the afterlife

• Interpretations of the Afterlife


  • Heaven, hell and purgatory as actual places
  • Heaven, Hell & Purgatory as Spiritual Places or Symbols
• Heaven, hell and purgatory as actual places


  • Heaven - Individual experiences physical and emotional happiness
  • Hell - Individual experiences punishment
  • Purgatory - Individual experiences purification
• Heaven (as an actual place)


  State of eternal happiness when we come face to face with God
• Heaven (as an actual place)


  • Relationship of love, peace and joy
  • Those in heaven will live in perfect harmony and be at peace
• Christian belief in heaven


  At the end of time, the dead will be resurrected as Jesus Christ was; God will bring Christians back to life physically
• Creed: ''We believe in the resurrection of the dead. And the life of the world to come.''
• Hell (as an actual place)


  The Biblical story of Lazarus and the rich man - the rich man ends up in hell
• Book of Revelation: ''Burning lake of fiery sulphur''
• Catechism: ''Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell''
• Purgatory (as an actual place)


  Place of cleansing where people will have their sins forgiven; Catholics on earth can pray for the sins of the deceased to be cleansed
• Bible: ''The purification is necessary because, as Scripture teaches, nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven.''
• Heaven, Hell & Purgatory as Spiritual Places or Symbols


  Seen as spiritual places or symbols rather than actual physical places
• Heaven as a spiritual state

  Pope John Paul II - Trying to work out which senses, if any, would work in heaven seems ridiculous
• Papal infallibility


  Pope is the leader of the Catholic Church and is seen to be infallible when teaching matters of faith or morality
• Hell & purgatory as spiritual states


  • Hell - Alienation from God which is punishment enough
  • Purgatory - Continual mental struggle to achieve a state of perfection, not a physical place
• Symbolic heaven & hell


  • Heaven - Symbol of a person's happiness on Earth
  • Hell - Symbol of a person's torment on Earth
• Symbolic purgatory


  Symbol of our difficult mental struggle to be perfect in this life, not in an afterlife