Afterlife

Since ancient civilizations people have been trying to explain what goes on after death. Throughout history, many cultures have had different theories about what happens. Two distinguished ideas of where people go after death are the underworld and Hell. The idea of the underworld came from the Greeks and Romans. A few famous works by the Greeks and Romans that talk about the underworld are The Iliad, The Aeneid, and, The Odyssey. A famous work that discusses Hell is Dante's Inferno. Hell is an accepted part of the Christianity religion and taught all over the world. The two beliefs are very similar but some distinct differences can be seen.

People who don’t accept Christ as their Savior will go to Hell. Revelation 20:15 affirms that fact that if anyone’s name isn’t written in the book of life, they will go to the fiery pit (BibleGateway). Salvation is the complete opposite of death (Kyrtatas). Matthew 13:42 explains what Hell will be like by saying, “and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (BibleGateway).” The apostle Paul said it best when he said that Hell is the separation of the presence of God. Revelation 21:8 describes Hell as a second death and proclaims who the inhabitants of Hell will be. It says, “But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death

In the Quran it says “surely, those who disbelieve and did wrong, God will not forgive them, nor will He guide them to any way except the way of Jahannam, to dwell therein forever.” (Quran, 4:168-169). Being granted salvation in the Christian tradition is not much different. Followers of the Christian tradition believe that one must believe in God, have faith in Jesus Christ and live good holy lives to be granted the entrance to Heaven. In the bible it states that “by grace through faith in Jesus Christ”. (Ephesians 2:8-9) Much like the followers of the Islamic tradition, Christians also believe that those who are unrighteous and reject God and Jesus Christ will be placed in Hell after death. In the Bible it states that Hell is “a place of everlasting punishment for the unrighteous. There is no crossover between Heaven and Hell. (Matthew 25:46). In the Jewish tradition, those who submit their lives to god, follow his teachings, and not commit sins are the ones who will be granted entrance into

The afterlife is usually thought of as something even better than life as we know it. Having certain beliefs about one’s destiny after passing can help with coping and believing that one is where they belong. Thoughts about the afterlife have always varied greatly. Even so, all cultures and religions are alike in one way; they stick with their own specific beliefs because their way is the only “right” way. Although all believed in deities, the views on the afterlife of Egypt and Early Greece believed in something greater after passing while Mesopotamia was more of being fearful and not knowing, but living.

Plato says “Sleep comes after being awake and being awake comes after sleep. Likewise just as death comes from life so must death return to life again.”(Tolstoy) Plato is explaining that life is like a rotating wheel with only two parts. You will live and then you will die but then there has to be something after that which is life again and the circle restarts, and this process never stops. Plato says “They have stayed for certain appointed periods, some longer, some shorter, they are sent forth again into the generation of living things.” “The inhabitants of the upper realms live there longer than those of the lower realms and without the pains, but they are only more like the Immortals, not actually immortal themselves. When they have to fall down, they are forced to fall back again and are assigned to an appropriate status, depending on their nature and according to their deeds” (hellenismo). It may take years for a person to be reincarnated. And who or what you are reincarnated into depends on the nature of the spirit and what you need to do in your next life. Plato says it’s not by chance you get a certain body or born into a certain family it’s for a reason... “ Famous philosophers socrates and pythagoras also believe what plato believed. They believe reincarnation is real. In Hinduism, it is believed that an enduring soul survives after death, spends a variable amount of time in another realm, and then becomes associated with a new body.”. “Hinduism includes the concept of karma, the idea that the conditions into which one is born are determined by one's conduct in various previous lives”. Buddhists believe also that once some has dies they reincarnate but they believe that who you reincarnate to is based on your karma except for the Dalai Lama. They believe that the Dalai Lama doesn’t get karma because of their “devotion to complete compassion for all sentient beings”

you die you will be reborn into another body which brings out the belief of Reincarnation) or

Since there is an afterlife, people will be judged for their deeds. If they lived a good ethical life, they will go to Heaven. If they did not live a good ethical life, they will go to Hell.

At death, the body ceases to function and decays, but the soul of everyone is immortal and will be judged immediately. The souls of those who are faithful to God will be purified and go to live with God in heaven. However, the soul of anyone who has denied God will spend eternity separated from God in hell. At the end of time, all of the dead will be bodily resurrected and each individual will be judged and either rewarded or punished according to the life that they led.

There is belief of life after death. The soul of a dead person first lingers around the earth for three days as a result of separation from its body. On the third day, the soul is judged by its doings an is either taken to paradise (heaven) or to the world of punishment (hell).

On numerous occasions, the New Testament shared the concept of paradise alluding to a gathering place for the saints of God. When Jesus was on the cross with the criminal, He turned to him and replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk, 23:43). From this point, Jesus provided an afterlife concept giving the criminal hope and satisfaction that there was more coming after death.

What happens to a person at death is a belief we acquire from our religion and culture. In Christianity we believe heaven is our reward for living a meaningful life. On the other hand as Christians we were taught to preserve life and avoid intentional death to selves or others.

At the time of death, one’s spirit will separate from their body and either ascend to heaven or be bound to Hell according to their deeds performed on Earth. That’s because it is believed that humans have the ability (free will) to choose between good and evil. Muslims and Christians believe that angels exist as well as Satan and his evil spirits who follow him: the enemies of humanity. Also, it is said by Muslims, that on the day Jesus returns, the Last Day, the dead will be resurrected and both the dead and alive will be judged. They will either be rewarded by going to heaven, or punished by going to hell. Likewise, Christians believe that on the last day, referred to as judgment day, God will bring forth his judgement upon all those: dead or alive. He will reward or punish them by sending them to either heaven or Hell.

The righteous who did good deeds will be sent to Jannah (Paradise). Allah can choose to punish who he wishes by sending them to Jahannam (Hell).

Some follow a very traditional belief that heaven is a wonderful garden paradise where they will live for ever with God and Jesus. These people often believe that hell is a real place where people will suffer eternal

Catholics believe that the resurrection and death of Jesus have changed the meaning and the effect of human death. Death is no longer the end of an individual’s human identity, because the soul continues on after death. The Catholic Church teaches that a soul may go to heaven, purgatory or hell, depending on the quality of a person’s life on earth. “That the body dies, death is a normal natural process” (Ecclesiasticus 3:1-2) Based upon the sacred scripture and teachings of the Church, we know what Catholic believes after death and what follows it. When someone dies, their soul is separated from their body and no longer sustains any order within the natural body. As a result of this, the human body begins to corrupt and is left to decompose on its own. The soul however is completely different as it is immortal and will never cease to exist