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For all the Saints? Remembering the Christian departed

Reviewed by Julian Reindorp.

This is a reissue of a book first published in 2003.

I am sometimes asked whether I believe in the Christian doctrine of life after death. I want to reply: “Which doctrine of the after life?”

Tom Wright, former Bishop of Durham, is quite clear about his answer: there is a two stage process: “All the Christian departed are in substantially the same state, that of restful happiness. This is not the final destiny for which they are bound, namely the bodily resurrection. We are given new bodies to live and love and celebrate and rule in God's new creation” (p.71). “It is a temporary resting place...since they and we are both in Christ, we ..share with them in the Communion of Saints” (p.37).”Erase the false trail of purgatory from our mental map, and there is no reason why we shouldn't pray for them and with them.”

Our sins have already been dealt with on the cross of Jesus. Purgatory, for Paul, is our present lives.

Wright sets out to think clearly and coherently (the liberal agenda), to think biblically (the evangelical agenda), and to think in dialogue with the great traditions of Christendom (the catholic agenda). He lays out his views with his usual clarity. He now feels unable to go to All Souls services.The faithful departed are in one category only, the heroes of our faith as well as the rest of the faithful departed, and all are celebrated on All Saints day. The dead should be remembered on Easter day. The festival of Christ the King and the ‘Kingdom Season’ distorts the liturgical year and takes away the focus that should be on the feast of the Ascension.

The word ‘soul’ is only useful in talking about personal continuity despite bodily discontinuity. He quotes John Polkinghorne: “God will download our software on to his hardware, until the day comes when he gives us new hardware on which to run our software once more.” He is not a universalist, but “it is not up to us to say who's in and who's out.”

As always, Wright helps you to sort out what you believe and why. I want to settle for two convictions: whatever my ultimate nature it is somehow known to God and preserved in his mind, and our future is based on a loving relationship with God, but what form it takes is something we cannot know now.

This is a very stimulating read.