http://www.wwco.com/religion/believe/believe_135.html


And here is a more balanced, sensible rendering of Scripture regarding the issue:

http://www.christiancourier.co...adAsleepQuestion.htm


http://www.christiancourier.co...es/deadConscious.htm

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What strikes me about this issue is that it seems to hold importance mainly for those fundamentalist Christians who are bound to a strict reading of the Bible; whereas Catholics who understand Scripture in the light of tradition have more room to include experiential awareness via mystical/contemplative graces given in prayer.

I've heard Protestant preachers impose this view of sleep on grieving families at funerals, and the idea of interminable sleep can be a bit uncomforting for those left behind who enjoy waking up in the morning. This is all the more unfortunate, since even a strict reading of the Bible allows as much for post-death consciousness (implied in the communion of saints, which most Christians intuite as reality) as for the sleep theory. As such, preachers should find out what their grieving church members believe, rather than trying to dictate that issue during such a vulnerable time.

Needless to say, death and the mystery it holds inspires enough fear to ensure polarization. Certainly those who hold to the sleep theory would have to discredit anything like Nearing Death Awareness or Near Death Experience. Quite a prescription for fear, which I guess is a good way to whip one's congregation into a shame-based moral straight-jacket.

Those are good links, w.c., and I think you make a good point about NDE.

Catholic theology has drawn from the readings of scripture noted in a couple of those articles to the effect that the dead do continue to be conscious in some manner. Later philosophical reflections that clarified the nature of spiritual consciousness also contributed to this belief. As you noted, the Communion of Saints wouldn't make much sense if at death the soul went into a kind of hibernation mode.