Christian mortalism is the Christianity belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is "sleeping" after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the intermediate state. " Soul sleep" is often used as a pejorative term, so the more neutral term "mortalism" was also used in the nineteenth century, and "Christian mortalism" since the 1970s. Historically the term psychopannychism was also used, despite problems with the etymology and application. The term thnetopsychism has also been used; for example, Gordon Campbell (2008) identified John Milton as believing in the latter.
Christian mortalism stands in contrast with the traditional Christian belief that the souls of the dead immediately go to heaven, or hell, or (in Catholicism) purgatory. Christian mortalism has been taught by several theologians and church organizations throughout history while also facing opposition from aspects of Christian organized religion. The Catholic Church condemned such thinking in the Fifth Council of the Lateran as "erroneous assertions". Supporters include eighteenth-century religious figure Henry Layton, among many others.
The title and subtitle of the 1542 Strasbourg 1st edition read: .
The title and subtitle of the 1545 2nd Latin edition read: .
The 1558 French edition was a translation of that of the 1545 2nd edition:
Luther's use of similar language (but this time defending the view) appears in print only a few years after Calvin:
The United Kingdom Evangelical Alliance ACUTE report states the doctrine of soul sleep is a "significant minority Evangelicalism view" that has "grown within evangelicalism in recent years". Although in modern times some have attempted to introduce the concept of soul sleep into Eastern Orthodox thought about life after death, it has never been a part of traditional Eastern Orthodox teaching, and it even contradicts the Eastern Orthodox understanding of the intercession of the Saints.
Mortalists argue for soul sleep using Bible verses such as Psalm 6:5, 115:17, 146:4, Ecclesiastes 9:5, Luke 8:52-53, John 11:11–14, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Mortalists point to Genesis 2 and Revelation 22, where the Tree of Life is mentioned. It is argued that these passages, along with Genesis 3:22–24 teach that human beings will naturally die without continued access to God's life-giving power.
As a general rule, soul sleep goes hand in hand with annihilationism; that is, the belief that the souls of the wicked will be destroyed in Gehenna (often translated “hell,” especially by non-mortalists and non-annihilationists) fire rather than suffering eternal torment. The two ideas are not exactly equivalent, however, because in principle God may annihilate a soul which was previously created immortal.
Mortalist writers, such as Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan, have often argued that the doctrine of natural (or innate) immortality stems not from Hebrew thought as presented in the Bible, but rather from pagan influence, particularly Greek philosophy and the teachings of Plato, or Christian tradition. Bishop of Durham N.T. Wright noted that 1 Timothy 6:15-16 teaches "God… alone is immortal," while in 2 Timothy 1:10 it says that immortality only comes to human beings as a gift through the gospel. Immortality is something to be sought after ( Romans 2:7) therefore it is not inherent to all humanity.
These groups may claim that the doctrine of soul sleep reconciles two seemingly conflicting traditions in the Bible: the ancient Hebrew concept that the human being is mortal with no meaningful existence after death (see שאול, Sheol and the Book of Ecclesiastes), and the later Jewish and Christian belief in the resurrection of the dead and personal immortality after Judgment Day.
Soul sleep is present in certain Second Temple period pseudepigraphal works, later rabbinical works, and among medieval era rabbis such as Abraham Ibn Ezra (1092–1167), Maimonides (1135–1204), and Joseph Albo (1380–1444).
Some authorities within Conservative Judaism, notably Neil Gillman, also support the notion that the souls of the dead are unconscious until the resurrection.Gillman, Neil. The Death of Death: Resurrection and Immortality in Jewish Thought. Jewish Lights, 1997.
Traditional rabbinic Judaism, however, has always been of the opinion that belief in immortality of at least most souls, and punishment and reward after death, was a consistent belief back through the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Traditional Judaism reads the Torah accordingly. As an example, the punishment of kareth (excision) is understood to mean that the soul is cut off from God in the afterlife.
In Octavius, an account of a debate between a Pagan and a Christian by Marcus Minucius Felix, the Christian in the debate takes mortalism to be a matter of common agreement:
This synod in Arabia would have been during the reign of Emperor Philip the Arab (244–249). Redepenning (1841) was of the opinion that Eusebius' terminology here, "the human soul dies" was probably that of their critics rather than the Arabian Christians' own expression and they were more likely simply "psychopannychists", believers in “soul sleep”.
Some Syriac writers such as Aphrahat, Ephrem and Narsai believed in the dormition, or "sleep", of the soul, in which "...souls of the dead...are largely inert, having lapsed into a state of sleep, in which they can only dream of their future reward or punishments." John of Damascus denounced the ideas of some Arab Christians as thnetopsychism ("soul death"). Eustratios of Constantinople (after 582) denounced this and what he called hypnopsychism ("soul sleep"). The issue was connected to that of the intercession of saints. The writings of Christian ascetic Isaac of Nineveh (d. 700), reflect several perspectives which include soul sleep.
Pope John XXII inadvertently caused the beatific vision (1331–1334) by suggesting that the saved do not attain the beatific vision, or "see God" until Judgment Day (in Italian: Visione beatifica differita, "deferred beatific vision"), which was a view possibly consistent with soul sleep. The Sacred College of Cardinals held a consistory on the problem in January 1334, and Pope John conceded to the more orthodox understanding. His successor, in that same year, Pope Benedict XII, declared that the righteous do see Heaven prior to the final judgement. In 1336, Pope Benedict XII issued the papal bull Benedictus Deus. This document defined the Church's belief that the souls of the departed go to their eternal reward immediately after death, as opposed to remaining in a state of unconscious existence until the Last Judgment.
Anglican cleric William Tyndale (1494–1536) argued against Thomas More in favor of soul sleep:
Morey suggests that John Wycliffe (1320–1384) and Tyndale taught the doctrine of soul sleep "as the answer to the Catholic teachings of purgatory and masses for the dead."
Some Anabaptists in this period, such as Michael Sattler (1490–1527), were Christian mortalists.
Martin Luther (1483–1546) is said to have advocated soul sleep, though certain scholars, such as Trevor O’Reggio, argue that his writings reflect a nuanced position on the subject. In writing on Ecclesiastes, Luther says:
Elsewhere Luther states that:
Jürgen Moltmann (2000) concludes from this that "Luther conceived the state of the dead as a deep, dreamless sleep, removed from time and space, without consciousness and without feeling." That Luther believed in soul sleep is also the view of Michael R. Watts. Some writers have claimed that Luther changed his view later in life. Gottfried Fritschel (1867) claims that quotations from Luther's Latin works had been misread in Latin or in German translation to contradict or qualify specific statements and what he perceived as Luther's overall teaching, namely that the sleep of the dead was unconscious. These readings can still be found in some English sources.
Several passages, including the following examples, show that Luther's views are more nuanced, or are even cited to show that he adhered to the doctrine of the immortality of the soul:
As such, Lutheran churches in the Missouri Synod affirm that "The Confessions rule out the contemporary view that death is a pleasant and painless transition into a perfect world" and reject both the ideas that "the soul is by nature and by virtue of an inherent quality immortal" and that "the soul 'sleeps' between death and the resurrection in such a way that it is not conscious of bliss".
On the other hand, others believing in soul sleep included Camillo Renato (1540), Mátyás Dévai Bíró (1500–45), Michael Servetus (1511–1553), Laelio Sozzini (1562), Fausto Sozzini (1563), the Polish Brethren (1565 onwards), Dirk Philips (1504–1568), Gregory Paul of Brzezin (1568), the Socinians (1570–1800), John Frith (1573), George Schomann (1574) and Simon Budny (1576).
Soul sleep has been called a "major current of seventeenth century protestant ideology." John Milton wrote in his unpublished De Doctrina Christiana,
Gordon Campbell (2008) identifies Milton's views as "thnetopsychism", a belief that the soul dies with the body but is resurrected at the last judgment. however Milton speaks also of the dead as "asleep". De Doctrina Christiana citing 1Thess 4:17, Daniel 12:2 etc.
Those holding this view include: 1600s: Sussex Baptists d. 1612: Edward Wightman 1627: Samuel Gardner 1628: Samuel Przypkowski 1636: George Wither 1637: Joachim Stegmann 1624: Richard Overton 1654: John Biddle (Unitarian) 1655: Matthew Caffyn 1658: Samuel Richardson 1608–1674: John Milton 1588–1670: Thomas Hobbes 1605–1682: Thomas Browne 1622–1705: Henry Layton 1702: William Coward 1632–1704: John LockeNuvo (ed.), 'John Locke: Writings on Religion', p. xxxiii (2002) 1643–1727: Isaac Newton 1676–1748: Pietro Giannone 1751: William Kenrick 1755: Edmund Law 1759: Samuel Bourn 1723–1791: Richard Price 1718–1797: Peter Peckard 1733–1804: Joseph Priestley Francis Blackburne (1765).
Others include: Millerites (from 1833), Edward White (1846), Christadelphians (from 1848), Thomas Thayer (1855),; no relation to Joseph Henry Thayer lexicographer. François Gaussen (d. 1863), Henry Constable (1873), Louis Burnier (Waldensian, d. 1878), the Baptist Conditionalist Association (1878), Cameron Mann (1888), Emmanuel Pétavel-Olliff (1891), Miles Grant (1895), George Gabriel Stokes (1897).
Jehovah's Witnesses teach a form of thnetopsychism, in that the soul is the body (Genesis 2:7) and that it dies (Ezekiel 18:20; Ecclesiastes 9:5,10). They believe that 144,000 chosen ones will receive immortality in heaven to rule as kings and priests with Christ in Heaven (Rev 7:4; 14:1,3) but all the other saved will be raised from the dead on the last day (John 5:28,29) to receive eternal life on a Paradise Earth (Revelation 7:9,14,17).
Seventh-day Adventists believe that death is a state of unconscious sleep until the resurrection. They base this belief on biblical texts such as Ecclesiastes 9:5 which states "the dead know nothing", and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 which contains a description of the dead being raised from the grave at the second coming. These verses, it is argued, indicate that death is only a period or form of slumber.
Adventists also use a number of texts to defend this position. They use verses like Rom. 6:23, John 20:17, John 5:28, 29, Isa. 25:8, Job 19:25-27, to defend conditional immortality, stating:
The wages of sin is death. But God, who alone is immortal, will grant eternal life to His redeemed. Until that day death is an unconscious state for all people. When Christ, who is our life, appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord. The second resurrection, the resurrection of the unrighteous, will take place a thousand years later.On John 11, they also comment:
Although colloquially called “soul sleep, the official term in Adventist belief number 26 (Death and Resurrection) regarding the state of the dead is an “unconscious state.” Examples of it can be found throughout the Bible. For example, when looking at the story of Lazarus rising from the dead (John 11, NKJV), would it not be cruel to interrupt Lazarus’s perfect state in heaven by bringing him back to life to return to this corrupt earth, only to die again later?
Opponents of (soul sleeping) and (the temporary death of the soul) include the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church (that also teach about Intercession of saints, connected to this subject), most mainline Protestant denominations, and most conservative Protestants, Evangelicals, and Fundamentalists.
Latter-Day Saint doctrine teaches that the souls in Prison who ended up there due to ignorance or inability to accept Christ may be preached to while in Prison so that they may accept Christ. This is derived from the LDS interpretation of 1 Peter 3:18–20 where Christ is described as preaching to the "dead who were in prison" and 1 Peter 4:5–6, which states:
Like many Eastern Orthodox and Catholics, the LDS Church teaches that the prayers of the righteous living may be of help to the dead, but the LDS Church takes this one step further with vicarious sacraments (called "ordinances" but with a sacramental theological meaning). The LDS Church preaches the necessity of baptism by water and the Holy Ghost (Baptism and Confirmation) for salvation. They teach that previously ignorant spirits who accept Christ in Spirit Prison may receive saving ordinances through vicarious Baptism and Confirmation of the living. This is drawn from 1st Corinthians 15, wherein the Apostle Paul is arguing against a group of Christians who are mistakenly denying the physical resurrection of the dead. Paul asks them in 1st Corinthians 15:29:
The LDS Church believes that this is a reference to vicarious work for the dead which was practiced by the ancient Christian Church and considered orthodox in Early Christianity, including by the Apostle Paul, hence his use of it as an example of the correct doctrine of the resurrection. This is the origin of the LDS practice of baptism for the dead. As such, a great deal of LDS doctrine and practice is tied to the idea of the continued existence and activity of the human spirit after death and before judgment.
According to Donelley, "Twentieth century biblical scholarship largely agrees that the ancient Jews had little explicit notion of a personal afterlife until very late in the Old Testament period," and "only the latest stratum of the Old Testament asserts even the resurrection of the body." Scholars have noted that the notion of the "disembodied existence of a soul in bliss" is not in accordance with a Hebrew world view: "While Hebrew thought world distinguished soul from body (as material basis of life), there was no question of two separate, independent entities." Gillman argues that
However, N. T. Wright suggests that "the Bible offers a spectrum of belief about life after death." While John Goldingay suggests that Ecclesiastes points out that there is no evidence that "human beings would enjoy a positive afterlife," Philip Johnston argues that a few Psalms, such as Psalm 16, Psalm 49 and Psalm 73, "affirm a continued communion with God after death," but "give no elaboration of how, when or where this communion will take place."
Neyrey suggests that "for a Hebrew, 'soul' indicated the unity of a human person," and "this Hebrew field of meaning is breached in the Wisdom of Solomon by explicit introduction of Greek ideas of soul. Avery-Peck argues that
Regardless of the character of the soul's existence in the intermediate state, biblical scholarship affirms that a disembodied soul is unnatural and at best transitional. Bromiley argues that "the soul and the body belong together, so that without either the one or the other there is no true man. Disembodied existence in Sheol is unreal. Paul does not seek a life outside the body, but wants to be clothed with a new and spiritual body (1 Cor. 15; 2 Cor. 5)."
The mortalist disbelief in the existence of a naturally immortal soul, is affirmed as biblical teaching by a range of standard scholarly Jewish and Christian sources. The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Modern Christian Thought (1995) says, "There is no concept of an immortal soul in the Old Testament, nor does the New Testament ever call the human soul immortal." Harper's Bible Dictionary (1st ed. 1985) says that "For a Hebrew, 'soul' indicated the unity of a human person; Hebrews were living bodies, they did not have bodies". says, "But to the Bible man is not a soul in a body but a body/soul unity". says, "Scripture does not present even a rudimentarily developed theology of the soul" and "The notion of the soul as an independent force that animates human life but that can exist apart from the human body—either prior to conception and birth or subsequent to life and death—is the product only of later Judaism". The says that the Septuagint translated the Hebrew word nefesh by the Greek word psyche, but the latter does not have the same sense in Greek thought. The says, "Far from referring simply to one aspect of a person, "soul" refers to the whole person". The says, "Possibly Jn. 6:33 also includes an allusion to the general life-giving function. This teaching rules out all ideas of an emanation of the soul." and "The soul and the body belong together, so that without either the one or the other there is no true man". The says, "Indeed, the salvation of the "immortal soul" has sometimes been a commonplace in preaching, but it is fundamentally unbiblical." The says "The Hebrew Bible does not present the human soul (nepeš) or spirit (rûah) as an immortal substance, and for the most part it envisions the dead as ghosts in Sheol, the dark, sleepy underworld". The says, "there is practically no specific teaching on the subject in the Bible beyond an underlying assumption of some form of afterlife (see immortality)". The says "It is this essential soul-body oneness that provides the uniqueness of the biblical concept of the resurrection of the body as distinguished from the Greek idea of the immortality of the soul".
The mortalist disbelief in the existence of a naturally immortal soul is also affirmed as biblical teaching by various modern theologians, and Hebblethwaite observes the doctrine of immortality of the soul is "not popular amongst Christian theologians or among Christian philosophers today".
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