physical

• judgement, heaven, hell + purgatory as physical was a view held almost universally in the West until modern times. it is still believed by some fundamentalists
• the powerful in the Church + secular world saw physical judgement as a way of controlling the peasants
• judgement as physical:

  • at the end of the world, Christ will return in glory to judge all humans according to their deeds
• heaven as physical:

  • those assessed as holy will be taken to heaven by angels
  • often depicted as a city
• hell as physical:

  • those who have committed mortal sins will be cast into hell to suffer torment for eternity
  • often depicted as a blazing fire
• purgatory as physical:

  • those whose sins are venial undergo a period of cleansing suffering + pain, or purgatory
  • this enables them to enter heaven