Temporal and eternal goods and the idea of a theistic spirituality

Journal article

In this paper, I consider two objections to the idea of a theistic spirituality, each grounded in a certain conception of eternity: the first maintains that on the relevant notion of eternity, theism issues in a degraded account of the significance of our lives in time, while the second proposes that on a further, related notion of eternity, theism fails to carry any action-guiding import. These objections have some claim to be rooted in Christian traditions of thought, and I relate the first to Augustine’s understanding of eternity and the other to a position that C. S. Lewis appears to endorse. To anchor the discussion, I take as my focus the question of whether there is a properly Christian pattern of grieving following the death of a loved one. In reply to these objections, I sketch a further view of how an idea of eternity may inform an ideal of the spiritual life, one that presents a rather different understanding of the relationship between temporal and eternal goods.

Authors: Wynn, M

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Nordic Society for Philosophy of Religion
• Journal: Agatheos - European Journal for Philosophy of Religion
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 71–87
• Publication date: 2024-12-20
• Acceptance date: 2024-09-15
• DOI: 10.69574/aejpr.v1i3.29812
• EISSN: 2004-9331
• Language: English
• Keywords: C.S. Lewis; time; eternity; spirituality; wellbeing; bereavement; grief; Augustine