Earliest case of pointing to heaven as consolation and hope to loved ones
Upvote:1
While the following passage in Justin Martyr's Dialogue with Typho the Jew doesn't mention consolation, it does establish that by the second century, some people were teaching that the deceased go straight to Heaven. It also suggests that at that time, the teaching was considered heterodoxical. The strength of Justin's language may actually be surprising to most Christians, since he refers to the doctrine as "blasphemous, atheistical, and foolish" and warns his audience that people who teach such things should not be thought of as Christians.
Moreover, I pointed out to you that some who are called Christians, but are godless, impious heretics, teach doctrines that are in every way blasphemous, atheistical, and foolish. But that you may know that I do not say this before you alone, I shall draw up a statement, so far as I can, of all the arguments which have passed between us; in which I shall record myself as admitting the very same things which I admit to you. For I choose to follow not men or men's doctrines, but God and the doctrines delivered by Him. For if you have fallen in with some who are called Christians, but who do not admit this truth, and venture to blaspheme the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; who say there is no resurrection of the dead, and that their souls, when they die, are taken to heaven; do not imagine that they are Christians, even as one, if he would rightly consider it, would not admit that the Sadducees, or similar sects of Genist, Meristae, Gelilaeans, Hellenists, Pharisees, Baptists, are Jews (do not hear me impatiently when I tell you what I think), but are only called Jews and children of Abraham, worshipping God with the lips, as God Himself declared, but the heart was far from Him. But I and others, who are right-minded Christians on all points, are assured that there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a thousand years in Jerusalem, which will then be built, adorned, and enlarged, the prophets Ezekiel and Isaiah and others declare.
More post
- 📝 Who goes to hell in LDS theology?
- 📝 Who is the young man mentioned in Mark 14:51?
- 📝 The statements of the early Church Fathers regarding the doctrine of the Trinity (pre-Nicea)
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for it being acceptable to bring doubts to God?
- 📝 What is the difference between a covenant and a contract?
- 📝 What are the Biblical arguments against modalism?
- 📝 Is belief a work into salvation?
- 📝 What would be the professional consequences for a theologian if he denied publicly the existence of Jesus Christ?
- 📝 According to Catholicism, how can a relic help a sick person?
- 📝 Blue plate special as metaphor for the Trinity
- 📝 How many are there of God's angels?
- 📝 Why were we created to serve if He is all-powerful?
- 📝 What Biblical basis do "separation traditions" have to support their beliefs?
- 📝 What does Catholic Church say about the post-resurrection wound marks of Jesus?
- 📝 In what sense do faith and hope remain?
- 📝 Do Catholics regard the wine at The Wedding at Cana as "holy" wine or "normal" wine?
- 📝 What is the specific meaning of "believe" in John 3:16?
- 📝 Is there scholarly concensus on the historicity of Foxe's Book of Martyrs?
- 📝 When did the Holy Family actually settle down at Nazareth?
- 📝 What is the position of Catholic theology on human rights in transhumanism?
- 📝 Why isn't there a Joseph Smith Translation of Luke 23:43?
- 📝 When was Blessed Virgin Mary first chosen as Jesus' Mother?
- 📝 What do Southern Baptists believe about Predestination?
- 📝 In the New Catholic Bible, is Isiaiah 9:5 speaking about Jesus, and who is the Wonderful Counsellor?
- 📝 When did the one-way monologue sermon first become a normal feature of church assemblies?
- 📝 What is the Catholic understanding of the first sin committed by Adam and Eve?
- 📝 Is the genealogy in Matthew a complete Genealogy, or did he abreviate it for a specific reason?
- 📝 What is the Amillennial view of the ‘Times of the Gentiles’?
- 📝 Why was Jehu considered a "bad" king of Israel?
- 📝 How can things considered bad when done by humans become good when God does them?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Earliest case of pointing to heaven as consolation and hope to loved ones
- 📝 According to Catholicism, do the saints and martyrs in heaven rise again on judgment day?
- 📝 If we will have free will and be sinless in Heaven at the same time, then why did God not create a world with sinless free creatures to begin with?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church have a contingency plan for the case that the pope and all cardinals are dead?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about this question- Why do Jesus and God have two seats in heaven when they are the same God?
- 📝 Did Jesus and the repentant thief reunite in heaven on the very day they died?(Catholic view)
- 📝 Did the original Greek scriptures use upper and lower case letters, in particular for "Holy Ghost"?
- 📝 What is the difference between Heaven and Paradise?
- 📝 What is the biblical & patristic basis for the belief that the saints go to Heaven instead of Sheol after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus?
- 📝 Did Jesus mean that heaven and earth would actually pass away in Matthew 24:25?
- 📝 Communion of Saints and Our Relationships in Heaven
- 📝 What is the earliest clear and unambiguous post-NT affirmation of the Holy Spirit's personhood in Christianity?
- 📝 Are there Christian traditions/literatures regarding fear of God and Heaven in the afterlife?
- 📝 Is Heaven up and Hell down?
- 📝 Perfect relationship between Trinity and other relationships in heaven - Catholic
- 📝 According to Catholicism and Revelation are we going to be able to eat meat in Heaven or the Garden of Eden?
- 📝 Who created heaven and hell?
- 📝 Moral implications of heaven and hell doctrine
- 📝 According to Catholicism what does it mean for every relationship in heaven to be perfect and fulfilling?
- 📝 In what sense do faith and hope remain?
- 📝 As a young Jew what would Jesus have been taught about heaven and hell?
- 📝 What is an overview of Christian beliefs regarding which spiritual gifts are still available to the body of Christ and which ones have ceased?
- 📝 Why were Aaron and his son only ones eligible for being a Priest?
- 📝 Was there silence in heaven when our Lord and Saviour was crucified?
- 📝 What did Catholics do to ease the time and maintain hope during historical pestilences such as the Black Plague?
- 📝 What is an overview of scriptures about the nature and location of The New Heaven and The New Earth that John saw in Rev 21:1?
- 📝 Did Satan physically and literally fall from Heaven or Sky?
- 📝 Can we visit loved ones in Hell?
- 📝 Was there any case of a h*m*sexual priest in the early Church and how did the Church handle that?
- 📝 Can we conclude that there is food and drink in heaven because Jesus ate and drank after the resurrection?