Many Christian Hymns and Painting are on the subject of Heaven as it is a very positive thought. Some of these Christian Hymns include; “When we all go to heaven,” and “There is a land of pure delight.” The first verse of “There is a land of pure delight” demonstrates a typical Christian view of heaven. Its reads; “There is a land of pure delight, Where saints immortal reign, Infinite day excludes the night, And pleasures banish pain.” This implies that in heaven, there is nothing dark or painful, as it is a land of pleasure and “pure delight.”
Some Christians believe that when you die you go straight to heaven. From the Bible, in Luke 22:42~43, Jesus says; “I promise you that today you will be with me in my paradise.”
Christians believe that Hell is the eternal punishment for people who have sinned against God and led terrible lives during their time on earth. They believe that hell is a place of fiery torment, as it is in the absence of God. From the Bible, Luke 16:19~31 says that once you are in hell, it is impossible to get out.
People traditionally picture hell as being fiery and hot. It is always shown as a place of punishment, torment and torture for people who lead bad and dishonest lives on Earth. Some Christians believe strongly in hell and everlasting punishment for those who have committed terrible, violent crimes against others. Other Christians believe that the true God would never want people to suffer in this way.
The Bible describes a huge pit between heaven and hell so that once you’re in hell, it is impossible to get out. In addition, the devil is always associated with hell. From the Bible, Revelation 20:13~15 and 21:8 teaches about what hell is like, and why sinners are banished to an eternal life or pain. It says; “ …Each person was judges according to what he had done… If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire… the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers… and all liar ~ their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”
As hell is very negative, there are not many hymns describing it. In addition, Christians believe that as they are faithful to God, they will defiantly go to heaven. In effect, they have no reason to talk or sing about hell. However, one example of a hymn which describes hell is “And must this body die.” It describes it as; “Corruption, earth, and worms, Shall but refine this flesh; Till my triumphant spirit comes, To put it on afresh.”
Roman Catholic Christians believe that Purgatory is a “half~way” house between heaven and hell. They believe that at Purgatory, people work off their sins before they go to heaven.
Although many Christians believe that you go to heaven, hell or purgatory straight away after you die, in contrast to this, other Christians believe that on the day of judgement all the dead will be raised for God to judge them then. This can be supported by the First Corinthians 15:52 from the Bible; “For the trumpet shall sounds and the dead will be raised imperishable and we will be changed.” This view is also depicted in the Christian Hymn; “How shall we stand on that great day?” The first verse particularly supports this idea as it reads; “The judgement has set, the books have been opened; How shall we stand in that great day, When every thought, and word, and action, God, the righteous Judge, shall weigh?”
In conclusion to what Christians believe about death and the afterlife, there are various different views that Christians have. However, although some Christians may have slightly different views than others, they are all supported by the teaching of the Bible. These views may effect the decisions of Christians every day, in relation to how serious their faith is.
A particular belief in an afterlife may affect the way in which followers of a religion live their lives in many different ways.
Although different types of Christians have slightly different beliefs, they all believe in God, and will want to live with him for eternity in the afterlife. This will affect the way in which they live their lives, as well as the way they treat others. This is because Christians must live pure and honest lives to please God and go to heaven. Christians believe that God will judge them as to whether they go to heaven or not. This means that they must follow rules for example the Ten Commandments, such as “Thou shall not steal,” to ensure this.
Fundamentally, all Christians believe that to go to heaven, you must believe in God. They must demonstrate this by praying and going to church regularly, out of their own will. Christians also believe that all festivals should be celebrated. For example, Lent, Christmas, Epiphany and Easter. In addition, Christians must also read the bible and understand as well as relate to it.
A further part of a Christian demonstrating his or her belief in God would be to confess all sins to him. Many Christians believe that if they confess to God as soon as they realise their misconduct, he will forgive them.
Christians are also followers of Jesus, the Son of God. They believe that it is right to live by Jesus’ example. Primarily, this means that they must treat others as they would like to be treated themselves, as well as not being selfish, unkind or judgemental. To follow Jesus’ example, Christians must read and understand stories in the New Testament such as “The Good Samaritan” or “Sheep and Goats.”
“Sheep and Goats” from Matthew 25 describes how God will judge people. It depicts that to please God, you do not have to help him directly. For example it says; ‘The King will answer, “Whenever you helped the least important of these followers of mine, you helped me!” ’ Examples of how Christians put this into practice and help people are; doing voluntary work for Oxfam or other charities, giving to charity, and the Salvation Army feeding homeless and poor people in food kitchens
However, as well as reading the bible, Christians must follow the teaching from it. Matthew 5 ~ 7 says; “don’t criticize,” “be slow to anger,” and “don’t steal or kill.”
The life and work of Mother Theresa is an example of someone who totally devoted their life to living to Jesus’ example. She helped give hope to thousands of people around the world, regardless of who they were. She treated everyone equally, and never judged people that she didn’t know. She did not expect anything from anyone, although she gained the respect from everybody she met.
However, Christians believe that just to live a life helping others is not enough. They think that even if you do this you will not go to heaven unless you are doing it for the good of other people and not for yourself. Therefore, people who help others so that they will go to heaven are seen by God as selfish.
“Everyone should enjoy life and forget about what happens in the afterlife.”
I strongly agree with this statement, because I am an Atheist. I believe that everybody should live life to the full, as I do not believe in heaven and hell, so it will make no difference. However, I do strongly feel that individuals should not enjoy life at other people’s expense.
I do understand why Christians may want to spend more time praying, reading the bible, and helping charities, as they believe these things will be approved of by God, ensuring them a place in heaven. However, Christians believe that to be true, they must not do good deeds such as helping charity for their own sake of a place in heaven. Good actions must be done out of their own will.
Christians also want to live by Jesus’ example, and give up their life to help others, just as he sacrificed himself for the good of mankind on the cross. An example of someone who has put this into practice to an extreme is Mother Theresa. She gave up her life out of her own will to help others in need in a many different ways.
The Old Testament was written several thousand years ago by people who lived several thousand miles away. However, our culture and our laws are based on their beliefs. Christians turn to the bible for help on what is the right thing to do. However, I believe that people shouldn’t have to rely on the bible to tell them things such as ‘Thou shall not kill’ because it is obvious that is wrong. Their own conscience and knowledge of human morals should be able to tell if an action is right or wrong.
I appreciate that a belief in the afterlife will affect the way a follower of that religion lives their life but I would hope that it does not stop them from leading a happy existence.
As well as Christianity, followers of other religions may also in a way sacrifice their lives in relation to a particular belief in the afterlife. For example, Buddhists believe in reincarnation. They believe that in the next life, you will either be punished or rewarded for your actions in the previous one. They feel that all animals are sacred and must not be harmed in any way, so if a Buddhist were to eat meat, they would probably live your next life as an unimportant being.
After weighing up each side of the argument, I still strongly agree with the above statement. Nevertheless, I do understand other points of view, including that of a Christian. It is clear to see why a devoted Christian would dedicate their life to helping others out of their own will. They may do this because they believe life is short, but the afterlife goes on forever.
