Comparing Christian Beliefs About Heaven And Hell

Christians believe that there is a destination of either heaven or hell. Both sacrifice important goods and valuables.

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.

How are they different? Let's start with Christianity. Christians follow Christ and believe in the resurrection of Jesus. They believe

Christianity has several different variations on the theme of immortality. These variations are related to the many different denominations under the umbrella of Christianity. In general, liberal Christians accept the idea that the authors of the bible held different beliefs involving heaven and hell. Some of the oldest biblical writings described an underground cavern in which all people regardless of their deeds spent eternity in after death. The books within the New Testament more commonly described hell as a place of

Christians believe if you except Jesus Christ as you savior you will go to heaven. Like Christians, Jews believe that there is a life after death. Unlike Christians, Jews believe there are seven Heavens, the highest one being occupied by God and his angels. Christians believe that Heaven and Hell are separate and that the people that didn’t except God will perish and go to hell and those who did will not perish and have everlasting life (library.) Jews believe that people who are punished in the afterlife are sent to a place called Gehenna, and that this place is not separate from heaven, but that it is just a farther distance away from God. They believe that this punishment is not eternal because God is full of mercy and love (mosiaclaw.)

of Christianity today. Some of the existing main features of both are the following: the belief in

These ideals are very different from modern-day beliefs about death. Christian views about the afterlife include the two options for our souls after death: heaven- the happy, safe, and comfortable place where the good people go, and hell-the fiery, and dangerous place some go to if they made bad choices on Earth. Others believe in reincarnation, where a person’s soul lives on and takes the form of something else. Many people, no matter their religious stance, want to believe that there is something else after death, because it makes it easier when the time comes. It certainly eases some of the grief and anxiety that people face over death, and is far more comforting than the beliefs that ancient Mesopotamians held about death.

Life on earth is similar to life in Hell because in both places there are consequences for your actions. For example if a person robs a bank they would then be placed in jail, therefore jail is similar to Hell with different building and dorms based on the type of crime that you committed. They do this because they would not put a thief in the same room as a murderer, this is similar to the circle of Hell. The life that you portray on earth determines whether you will be admitted into Heaven or damned to Hell. The type of sins that are committed on earth are broken down into different circles of Hell. For example, Canticle six represents the Gluttons who are

Christianity believes in the rewards of heaven for all who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord, Savior, and son of the Most High God. Jesus shares with His disciples that He was going away to prepare a place for them, but would return one day to take them back (Jn 14:2-3). He makes a distinct separation that those who believe it Him would have a dwelling place in heaven. Contrarily, those who denounce Him would be judged and punished to hell.

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.

More specifically Christians tend to think that there is a Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. When talking about afterlife, they firmly think that those who follow in the life of Jesus will be rewarded with eternal life with God, whereas those who perform evil acts will be sent down to hell. Purgatory is viewed as somewhere where people who are in line to go to heaven can get ready for the eternal life in heaven and have their sins wiped away. Eli discussed very similar about heaven and hell with the only difference being that he did not mention any information about purgatory whether Evangelicals believe in it or

In the first place, Christians of the new and old age primarily believe that after death their souls live on in the grace of God's presence. For example, in the Bible it states, “Jesus said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies.”’ In Dante’s Inferno, Dante is shunned by God’s grace and is trying to find his way back. In the concluding lines of inferno; “...and beauteous shining of the Heavenly cars. And we walked out once more beneath the Stars” (Alighieri 287). These last words represent Dante climbing out of the nightmare he called Hell and he is gazing upon the beautiful stars of Heaven. Which represents a sense of hope as if his sins are forgiven. Heaven and hell in the Bible have a rather vague description of the details embedded in the experience you will face in the afterlife. All that is very well known and established is Heaven is a place of light and God's love and Hell is the land in which you experience eternal suffering for your sins. These loose interpretations of hell are greatly represented in Inferno because Dante takes these thoughts and roughly based Christian ideology of the after life into his own “Visions of Hell” Henceforth, the Christian faith and ideas are the base to many other religions. Dante’s Inferno a like Christianity has multiple representations of faith including an abundance of Christian Beliefs.

The Christian view of heaven is one many are familiar with, even if they are not necessarily a practicing Christian, as it is the one most commonly depicted in the media. The baptist denomination believes that heaven is a real, physical place that souls ascend to after death. The only requirement for getting into heaven is to accepted Jesus as lord and savior, and

Different religions have their different views on Hell, Christianity has become one of the big three religions and they have a different view of what Hell has become. Religions have different views of what Hell is and Christianity sees Hell as having a place for souls that should receive punishment for what they did while they were on earth. Not only is there a Hell in Christianity but before a soul might go to Hell there is a place called purgatory. Lingering souls that wander go there and they await what their punishment or reward for their afterlife. That is the first stop before a soul can go to either Heaven or Hell, people will pray “for the dead to alleviate their suffering in purgatory” (Greenblatt 9). Once a soul has been judged they

For us Catholics, heaven is a very beautiful and peaceful place. It is also a place where you live an eternity with happiness, and endless love. In heaven it’s a worry free zone. My dad always says it’s a place where there’s no homework, no bills, no worries. Just living in a beautiful place, for all eternity. Hell is a place where no one wants to be, it’s a place where there is a lot of suffering,