A
AHadden
Guest
Hello. A few months ago, my mother passed away after a long bout of cancer. My father is a fallen away Catholic from the 60’s and in the past has seemed ready to investigate any religous philosophy except his own. Now, he finds his atheism at risk! He is asking a lot of questions and seems to be very confused by even the most basic teachings. I’m a convert to the Faith as of '98 and have been trying to patiently respond to the questions he throws my way. He tends to get bogged down in minutia and I have to wonder if he’s really serious or just looking for a good argument. Now that Mom is elsewhere, it’s no-holds-barred…ulp
The latest has to do with what sort of state my mother is in between death and the general resurrection. Easy. I said all human souls (except Mary) are temporarily disembodied spirits until the last day when we’re raised in either our glorified body or condemned body. He responded with a number of Scipture verses talking about those who “fall asleep in Christ” - that the soul literally “sleeps” in some sort of suspended animation until the “rapture”, according to his Fundamentalist friend who’s working on him. I pointed to the Communion of Saints and how the departed are actually very animated in the afterlife, interceding for us. He pointed out the teaching of there being “physical” suffering in Purgatory - how could that be if we’re disembodied? I’m not sure that’s ever been defined, has it?Being a physicist, he talks about “multiple universe theory” and bodies traveling through “wormholes”. It all gets a little weird after a beer or two.
Question: Is there any Scriptural back-up to our understanding of the body and soul separating after death and reuniting on the last day?
Also, he’s using BibleGateway.com for his Scripture quotes. I noticed they didn’t have any RSV, RSV-CE, or Douays on that site. Is there an equally good reference site for Catholic Bibles?
I’ve got to get him on this forum…
Thanks,
A.
The latest has to do with what sort of state my mother is in between death and the general resurrection. Easy. I said all human souls (except Mary) are temporarily disembodied spirits until the last day when we’re raised in either our glorified body or condemned body. He responded with a number of Scipture verses talking about those who “fall asleep in Christ” - that the soul literally “sleeps” in some sort of suspended animation until the “rapture”, according to his Fundamentalist friend who’s working on him. I pointed to the Communion of Saints and how the departed are actually very animated in the afterlife, interceding for us. He pointed out the teaching of there being “physical” suffering in Purgatory - how could that be if we’re disembodied? I’m not sure that’s ever been defined, has it?Being a physicist, he talks about “multiple universe theory” and bodies traveling through “wormholes”. It all gets a little weird after a beer or two.
Question: Is there any Scriptural back-up to our understanding of the body and soul separating after death and reuniting on the last day?
Also, he’s using BibleGateway.com for his Scripture quotes. I noticed they didn’t have any RSV, RSV-CE, or Douays on that site. Is there an equally good reference site for Catholic Bibles?
I’ve got to get him on this forum…
Thanks,
A.
