Hick on Resurrection

The first 200 words of this essay...

Hick on Resurrection

1. Two General views on Immortality

A. Greek philosophical view: disembodied soul

B. Jewish and Christian view: bodily resurrection

2. Resurrection vs. Disembodied Existence

A. Contemporary science and western philosophers tend to view the self as a psycho-physical unity. (Cf. Badham's critique of the soul doctrine)

B. Disembodied soul theories require the appearance of a body and physical environment.

3. The Basic Idea of Resurrection

According to the doctrine of bodily resurrection, human beings are by nature mortal. But all people who have died will be reconstituted (by God) as a psycho-physical unity at some point in the future. They will live again in bodily form. Most theories hold that the resurrection body will be very similar to the pre-mortem body, but some relevant differences remain. It may be similar in appearance. The person will retain her "dispositional characteristics" and "memory" once associated with the previous body. The resurrection doctrine involves a single resurrection, not a succession of resurrections. The latter approaches the idea of reincarnation.

4. Hick's "Replica" Theory

Hick uses the idea of a "replica" to explain the coherence of bodily resurrection. Unlike