Heaven and Hell in Religious Perspectives: Christianity, Islam and Catholicism

Introduction to the Mysteries of the Afterlife

What is death and the Afterlife? In my opinion, death and the Afterlife is something many people question. Throughout the history of humanity, one of the biggest questions that haunt human existence to this day is the question of the Afterlife. I decided to do Death and the Afterlife for two reasons. The first reason was that the topic was fascinating to me, and it caught my attention. The second reason was that many people are curious and want to know what happens in the Afterlife.

Growing up, I was taught that there is a heaven and there is hell. Some of the questions people may ask are, “Is there a “God”? Is there a heaven or a hell? Do we have souls? And what happens to it once it leaves this earth and the physical body?”. This topic comes with different ideas and theories, such as religion, culture, and an era that has developed its own nations and set truths in order to explain what will happen once we die. Some religions that have their own thoughts about the Afterlife are Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. This topic is about the different religions that believe in the Afterlife, opinions from experts and

Christian Beliefs: Heaven and Hell

In Christianity, they believe in the concept that after death, the soul maintains consciousness. It is believed that after death, the soul will face judgment for his or her actions while on earth. In Death and Identity by Robert Fulton and Robert Bendiksen, it is said that “religion has long been regarded as a relevant factor in understanding. Hell is described to be a place where souls who have not repented of their sins and/or have rejected Jesus Christ as their savior will suffer eternal damnation. On the other hand, heaven is considered to be an eternal place inherited by god”. It is also said that heaven is a place where there is no suffering, and people are considered an angel. Christians believe that at the end of time, Jesus Christ will come to earth and take his people.

Varied Perspectives within Christianity

In the catholic religion, they believe that upon death, those souls who have been saved do not go straight to heaven but go through a process of purification in purgatory in order to be cleansed before they can be in God’s presence. In other words, they would have to see a priest before dying. Souls who have not been saved, however, go straight to hell to be damned for all eternity. They also believe that those who have not been baptized cannot go to heaven for they commit original sin, Waiting for the Day of Judgment when Jesus will come back to earth to bring those souls to heaven. The Orthodox Church believes that both heaven and hell are in the same dimension, and one does not experience either separation from God or hell, just like heaven is simply being with God, although hell still means living in eternal damnation and suffering. According to the orthodox tradition, God loves all human beings, including sinners. Therefore, he does not cut anyone off from himself, but instead, those who go to hell are those who self-exclude themselves from everybody else. The Protestants believe that hell was created by God in order to punish the devil and his fallen angels. It is believed that after judgment day, those souls who did not seek deliverance from God while on earth would be sent to hell to be punished for their sins, which are most people. However, unlike Martin Luther, who believed that the soul stayed unconscious and slept after death, John Calvin believed that souls maintained awareness after physical death and went straight to hell upon dying. He based this on the fact that Protestants believed that because Jesus Christ had already paid for our sins on the cross, there should be nothing stopping one's soul from going straight into heaven or hell.

The Islamic View of Life After Death

The description of life after death in the Islamic faith comes from the Qur’an, which states two main concepts for the Afterlife or Akhirah, the oneness of God and the unavoidable day of resurrection, the Islamic Day of Judgment. Due to this, In Islam, human beings' experiences are broken down into four stages; the first two are man’s experience on earth (1. the stage of the womb and 2. The stage of the mortal world). It is in these two stages that man is tested to determine his place in the Afterlife. Muslims believe that God holds every human being, whether they are Muslim or not, accountable for their actions and deeds while they live on earth. Therefore it is taught within Islam that the only purpose of life is the preparation for the Afterlife and attaining a spot in paradise. In order to do this, the Qur’an teaches that men have to practice integrity and generosity to others and devote one’s self to Allah, the one and only God. Salvation only comes with the practice of moral and ethical responsibility while on earth. The last two stages are man’s experience once the spirit leaves its earthly body. The stage of the grave, known as Barzakh, is broken down into three events; the first is when the soul leaves the body, the second is the reflection of one's actions and endeavors while alive, and the third is a state of cold sleep where man awaits Judgment day. The final stage, the hereafter or the rest of eternity, comes after the Day of Judgment when all human beings have been resurrected and judged in the eyes of God to either spend their eternal lives in Jannah (heaven or paradise) if they were virtuous or Jahannam (hell or spiritual state of suffering) if they were unrighteous or in denial of the truth of Allah. There are two different types of souls that are excluded from these stages and do not have to wait till Judgment day; the first are those who die fighting in God’s name; they are honored by immediately being allowed to rise to paradise by Gods side, and the second are those who are the enemy of Islam, they are punished by going straight to the spiritual plane of suffering. However, those who are sent to hell do have the ability to ascend to the spiritual state of heaven once they have been purified by Jahannam. Unless they are non-Muslims or Kafir, then they are punished for eternity. Both Jannah and Jahannam have different levels within their own spiritual plane, each reserved, depending on how one was measured during their time on earth.

References:

1. Fulton, Robert, & Bendiksen, Robert. (2019). Death and Identity: The Afterlife in World Religions. Oxford University Press.

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