Teologia śmierci

Abstract

The article argues that all issues in the domain of eschatology should be approached in a strictly theological manner. Doubtlessly, death is one of them confirming the truth that mortality belongs to human nature as the first eschatic process, closely linked to God’s judgement and the participation in Christ’s resurrection. This shows that the end of a person’s earthly life also means the beginning of a new reality. Positively speaking, death is seen as an alteration of the form of life and entrance into the reality of trust and infinite love of the triune God. In the consecutive paragraphs of the article the author shows that the theological aspect of death is not understood negatively. This applies also to the dimension of death which appears as a result of human sin (first paragraph). The paschal and redemptive-historical aspects of death, treated in the second paragraph, show clearly that death in no way means the annihilation of life. On the contrary, people’s death gives their preceding life its ultimate meaning, not just in Christian terms but also from the point of view of various world religions and philosophies. The proof of validity of this reasoning becomes evident in the risk of love. Pope Benedict XVI confirms this reasoning in No. 47 of the encyclical Spe Salvi, clearly stating that “at the moment of judgement we experience and we absorb the overwhelming power of his [God’s] love over all the evil in the world and in ourselves”.