the Bible。 But eternal rewards and punishments are found nowhere in the Old Testament and are not what Jesus or his disciples taught。
So where did the ideas come from？
In clear and compelling terms， Bart Ehrman recounts the long history of the afterlife， ranging from The Epic of Gilgamesh up to the writings of Augustine， focusing especially on the teachings of Jesus and his early followers。 He discusses ancient guided tours of heaven and hell， in which a living person observes the sublime blessings of heaven for those who are saved and the horrifying torments of hell for the damned。 Some of these accounts take the form of near death experiences， the oldest on record， with intriguing similarities to those reported today。
One of Ehrman’s startling conclusions is that there never was a single Greek， Jewish， or Christian understanding of the afterlife， but numerous competing views。 Moreover， these views did not come from nowhere; they were intimately connected with the social， cultural， and historical worlds out of which they emerged。 Only later， in the early Christian centuries， did they develop into the notions of eternal bliss or damnation widely accepted today。
As a historian， Ehrman obviously cannot provide a definitive answer to the question of what happens after death。 In Heaven and Hell， he does the next best thing: by helping us reflect on where our ideas of the afterlife come from， he assures us that even if there may be something to hope for when we die， there is certainly nothing to fear。
Reviews
Bill Shelton
，
Exhaustively researched and engagingly discussed。 If you want to be taken through everything ever written， said， or thought about afterlife， this is your treatise。
William
，
Very revealing story about how humans created heaven and hell。
Gary Brumagin
，
Professor Ehrman knocked it out of the park with this one。 Quite a bit of new material for me， and certainly presented in an easy to digest， follow， and understand format。 This is for the lay person such as me， but has enough resources listed that further study could follow if desired。Having read Ehrman before， I expected plenty of end notes explaining statements and providing sources for what he says， and in nearly all cases， I found little to quibble with。 I have had to re-read some things are Professor Ehrman knocked it out of the park with this one。 Quite a bit of new material for me， and certainly presented in an easy to digest， follow， and understand format。 This is for the lay person such as me， but has enough resources listed that further study could follow if desired。Having read Ehrman before， I expected plenty of end notes explaining statements and providing sources for what he says， and in nearly all cases， I found little to quibble with。 I have had to re-read some things are few times even to get the meaning， but this is not to be unexpected when dealing with such a convoluted subject。 We have to be able to get past our own preconceptions while reading this book to understand some of the viewpoints being discussed， even if we do end up disagreeing with those viewpoints。 I knew going into this that what Christians believe today （overall） wasn't what Jesus preached， or what Jews believed in the Old Testament， but that Ehrman would guide us through the journey of how things changed， and why they changed over the centuries。Good read - highly recommended。November 15， 2021 。。。more
Emz
，
Very interesting and informative book！ This is a highly readable history of thought about the afterlife （mainly in Christianity）， and little prior knowledge is needed to enjoy it。 The book consists of analysis of the vision of the afterlife presented in the gospels but also in apocryphal books。 The book is a fascinating study into the lack of continuity in Christian thought and how much of what we think we know about Christianity originated from hundreds of years after Jesus’ death。
Nelson Zagalo
，
Reading "Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife" （2020） made me realise that Heaven and Hell is not fable， or stories， it is game， basic mechanics of reward and punishment。 As such， I realised that the foundation of the discussion of the afterlife is less about a signification and more about a quantification。 Over the centuries， the definition of the afterlife has gone little beyond proposing a linearity with two poles， high and low， where the higher the better。 It is irrelevant what it mea Reading "Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife" （2020） made me realise that Heaven and Hell is not fable， or stories， it is game， basic mechanics of reward and punishment。 As such， I realised that the foundation of the discussion of the afterlife is less about a signification and more about a quantification。 Over the centuries， the definition of the afterlife has gone little beyond proposing a linearity with two poles， high and low， where the higher the better。 It is irrelevant what it means， since the point reached is for all time， thus only the amount of suffering or contentment obtained becomes important。Ler o texto completo em Português no blog:https://virtual-illusion。blogspot。com。。。 。。。more
Ramon4
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I’ve read a couple of other books by Professor Ehrman， and enjoyed them very much， and I recommend them。 This book， however， was not as engrossing as the previous books I’ve read。 He is starting to repeat himself。Professor Ehrman says we seem to have an idea that when we die， we either go to Heaven， or we go to Hell， depending on how well we have behaved。 Then at some point in the future， at the end of time， there will be a great resurrection of all the dead， for a final judgment。 The just will I’ve read a couple of other books by Professor Ehrman， and enjoyed them very much， and I recommend them。 This book， however， was not as engrossing as the previous books I’ve read。 He is starting to repeat himself。Professor Ehrman says we seem to have an idea that when we die， we either go to Heaven， or we go to Hell， depending on how well we have behaved。 Then at some point in the future， at the end of time， there will be a great resurrection of all the dead， for a final judgment。 The just will spend eternity in Heaven with God， while the unjust will spend eternity in Hell， tormented forever。Professor Ehrman says that Jesus never said anything like this。 In fact， most of the Old Testament does not speak of an afterlife。 When you die， you go to Shoal， which is not a place of eternal punishment， but just a dull grey place where the dead reside。After the fall of the two Jewish kingdoms， the idea arose that God would restore the Kingdom by sending a Messiah。 This would be a resurrection of the Kingdom。 These ideas lead to the idea that if God could resurrect a Kingdom， He could also resurrect an individual。With the conquest of Alexander the Great， the Greek idea of a Soul， something different from the material body， began to arise。 The Greek speaking Jews picked up on this idea， and the idea of an Apocalypse came into vogue。Ehrman says that Jesus preached an Apocalypse， that the Kingdom of God was about to begin， all evil would be destroyed， and God would rule a perfect Kingdom。Unfortunately， the Kingdom of God did not arrive， and theologians began to rethink the message of Jesus， and what happens to the soul after death。 At the time of persecutions， many martyrs gave up their lives for their beliefs。 Surely， those martyrs would immediately go to Heaven。 Then if martyrs go to Heaven at their deaths， why not true believers who do not die a martyr’s death？ And then， how about the unjust？ They must logically go to Hell at their deaths。But the old idea of a great resurrection and a final judgment hung on。 So now， we seem to be stuck with the idea of two judgments， one immediately at death， and a second one at the end of time。 。。。more
Dylan
，
A bit repetitive if you have read other works by Ehrman， but rigorously researched and organized。 Not 5 stars for me only because it's argument is *so* rigorous and exhaustive that I was pretty bored by the last 70 pages。 A bit repetitive if you have read other works by Ehrman， but rigorously researched and organized。 Not 5 stars for me only because it's argument is *so* rigorous and exhaustive that I was pretty bored by the last 70 pages。 。。。more
Evan Kostelka
，
I always enjoy Bart Ehrman’s take on topics related to Scripture。 In this book， he ventures outside the Bible to cover ancient myths， non-canon books of the Bible， Jewish apocalyptic literature， early Church writings， and medieval thoughts。Like anything else related to the Bible， it is a long evolution of thought written by many people。 He traces the clear evolution in Jewish/Christian thinking on the afterlife。 He also challenges our assumptions about what Paul and Jesus would have said about t I always enjoy Bart Ehrman’s take on topics related to Scripture。 In this book， he ventures outside the Bible to cover ancient myths， non-canon books of the Bible， Jewish apocalyptic literature， early Church writings， and medieval thoughts。Like anything else related to the Bible， it is a long evolution of thought written by many people。 He traces the clear evolution in Jewish/Christian thinking on the afterlife。 He also challenges our assumptions about what Paul and Jesus would have said about the afterlife。 The big takeaway is that there is and always has been diverse thoughts on the afterlife。 Like the author， I feel Socrates’ view （through Plato’s pen） has the best approach。 Either death is a long sleep which we never wake or it’s a happy reunion with loved ones — my paraphrase。 Either way， it’s not to be feared。 。。。more
Anonimo2000
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Should more properly be titled ‘A History of the Christian Afterlife’， and for that purpose it does a good job， but even then it should have said more about Egyptian， Zoroastrian and Sumerian precursors。
dami
，
10/30/21after five months， i'm finally done reading this exceptional book！ for starters， i'm a practicing agnostic。 i can say it's a daunting task to be one for having been born into a deeply devout Catholic family but it's a decision i'm most proud of， mostly because i don't have to gaslight myself in every single thing i do anymore—and i'm at peace with that。the concept of heaven and hell， of postmortem rewards and punishments， was never mentioned in the old testament nor was it ever preached 10/30/21after five months， i'm finally done reading this exceptional book！ for starters， i'm a practicing agnostic。 i can say it's a daunting task to be one for having been born into a deeply devout Catholic family but it's a decision i'm most proud of， mostly because i don't have to gaslight myself in every single thing i do anymore—and i'm at peace with that。the concept of heaven and hell， of postmortem rewards and punishments， was never mentioned in the old testament nor was it ever preached by historic Jesus himself （with full-blown context provided）， but why did it reach the "surface" and became the dominating ideology is a nutshell of what heaven and hell: a history of the afterlife is about。 i saw this book mentioned on a tiktok video of an atheist theologian （i think that's what he calls himself） and found it intriguing。。 i started reading this book without any expectations but upon finishing it， i felt as if someone had opened my eyes。now， we all have our own set of fears， especially with regard to religion。 i still instinctively fear the thought of eternal torment even after reading this book because it's what i've been taught since i was young， and it's extremely hard to brush off。 but here's what i believe in after months of on-and-off reading while semi pondering about this book: there is no hellfire after death。 im also unsure if there really is a divine God， mostly due to personal reasons and having had four semesters of theology classes which only left me with more questions than answers。 however， if there were indeed a divine being ruling over the entire universe who's loving， nurturing， and kind， i doubt he would let his children suffer eternal torment。honestly， reading this book makes me want to ask priests in our uni to know their views on the matter。 also if i remember it correctly， i heard priests in our cathedral talk about heaven and hell most of the time。 i mean， surely they know about the history of afterlife， but why continue to preach it diba？ medj magulo lang pi 。。。more
Warren
，
Wow。 This book really resonated with me。 As I read I thought back on my religious upbringing and viewed it in a new light based on what I read。 It is amazing how much variation in history there is regarding the views on heaven and hell and what happens to us when we die。 The author presents the results of his research and then at the end summarizes how what he has learned affected him。
Malum
，
Fascinating look at the evolution of the ideas of heaven and hell through （mostly Western） history。 I would have liked a bit more about Gnosticism （of which there were a few throwaway lines）， Islam （which is briefly mentioned in the epilogue）， and East/South East Asian religions （such as the Pure Land of Shin Buddhism and the Deva Loka of Jainsim， which aren't mentioned at all） but， with a background as a Christian scholar， I can't blame Ehrman for staying in his wheelhouse。 Fascinating look at the evolution of the ideas of heaven and hell through （mostly Western） history。 I would have liked a bit more about Gnosticism （of which there were a few throwaway lines）， Islam （which is briefly mentioned in the epilogue）， and East/South East Asian religions （such as the Pure Land of Shin Buddhism and the Deva Loka of Jainsim， which aren't mentioned at all） but， with a background as a Christian scholar， I can't blame Ehrman for staying in his wheelhouse。 。。。more
Jessica Shepard
，
Freeing。
Joshua Peters
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This is an excellent academic overview of the origins of ancient concepts of heaven and hell， however it feels like “part 1” since the author inexplicably stops around the 4th century CE。 Were there no developments in this area after this time？ What about changing attitudes and ideas through the Middle Ages， Renaissance， etc？ It’s clear that the author is incredibly well versed in the ideas of antiquity， ancient Judaism， and the origin era of Christianity—and he brings excellent ideas and hypoth This is an excellent academic overview of the origins of ancient concepts of heaven and hell， however it feels like “part 1” since the author inexplicably stops around the 4th century CE。 Were there no developments in this area after this time？ What about changing attitudes and ideas through the Middle Ages， Renaissance， etc？ It’s clear that the author is incredibly well versed in the ideas of antiquity， ancient Judaism， and the origin era of Christianity—and he brings excellent ideas and hypotheses from these times—however his analysis is severely limited by the lack of scope。 In the end it ended up being a bit of a slog and not as enlightening as I would have hoped。 。。。more
Carrie
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Densely packed info; I learned bunches。
Alexis Kaelin
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A good Ehrman book。
Darin Bratsman
，
Bart Ehrman is one of my favorite authors in the field of religious studies。 He possesses an astonishing understanding of textual criticism and knowledge of historical context for the Bible， Jesus and early Christianity。 Unlike the writings of "New Atheist" authors （Harris， Dawkins， Dennett， Hitchens， et al）， I find Ehrman's books to be unbiased in presenting the facts and context， leaving the reader to interpret and use the information to develop conclusions。This particular book was very well r Bart Ehrman is one of my favorite authors in the field of religious studies。 He possesses an astonishing understanding of textual criticism and knowledge of historical context for the Bible， Jesus and early Christianity。 Unlike the writings of "New Atheist" authors （Harris， Dawkins， Dennett， Hitchens， et al）， I find Ehrman's books to be unbiased in presenting the facts and context， leaving the reader to interpret and use the information to develop conclusions。This particular book was very well researched and enlightening but is a difficult topic to address in proper depth given the wide-ranging beliefs about the afterlife that have existed across all historical cultures。 It certainly makes a strong case that the predominant Christian view of heaven and hell is quite different than anything taught by the historical Jesus。 If you are new to Ehrman， I would recommend starting with some of his excellent earlier books that are focused specifically on Jesus and early Christianity。 。。。more
Robert Lambregts
，
Sometimes you just accidentally stumble upon a book that grabs your attention and you just have to read it and my god， can you be pleasantly suprised by that。 Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife starts off with information about religion and the personal view from the writer。 And then follows a deeply researched bulk of information， taken from ancient myths to the holy books from different religions that give such a unique perspective of the whole meaning of Afterlife， that I just couldn Sometimes you just accidentally stumble upon a book that grabs your attention and you just have to read it and my god， can you be pleasantly suprised by that。 Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife starts off with information about religion and the personal view from the writer。 And then follows a deeply researched bulk of information， taken from ancient myths to the holy books from different religions that give such a unique perspective of the whole meaning of Afterlife， that I just couldn't stop。 I really wanted it to continue。 And the beauty of it all is that it doesn't matter what the writer things， or what your perspective is on religion and the afterlife。 This book just takes you along with it and half of time you're like 'no way！ really？ I've got to research that myself！ Wow， this is so cool！' Maybe because I was so open to it， because just a few days ago I didn't even know this book existed， so couldn't really have formed an opinion about it， but this book is rock solid 4， maybe 4。5 stars。 Wow。 Seriously， no matter what kind of religion you belong to。 Read this。 It's so good。 。。。more
Erik Koster
，
Started fine， but petered off for me at the end。 This dude really does do his best not to sound pompously arrogant about his feelings regarding his disbelief in Christianity， but he ultimately failed， and it still comes through。 Lots of leaps made that I don't agree with。 It wasn't necessarily bad， just sort of made me shrug and say "OK I know where this is going。" But， if you are already of a certain mindset， I'm sure you'll love this book。 Started fine， but petered off for me at the end。 This dude really does do his best not to sound pompously arrogant about his feelings regarding his disbelief in Christianity， but he ultimately failed， and it still comes through。 Lots of leaps made that I don't agree with。 It wasn't necessarily bad， just sort of made me shrug and say "OK I know where this is going。" But， if you are already of a certain mindset， I'm sure you'll love this book。 。。。more
Todd Davidson
，
Interesting， well researched， and readable。 Like most people I’ve heard about Heaven and Hell all my life yet I didn’t know the intellectual evolution of the two。While the author doesn’t believe in Hell， he still seemed fair to Christian believers imo。
Wing
，
This is a history of theodicy in the context of monotheism and monism。 It describes how the solution provided by the classical prophets develops into apocalypticism。 With Hellenisation elements of Platonism creep into the conceptualisation of afterlife。 Inevitably the message of Jesus gets de-apocalypticised， and the symbolic becomes literal。 A besieged mentality consolidates the perverted invention of an eternal Hell （and Purgatory by the Middle Ages） – which obviously is incoherent。 The altern This is a history of theodicy in the context of monotheism and monism。 It describes how the solution provided by the classical prophets develops into apocalypticism。 With Hellenisation elements of Platonism creep into the conceptualisation of afterlife。 Inevitably the message of Jesus gets de-apocalypticised， and the symbolic becomes literal。 A besieged mentality consolidates the perverted invention of an eternal Hell （and Purgatory by the Middle Ages） – which obviously is incoherent。 The alternative is a universalist apocatastasis which is a most logical conclusion。Professor Ehrman is very funny。 I can't stop myself laughing out loud many times。 Of course his message is serious if not profound。 His own personal position is one of Socrates （in the words of Plato）。 It is at times very slightly tedious but I will still give it five stars as it is thoroughly informing！ 。。。more
Ernest
，
I appreciated the interaction with a lot of ancient sources but this book is riddled with issues。 Anything that disagrees with the author’s view that Jesus would have had an identical view to his contemporaries is discredited in the New Testament。 He also equally considers many gnostic texts and myths as Christian even though they drastically counter what we see affirmed by the early Church and the NT。 An infuriating amount of “this might mean” or similar statements that he uses to make huge lea I appreciated the interaction with a lot of ancient sources but this book is riddled with issues。 Anything that disagrees with the author’s view that Jesus would have had an identical view to his contemporaries is discredited in the New Testament。 He also equally considers many gnostic texts and myths as Christian even though they drastically counter what we see affirmed by the early Church and the NT。 An infuriating amount of “this might mean” or similar statements that he uses to make huge leaps。 While he’s definitely an academic and well read his ability to handle Biblical texts is poor。 To his credit he explains the context of a passage at times but then comes to conclusions that are no where near what is considered orthodox。 。。。more
Susan
，
This is a highly interesting book 。 It is an academic journey through depictions of the afterlife from the Greeks to the Romans to the Hebrew Bible to the New Testament to the early Christians。 Ehrman grew up Episcopalian， became an evangelical Christian and became agnostic after he attended Princeton for his graduate degree。 He knows the Bible inside and out --it is very interesting to read that neither the Old Testament writers nor Jesus himself ever discussed the afterlife and definitely not This is a highly interesting book 。 It is an academic journey through depictions of the afterlife from the Greeks to the Romans to the Hebrew Bible to the New Testament to the early Christians。 Ehrman grew up Episcopalian， became an evangelical Christian and became agnostic after he attended Princeton for his graduate degree。 He knows the Bible inside and out --it is very interesting to read that neither the Old Testament writers nor Jesus himself ever discussed the afterlife and definitely not in the way we understand it now。 。。。more
Johannes
，
Although I'm giving this 4 stars， I still think Ehrman is so smug about his false conclusions。 Although I'm giving this 4 stars， I still think Ehrman is so smug about his false conclusions。 。。。more
Beth
，
Not his usual level of engaging readability， though I don't doubt his research。 Not his usual level of engaging readability， though I don't doubt his research。 。。。more
Shannon Fields
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Well written， very detailed， still accessible for the average reader
Christopher Barghout
，
Great readHeaven or hell， what have you got to loose。 Well researched， deep with a nuanced reading of history， how we got to our understanding of the afterlife。 A fabulous read。
Ryan Sisson
，
Bart Ehrman is appealing and I finally realized why。He is easily accessible by those who are beginning their deconstruction， and rather than plead them to return to old faith beliefs， he offers a compassionate and good humored assortment of research。Ehrman’s writing is genuine。 That is what has kept me coming back to many books of his。 However this will probably be my last。This seems to be one of his more personal books， if that can be fairly detected at all。 He presents an overview of the devel Bart Ehrman is appealing and I finally realized why。He is easily accessible by those who are beginning their deconstruction， and rather than plead them to return to old faith beliefs， he offers a compassionate and good humored assortment of research。Ehrman’s writing is genuine。 That is what has kept me coming back to many books of his。 However this will probably be my last。This seems to be one of his more personal books， if that can be fairly detected at all。 He presents an overview of the development of the afterlife （spending like a third of the time on pre-Christian traditions）， up through the early Christian debates on when the body is raised from the dead， and stopping around the teachings of Origen in the 3rd century。 It’s interesting he doesn’t go further， or cover much of the development of purgatory or modern evangelical Christianity。 Not really his scene。The thing about these books is that what he covers is so broad that I often begin excited and end disappointed that there wasn’t more in-depth analysis included。 He does have biases and sometimes is open about where he and other scholars have differed。 But he’s just one scholar writing for a general audience。 If you comb over more than a few， you’ll find that much of what he covers in each new book is repeated from earlier efforts。 。。。more
Clif Hostetler
，
This book provides a very readable account of the history of speculations about what happens to human individuals after death。 The book begins with an attention grabbing description of Hell taken from the non-canonical Apocalypse of Peter which was written in the 2nd century CE—the description given for Heaven is shorter。Following that beginning shock the reader is given an account of the afterlife from Gilgamesh （c。 2112 – c。 2004 BC） and Homer （c。 750 BC）。 Their descriptions are rather bla This book provides a very readable account of the history of speculations about what happens to human individuals after death。 The book begins with an attention grabbing description of Hell taken from the non-canonical Apocalypse of Peter which was written in the 2nd century CE—the description given for Heaven is shorter。Following that beginning shock the reader is given an account of the afterlife from Gilgamesh （c。 2112 – c。 2004 BC） and Homer （c。 750 BC）。 Their descriptions are rather bland and provide no difference between the fate of good and bad people。 As time passed there was increased concern for justice after death which is apparent in the writings of Plato （c。424-348 BC） who further developed the concept of the immortal soul that would continue to live free of the encumbrances of the body after death—philosophers do well per his description。 By the time of Virgil （70-19 BC） the idea of justice prevailing through punishment and reward after death is more fully developed。 There are obviously numerous similarities between the voyages to the afterlife of Odysseus and Aeneas， but one cannot help but be struck especially by the impressive differences。 Some six or seven centuries after the Homeric epics， Virgil does not populate Hades with shades that all experience the same boring and pleasure-free existence。 He writes of hellish torments for some and heavenly glories for others。 Most have to be punished for their sins before being given a second chance at life。 Why such a change from Homer？ What has led to this invention of heaven and hell？It is hard to say what among the enormous changes in the political， social， and cultural worlds between seventh-century Greece and first-century Rome might have effected the shift in thinking。 But it is relatively easy to see what happened in the realm of ethical thought。 Equity had become an issue。 Thinkers came to believe that no one can live a life of sin， hurting others， offending the gods， pursuing only self-aggrandizement， enjoying， as a result， wealth， influence， and pleasure， and then die and get away with it。 No: everyone will have to face a judge。 The wicked， no matter how powerful and revered in this world， will pay a price in the next。 Those who have done what is right， however， will be rewarded。 （p。78） Then the book shifts its attention to the Hebrews。 Many readers will be surprised to read the following quotation near the beginning of the book's discussion of the Old Testament。 There is no place of eternal punishment in any passage of the entire Old Testament。 In fact—and this comes as a surprise to many people—nowhere in the entire Hebrew Bible is there any discussion at all of heaven and hell as places of rewards and punishments for those who have died。 （p。108）The book goes on to explain in considerable detail that the same is true for the historical Jesus。 What the Hebrews developed—and Jesus believed—was the concept of the bodily resurrection of the dead coming during an apocalyptic direct intervention by God in human affairs by setting up the "Kingdom of God" on earth。 The early letters by the Apostle Paul continued that expectation， but by the time of his later letters his thinking began to shift。As it turns out， it is possible to trace a trajectory in our surviving Gospels away from the deeply apocalyptic teachings of Jesus in Mark and Matthew， to less apocalyptic teachings in the later Gospel of Luke， to non-apocalyptic teachings in the still later Gospel of John， to anti-apocalyptic teachings in the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas， written a couple of decades after John。 In short， the words of Jesus， over time， came to be de-apocalypticized。 （p。229） The theories of Heaven and Hell were further developed in the still later non-cononical scriptures。 I found it interesting that the threats of Hell were aimed at non-Christians in the early Christian Era but became more focused on heretical Christians after Christianity became the state religion。 As a matter of fact， the very worst punishments in Hell were thought to be reserved for theologians who didn't believe in the bodily resurrection or did not believe that the Eucharist elements were the actual body of Christ。 Many Christians today will be surprised to learn that at one time the orthodox teaching considered the belief of the soul going to heaven or hell immediately after death to be heretical。 I guess that sort of belief sounded too much like Gnosticism。 （view spoiler）[ Apostles' Creed does NOT say “I believe in Heaven and Hell。” What it does say is， “I believe in … the resurrection of the body， and the life everlasting。” （hide spoiler）]The author concludes the book with an Afterword in which he describes his own best guess about the experience of death。 He expects death to bring a state of deep unconsciousness that will be similar to the unconsciousness he experience prior to birth。 。。。more
Alena Barczak
，