Richard Swinburne - Do Heaven and Hell Really Exist?
Summary
TLDRThe speaker explores the concept of heaven and hell from a philosophical and Christian perspective, suggesting that our actions shape our character and determine our afterlife. They discuss how repeated good or bad deeds influence our moral compass, leading to a natural inclination towards goodness or evil. The speaker also touches on the idea of purgatory and limbo, and emphasizes the importance of free will in choosing our path, with heaven and hell being the ultimate consequences of our life choices.
Takeaways
- 📜 Religions, including Christianity, traditionally describe heaven and hell as literal places for the afterlife, not just as metaphors.
- 🌱 Our character is shaped by our actions throughout life; doing good makes it easier to do good again, and vice versa for bad actions.
- 🔄 Aristotle's philosophy is referenced, suggesting that habits form our character, influencing our moral compass over time.
- 🛡️ Morality can be lost; the script mentions 'Gulag Archipelago' to illustrate how some people lose their sense of morality completely.
- 💡 Good people naturally inclined to do good acts are seen as deserving of life and opportunities to continue doing good.
- 👹 Those with a 'naturally evil' attitude may face destruction, as they would not be allowed to continue doing evil endlessly.
- 🚫 Free will is essential during the character formation phase, but once a character is set, there's no need to force goodness onto someone who has chosen evil.
- 😞 If evil individuals are kept alive, they will be in distress, wanting to harm others but being denied the opportunity, leading to unhappiness.
- 😇 In contrast, good people, who desire to do good, will be happy as they are allowed to fulfill their natural inclination towards goodness.
- 🏰 The concept of heaven and hell is tied to the embodiment of people, suggesting that there will be places for these afterlife states.
- ❓ The script leaves open the question of whether anyone actually goes to hell, emphasizing the Christian doctrine of the possibility of hell based on one's choices.
- 🔄 Aquinas' view is mentioned, suggesting that God would not keep anyone in hell if they repented, though it questions the ability of some to repent.
Q & A
What is the traditional Christian concept of heaven and hell according to Richard?
-Richard explains that traditional Christian eschatology envisions heaven and hell as literal places where people go after death, based on their moral character developed during their lifetime.
How does Richard describe the process of moral development in humans?
-Richard describes that humans, through their actions, gradually form their moral character. Each good act makes it easier to do good in the future, and each bad act makes it easier to do bad. Over time, individuals develop a settled desire to either do good or bad.
What does Richard say about the nature of free choice and character formation?
-Richard asserts that free choice is crucial for character formation. While individuals have opportunities to change their character during their lives, there comes a point where their character becomes fixed, and it would be an imposition to force further change upon them.
According to Richard, what would a good God do with naturally evil people?
-Richard suggests that a good God would not allow naturally evil people to continue doing evil for eternity. Instead, God would deprive them of opportunities to harm others, resulting in their distress due to their unfulfilled desires to be nasty.
How does Richard view the concept of repentance in hell?
-Richard mentions that according to Aquinas, God would not keep anyone in hell if they repented. However, Richard believes that some people might voluntarily reach a state where they are incapable of repenting.
What is the role of the body in the afterlife, according to Richard?
-Richard argues that being embodied gives individuals a public presence and makes them part of a community. Therefore, he expects people in the afterlife to be embodied, which necessitates that heaven and hell are actual places.
What does Richard say about the possibility of people being in hell?
-Richard states that while it is a Christian doctrine that hell is a possibility for those who choose it, it is not a doctrine that anyone is definitively in hell. It is open for people to choose, but not certain that anyone is there.
How does Richard describe purgatory and its purpose?
-Richard describes purgatory as a place for those who have some inclination to do good but haven't fully developed it. It is a temporary state where they can continue to grow morally and eventually reach heaven.
What is the concept of limbo according to Richard?
-Richard explains that limbo was conceived in the Middle Ages as a neutral place, neither good nor evil, for children who had not developed a sense of right or wrong or been baptized.
What does Richard believe is the greatest choice given to human beings by God?
-Richard believes the greatest choice God gives human beings is the choice of what sort of person to become. This significant choice allows individuals to develop into a good or bad person, carrying implications for heaven and hell.
Outlines
😇 The Nature of Heaven and Hell
This paragraph explores the traditional concepts of heaven and hell from a philosophical and moral perspective. It discusses how our actions and choices throughout life shape our character, making us more inclined towards good or evil deeds. The speaker suggests that as we age, we naturally become more set in our ways, either gravitating towards good or losing our moral compass. The concept of heaven is presented as a place for those who have chosen to do good, while hell is depicted as a state of distress for those who have chosen evil, as they will be denied the opportunity to continue their harmful actions. The speaker also touches on the idea of free will and the importance of allowing individuals to make their own moral choices, even if it leads to eternal consequences.
🌟 Embodiment and the Afterlife
The second paragraph delves into the implications of embodiment and the physical presence in the concepts of heaven and hell. It posits that if individuals are embodied, there must be a physical place for them in the afterlife, as embodiment provides a public presence and a sense of community. The speaker also addresses the Christian doctrine of the possibility of hell, referencing Aquinas's view that God would not keep anyone in hell if they repented, even though the speaker doubts that some people can reach a state of repentance. The paragraph concludes with a discussion of various Christian views on the intermediate state of souls, such as purgatory and limbo, and the importance of allowing individuals the freedom to choose their moral path, which inherently includes the concepts of heaven and hell.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Eschatology
💡Moral Development
💡Good and Evil
💡Aristotelian Ethics
💡Character
💡Free Will
💡Heaven and Hell
💡Purgatory
💡Limbo
💡Repentance
💡Embodiment
Highlights
Religions, including Christianity, traditionally envision heaven and hell as literal eschatological outcomes of human existence, not just as poetic or emotional concepts.
People form certain types of persons throughout their lives based on repeated actions, with good or bad actions becoming easier to perform over time.
Aristotle's view is cited, stating that performing good or bad actions repeatedly shapes our character and makes it easier to continue in that direction.
The possibility of losing one's sense of morality is discussed, using the example of prison guards in 'The Gulag Archipelago'.
The concept that a good God would reward those with a naturally good character and desire to do good, by giving them opportunities to continue doing good acts.
The idea that a naturally evil person would be denied the opportunity to continue doing evil by God, leading to a distressed situation.
The argument that God would not impose goodness on someone who has chosen to be evil, as it would be an infringement on their character.
The suggestion that heaven and hell are not just places, but also states of being, influenced by one's desires and actions.
The Christian doctrine that there is a possibility of hell for those who choose evil, but it is not a certainty that anyone is in hell.
Aquinas' view that God would not keep anyone in hell if they repented, even if it may be unlikely for some.
The Christian tradition's development of purgatory as a place for those with some inclination to do good to eventually reach heaven.
The theory of limbo as a place for those who have not developed a sense of right or wrong, such as unbaptized children.
The extreme views on heaven and hell being correct because they allow humans the significant choice of the kind of beings they become.
The possibility that God might eliminate bad people, which is not ruled out in the discussion.
Transcripts
richard most religions indeed the
christian religion for sure
envision a heaven and hell not as part
of its uh
poetry and uh and emotion but as
as a literal um uh eschatology of
certainly human existence uh how do you
see that how can we understand in our
modern life
the traditional concepts of heaven and
hell
well in the course of our lives we make
ourselves
certain sorts of persons
when we are young we are we are exposed
to
different beliefs we are exposed to
different opportunities for
doing what is right and wrong and um
it's a characteristic of humans that
each time we do a good act
it's easier to do a good act next time
each time we do a bad act it's easier to
do a bad act next time
applies of course to particular kinds of
acts as well as
generally to good uh each time we do a
courageous act it's easier to do a
courageous act next time each time we do
adjust act
it's easier to do a just act next time
aristotle
said that um therefore
where although in our early life we have
desires to do
uh this sort of act and that sort of act
of moral beliefs about what we ought to
do
we gradually change the uh
makeup of our lives in this respect
if we go on doing what is good doing
good becomes
natural to us and so we gradually lose
or one hopes one
gradually lose the temptations to do bad
or at any rate we
we form a very settled desire never to
do anything bad we may occasionally give
into it but
uh the direction of our lives is fixed
and likewise the other way around um
if people always give in to temptation
then they gradually
not merely always given to temptation
but
moral belief seems to mean anything to
them
in the gulag archipelago sergeant ipsin
has a chapter on the prison guards and
he says there are different sorts of
prison gods some of them seem to have a
vestige of morality left
but sometimes you could see somebody
finally losing their sense of morality
that they had sort of
just no longer became
a there was a tipping point in them they
suddenly became no longer sensitive in
any sense
to to moral considerations so
uh at the end of life some of us form
become naturally good some of us become
lose our sense of morality and many of
us of course are still in the middle
um what would a good god do with such
people well obviously if they
they uh formed a desire to do good
they're worth keeping alive and worth
telling
giving an opportunity to to go on doing
lots of good acts
um what would god do with somebody who
is naturally evil
that formed a natural evil attitude to
life
well he could of course destroy them uh
but um one thing he certainly wouldn't
do
is allow them an opportunity to go on
doing lots of evil for eternity
there's a reason allowing people to have
free choice between good and evil for
temporary
uh period while they form their
character but once their character is
formed
there really is no reason for uh letting
a person who has chosen to do evil go on
doing evil
so such people will want to hurt the
other people
but god will deprive them of the
opportunity to do so
and so inevitably they are going to be
in a distressed
situation if you're always wanting to be
nasty to people and there are no people
to be nasty to
then you're not going to be happy um
so inevitably if god keeps them alive
they're not going to be happy people
of course you could say well god could
say well
give them another chance uh start them
again
but they have over the course of their
lives sort of decided to
to become a certain sort of person and
to afford to force a character on
on a person is not right
so um although there are plenty of
opportunities for changing character
during life there's got to be
an end to that process
because to go on trying to push somebody
to be good when they've decided not to
be good is an imposition on them
so uh if god is to keep them alive and
maybe
maybe he doesn't need to but if he is he
they will be in an unhappy situation and
the good people
because they want to do good and they
will be allowed to do good
and they will therefore be doing what
they want to do we'll be in a happy
situation
and that i think is um part of what
heaven and hell is it's not so much a
place though because it will be a place
because if they're embodied people there
must be a place where they
are and being
being embodied is
gives us a public uh public presence if
we didn't have bodies we wouldn't be
part of a public community someone would
expect people in the world to come to be
embodied
for for that reason and so inevitably
there will be
places that's not to say despite what i
said earlier necessarily that
that anybody does go to hell but it
rather looks as if some people are
hitting that way
it's not a christian doctrine that
anybody is in hell
but it certainly is a christian doctrine
that there is that possibility open to
people if they choose
and it was a aquinas who said that
[Music]
god would not keep anybody in hell if
for one moment they
repented he didn't think they would
repent but he did say that and i've
given a reason why i don't think
some people can get themselves
voluntarily in the state
where they won't repent so yes i do
endorse
both of those principal doctrines as to
people in the in the middle
well the christian tradition has had
various uh somewhat uh
undetermined views about that the the
catholic
church developed a view of purgatory
from about the 11th century onwards so
that people could as it were
those who had some inclination to do
good but hadn't worked it out would go
to purgatory and
and they would eventually get to heaven
and there have been other
theories about the intermediate state um
the theory of limbo was which was a
neither good nor evil
place uh was was developed in the middle
ages as suitable
for children who hadn't developed any
sense of right or wrong or been baptized
and there have been other views around
but um
on the extreme views i think they are
right because i think
that the greatest choice that
god could give to human beings is the
choice of the sort of being they are to
be
and if they'd have a really good good a
significant choice that they must be
allowed to choose to become
not nearly on an individual time to do a
good or bad action to it become a
good or bad sort of person and that is
that carries with it
uh the views of heaven and hell
but of course one view is that god might
eliminate
the bad people and i don't wish to
rule that out
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