Whitehead himself was somewhat ambiguous on the subject. In fact, among process theologians such a diversity does indeed exist. It is not surprising, therefore, that theologians, even within a single school of thought such as process theology, will argue a variety of positions regarding death and immortality. But in the matter of death and immortality, none of his evidence can be verified. If he is honest with himself - and hopefully most theologians are - his belief will be formed from the best evidence he can muster. In the absence of indisputable evidence, the theologian too must ultimately make up his mind about an issue according to what he believes. Their recent reflections on the subject have resulted in drawing together ideas from anthropology, psychology and philosophy, as well as theology, in order to profit from new insights regarding the counsel that reason can offer to faith in clarifying the issue for the individual believer. For many theologians today, however, the doctrine is too intertwined with ancient culture, tradition and myth to be literally credible. There is, of course, no way to dispute the Church’s teaching, nor is there any way apart from faith that it can be proved. Finally, for those souls never officially admitted to membership and grace in the Church, a fourth place, called limbo, allows them the fullness of natural happiness, but without the vision of God. This intermediate state of purification is a place of temporary suffering, called purgatory. Since the presence of God is reserved only for the worthy, imperfections and lesser evils in one’s life have to be "worked off" before the beatific vision is possible. As a consequence of the way one lived on earth, the soul is then determined for a heaven of eternal happiness with God or a hell of everlasting fire. At the moment of death, each soul is called to a particular judgment by God. Traditionally the Church has answered this question for its faithful with its teaching on the four last things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. Spiritualists and rationalists both contribute their evidence and compare notes, but in the final analysis the mystery always remains. What makes this enterprise so fascinating is that there are no criteria for determining which opinions are right and which are wrong. Inter-disciplinary courses are being taught in colleges and numerous new books and articles are being published dealing with the topic. Despite this eternal verity, there is presently a surge of interest in death and in the speculation about what, if anything, occurs after death. Death transcends the powers of reason and shrouds itself in ineffability. Science and philosophy can tell us a lot about life, but when the final moment of life has passed us by, they must abandon us to our faith.
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