Different Christian Beliefs on Afterlife

• Some Christians believe a person's soul is resurrected soon after death.
• Other Christians believe the dead will be resurrected at some time in the future when Jesus will return to judge everyone who has ever lived.
• Catholic and Orthodox Christians believe in bodily resurrection. This means resurrection is both spiritual and physical. The physical body lost at death is restored and transformed into a new, spiritual body.
• Some other Christians believe resurrection will just be spiritual, not physical as well.

• Inspires Christians to live life in the way of God wants them to, so they can remain in his presence in this life and the next.
• Means life after death is real.
• Gives hope of a future life with Jesus.
• Gives confidence in the face of death.
• Shows Christians how much God loves them.

"So it will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable." (Bible)

Most Christians believe:

• They will be resurrected and reveie eternal life after they die.
• This is a gift from God, and dependent on faith in God.
• They will be judged by God at some point after they die, and either rewarded by being sent to heaven or punished by being sent to hell.
• This judgement will happen either very soon after death or on the Day of Judgement. This is a time in the future when the world will end and Christ will come again to judge the living and the dead.

"He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the father and he will come to judge the living and the dead." (The Apostles' Creed)

• Christians believe that after they die, God will judge them on their behaviour and actions during their lifetime as well as their faith in Jesus as God's son.
• In the Bible, Jesus' parable of the Sheep and the Goats describes how God will judge people.
• This parable teaches Christians that in serving others, they are serving Jesus so this is the way they should live their lives.
• Before he died, Jesus told his disciples he would prepare a place for them in heaven with God.
• He also made it clear that having faith in him and following his teachings was essential for being able to enter heaven.

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink." (Matthew 22:35)

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

• Heaven is thought to be either a physical place or a spiritual state of peace, joy, freedom from pain and a chance to be with loved ones.
• Christians differ in their views about who is allowed into heaven where there may be:
• Only Christians (beliers in Jesus).
• Christians and other religious people who have pleased God by living good lives.
• Baptised Christians, regardless of how they lived their lives.
• But, many Christians believe heaven is a reward for both faith and actions.
• The Catholic belief of purgatory is an intermediate state where souls are cleansed in order to enter heaven.

• Hell is seen as the opposite of heaven - a state of existence without God.
• It is often pictured as a place of eternal torment in a fiery pit ruled by Satan.
• However, many people question whether a loving God would condemn people to eternal torment and pain.
• Hell would then be what awaits someone who did not acknowledge God or follow his teaching during life.