The Catholic Church

742). Purgatory was contemplated to be a horrible place where souls were tortured until their families prayed for their soul. One-way Catholics helped someone’s soul in purgatory was by praying for forgiveness from God.

As humans, we are always imagining what our lives will be like when we die. While the depictions of what hell or heaven may be from the ancient times and now, what has stayed consist is the idea of an afterlife altogether.

In most religions, especially the Judeo-Christian faith, heaven or the afterlife is a place reserved for those who are able to somehow earn or receive an appointed place there during their life on earth. In the Christian tradition, those who attain eternal life are able to forgo the earthly pleasures that tempt them while they live, and form a separate entity that rejects carnality and remains obedient to God. While recognizing themselves as inherently sinful creatures, they seek to come as close as they can to the holiness of the divine during their life on earth, in order to reap the benefits after death. A separation from the world and an eventual

In Christian Theology, Christians believe that there is an afterlife. After they die, their body is either buried or cremated and their unique soul enters Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. Their belief that Jesus rose from the dead three days after crucifixion, gives them hope that if they follow Jesus’ teachings and make him their Lord and Savior than they too will experience a resurrection in the afterlife . Jesus’ incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection gave all Christians hope that life after death is possible.

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.

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.

A major theological problem exist as it related to Christ descending into hell to take the keys of death. Although the Apostle’s Creed points out that Jesus descended down into hel, His descent was not about suffering, but about a triumph victory over Satan. In order to ascertain the truth behind the afterlife, the validity of hell has to be established.

​The afterlife of an individual depends on the life that they live on earth. Between Catholicism

According to McGrath,” purgatory is perhaps best understood as an intermediate stage, in which those who have died in a state of grace are given an opportunity to purge themselves of the guilt of their sins before finally entering heaven.” The Roman Catholic Church believes that those who are perfect at death are admitted to heaven. Those who have sin in their lives however, do not go to heaven, but rather go to purgatory where they apparently go through a process of cleansing (or "purging"). Such souls are described as those who are oppressed with a sense of lack and suffer certain pain. According to McGrath, the Roman Catholics

The doctrine of purgatory is not very involved in the Catholic Church. There are only three paragraphs in the catechism. The basic understanding is that there is a third place after death where a person who has not sinned enough to go to hell but has not been perfect goes to be purified. Also, God helps the people in purgatory so they are not completely cut off from Him like in hell. The only other belief about purgatory is that the purification has to

Looking at both views of catholic and nihilism the ultimate question ‘what happens to a person at death’ shows many differences, because the catholic faith have a higher being their ultimate goal is to go to heaven and gain eternal life as that is where they will get everlasting fufullment. This is compared to the nihilist belief of nothing, this meaning after death (finish

Most Christian people that believe in the afterlife believe those who have died are sent to either heaven or hell. Meaning

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,

Imagine yourself, finished in this world and ready to go into the internal life. How do you think God will judge you? Were you someone generous, humility, loving, gentle, active, temperance, or Chasity? Do you believe that God would be proud in every single thing you have down on this earth? Well, for the most part, no everyone is Jesus and have all of those qualities. That is why Dante have written the world of Purgatory. Purgatory is a place after earth is a transformation process that helps every saved soul to perfect themselves for God. Through this process of transformation in Purgatory, a soul must accept, forgive, and learn from their sin in order to be in Heaven.

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.