Thank you for that. You don't often get a decent answer on this forum but that was more than what I expected.
My perspective on things is a Jungianesque one, that is an archetypal psychology approach. What you said fits in with this in symbolic terms and I would agree, again in a symbolic perspective, that Christ would have stated how things were going to be or how they will be arranged and set-up to the ones in the lower chamber. In psychological terms preaching to them to try and get them to 'repent' would be an absurd position to take.
Do you know how the Catholic's purgatory fits in with all this?
Thank you for those comments. I do appreciate them.
I do not really have any serious argument in adopting a symbolic approach to many Scripture passages, particularly those dealing with matters which lie beyond the grave. Life beyond this present one is also one which is outside time and the restrictions of the present physical world that we live in. But our understanding and thinking is very much limited by the environment in which we find ourselves. So the Scriptures need to use physical examples to help us get some insights into these spiritual realities. But we are on dangerous grounds when we start insisting on imposing literal interpretations. Rather we need to focus on understanding the important ‘truths’ which are being conveyed by the passage.
From a Christian perspective some of the truths which can perhaps be gleaned from this passage in Peter (and some others) include that there is on-going spiritual awareness after death. For the believer this includes a far heightened awareness of being in the nearer presence of Christ while for the unrighteous (and I use this term deliberately rather than unbeliever) there is a far heightened awareness of separation from Christ. Also that there is an ultimate judgement on the latter.
Being a good (bad AM might say) Presbyterian I do not agree with the Catholic teaching on purgatory but am not really in a position to comment on it. Perhaps ad_o, who probably has a better understanding of Catholic doctrine, may have some useful insights here from his Orthodox perspective.
Just a point in question, with reference to the bit I have highlighted. Isn't the Christian explanation a literal one with regards to souls, evil spirits and Christ himself, and other aspects, but not all of them. As you say from the perspective of your limited and restrictive earthly life you have no bases for such details, at least not for most of them, and even the ones you may have something these are usually not totally clear and a little fussy....? Putting aside the claims of belief and faith as these put one on dangerous grounds when assessing these with our understanding.
That is a valid question and I have spent a bit of time considering how best to respond.
I suppose the short answer is ‘yes’ I do understand them in a literal sense. But then I need to qualify that statement.
On any given day my outlook on life will be influenced by a number of different emotions that I experience. I could be feeling happy, content, at peace with the world. Or I could be feeling sad, concerned, dissatisfied etc. My emotions are very much part of the essential me and are literally very real. But they are not a physical reality, rather part of my essential nature.
Soul and spirit represent another very real part of me and once again I view them literally as very much part of the essential me. But again they are not a physical reality but part of my spiritual dimension. And they represent that very real dimension of the essential me that continues beyond this physical life.
So I interpret concepts found in the Scriptures such as soul or spirit or evil spirits as being representations of reality, which are very much associated with our earthly life and which need to be understood in a literal way, but in spiritual terms rather than physical.
A major problem is that in trying to describe these non-physical realities I only have the vocabulary of the physical world of which I presently part to do this, And there lies the rub and source of so much difficulty in getting a true handle on these realities.
Just a final thought. I am an African, born and bred in Africa and it is a continent which, for better or for worse, very much has a habit of getting into your blood. I also grew up in a very rural part where tribal customs were still very strong and provided the glue which governed much of the way of life.
Now, as a general rule, the western mind sees a very clear distinction between the ‘reality’ of the physical realm and what is viewed as the ‘unreality’ of the supernatural or spiritual world. There are no points of overlap. In contrast to this western view the tribal mind sees no discontinuity. The physical and the spiritual are both part of the same continuum which merge seamlessly into one another. And so they are continuously rubbing shoulders and interacting with one another in everyday life. Both have equal, but separate, reality. Perhaps some sort of analogy can be gleaned from this.
I do not feel that I have addressed your query very adequately but that is the best I can do for the moment.
