The Ecumenical Dimension of the Concept of Final Decision

Abstract

The data contained in the works about the problem of death as the final personal decision allow also to talk about the ecumenical dimension of the Ladislaus Boros’ concept. It says that death is a possibility to take a final decision in which a man stands for or against God. It was the beginning to focus on the moment of death and adapt it to the concept of immediate change where the moments following and preceding interlock each other to create unity. German Protestant theological literature contains a critical look at the problem of death as the ultimate personal decision. Jungel Eberhard understands human death as “a fundamental passivity of human life.” Rudolf Bultmann follows the structure of the human being settlement. Werner Elert emphasizes that in death the man’s separation from God finds its deadly intensification, death is return in nothingness until creatio ex nihilo in the “day of judgment.” Paul Tillich emphasizes, however, that even after death, there is still the development of the individual by cleaning from distorted acts of earthly existence. Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls the death as “an act” human. Wolfhart Pannenberg believes that despite death the fellowship with God is opening to all people in suffering and dying. To summarize the above issue it should be emphasized that the German Protestant theologians do not explore at all the details of the concept of death as a final personal decision. However, this concept is very clearly the importance of ecumenism.