Appendix C

Glossary of Terms

A working reference for the language of this book

Full-Length Edition

This glossary collects the theological, philosophical, scientific, and biblical-language terms used in Between Heartbeats. Each entry gives a brief, plain-language definition and points to the chapter or appendix where the term is treated most fully. Entries are alphabetical. Where a Greek, Hebrew, or Latin term overlaps with an English concept, the two are listed together.

A

Aiōn / Aiōnios. Greek terms often translated "eternal" or "everlasting." Aiōn means an age or era. Aiōnios is the adjective form, meaning "of the age" or "age-long." Whether aiōnios always means "endless" is debated, with major consequences for how we read the New Testament on punishment. See Appendix L and Chapter 29.

Annihilationism. The view that those who finally reject God cease to exist rather than suffering endlessly. Often used as a synonym for conditional immortality, though some writers draw a distinction. See Chapter 29.

A-Theory of Time. The view that time really passes and that the present moment is objectively special. The past is gone; the future is not yet real. Contrasted with B-theory. See Appendix H and Chapter 14.

B

B-Theory of Time. The view that all moments in time are equally real. Past, present, and future all exist; the sense that time "flows" is a feature of human experience, not of reality itself. Sometimes called the "block universe" view. See Appendix H and Appendix N.

C

Cardiac Arrest. The sudden stopping of the heart. In NDE research this is the gold-standard condition because the brain gets no blood flow, and most of the strongest veridical cases occur during documented cardiac arrest. See Chapter 8.

Chronos and Kairos. Two Greek words for time. Chronos is clock time, measured and sequential. Kairos is the right time, the moment that matters. The New Testament uses both, and the difference shapes how we understand God's timing at the moment of death. See Appendix L and Chapter 15.

Clinical Death. The point at which heartbeat and breathing stop. Clinical death is not the same as biological death, which comes later as cells begin to break down. NDEs occur in this gap. See Chapter 5.

Conditional Immortality (CI). The view that humans are not naturally immortal. Only those who receive eternal life from God live forever; the rest eventually cease to exist. Distinguished from annihilationism by some writers, though the two terms often overlap. See Chapter 9 and Chapter 29.

Conscious Intermediate State. The belief that the soul exists in a conscious, aware state between bodily death and the final resurrection. Contrasted with soul sleep. See Chapter 9 and Chapter 20.

Counterfactual (of Creaturely Freedom). A true statement about what a free creature would do in a particular set of circumstances, even if those circumstances never occur. Example: "If Sarah heard the gospel at age thirty in first-century Rome, she would freely accept." God's knowledge of all such statements is called middle knowledge. See Chapter 28.

CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation). The emergency procedure used to restart the heart after cardiac arrest. CPR creates the medical window that makes resuscitation possible, and sometimes the conditions under which NDEs are reported. See Chapter 6.

D

Descent of Christ (Descensus ad Inferos). The teaching that between his death and resurrection, Christ descended to the realm of the dead. The Apostles' Creed affirms it. Key texts include 1 Peter 3:18–19, 1 Peter 4:6, and Ephesians 4:8–10. See Chapter 20, Chapter 21, and Chapter 22.

Divine Simplicity. The classical doctrine that God has no parts. Every attribute of God is identical with every other and with God himself. This bears on whether God can experience time, since a simple God cannot have one state before and another after. See Appendix F and Appendix G.

Divine Temporality / Divine Timelessness. Two views of God's relationship to time. Divine temporality holds that God experiences real succession: a before, a now, an after. Divine timelessness holds that God exists outside time, seeing all moments at once. This book argues for divine temporality because the moment-of-death encounter requires a God who responds in real time. See Appendix F, Appendix G, and Chapter 13.

Dualism. The view that human beings are composed of both material and immaterial parts. Substance dualism says the soul is a distinct entity that can exist apart from the body. Property dualism says mental properties are real but not a separate substance. Hylomorphic dualism (Aristotle, Aquinas) says the soul is the form of the body. Emergent dualism says the mind emerges from the brain but becomes something distinct. This book affirms substance dualism. See Chapter 8 and Chapter 9.

E

Ēchmalōteusen Aichmalōsian. Greek phrase from Ephesians 4:8, meaning "he led captivity captive." Paul quotes Psalm 68:18 to describe Christ's ascension and applies it to the transfer of the righteous dead from Sheol to heaven. See Chapter 22.

Eschatology. The study of last things: death, judgment, heaven, hell, resurrection, and the final state. This book contributes to eschatology by arguing that the moment of death is itself a decisive event. See Chapter 29.

ET-Simultaneity. A concept from the philosophy of divine timelessness. An event in time and God's eternal present are said to be "simultaneously" present to each other, even though they do not share the same clock moment. Developed by Stump and Kretzmann. See Appendix G.

F

Feasible World. In Molinist thought, a possible world that God can actually create, given the true counterfactuals of creaturely freedom. Not every logically possible world is feasible, because free creatures might not cooperate. God creates the best feasible world, not the best conceivable one. See Chapter 28.

Final Judgment. The future event at which God renders his definitive verdict on every human life. In this book's model, the soul's decision is already settled at the moment of death; the final judgment ratifies what the soul has freely chosen. See Chapter 20 and Chapter 24.

Free Will (Libertarian, Compatibilist). Libertarian free will holds that a free choice requires the real ability to do otherwise. Compatibilist free will holds that freedom is compatible with determinism, so long as no external force compels the person. This book presupposes libertarian freedom. See Chapter 28 and Chapter 27.

G

General Revelation. God's self-disclosure through creation, conscience, and the moral order, available to all people. Distinguished from special revelation (Scripture, the incarnation, direct divine speech). See Chapter 4 and Chapter 32.

Greyson NDE Scale. A standardized questionnaire developed by psychiatrist Bruce Greyson to measure a near-death experience's depth and features. Scores range from 0 to 32; 7 or above qualifies as an NDE. See Chapter 7.

H

Hadēs / Sheol. The realm of the dead. Sheol is the Hebrew Old Testament term; Hadēs is its Greek New Testament counterpart. In the two-stage model, Sheol/Hades held both a place of comfort (Abraham's bosom) and a place of torment. After Christ's resurrection, the righteous dead were transferred to heaven. See Chapter 20 and Chapter 23.

Hellish NDE / Distressing NDE. A near-death experience marked by fear, darkness, isolation, or hostile beings rather than the peace and light reported in most NDEs. Less common but well documented, these experiences play an important role in this book's argument about the sequenced encounter. See Chapter 12.

I

Inclusivism. The view that salvation is possible for those who never hear the explicit gospel, because Christ's work can reach people who respond in faith to whatever light they have. Distinguished from pluralism and restrictivism. See Chapter 4 and Chapter 32.

K

Kēryssō. Greek verb meaning "to proclaim" or "to preach as a herald." Used in 1 Peter 3:19 to describe what Christ did among the spirits after his death. Whether this was a victory declaration or a salvation offer is debated. See Chapter 21.

Krisis. Greek noun meaning "judgment" or "decision." It carries the sense of a decisive turning point, not merely a verdict imposed from outside. See Chapter 24.

L

Libertarian Freedom. The view that genuine freedom requires the real power to choose otherwise in the same circumstances. A free choice cannot be fully determined by prior causes. This book's model requires libertarian freedom for the moment-of-death decision. See Chapter 28 and Chapter 27.

Life Review. A feature of many NDEs in which the dying person relives key moments of their life, often feeling the impact of their actions on others from those others' perspectives. In this book's model the life review functions as part of the encounter's purifying work. See Chapter 11 and Appendix K.

Limbus Patrum. Latin for "the border of the fathers." In Catholic theology, the region where the righteous who died before Christ waited for his coming. Roughly equivalent to Abraham's bosom in Luke 16. See Chapter 20.

M

Maximal Harvest World. In Molinist thought, a feasible world in which God brings the greatest possible number of free creatures to salvation without overriding anyone's freedom. See Chapter 28.

Middle Knowledge / Molinism. Named after the sixteenth-century Jesuit Luis de Molina, this is the view that God knows what every free creature would freely choose in every possible set of circumstances. This knowledge sits "in the middle" between God's knowledge of all possibilities and his knowledge of what actually happens. God uses it to compose the world, including the moment-of-death encounter. See Chapter 28.

N

Near-Death Experience (NDE). A reported experience occurring during clinical death or extreme crisis. Common features include separation from the body, a tunnel, encounter with a being of light, a life review, and a decision to return. The term was coined by Raymond Moody in 1975. See Chapter 6 and Chapter 7.

Nekrois. Greek for "the dead" (dative plural). Used in 1 Peter 4:6, which says the gospel was preached "to the dead." Whether this means the spiritually dead or the physically dead is debated. See Chapter 22.

Nephesh / Psychē. The primary biblical words for "soul" or "life." Nephesh is Hebrew; psychē is Greek. Both have a broad range, referring to the whole living person, the inner self, or the immaterial part that survives death. See Chapter 8.

O

Optimal Grace. The concept, developed by Jerry Walls, that God gives every person the best possible chance to respond to his love. He tailors each person's encounter to maximize the likelihood of a free "yes" without overriding freedom. In this book, optimal grace operates at the moment of death through middle knowledge. See Chapter 28 and Chapter 2.

Out-of-Body Experience (OBE). The reported sensation of leaving one's physical body and observing the world from an external vantage point. OBEs are a common feature of NDEs. When the observations are later verified as accurate, the experience is called a veridical NDE. See Chapter 7 and Chapter 8.

P

Paradise. In the two-stage model, the section of Sheol/Hades reserved for the righteous dead. Jesus uses the word when he tells the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). After Christ's resurrection, paradise is understood as the heavenly presence of God. See Chapter 20.

Physicalism. The view that human beings are entirely physical, with no immaterial soul that survives death. Some Christian physicalists hold that God will resurrect the whole person at the last day, with no conscious existence in between. This book argues that physicalism cannot account for the moment-of-death encounter. See Chapter 9.

Pneuma / Pneumata. Greek for "spirit" (singular) or "spirits" (plural). In 1 Peter 3:19 Christ preaches to the "spirits in prison" (pneumata). Whether these are human dead, fallen angels, or something else is debated. See Chapter 21.

Poreutheis. Greek participle meaning "having gone." In 1 Peter 3:19, Christ "having gone" preached to the spirits in prison. Whether this "going" means the descent to the dead or the ascension to heaven shapes the whole passage. See Chapter 21.

Postmortem Opportunity. The view that God offers people a chance to respond to Christ after earthly life ends. Most defenders locate this in the intermediate state. This book explores a distinct model in which the opportunity is concentrated at the moment of death itself. See Chapter 1 and Chapter 16.

Purgatory. In Catholic theology, a postmortem state of purification for those who die in God's grace but are not yet fully cleansed. This book includes a purifying dimension within the encounter (the life review) but does not adopt purgatory as a prolonged postmortem state. See Chapter 33.

R

Restrictivism. The view that salvation is available only to those who consciously trust Christ during earthly life. This book challenges restrictivism by arguing that every soul meets Christ at the moment of death. See Chapter 4 and Chapter 32.

Ruach. Hebrew for "breath," "wind," or "spirit." In the Old Testament it can refer to the human spirit, to the Spirit of God, or to wind. One of the key terms in the biblical vocabulary of the soul. See Chapter 8.

S

Sequenced ("Staged") Encounter. The idea that God composes the order of each soul's moment-of-death encounter, not only its content. For some souls the encounter opens in felt darkness or separation before Christ appears or is cried out to. The theological basis for this sequencing comes through middle knowledge and optimal grace. See Chapter 28, Chapter 12, and Chapter 19.

Soul. The immaterial part of the human person that survives bodily death. This book affirms substance dualism: the soul is a substance in its own right, not merely a function of brain activity. The soul is what meets Christ at the moment of death. See Chapter 8.

Soul Sleep. The view that the soul is unconscious between bodily death and the final resurrection. This book rejects soul sleep in favor of a conscious intermediate state, because the encounter requires consciousness. See Chapter 9.

Substance Dualism. See Dualism above.

T

Thanatos / Muth. The primary biblical words for "death" (thanatos in Greek, muth in Hebrew). Their theological weight goes beyond the biological: death in Scripture is separation from God, the wages of sin, and the last enemy to be destroyed. See Chapter 5.

Tota Simul. Latin for "all at once." Used in classical theology (especially by Boethius) to describe God's eternal mode of existence: God sees all of time in a single undivided act. Central to the divine-timelessness position. See Appendix G.

Transworld Damnation. A Molinist concept. A person suffers from transworld damnation if no feasible world exists in which they would freely choose God. In every possible circumstance, they say no. This does not mean God predetermined their refusal; their freedom is such that no grace would produce a free "yes." See Chapter 28.

Transworld Sanctity. The counterpart of transworld damnation. A person has transworld sanctity if they would freely choose God in every feasible world, no matter the circumstances. See Chapter 28.

U

Universal Reconciliation (UR). The view that God will eventually bring every person to salvation. No one is lost forever. Advocates include Thomas Talbott and Robin Parry. This book does not adopt universal reconciliation but remains open to it as one possible outcome. See Chapter 25 and Chapter 29.

Universal Salvific Will. The doctrine that God genuinely desires the salvation of every person, not only some. Grounded in 1 Timothy 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9, and Ezekiel 18:23. This is the theological starting point for this book's argument. See Chapter 2.

V

Veridical NDE / Veridical Perception. A near-death experience in which the person reports details about events they could not have observed through normal senses, often while clinically dead. These verified reports give evidence that consciousness can work apart from the brain. See Chapter 8 and Appendix J.