Afterlife from a Christian Point of View
November 21, 2012
Afterlife from a Christian Point of View
Have you ever thought about what happens after you die; if there is something after this life? There are many different approaches to whether there is life after death or not, but in this paper we will be looking at the Christian perspective towards the afterlife. Christianity is the largest religion in the world today due to it being branched down into different groups, and it is a known fact that there is no other religion today that has a huge impact on our world to the extent that Christianity does. Christianity's beliefs on the afterlife can be broke down into two main broad groups, those of the Roman Catholic Church, and those of the Protestant Church. Most often, Christian knowledge comes from the Bible, and in this case we will also be looking at the general beliefs about the afterlife, while ignoring the many interpretations. Most Christians believe that there is a heaven and hell; where heaven is a place in which believers will enjoy freedom from sin and suffering, and hell is a place in which unbelievers and sinners will suffer. The afterlife consists of three main concepts which are heaven and hell, salvation, and purgatory.
As the first concept is heaven and hell, Christians believe in the immortality of the soul. The general belief is that souls that are saved enter Heaven, where they live for all eternity in the presence of God, and the souls that are unsaved are thrown into Hell, where they are either tortured for all eternity, or cease to exist. Not all souls enter heaven; some souls go directly to Heaven or directly to Hell. This concept is completely lacking in Protestant Church beliefs (White, 2002, para. 8). description of what it is believed to be like. Heaven is described as a place of immense size and beauty, streets of gold and angels singing. The main focus of heaven is that those entering heaven will meet with their creator which is God Himself. There will be no pain or weeping
Afterlife from a Christian Point of View
Have you ever thought about what happens after you die; if there is something after this life? There are many different approaches to whether there is life after death or not, but in this paper we will be looking at the Christian perspective towards the afterlife. Christianity is the largest religion in the world today due to it being branched down into different groups, and it is a known fact that there is no other religion today that has a huge impact on our world to the extent that Christianity does. Christianity's beliefs on the afterlife can be broke down into two main broad groups, those of the Roman Catholic Church, and those of the Protestant Church. Most often, Christian knowledge comes from the Bible, and in this case we will also be looking at the general beliefs about the afterlife, while ignoring the many interpretations. Most Christians believe that there is a heaven and hell; where heaven is a place in which believers will enjoy freedom from sin and suffering, and hell is a place in which unbelievers and sinners will suffer. The afterlife consists of three main concepts which are heaven and hell, salvation, and purgatory.
As the first concept is heaven and hell, Christians believe in the immortality of the soul. The general belief is that souls that are saved enter Heaven, where they live for all eternity in the presence of God, and the souls that are unsaved are thrown into Hell, where they are either tortured for all eternity, or cease to exist. Not all souls enter heaven; some souls go directly to Heaven or directly to Hell. This concept is completely lacking in Protestant Church beliefs (White, 2002, para. 8). description of what it is believed to be like. Heaven is described as a place of immense size and beauty, streets of gold and angels singing. The main focus of heaven is that those entering heaven will meet with their creator which is God Himself. There will be no pain or weeping
References: AFTER LIFE - Christian Movie Review. (n.d.). Movieguide | The Family Guide to Movie Reviews. Retrieved October 17, 2012, from http://www.movieguide.org/reviews/movie/after-life.html Christian Salvation - ReligionFacts. (2004).Religion, World Religions, Comparative Religion - Just the facts on the world 's religions.. Retrieved October 18, 2012, from http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/salvation Graham, S. (2011, November 23). Views on heaven and hell - Christianity - www.christianity.org.uk. Home - Christianity - www.christianity.org.uk. Retrieved October 5, 2012, from http://www.christianity.org.uk/index.php/views-on-heaven-and-hell.php Santa Biblia = Holy Bible : NVI, NIV, Nueva Versión Internacional, New International Version.. (2008). Miami, Fla.: Editorial Vida. Watson, A. (2000). Purgatory: An Essential Roman Catholic Doctrine. Sharing the Gospel with Roman Catholics. Retrieved October 16, 2012, from http://www.reachingcatholics.org/purgatory.htm White, T. (2002, August 19). Christian Afterlife - Final Farewell: The Culture of Death and the Afterlife Exhibition - Museum of Art and Archaeology-University of Missouri. Museum of Art and Archaeology-University of Missouri. Retrieved October 20, 2012, from http://maa.missouri.edu/exhibitions/finalfarewe