[xzins]

While I do not consider the doctrine of soul sleep to be a damnable heresy, it is still in error. If it creates a subtle feeling against God's fairness, it could lead to worse problems. Considering what questioning God's fairness did to Adam and Eve, it could lead to similar consequences among soul sleepers. The truth will never malign God's character

I understand that the doctrine of soul sleep came out of 19th century "adventism."

I adamantly agree that in and of itself it is egregious error. I'm inclined to call it heresy.

What are your opinions?

[shatcher]

There was a time where I was confused about the whole Soul Sleep issue. When I took the time to look up all the verses about "sleep" in the New Testament using the Strong's concordance, I realized the Greek word definitions were ones of a dead body or death in general. This is no longer a question in my mind.

[BibChr]

Offhand: I agree that it is serious error, but would not class it as damnable heresy. It has no direct implications for the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Christ's work alone. The believer is unconscious -- not working off (or sweating off) his sins.

Nor does it impact the Deity of Christ, the Trinity, the sufficiency of Scripture, or other fundamentals.

It is an error, but if one is sound on Christ and the Gospel, yet accepts this error, I don't see it as automatically meaning that he is lost forever.

Dan

[drstevej]

***I understand that the doctrine of soul sleep came out of 19th century "adventism." ***

Calvin's tract, "Psychopannychia"[1542] dealt with the doctrine of soul sleep (psychopannychism) taught by some of the proponents of the Radical Reformation.

[fortheDeclaration]

understand that the doctrine of soul sleep came out of 19th century "adventism." I adamantly agree that in and of itself it is egregious error. I'm inclined to call it heresy. What are your opinions?

It is certainly not scriptural!

Scripture says that when we die we are with Christ (Phil.1:23).

It seems that it goes much further back then the 19th century.

According to Martians, Kingdom of the Cults, William Tyndale may have held to it.

The confusion seems to come from believing that one needs a physical body and thus, must wait for the Resurrection to receive one before one can go to heaven.

[Dr. Eckleburg]

IMO, "soul sleep" is heresy on the order of the Catholic doctrine of purgatory and limbo, fiction utilized for the power of men over other men.

Since God knows from before creation whether someone is damned or saved, there is no span of time between death and retribution before God's judgement is rendered.

It strikes me as theosophy -- the eternally-evolving soul, struggling to attain divinity. It's the stuff of Halloween parties.

[B-Chan]

"Soul sleep" is an easily-refuted Adventist heresy. The true teaching of the Church is found in the Catechism, Sec. 997:

In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus' Resurrection.

Nothing in there about "sleep"; God is the God of the living, not the dead.

In this case, BibChr is right: "Absent from the body, present with the Lord". Such has always been the teaching of the Catholic Church.

[Conservative til I die]

Soul sleep = heresy, and a new one at that.