Rescue for the Dead: The Posthumous Salvation of Non-Christians in Early Christianity

Oxford University Press, USA Oxford Studies in Historical Theology ^ | August 31, 2001 | Jeffrey A. Trumbower

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Book Description

Christianity is a religion of salvation in which believers have always anticipated post-mortem bliss for the faithful and non-salvation for others. Here, Trumbower examines how and why death came to be perceived as such a firm boundary of salvation. Analyzing exceptions to this principle from ancient Christianity, he finds that the principle itself was slow to develop and not universally accepted in the Christian movement's first four hundred years. In fact, only in the West was this principle definitively articulated, due in large part to the work and influence of Augustine.

About the Author
Jeffrey A. Trumbower is at St. Michael's College, Colchester, VT.

A Few reviews

An Unfamiliar history, March 23, 2004 By A Customer

The relationships between the living and the dead have always been in the center of religious experience and have always provided privileged material for reflection, both in the ancient world and in Christianity, from the origins up till the present day. Due to its mysterious nature, the borderline experience of death has always aroused not only curiosity for the unknown, but also the desire of the living not to allow the link of solidarity that binds them to those who have passed on to be interrupted, but to perpetuate it in some way. Trumbower's fine work, newly published in the prestigious "Oxford Studies in Historical Theology" series, is dedicated to this fascinating theme. The author's interest was stimulated initially by the need to understand the real implications of the at first glance "surprising" prayer of the virgin Thecla, the disciple and companion of the apostle Paul, in favor of the deceased pagan Falconilla, a prayer quoted in the apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla (28-31) of the second century C.E. After a rapid but effective panoramic review of the Greco-Roman and Jewish world, Trumbower deals with the theme of the "posthumous salvation of the non-Christian dead," starting from the New Testament and arriving at the late discussions on purgatory at the Council of Ferrara (1438), with some interesting observations even on modern and contemporary documents: a very long period of time, indeed! In eight agile chapters, he analyzes the developments of that belief over the centuries, its possible social implications, and the various cultural and theological environments in which it was expressed, and identifies at least four different types of doctrine on the salvation of non-believers after death: (1) scenarios of the last judgement in which the chosen can save part of the damned; (2) intercession for non-Christian dead by characters (fictitious ones such as Thecla or historic ones such as Perpetua), who possess the particular spiritual power of the confessors of the faith; (3) a general offer of salvation to the dead during Christ's descent to Hell; (4) philosophical and theological speculations on the justice of God and on the possibility of a final universal salvation even for the wicked.

The central thesis of the book is that, after the great variety of positions expressed in the first four centuries, especially due to the decisive influence of Augustine, in the medieval Latin West death was considered as an insuperable boundary beyond which no form of recovery is possible for those who have not been baptized and have not taken active steps to ensure their own salvation. On the other hand, the Byzantine East, while rejecting the idea of universal salvation, seems to have been on the whole more open towards alternative forms of salvation after death.

This work, carried on with sympathy and keen personal participation in the topic, is well written and a pleasure to read. The numerous ancient sources analyzed in the discussion are of various nature and origin: literary and epigraphic, pagan, biblical and Judaic, apocryphal, Gnostic, hagiographie; their interpretation is often problematic and controversial, but they are generally treated with prudence and equilibrium, thanks also to the use of a vast and highly qualified bibliography. A few slips may be easily corrected in a second edition: for instance, "Pausanius" (12 and 21) instead of the correct "Pausanias"; "Perenzo" (77) instead of "Parenzo"; "lude more infantum, 8.3" (86) instead of "ludere more infantium, 8.4"; "Gosp. Thorn. 112" (165, note 27) instead of "114"; "Gregory Hoffmann" (175, note 33 and 187: co-editor with L. Petit of the documents on Purgatory issued at the Ferrara/Florence Council), instead of George Hofmann; "Pontificorum" (187) instead of "Pontificium" (Institutum Studiorum Orientalium).

The prospects drawn up and the explanations proposed by Trumbower may also be enriched, confirmed or modified, by an apt reference to, and an in-depth study of, further texts that have not been directly considered in this book. For example, Pseudo-Hippolytus's homily, In Sanctum Pascha, chapter 58, could be usefully added to the already rich dossier of texts on the descensus ad inferos (chapter 5): here it is claimed that the purpose of Christ's descent to Hell was to save the entire human race that had lived before the Law, under the Law, and after the coming of Christ. As far as concerns the decisive role of Augustine, which is well illustrated in chapter 7, the Pelagian controversy certainly offered him more than one opportunity to define his rejection of the idea of a "posthumous salvation." However, it should not be forgotten that this rejection was in some way connected with the criticism of the pagan survival of the cult of the dead, which Augustine had already developed during the last decade of the Fourth century. (See the classic book by V. Saxer, Morts, martyrs, reliques en Afrique chretienne aux premiers siecles. Les temoignages de Tertullien, Cyprien et Augustin a la lumiere de l'archeologie africaine [Paris: Beauchesne, 1980]). And quite apart from contingent polemical motivations, it was part of his doctrine of the "universal damnation" of the massa peccati, already clearly stated in the treatise Ad Simplicianum (396 C.E.). The difficulty Western theology at the end of the Fourth century had in understanding and preserving the traditional message of redemption implicit in the old doctrine of the descensus ad inferos is also proved by Rufinus of Aquileia's Commentary on the Apostles' Creed, chapter 18: here he claims that the meaning of the clause on the descent into Hell is the same as that contained in the clause on Christ's burial.

On the whole, Trumbower has written a dense and stimulating book, a clear and accessible synthesis. On the one hand this study reveals the author's familiarity with the Greco-Roman, Jewish, and Christian sources, while on the other it offers excellent updated historic information and casts new light on a delicate and important theme of Christian theology that every now and then returns strongly to the fore. The author seems to have perfectly achieved his aim.

Pier Franco Beatrice
University of Padua, Italy

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Fascinating, January 3, 2007
By Pianissimo "pp" (Arizona)

I found the information in this book both fascinating and well researched in its revelation on the various concepts of "posthumous salvation" that existed in the earliest days of the Christian Church. Anyone interested in this subject should definitely take the time to read "Rescue for the Dead" by Jeffrey A. Trumbower

[restornu]

You are on the wrong thread!

[RobbyS]

To earn. However,spiritual relationships established on earth continue after death. This is why we should not give up on people.