Inside Heaven and Hell

Acrobat Reader Required. What History, Theology, and the Mystics tell us about the Afterlife Beginning with death and judgment, bestselling author Dr. Thomas.
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It seems entirely disproportionate to the sins it punishes. The sufferings of hell are by definition worse than anything we can experience in this life: All those can be unendurable, but the sufferings of hell, in the traditional doctrine, endure for ever. Death cannot end them: To inflict such endless agony does not seem in the nature of a loving and merciful God; it seems disproportionate even to the demands of justice.

In fact the early and influential theologian St Origen believed that even Satan would be released from hell at last, although this was later judged a heresy. The real difficulty comes with the concept of eternity. The problem is not just that the universe has no place for hell: The universe, which had a beginning in the big bang, and will have an end, cannot contain eternity.

Heaven Inside You're Hell

Only our minds can experience eternity and I suspect that suffering, like bliss, can be eternal in that sense — while it lasts. But no one who has experienced real bliss, or real anguish, could doubt that they exist. Pope Francis Catholicism Religion comment.


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Order by newest oldest recommendations. Such is the End of the Righteous; and the end of the unbelievers is the Fire. Children automatically go to Heaven when they die, regardless of the religion of their parents. The concept of Heaven in Islam differs in many respects to the concept in Judaism and Christianity. Heaven is described primarily in physical terms as a place where every wish is immediately fulfilled when asked. Islamic texts describe immortal life in Heaven as happy, without negative emotions. Those who dwell in Heaven are said to wear costly apparel, partake in exquisite banquets, and recline on couches inlaid with gold or precious stones.

Inhabitants will rejoice in the company of their parents, spouses, and children. In Islam if one's good deeds outweigh one's sins then one may gain entrance to Heaven. Conversely, if one's sins outweigh their good deeds they are sent to hell. The more good deeds one has performed the higher the level of Heaven one is directed to. It has been said that the lowest level of Heaven, the first one, is already over one-hundred times better than the greatest life on Earth.

A Child of God: Let That Shape Who You Are

Houses are built by angels for the occupants using solid gold. Verses which describe Heaven include: Islamic texts refer to several levels of Heaven: According to the Ahmadiyya view, much of the imagery presented in the Quran regarding Heaven, but also hell, is in fact metaphorical.

They propound the verse which describes, according to them how the life to come after death is very different from the life here on earth. On earth, if a person leads a righteous life and submits to the will of God, his or her tastes become attuned to enjoying spiritual pleasures as opposed to carnal desires. With this, an "embryonic soul" begins to take shape. Different tastes are said to be born which a person given to carnal passions finds no enjoyment.

For example, sacrifice of one's own's rights over that of other's becomes enjoyable, or that forgiveness becomes second nature. In such a state a person finds contentment and Peace at heart and at this stage, according to Ahmadiyya beliefs, it can be said that a soul within the soul has begun to take shape. The shape of the Universe as described in Jainism is shown alongside. Unlike the current convention of using North direction as the top of map, this uses South as the top.

The shape is similar to a part of human form standing upright. The Deva Loka heavens are at the symbolic "chest", where all souls enjoying the positive karmic effects reside. The heavenly beings are referred to as devas masculine form and devis feminine form. According to Jainism, there is not one heavenly abode, but several layers to reward appropriately the souls of varying degree of karmic merits.

Similarly, beneath the "waist" are the Narka Loka Hell. Human, animal, insect, plant and microscopic life forms reside on the middle. The pure souls who reached Siddha status reside at the very south end top of the Universe. The term for Heavens in the Tanakh is shamayim , located above the firmament a solid, transparent dome which covered the earth and separated it from the "waters" above.

Yahweh, the God of Israel, lived in Heaven or in the "Heaven of Heavens" the exact difference between these two, if any, is unclear in a heavenly palace. His dwelling on earth was Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, which was a model of the cosmos and included a section which represented Heaven. The Torah has little to say on the subject of survival after death, but by the time of the rabbis two ideas had made inroads among the Jews: Jewish writings [ which? Originally, the two ideas of immortality and resurrection were different but in rabbinic thought they are combined: This idea is linked to another rabbinic teaching, that men's good and bad actions are rewarded and punished not in this life but after death, whether immediately or at the subsequent resurrection.

Whats Inside Heaven and Hell

This world is like a lobby before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banquet hall. Judaism holds that the righteous of all nations have a share in the World-to-come. According to Nicholas de Lange , Judaism offers no clear teaching about the destiny which lies in wait for the individual after death and its attitude to life after death has been expressed as follows: The only certainty is that each man must die - beyond that we can only guess. According to Tracey R. Rich of the website "Judaism ", Judaism, unlike other world-religions, is not focused on the quest of getting into Heaven but on life and how to live it.

The Nahua people such as the Aztecs , Chichimecs and the Toltecs believed that the heavens were constructed and separated into 13 levels. Each level had from one to many Lords living in and ruling these heavens. Most important of these heavens was Omeyocan Place of Two. In the creation myths of Polynesian mythology are found various concepts of the heavens and the underworld. These differ from one island to another.

What they share is the view of the universe as an egg or coconut that is divided between the world of humans earth , the upper world of heavenly gods, and the underworld. Each of these is subdivided in a manner reminiscent of Dante 's Divine Comedy , but the number of divisions and their names differs from one Polynesian culture to another. Different tribes number the heaven differently, with as few as two and as many as fourteen levels. One of the more common versions divides heaven thus:.

Other Polynesian peoples see them being supported by gods as in Hawaii.

Integrity – Heaven Inside You're Hell Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

In one Tahitian legend, heaven is supported by an octopus. The Polynesian conception of the universe and its division is nicely illustrated by a famous drawing made by a Tuomotuan chief in Here, the nine heavens are further divided into left and right, and each stage is associated with a stage in the evolution of the earth that is portrayed below. The lowest division represents a period when the heavens hung low over the earth, which was inhabited by animals that were not known to the islanders. In the third division is shown the first murder, the first burials, and the first canoes, built by Rata.

In the fourth division, the first coconut tree and other significant plants are born. As per Sikh thought, Heaven and Hell are not places for living hereafter, they are part of spiritual topography of man and do not exist otherwise. They refer to good and evil stages of life respectively and can be lived now and here during our earthly existence.

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He claims to know the Lord, who is beyond measure and beyond thought; By mere words, he plans to enter heaven. I do not know where heaven is. Everyone claims that he plans to go there. By mere talk, the mind is not appeased. The mind is only appeased, when egotism is conquered. As long as the mind is filled with the desire for heaven, He does not dwell at the Lord's Feet. Says Kabeer, unto whom should I tell this? The Company of the Holy is heaven.

It is believed in Theosophy of Helena Blavatsky that each religion including Theosophy has its own individual heaven in various regions of the upper astral plane that fits the description of that heaven that is given in each religion, which a soul that has been good in their previous life on Earth will go to. The area of the upper astral plane of Earth in the upper atmosphere where the various heavens are located is called Summerland Theosophists believe Hell is located in the lower astral plane of Earth which extends downward from the surface of the earth down to its center.

However, Theosophists believe that the soul is recalled back to Earth after an average of about years by the Lords of Karma to incarnate again. The final heaven that souls go to billions of years in the future after they finish their cycle of incarnations is called Devachan. Anarchist Emma Goldman expressed this view when she wrote, "Consciously or unconsciously, most theists see in gods and devils, heaven and hell; reward and punishment, a whip to lash the people into obedience, meekness and contentment.

Many people consider George Orwell 's use of Sugarcandy Mountain in his novel Animal Farm to be a literary expression of this view. In the book, the animals were told that after their miserable lives were over they would go to a place in which "it was Sunday seven days a week, clover was in season all the year round, and lump sugar and linseed cake grew on the hedges". Some have argued that a belief in a reward after death is poor motivation for moral behavior while alive.

The problem with this linkage between religion and morality is that it gives people bad reasons to help other human beings when good reasons are available. In Inside the Neolithic Mind , Lewis-Williams and Pearce argue that a tiered structure of Heaven, along with similarly structured circles of Hell , is neurally perceived by members of many cultures around the world and through history. The reports are so similar across time and space that Lewis-Williams and Pearce argue for a neuroscientific explanation, accepting the percepts as real neural activations and subjective percepts during particular altered states of consciousness.

Many people who come close to death and have near death experiences report meeting relatives or entering "the Light" in an otherworldly dimension, which share similarities with the religious concept of heaven. Even though there are also reports of distressing experiences and negative life-reviews, which share some similarities with the concept of Hell, the positive experiences of meeting or entering "the Light" is reported as an immensely intense feeling state of love, peace and joy beyond human comprehension.

Together with this intensely positive-feeling state, people who have near death experiences also report that consciousness or a heightened state of awareness seems as if it is at the heart of experiencing a taste of "heaven". From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the metaphysical term "heaven" and the astral dimension it denotes. For other uses, see Heaven disambiguation.

Religions of the ancient Near East. Heaven ordered the sun, the moon, and the stars to enlighten and guide them.

No wonder the pope has caused confusion. Heaven and hell are a state of mind

Heaven ordained the four seasons, Spring, Autumn, Winter, and Summer, to regulate them. Heaven sent down snow, frost, rain, and dew to grow the five grains and flax and silk that so the people could use and enjoy them. Heaven established the hills and rivers, ravines and valleys, and arranged many things to minister to man's good or bring him evil.

He appointed the dukes and lords to reward the virtuous and punish the wicked, and to gather metal and wood, birds and beasts, and to engage in cultivating the five grains and flax and silk to provide for the people's food and clothing. This has been so from antiquity to the present. Brill, Leiden and Boston , s. Fourth edition, online , s. Ancient Mesopotamian Religion and Mythology: Orientalische Religionen in der Antike. The Early History of Heaven.

Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions. The Catholic Biblical Association of America. A study of the afterlife in world religions. Retrieved 31 December Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene: The Followers of Jesus in History and Legend. An Elementary Study of Islam. This is a gross mischaracterization of our religion.

It is important to remember that unlike some religions, Judaism is not focused on the question of how to get into Heaven.