Author Description

"In this book, Jeffrey Trumbower examines how and why death came to be perceived as such a firm boundary of salvation. Analyzing exceptions to this principle from ancient Christianity, he finds that the principle itself was slow to develop and not universally accepted in the Christian movement's first four hundred years. In fact, only in the West was this principle definitively articulated, due in large part to the work and influence of Augustine. Many early Christians were able to retain their sense of having been "chosen" and their sense of God's justice while allowing for the possibility of posthumous salvation for non-Christians (a doctrine that survives among modern Latter-day Saints, who practice posthumous baptism for this purpose). Many others argued vehemently against posthumous salvation, however, and Trumbower documents the development of that conflict and its resolution in the East and in the West."--BOOK JACKET.