The Old Age Question Of A Tangible Heaven And Hell

Is there indeed a heaven? A controversial question to ask, but it is asked by countless amounts of people. Certainly an unknown place, a mystery. Yet it’s glorified by many who have never been but they know about it and wish to make it there. There are numerous ways people depict heaven; some believe there isn't one, others think otherwise. For one thing, it’s where God awaits, in all his gloriousness waiting to welcome his children into his arms and home, after death. Heaven is a bright and wonderful place, everything that's light and superb, where access is granted to by following the almighty one's guidelines, unless they want to end up in Hell.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is seen describing Heaven as God’s house that consists of infinite dwelling places for those whom have faith and love in God as well as Jesus (John 14:1-4). Heaven is a glorious and graceful place that heals all wounds, whether it be a physical distortion or sickness, or be it a mental or emotional problem. As seen in Isaiah 35, the glory of the Lord will strengthen bodies, heal those whom are blind, deaf, a limp and other disabilities that may endure in the bodily experience. Heaven is a sanctifying place that illuminates the essence of God and his son Jesus’ sacrifice to crown everyone with everlasting joy. The primary reason for the glorification of Heaven is that one will not be with God at last commit to the highest form of love and faith. While in heaven, one will experience no pain, mourning, tears and everything will be new and glorious (Revelation 21). Upon entering Heaven, there will be complete peace and “they shall build houses and live in them, they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit” (Isaiah 65:

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.

There is a ray of hope, however – the part of us that belongs to the spiritual realm, commonly known as our soul, is able to focus on eternity and the truths based upon its existence. The spiritual realm is the realm we attain after the collapse of our animal shell, the shell that is bound to the physical realm and therefore time. At that moment our souls are released from bondage and are sent home to the spiritual realm. We can either experience one of two places after our shell collapses – Hell, which will be cast into the Lake of Fire in the final days, or Heaven, the home of God, His holy messengers the angels, and all of his saints sanctified by the blood of Jesus the Christ. We must focus on the spiritual realm, the eternal realm we go to once our allotted period of time upon this Earth is over, a period of time when we are tested and refined – a time when we either choose God or ourselves – man’s greatest decision. In actuality, when we choose ourselves, this is really bondage to Lucifer – a fact most are ignorant of due to Lucifer’s great deception.

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

The phrase, Heaven on earth has a different meaning to all of us. To begin with, Heaven can be thought of as a place, or one may see Heaven as one of the most pleasurable experiences here on earth. This individual will most likely define Heaven in such a manner. However what one considers pleasurable may not differ from that of another. Therefore, Heaven would have similar but slight differences in meaning. If one were to think of Heaven as a place such as a place where the lord resides, a play we may reside in as well, depending on judgement of the phrase “Heaven on Earth” would take on a different meaning. As human beings, depending on our beliefs, I feel most would describe “Heaven on Earth” to mean living in peace on earth as Christians.

In today’s world you never know what to believe. Because of this, many people wonder what is and isn’t true, making everyone skeptical about the world. Whether it is something that could drastically change your outlook on life, or change what you eat for dinner, what we hear about in the media is never 100 percent accurate and believable. For example, one thing that we can never be sure of is what happens to us when we pass on into the afterlife. The Underworld is portrayed in many different ways in the popular media and in the world in general. Whether the Underworld is a place full of torture and pain or a place of life and prophecy, the fact still remains that you being sent there is an avoidable fate.

Billy Collins is considered one of the most popular poets in America. He is an accomplished writer; he has twenty-two poetry books published and was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. In Collins’s 1991 poetry collection Questions about Angels, the poem “The Afterlife” describes the fantasies people have towards the afterlife that many have when alive. It addresses a variety of beliefs people have towards the afterlife: belief in reincarnation, those who find themselves “in a big air-conditioned room full of food and chorus girls,” and more (line 17). Collins uses imagery in the poem to reach and speak to the readers of the poem. The afterlife is considered a touchy subject in most societies conversely, Collins deflates the unease with his satirical yet harmless nevertheless ending the poem in a serious, melancholic tone.

Death and what comes after has always been a subject of great interest and uncertainty. Many have tried to depict their own vision of the afterlife, be it heaven or hell, paradiso or inferno. Here, I will discuss the similarities and differences in the hell represented in the movie What Dreams May Come and the Inferno of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.

Intellectually, we know that everyone dies; emotionally, we are rarely inclined to accept that reality for ourselves. The result may be belief in an afterlife, heaven and hell. These ideas have a strong grip inn the mid of Americans. Whereas the GSS for the United States indicates that 79% of its respondent believe in an afterlife. It should be noted that belief in an afterlife does not necessarily entail acceptance of heaven or hell. In particular people are less inclined to believe in hell that in heaven. Given the religious criteria for being consigned to either realm, self-examination might prompt aversion on the part of most people to the potential of an afterlife in hell.

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.

The afterlife as a residence for souls after death has long been a topic of discussion and debate. This idea intrigues many. As Christians we believe that heaven is a place where believers go where life there will be a continuation of their present life, while hell is a place of judgment and punishment where many experience severe treatment. Direct experience is the only way individuals can experience these concepts, but once we obtain the experience it cannot be shared. This ultimately makes us want to know more leading many to visualize the afterlife. Starting with the earliest Greek Epics, such as The Iliad, society has imagined an Underworld, a place beneath the Earth where souls go once the body dies. Our thoughts and expectations about such an idea have changed over time; the idea of the Underworld continues in many Greek and Latin poems and it still used today (Spiegel).

The similarities and differences between Heaven and Hell give meaning to Hell physical and emotional presence. As the audience analyzes the physical descriptions of Hell given in

     I was raised as a Christian and believe in the tenets of the faith. I also know that many other religions also share the same tenets, while differing in there views of the afterlife. So I try to personally refrain from judging others ( and it is not easy). I do believe that what goes around comes around and if I want to be forgiven I must forgive. And when it comes to the afterlife that will hold true there too. So in conclusion the afterlife is a place of forgiveness and acceptance. A place of peace and love and glory. I read a statement from Joseph Cambell that I agree

     Heaven is the place where true peace is always felt. True peace can sometimes be felt on earth, but not understood by the human mind. The mind can only comprehend true peace once in heaven. There will never be peace on earth due to the various forms of corruption. Earth has both forces of good and evil influencing the billions of people that live. In heaven only pure good resides. Heaven cannot be corrupted by evil. With God in control the outside sources cannot influence the forces in heaven.