ARTICLE XIV.
THE FUTURE LIFE

§ 55. Unitarian Christians generally believe that there is a future life and that it will be a continuation of the present life with opportunity for further growth and development. They see the resurrection of Jesus as a sign and guarantee of this truth. Although the Scriptures do not expound on the nature of the afterlife, they give the assurance that every person will go “to his place,” the place where that one belongs, the place where it is best for that one to be. Jesus says, “In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you” (John 14:2).

§ 56. According to the New Testament, there are two forms of death: the death of the body and the death of the soul, or self (Matt. 10:28). The death of the body is a literal death, but one that we are rescued from through resurrection (Acts 24:15). When we do God’s will, when we believe that God cares for us and loves us, we are free from the fear of death. We trust ourselves entirely to our faithful Creator, and say, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit,” sure that when we are with God we are always safe (Eccl. 12:7). The only death to fear is the death of the soul (“the second death”), which is the death that no one can bring us, except we ourselves. Unitarians believe that this is a spiritual death, by which we fall into sin, unbelief and ignorance. The practice of sin results in our separation from God and the denial of our relationship with God as a son or daughter (Rev. 21:7-8). In such cases, it is not God who has left us, but we who have left God. However, if we turn back to God, we may experience a resurrection from this death as well (Eph. 2:4-5; John 11:25-26). This scenario is illustrated well in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). When the wayward son finally returns home, his father turns to his other son and exclaims, “We should enjoy ourselves and rejoice, because your brother was dead and came back to life!”

§ 57. Unitarians do not believe that hereafter there will be two distinct and separate worlds, one for the good and the other for the wicked, the one of perfect unchanging happiness, the other of entire and unchanging misery. The “great gulf” (Luke 16:26) between the good and the bad person in this and in all worlds consists in the everlasting distinction between good and evil. So long as one is in the hell of selfish desire and will, no consoling drop of heavenly content can be brought to him. Unitarians believe in many hells and many heavens, according to the character and condition of each person. They believe that the purpose of future suffering will be reformatory and not vindictive, and that if a man is selfish and willful, it is best for him to suffer the consequences of these evils in order to become better.

§ 58. Unitarians oppose the common doctrine of everlasting punishment as being hostile to the sovereignty, wisdom, justice, and mercy of the Divine Being, and also as limiting the redeeming power of Christ and his Gospel. They believe that, the object of punishment, being reformatory, will only continue until the sinner shall be reformed. Infinite punishment is not a proportionate punishment for finite sins. If it be said that we have no right to reason from human justice and mercy to that of God, we answer, (a) that all we know of justice must come from the principle of justice implanted in the human consciousness by God; (b) that Jesus himself compares the love of the Heavenly Parent with the love of the earthly parent, and shows us from an example of imperfect goodness what we may believe that the Divine goodness will do for us (Matt. 7:9-11). The doctrine of everlasting punishment tends to destroy faith in the redeeming and conquering power of the Gospel, for in that we are taught that goodness is stronger than evil, that love is able to conquer all sin, and that it is the pleasure of the Father to reconcile all things on the earth or in heaven to himself by Jesus Christ (Col. 1:20; 2 Pet. 3:9). When Jesus declared that “more joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7), he implied that the grief in heaven over one lost soul would outweigh the joy over ninety-nine that are saved, and that even the angels cannot be happy while one sinner turns himself away from the love which is waiting to bless him.