ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a theological argument aimed at demonstrating that The Intermediate State and substance dualism are false. To do so, the author gives a brief historical trace of the assumption and use of The Intermediate State and substance dualism in the Christian teachings concerning afterlife. Following this, he makes a lengthy case against The Intermediate State and substance dualism grounded in an argument set out by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. Looking at the 1 Cor. 15 passage does two things. (1) It shows that The Intermediate State renders resurrection superfluous. Since resurrection is not superfluous (TA1), The Intermediate State does not obtain. (2) It shows that substance dualism is unmotivated for Christian theology because The Intermediate State does not obtain. What is more, substance dualism is false because it undermines a key argument in Paul’s 1 Corinthians text. The author privileges the 1 Cor. 15 pericope because it is both a clear argument for the truth of resurrection and because most of the Christian tradition’s arguments for the importance of resurrection are centered on this chapter in the New Testament. Lastly, the author argues that the only way to ensure that Paul’s argument is sound is to deny The Intermediate State and the metaphysics of substance dualism.
