The Ransom of the Soul Quotes

“At the same time, radical Pelagian tracts, such as the de divitiis—the relentlessly argued “Treatise on Riches”—had advocated the total renunciation of property by the rich.27 The author of this tract extended his plea for total renunciation to include a consequential denunciation of the existence of wealth in the first place: Tolle divitem et pauperem non invenies (Get rid of the rich and you will find no poor) was one of his many provocative slogans.”
― Peter R.L. Brown, The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity

“The friction point of Christian eschatology, and of Christian pastoral care, was the fate of the non valdes—of the non valde mali and the non valde boni: the “not altogether bad” and the “not altogether good.” Such persons could be helped by the prayers and offerings of the living, provided that they had “qualified” for such help in this life, by living reasonably good lives:”
― Peter R.L. Brown, The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity

“We find the same rituals, if with slightly different names: the giving of alms (the mñtnae), the giving of a Eucharistic oblation (the prosphora), the celebration of a “love feast” (the agapé: the Greek and Coptic equivalent of the refrigerium), and the “making of memory” (r̄meue) on behalf of “the one who comes out from the body.”51”
― Peter R.L. Brown, The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity

“This view of Tertullian should not be confused with the tradition of “Christian mortalism” that has survived in some circles up to today. In “Christian mortalism,” the soul of the dead person is believed to be unconscious—as good as dead—until awakened again at the Resurrection and the Last Judgment. For Tertullian, the souls of the departed never lapsed into total unconsciousness. Rather, they lived a suspended, interim existence, waiting for the next great act in the drama of God’s salvation to begin:”
― Peter R.L. Brown, The Ransom of the Soul: Afterlife and Wealth in Early Western Christianity