Heaven and Hell
The Christian faith teaches that the death of the physical body is not the end and that after their time on Earth, humans will have eternal life in the afterlife.
The belief is that all humans have a soul which is a non-physical part of humans that lives on after the death of the physical body. Many believe that it is the soul that will live on in the afterlife.
People's time on Earth will be judged by God and this will determine what happens to the soul in the afterlife. Many Christians believe that they will either go to Heaven or to HellA place or state of torment and punishment for those who have done wrong..
Heaven
Heaven is described as eternityInfinity in which time does not exist, ie forever. in the presence of God, as Heaven is a state of being rather than a physical place. Heaven is the ultimate aim for all Christians, for their soul to be reunited with God and united with Christ.
In the gospels, Christ often describes and teaches about Heaven using parableA story told by Jesus through which he teaches and illustrates moral lessons and principles., such as the Mustard Seed and the Pearl.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
In John’s gospel, Jesus again says that humanity is not to worry and to have faith. If there was no Heaven, then Christ would not have taught about it.
In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.
Hell
Since God has given human beings free willThe idea that humans are free to make their own moral choices., there must be an opportunity for people to reject God. This is the basis of the idea of Hell.
Hell has traditionally been depicted as a place of eternal fire that symbolises pain and suffering. This is seen as the result of the refusal to accept the happiness that God wants people to share with him. Hell is the opposite of Heaven - it is eternity in the absence of God.
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-21) gives humanity an example of what will happen to them after life depending on how they have lived and treated others. The parable gives three warnings:
- not to worship material things
- to help those who are in need
- to listen to the prophets
The parable warns that if these are not followed then an individual will end up in Hell.
The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented...
Question
Explain the Christian beliefs in the afterlife.
The Christian faith teaches that all humans have a soul which lives on after the death of the physical body. The belief is that how they live during this life on Earth will impact what happens when they die. If they have lived a good life, following Christ's example, then their soul will go to a place they call Heaven, where there will be eternal life with God. However, if they have sinned then their soul may go to a place known as Hell. Hell is where they are separated from God and experience torment. Some Christians believe it is just the soul which is resurrected and goes onto the afterlife, whereas others believe that the body will be resurrected and will go to the afterlife.