In reading the article for week five, I chose to provide my synopsis on the article “Heaven and Hell in Christian thought.” This article provides much insight into many theological views of Christianity with respect to Heaven and Hell and the beliefs set forth. The three views that I will discuss are are the eschatological views, the perspectives and theories of Hell, and Heaven. In reading this article, there was much as a Catholic that I learned and a lot that I could take away that have changed and influenced my idea of what I do and don’t agree with. The first to discuss is the eschatological views of Christianity. Three of the views outlined in this section all in different ways contradict each other. Now that I am an adult and …show more content…
One of the views says that “All humans are equal objects of God’s unconditional love in the sense that God sincerely wills or desires to reconcile each one of them to himself and thus to prepare each one of them for the bliss of union with him.” Of course, to someone that may be the way they believe. Others may not. When I attended non-denominational churches, I saw a lot of this concept floating around. Everyone will be saved. To me, personally, how could it be THAT easy? I grew up with the notion that repentance was important and thus getting sacraments was critical because we are human and imperfect. It seemed as if we didn’t need to really work for anything. The idea of potentially just doing bad things that we know are sinful and assuming because we are God’s children and so entitlement thus follows seemed unfamiliar and uncomfortable to me. Another view mentioned in this section was more aligned to what I believe is “Almighty God will triumph in the end and successfully reconcile to himself each person whose reconciliation he sincerely wills or desires.” The key for me here is the person who …show more content…
How could I wrap my head around that? Although there are many viewpoints and ideas of Hell, this is one I have never heard of. When the article mentions that there is not a way for us to know on this earth that some do or do not fall into this category makes me question how this would apply to me or anyone I know and love. It further explains even in instances where one has no ability to have rational thought, such as a baby dying at an early age, still is subject to this notion of going to Hell. Personally, this was not how I was even raised as a Catholic. To go to that extent is very radical in my opinion. If Augustinians are people themselves, do they believe they are damned as well? Surely, critics or people explicitly think they may not be part of the equation but truly they are. The article further details the retributive theory. There is a degree of which someone has the ability to understand the full scope of who God is and the nature of their understanding. Obviously mental incapacities limit the ability to make sound decisions. The theory itself mirrors exactly my thoughts relative to my experience with my brother’s
...lvation is achieved differs significantly among the various Christian groups, for example, the Catholic Church believes that salvation is attained through good works such as acts of charity and almsgiving, while the Anglican Church as a deeper focus on personal faith and acceptance of Jesus as the Savior. The concept of salvation is a driving factor in the formation of ethics and morals in the Christian faith, as individual desire to receive eternal life in heaven underpins many actions and choices that they make, such as the choice to attend church or participate in aiding the poor and helpless.
Death and what comes after has always been a subject of great interest and uncertainty. Many have tried to depict their own vision of the afterlife, be it heaven or hell, paradiso or inferno. Here, I will discuss the similarities and differences in the hell represented in the movie What Dreams May Come and the Inferno of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.
Garrett’s concise treatment of an array of relevant questions is reflected in chapter titles like “Faith and Belief”, “The Bible and Theology”, “Sacramental Faith”, “Spiritual Practice”, “The Kingdom of God”, “The End of Things”, and “Friends or Rivals: Living in a Multifaith World”. Each chapter is a vivid explanation on how our life should be based on love, nothing else but the love of Christ, it contrasts the modern day depiction of God bein...
Everyone has a different idea about what Heaven is like, but who knows the true state of Heaven? No one can really know, because no one on earth has ever seen Heaven; though, many scholars have come up with different takes on what the believe Heaven to be. In Dante’s Paradise, he explains his conception of Heaven by explaining the physical appearance of it, the separate levels within Paradise, and the actual souls residing there. However, Dante’s conception of Heaven contradicts what Baptist believes it to be like.
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” – This work by Jonathan Edwards is a sermon that he wrote in 1741 that centers on the fate that awaits those who are outside of Jesus Christ. Firstly, he speaks of death and how it will come for all, and most often unexpectedly and suddenly. In light of this, he sees the task of warning the “wicked” of their impending destination of hell in the upmost importance. Not only will they be cast into eternal torment most easily, but also Edwards asserts that they deserve to be thrown into hell and would be in hell this very moment, if not for what he calls the “pleasure” or grace of God. The veil that keeps them from falling into hell is so outrageously thin, that it is a wonder in of itself that it has
Before beginning this essay proper, it is important to first comprehend some of what is meant by the term eschatology, and how it is understood in the Book of Revelation. Eschatology broadly defined is that part of theology which deals with conceptions of the ‘end times’ and of the final things of the world and humanity. Within it sit many concepts, such as heaven and hell, divine judgment, the second coming, the defeat of evil and the new creation, among others things. As such, it encapsulates any discussion about the ‘end times’. This is certainly an apt title for much of the Book of Revelation then, with so much discussion of divine judgment on the first earth, the second coming of Christ and the coming of the New Creation. Within the pages of this text, however, a more complex eschatology is portrayed. While in the grander literary scheme of the text we see the ultimate destruction of death and hades and their throwing into the lake of fire...
Dante Alighieri presents a vivid and awakening view of the depths of Hell in the first book of his Divine Comedy, the Inferno. The reader is allowed to contemplate the state of his own soul as Dante "visits" and views the state of the souls of those eternally assigned to Hell's hallows. While any one of the cantos written in Inferno will offer an excellent description of the suffering and justice of hell, Canto V offers a poignant view of the assignment of punishment based on the committed sin. Through this close reading, we will examine three distinct areas of Dante's hell: the geography and punishment the sinner is restricted to, the character of the sinner, and the "fairness" or justice of the punishment in relation to the sin. Dante's Inferno is an ordered and descriptive journey that allows the reader the chance to see his own shortcomings in the sinners presented in the text.
Dante feels hell is a necessary, painful first step in any man’s spiritual journey, and the path to the blessed after-life awaits anyone who seeks to find it, and through a screen of perseverance, one will find the face of God. Nonetheless, Dante aspires to heaven in an optimistic process, to find salvation in God, despite the merciless torture chamber he has to travel through. As Dante attempts to find God in his life, those sentenced to punishment in hell hinder him from the true path, as the city of hell in Inferno represents the negative consequences of sinful actions and desires. Though the punishments invariably fit the crimes of the sinners and retributive justice reigns, the palpable emphasis of fear and pity that Dante imbues on the transgressors illustrates his human tendency to feel sympathy towards one who is suffering. For example, when Dante approaches the gat...
Experiencing salvation looks differently for every person; not everyone experiences salvation in the same place or at the same time. We often put human restrictions on God’s actions, saying exactly how and when Jesus will show up. As humans we do not obtain the authority or ability to say how or when Jesus will show up, only God has this power. There are many times people feel pressured into salvation or forced into religion; I believe this is something which drives people away from God and the church. Langston Hughes felt pressured into an artificial salvation, and this caused him to turn away from Jesus.
Spivack, Charlotte. "The Journey to Hell: Satan, The Shadow, and the Self." Centennial Review 9:4 (1965): 420 - 437.
What I detected, rightly or wrongly, was an animus against punishment as such. When I gingerly introduced the subject of Hell, those who had spontaneously rejected capital punishment and then had some second thoughts about life imprisonment when looked at in itself and not as an alternative to the death penalty seemed inclined toward a creative interpretation of eternal punishment. And of course there have been eminent theologians who have wondered aloud about the doctrine of Hell. Even Jacques Maritain, late in his life had written equivocally on the subject.
In Christianity, the emphasis is placed on love of God rather than on obeying his will. People must believe that God is merciful and loves them as well. As a reflection of God’s love, people must also love other people (and the whole humanity in general) and forgive their enemies. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus endorses agape, or selfless love (in contrast to eros, or possessive love), which consists of dedication to another person’s good, even at the expense of our own good and happiness. People should practice peace and nonviolence, return good for evil and love for suffering (“turn the other cheek”).
In Dante’s Inferno sinners are in Hell because they committed a grave crime and did not seek repentance for their crime. Dante categorizes sinners in hell based on the severity of their crimes and how unrepentant they are. Dante explains, “Without repentance, none can be absolved. None can repent before a sin is done. No reasoning could be more fraudulent (27.124-127)!” In this
Dante’s Inferno presents the reader with many questions and thought provoking dialogue to interpret. These crossroads provide points of contemplation and thought. Dante’s graphic depiction of hell and its eternal punishment is filled with imagery and allegorical meanings. Examining one of these cruxes of why there is a rift in the pits of hell, can lead the reader to interpret why Dante used the language he did to relate the Idea of a Just and perfect punishment by God.
One way in which death can be viewed comes across the Catholic religion. The Catholic believers look life after death in a prospective of three different worlds, such as Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise according to the deeds committed during life. If a person during his or her lifetime committed any sins, this person’s next world will be the Hell. The traditional view in which people refer to hell can be found in the book written by Dante Alighieri, “La Divina Commedia”. The book states that the formation of Hell was given by the crash of Lucifer (the angel that wanted to be better than God) from the sky onto the earth. Crashing on the Earth in Jerusalem, his head formed an upside down cone inside the Earth. This is where is located the Hell. In the Hell, people pay for their sins with different penitences (12-13). For instance, a person that committed homicide will freeze in a lake frozen by the breath of Satan (XXXIV canto). If a person during his or her life commits any sins but asks for forgiveness, then he or she will go to the Purgatory. The purgatory is represented by an island with a mountain (23). One source states that “Purgatory is very similar to Hell; the main difference is that one will eventually be released from torture. The souls that go in the Purgatory are tortured with fire. These souls remain in purgatory until they become sufficiently purified to enter heaven”(2). For example, if a soul in the purgatory asks for forgiveness and pays the punition with some tests, the soul will be released and moved immediately to Heaven (2).