F14 reasoning: General resurrection and eternal life

Reasoning steps: General resurrection and eternal life

Verdicts: F14 · General resurrection and eternal life. Method: conventions, scoring and proximity eras. Scripture is the primary measure; fathers are weighed by era (Era I to c. 150 = 1.0, II = 0.8, III = 0.6, IV = 0.4). Shared notes for legacy afterlife questions: afterlife.

F14.1 (was afterlife/L4): Resurrection of the body

Step F14.1.1: Scripture

1 Cor 15; John 5:28–29; Dan 12:2; Phil 3:21.

Step F14.1.2: Patristic evidence

tertullian-aft-s3; Irenaeus V.2.3 (the flesh nourished by the Eucharist).

Step F14.1.3: Weighing decision

Universal. The fathers insist on the resurrection of this flesh, against Gnostics and pagans.

Confidence: High

Step F14.1.4: Source-proximity weighing

See the proximity tiers.

Scripture (benchmark): 1 Cor 15; John 5:28–29; Dan 12:2. (Scripture confidence: high)
Key sources by tier: Tertullian (T2, w 0.8). Proximity factor: 0.8 (mean tier weight of 1 key source(s)).
Assessment: T1–T2 and Scripture agree. Verdict unchanged.

F14.2: Is eternal life communion with God, beholding him?

Step F14.2.1: Scripture

John 17:3 (’this is eternal life, that they know you’); 1 Cor 13:12 (‘face to face’); 1 John 3:2 (‘we shall see him as he is’); Rev 21:3; 22:4.

Step F14.2.2: Patristic evidence

Irenaeus (Era II): ’the glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God’. Sources: irenaeus-f14x-s1.

Step F14.2.3: Weighing decision

Unanimous. Verdict: consensus. How God is seen (essence vs energies) is a later East–West difference not scored here.

Confidence: High.

Step F14.2.4: Source-proximity weighing

Scripture (benchmark): Eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3) and seeing him (1 John 3:2; Rev 22:4). (Scripture confidence: high)
Assessment: Scripture and Era II agree; all nine confess it.

F14.3: Will the wicked also be raised for judgement (not only the righteous)?

Step F14.3.1: Scripture

John 5:28–29 (‘all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgement’); Acts 24:15 (‘a resurrection of both the just and the unjust’); Dan 12:2 (‘many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt’); Rev 20:12–13 (the dead, great and small, given up by sea and Hades and judged). Distinct from F14.1 (that the flesh rises) by who rises; from F13.3 (judgement criterion) and T10 (nature/duration of punishment).

Step F14.3.2: Patristic evidence

Athenagoras (Era II): all who die rise again; each receives ‘what he has done by the body, whether it be good or bad’. Tertullian (Era II): the body is raised also so that it may be ‘killed in hell’ with the soul — absurd if only the righteous rise. Augustine (Era III): ‘all … have a part, both the blessed and the wretched’ in the bodily resurrection — ‘resurrection of life’ and ‘resurrection of judgement’. Sources: athenagoras-f14-s1 · tertullian-f14-s1 · augustine-f14-s1.

Step F14.3.3: Weighing decision

Reading A: only the righteous are raised; the wicked stay dead or are annihilated without rising. Reading B: both just and unjust are raised bodily for judgement. B is chosen. John 5:28–29 and Acts 24:15 are explicit; Athenagoras, Tertullian, and Augustine agree. Hell’s duration and mode are T10; the deeds criterion is F13.3.

Confidence: High.