Every conversation I've had with people since I got here seems to come down to what happens in the afterlife. My boyfriend and I have had countless conversations about it, and the main questions are: What is sin? Can't Jesus just forgive us? Who goes to hell?
The traditional version of hell is a fiery pit of doom where people shriek in agony. Thank you Dante. What really seems to be hell is simply separation from God. Now, who goes to hell? From a Christian view, it is people who don't accept Jesus as their savior. According to my Jewish friend Itay, those who practice Judaism do not believe in hell. From a Muslim point of view, well, I really had no clue, so I googled it! (Forgive me if I'm wrong about this) I copy/pasted this from a random website.
What is the meaning of heavenly bliss, the tortures of the fire of hell? In answer to this question, the Promised Messiah (as) has illustrated the issue in the following terms: If a man is almost dying of thirst, and is otherwise healthy, cool water can provide him such deeply satisfying pleasure as cannot be derived from the ordinary experience of drinking water, or even the most delicious drink of his choice. If a man is thirsty and hungry as well, and he needs an immediate source of energy, a chilled bunch of grapes can provide him with such deep satisfaction as is not experienced by the same in ordinary circumstances. But the pre-requisite for these pleasures is good health. Now visualise a very sick man, who is nauseating and trying to vomit whatever liquid is left in him, and is at the verge of death through dehydration. Offer him a glass of cool water, or a chilled bunch of grapes, then not to mention his accepting them, a mere glance of them would create a state of revulsion and absolute abhorrence in him. In illustrations like these, the Promised Messiah (as) made it clear that hell and heaven are only issues of relativity.
I'm so glad copy/paste exists, because I wouldn't even know how to begin to explain that.
Ok, so those are just the general concepts for each religion. There are definitely varying opinions for different people. I'm not entirely sure that I believe in hell because I figure that if Jesus loves us, then he won't let us go there. If we're talking about the fiery pit version, then I absolutely believe that doesn't exist because no one would condemn someone to that for all eternity. If punishment must occur, I'd be more inclined to believe in purgatory even though that was a medieval human (Dante?) creation. I'm not even sure that I believe in sin. Sure, people do bad things but that isn't necessarily a reason to send them down there.
From a Christian standpoint, only Christians go to heaven. Ouch, those poor, poor other faiths. So. What if someone who had never heard of Jesus in their life dies. What happens? Automatic enlightenment? Hmm...
As anyone can tell, I am a major, major skeptic of anything that makes an ultimatum that affects other people's lives. Can't everyone just go to heaven?
