Christians believe that Jesus lived a perfect life for us, after doing this; he then died on the cross for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. Christians believe that because God is benevolent he made a way for you to stand un-judged before Him. Christians believe all you have to do to gain this privilege is to: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved” Acts 16:31.
There are a few differences within Christianity about the timing of when we go to heaven and when we are judged. Some denominations like the evangelical protestants believe that when we die our souls will wait for the second coming of Jesus and that is when all dead will rise and we will all be judged by God. They believe the dead will not be aware of the time in between their death and Judgement day. Protestants believe that when we die we are instantly judged. If we were a good Christian then we will go to heaven straight away. If we are a bad or a non-Christian then we will go to hell. Roman Catholics believe that we go straight to heaven if we are not sinful or if we haven’t committed a sin since our last confession before we die. They believe that by confessing our sins before we die (having our last rites read) this will cleanse us.
The main difference between Protestant and Catholic beliefs in the afterlife is that Roman Catholics believe in purgatory. The main theme running through Christianity though is that if you lead a good life you go to heaven and if you lead a bad life you will go to hell.
Christians believe in Heaven for many reasons. Some Christians believe that because God is just and fair he rewards the virtuous. They believe that because virtuous people don’t get rewarded in this life, they will do so in the afterlife. Others also believe that through the initial sin committed by Adam and Eve in paradise they separated us from God. They believe that through the death of Jesus Christ we can be united with him again in heaven.
Most Denominations believe in Hell. Some believe Hell exists because God is a God of justice and sin has to be punished. As it isn’t fully punished on earth God has to punish those in the afterlife with a place like Hell. A few Christians believe Hell was created by God to “scare people” into living a good life. If people fear a hell, then the idea is that they are less likely to sin.
1b)
Explain how a particular belief in an afterlife may affect the way in which followers of Christianity may live their lives.
The Belief in an afterlife seriously affects the way in which a Christian lives his or her life. If they believe in Heaven and Hell then they would believe that their actions in their life would affect their afterlife. Most Christians see Heaven as a reward and Hell as a Punishment.
Matthew 5:12
”Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
This shows that a lot of Christians will behave in a virtuous way in their life to gain this reward in the afterlife.
However, according to some Christians, behaving as the Bible teaches or as Jesus commands is not sufficient to ensure an after life in heaven without a true faith in Jesus Christ. In James 2:14 it “ says that if people say they have faith but do nothing their faith is worth nothing…”
James 2
‘ … [Abraham’s] faith was made perfect by what he did. So it is faith in Jesus Christ – and therefore inevitably in an after life as He promised – that affects a Christian’s behaviour.’
Christians teach that caring and providing for the needy is an obligation instead of an option. This is seen in Romans 13:9 where it says; "Love your neighbour as yourself." To Christians this is supposed to be one of the most important teachings because Jesus sees it as being the one rule which sums up the other 10 commandments. This would affect a Christian’s life because they see it as another way of saying help the less fortunate as you would like to be treated; with love and care.
There is a point of view that Christian faith is an ‘insurance policy’ for an afterlife. Some cynics think that it is possible to live a godless life and then make a deathbed confession, make yourself right with God and then gain eternal life in heaven. This is contradicted by all the teaching in the New Testament and the words of Jesus Himself: However, this does not rule out the possibility of someone hearing the gospel of Jesus for the first time as they approach death and then, accepting salvation and gaining eternal life – in other words, heaven.
Most Christians therefore feel obliged to help the needy. This is usually done through missionary work or charities. A few examples of missionary charities are “Operation Mobilisation” and “Church Mission Society”. These companies go to the third world countries and evangelise to them. Many Christians see that by giving their life to God and spreading his word this will be living as God would like, subsequently gaining eternal life in Heaven. Over Charities like “Tearfund” and “Christian Aid” are Christian based. These companies help people in third world countries in emergencies and poverty. A lot of Christians feel they have to donate money to these charities or offer their time to support the work of these charities. This is because they feel they are living in submission to Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament,
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men
Christians feel that because they are following God’s word this will help to live a virtuous life and therefore a rewarded eternal life in heaven.
Some Christians believe Matthew 25:31-36 offers the most important teachings about giving to others who are needy:
31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 37"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Christians see this passage as meaning the virtuous people will go to Heaven because they lived according to the scriptures. Verses 35 and 36 show that when those who are needy, need help we should provide for them. If we do so we will be rewarded in Heaven.
41"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
Christians see this as meaning that when we did not help others we were not living our lives by God’s will. This will therefore not gain us eternal life in heaven.
1c)
“Everyone should enjoy their life and forget about what might happen next.”
Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer and show that you have considered different points of view. You must refer to Christianity in your answer.
If you are an atheist and do not believe in any form of god then you must find this very hard to believe. I am a Christian so I don’t believe in this statement. However this statement can be taken apart. I believe that you can enjoy life and still think about what might happen next. As a Christian I believe that you should keep your body pure. In the bible it says that you should keep your body clean, i.e free from drugs, un-damaged and pure.
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
But the body is not for sexual immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. 14 Now God raised up the Lord, and will also raise us up by his power. 15 Don't you know that your bodies are members of Christ? Will I then take away the members of Christ, and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be…19 or don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit that is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own
Christians believe that you should live your life according to religious teachings. A few of these include the 10 commandments, “Love your neighbour as yourself”. There are also parables like the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). All of these command Christians to live their lives in a respectable and loving way. Some Christians regard life as a time to serve and Heaven as a time to enjoy. Based on this thought, some Christians would therefore strongly disagree with the statement. They believe that if you live a righteous life your reward will be in heaven.
Matthew 5:10
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Christians believe that part of living as a Christian, is to be as much like Jesus as possible, holy and sinless. They see living for God as being a great source of enjoyment. Christians believe that God called us to live for him and living for him means you have to follow Jesus’ example.
For an atheist this quote would be completely true. They would see the afterlife, as non-existent so therefore what happens when we die will not matter. Apart from personal morals and the law, atheists do not have any rules upon which they live their life. Sex before marriage, drugs and alcohol means nothing to them apart from the consequences that may follow. They are able to live a fun life believing that it will not affect an afterlife.
R.E Coursework Bibliography
www.biblegateway.com
www.om.org
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
www.onlinebible.org
www.worldvision.com
Discovery – OCR GCSE Text book
One World, Many Issues – Textbook
Youth Bible