Roman Catholics go to confession every week and ask God to forgive them for any sins they have committed. The priest will then forgive them and give them some form of ‘punishment’ which will not be a jail sentence but a small ‘telling off’ and then to go home and say a few ‘Hail Mary’s’ – prayers to the Virgin Mary.
Catholics believe that at death, those who have not sinned since their last confession will go to heaven, and those that have sinned since their last confession will go to hell.
Muslims follow similar beliefs – their God is called Allah.
They believe that Allah created the world as told in their Bible which is
called ‘The Koran’.
Muslims believe that the Koran was given to a man called Mohammed and
that he was the last prophet of Allah. They believe that the Angel Gabriel
gave Mohammed this book as it contained the word of Allah. It was then up to Mohammed to spread this word. Muslims think that they should all follow their lives according to what the Koran says as it very clearly shows what Allah wants people to do and how they should live.
The Muslims follow a ‘Islamic Law’ and it is this law that decides between what is right and what is wrong. They also believe that Allah is kind and compassionate.
Islam teaches that ‘ Allah the Merciful ’ will judge our actions when we die. If we have done what is good and lawful then we will be rewarded with eternity in heaven. If we have done anything that is not permitted, then we will go to hell.
How does a belief in ‘life after death’ affect the way in which a person lives?
Not all Christians believe in heaven or hell, and some people find it hard to believe that a kind and loving God would punish humans in such a cruel way by sending them to hell. Some people say that if there was a God then how can he let awful things happen especially to children, and if there is no God, then there is no heaven or hell either.
One common belief in most religions is that all children are born innocent.
How that child is brought up is the responsibility of a caring adult – usually a parent or grandparent. The carer of that child may or may not have beliefs of one particular religion, but the idea of what is right and what is wrong should always be the most important point in bringing up any child.
Christians believe and follow the Ten Commandments – the word of God.
‘You shall not kill ’, and ‘ you shall not steal ’ etc, clearly say that to do these things would be wrong and that you will be punished by God. Not only would they be disobeying God’s word but they would also be breaking the ‘ law of the land ’ or Common Law as it is known. Laws in countries across the world have been passed
so that the citizens of that country know what is and what is not acceptable.
The law is like a ‘ boundary line ’ of what is right and what is wrong.
It is the law that will punish you if you break the rules.
It is important to remember though that someone who breaks the law
e.g. by killing somebody, not only will that person spend eternity in hell (as our Christian beliefs tell us), but that person will also spend their life in jail or be lawfully executed depending in which country they live in.
If a person stole something, then they would be fined or sent to jail.
Jesus said ‘let him without sin cast the first stone’, so that any punishment should be given which fits the crime, and should show compassion when it is needed.
Just suppose that somebody killed one of your children – it would be very hard not to get revenge by then murdering that person. It would be easy to sympathise with the parent of that child and to offer compassion when giving them punishment.
If someone stole a loaf of bread because he could not afford to feed his family, again it would be easy to feel sorry for this person and to show leniency when giving him some form of punishment. It would also be very difficult to believe that a kind and caring God would forgive him and let that person into heaven but instead send him to hell when he eventually died.
The Ten Commandments were literally carved in stone and the more strict of religious beliefs say that they should be followed to the letter.
In some parts of Africa and the Middle East, some Muslims follow ‘Shari’ah Law
which is based on Islamic Law but is a lot harsher in punishing people.
It follows the Koran to the letter and does not allow leniency or compassion.
It’s judgements can seem very harsh compared with Christian Common Law.
In some countries, a man could lose his right hand for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family with and a woman would be stoned to death for having a child out of wedlock, or for having an affair.
There have been stories though that in some situations Shari’ah Law only applies to women and not to the man. A man may have an affair outside of his marriage where a woman cannot.
Muslims who follow Shari’ah Law to the letter may be called ‘Muslim Fundamentalist’s as they believe Allah’s word and are very strict about not breaking His word. They also believe that Allah is kind and forgiving, and will therefore forgive any Muslim who has tried to follow The Koran to the best of his or her ability.
Depending on which religion a person follows could have a very big impact on how they live.
People who do not believe in heaven and earth may probably not believe in the Bible neither. They may break the law in order to steal something of value, or they may kill somebody they don’t like. These people live in every society and will usually be neither religious nor spiritual in their beliefs.
God gave every human being a free will and the right to chose between right and wrong – religious teachings tell us that people who break God’s word will then spend their afterlife in hell, but it is the courts that tell them they will spend their present life in jail.
Some people will spend most of their life avoiding being caught and punished by the law, but as they are close to death will ask forgiveness from God and ask to be allowed into heaven. They hope that God will forgive them of all their sins and not send them to hell.
The main beliefs of the Jewish faith are similar to the Christian and Muslim faith.
But Jews teach their people to spend their time living a long and good life rather than worry about an afterlife.
What are your views on life after death?
Give reasons for your answer.
As I have been brought up as a Christian, I would like to believe that there is a heaven as it is quite frightening to think that once I die then I will be gone forever. It is nice to think that once I have lived my life, then I would go and live again with God – death doesn’t seem to be quite so frightening if you think that there will be
someone waiting for you ‘on the other side’.
I think that being afraid of death makes me believe in God and a place called heaven. I also think that I try to lead a good life because I am frightened of being sent to jail rather than being sent to hell.
Prisons are very real – they are brick buildings where you are locked up for a long time, heaven and hell are beliefs or ‘promises if you’ve been good’ or ‘threats if you’ve been bad.’.
Nobody has seen heaven or hell and then came back with proof that they exist.
I don’t want to spend my present life in prison and then the next life in hell –
it doesn’t seem much fun in either place to me.
Science has told me that once your body is buried, then the flesh will rot after a time but my religion tells me that my spirit will live forever particularly if I have lived a good life, showing other people love and kindness when I could.
I believe that a person’s ‘personality’ or ‘spirit’ lives on and is always thought of by their living relatives. You can remember their expressions, their voices and you can also remember some of the funny things they did.
You can remember the love they showed towards you, and how safe you felt when you stayed with them
If you know somebody who has died and they were not very nice, usually unfriendly or bad-tempered, you can still remember them because their personality or ‘spirit’ has lived on. But perhaps they had a reason for being so unhappy and that God will understand this reason so they may not necessarily go to hell.
I find it difficult to believe in reincarnation simply because the Bible tells me to.
People who say they have lived in a previous life are also difficult for me to believe, and I think they probably have an overactive imagination.
Science, information, knowledge, technology and the freedom of choice take up a large part of our lives these days and there does not seem to be much room left for myths and beliefs that cannot be proved to exist. Faith cannot be proved either but I do have faith and try my best to help other people when I can.
It’s just as though we don’t have any time or room left for faith these days.
I do though believe you should live your life according to Common Law or the laws of your country as much as possible. That is, do not kill or do not steal but I also happen to think that the law should be as flexible enough to offer sympathy and compassion when it is needed.
I do not think they should be any discrimination neither between men and women or people of different races or religions. The law should cover everybody without showing favouritism or prejudice one person or to one country.
The amount of punishment should fit the crime, and be given out with wisdom, intelligence and common sense. People who commit particularly evil crimes should be severely punished and I do hope that they go to hell when they die.
I do think that laws are based on the Ten Commandments or God’s word, and
will try very hard to follow these rules throughout my life.
