Research Paper on Afterlife Beliefs: A Guide to Catholic Views on Resurrection

Introduction

The view held by a person concerning life after death is bound to affect the value given to current life. Catholic beliefs about the afterlife are based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Catholics hold the view that the death and resurrection of Jesus are God's divine plan for humankind (Davis, 46). The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:24 that Jesus paid the penalty of sin through his death on the cross, and it is through this that the relationship between God and humankind is restored. Believers describe this occurrence as atonement. Atonement allows God to grant salvation to individuals who are not worthy of it. Salvation is experienced in this life as a renewal of divine relationship that was broken with sin and beyond death as a new life lived in Union with God in heaven.

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Catholics believe that three days after the crucifixion and death of Jesus, God raised him from the dead and reappeared to his disciples. This resurrection implies that Jesus had power over death and his sacrifice was a victory over sin and death. Although physical death still occurs, Catholics believe that the righteous will have eternal life in heaven. Throughout the existence of Christianity, believers have had divergent opinions about life after death. According to Exline and Yali (235), the question of the afterlife has been triggered by the concerns about the existence of heaven and hell. Catholics believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus have changed the meaning and the view of human death (Kelly, 364). In this context, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that death is no longer the end of human identity because the soul continues even after one dies. The catholic understanding of the afterlife holds that an individual is sentenced to heaven, Purgatory or hell after death depending on the quality of an individual's life on earth.

Overview of Catholic Teachings on Afterlife

The Catholic Church believes that at the point of death, every person will be held accountable for their acceptance or denial of divine grace (Levering, 215). In this case, the individual will either enter immediately to heaven, hell, or eventually into heaven after spending time in Purgatory (Singleton, 455). According to Catholic teachings, there will be a final judgment after death to account for an individual's life on earth. Turner Jr (318) outlined that the New Testament speaks of judgment, particularly in its aspect of the final encounter with Jesus in His second coming. It also affirms every person will be rewarded after death based on their works and faith.

Catholic Catechism (1022) also teaches that humankind receives eternal retribution in immortal soul at the time of death. The payback given to each individual will be based on the soul. In this context, the Catholic Church firmly upholds and confesses that during the judgment, every person will appear before the tribunal of Christ to render an account of their deeds (Salkeld, 91). At the end of the judgment, Gods kingdom will come in its fullness. Then, the righteous will reign with Christ forever, glorified in body and soul, and the earth will be transformed (Levering, 219).

Christians are united in their belief in the afterlife based on the claims of the Holy Bible and the life and teachings of Jesus. Catholics believe that humans come before God and are judged upon death (Markwell, 1132) noted that human life is entirely transformed into a supernatural domain following death. Conservatives and Fundamentalists interpret the Holy Bible as it is and believe in the existence of heaven and hell (Salkeld, 93). According to them, only Christians are admitted to heaven while all others are thrown to hell. Catholics view heaven and hell as a condition such as happiness or peace. Irrespective of a liberal or conservative interpretation of the Bible, the Catholics believe that the body dies only once, and, after death, the soul is judged then exists in an afterlife for eternity (Davis, 47). The scripture states in Hebrews 9:27 that "It has been appointed for men to die one time and be judged."

Heaven

Heaven is the preferred destination for Catholics after death. The Catholic Catechism explains who goes to heaven and the kind of life they will find there. It states, "Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1023). Also, Catholic teaches that heaven is for a few whose love for God has been perfected in the earthly life, and have their bodies glorified (Exline and Yali, 241). Some of the individuals who will qualify for this path are the Virgin Mary, the Apostles, and the saints.

According to Catholic teachings on the afterlife, humans retain individuality beyond death and continue to experience one of three stages of being: - heaven, Purgatory, or hell (Salkeld, 112). Heaven, as defined by the Catholic Bible, is the place of perfect peace and joy, where those who die believing in Christ join the angels in praising God through eternity (Kelly, 364). It is this eternity that gives Catholics the desire and hopes to reach heaven. This indicates that heaven is the ultimate goal and passion of all Catholics. Whereas nobody has an idea of what heaven looks like, Catholics believe it includes seeing God face to face.

Purgatory

In Roman Catholicism, Purgatory is the place where most dead believers expiate their remaining sins before entering the visible presence of God (Markwell, 1133). It is a temporary location where people stay until they are fit to go to heaven. Catholics believe that most souls are not cleansed enough of sin to go directly to heaven because humans tend to sin (Salkeld, 115). Such souls that are neither perfectly purified nor guilty of a grave sin must pass through an interim state known as Purgatory. In this state, the saved souls do not go straight to heaven upon death but go through the purification process in Purgatory for cleansing before they appear in the presence of God (Markwell, 1133). The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1030) explains that "heaven is the ultimate destination for those who are still imperfectly purified, but undergo cleansing after death to attain the holiness necessary to enter the join of heaven."

The purgatory doctrine assumes an intermediate state between the death and resurrection, in which the soul is separated from the body (Singleton, 455). Catholic Catechism explains Purgatory as a state where the souls of the believers who die with strains of sins are purified by expiation before accepted to heaven (Salkeld, 129). In Catholicism, the difference between individuals who go to hell and those who pass through Purgatory is based on the church's comparison of venal and mortal sins (Singleton, 463). Mortal sin in Catholic view is a drastic falling away from the divine grace, while venial sin is a sin by analogy and is different from the mortal sin (Exline and Yali, 228). According to this view, a person who dies in mortal sin goes directly to hell, whereas the one who dies in venal sin passes through Purgatory for cleansing.

The death of Christ may have given the believers the opportunity to receive salvation and go to heaven, but Catholics hold the notion that after salvation, the souls of the believers are still warped by the sins they have committed (Markwell, 1135). To purify their souls, they pass through Purgatory, where they undergo various punishment and become cleansed of sin. The theological teaching is that after purgation, the spirit eventually progresses and goes to heaven (Davis, 73). Humans who enter heaven through Purgatory will spend different amount of time in the purgatorial fire based on how warped their souls became as a result of sin. Therefore, venial sin differs from mortal sin on the merit that it leads to a temporal punishment as opposed to eternal penalty.

Any mortal sin committed by individuals in the Purgatory, and for which they have been forgiven in the Sacrament of Penance could have some temporal punishment remaining (Exline and Yali, 235). These sins must be discharged as well in the Purgatory. As stated, the purgatory inhabitants are systematically tortured with fire. The dead stay in the Purgatory until they become appropriately cleansed to enter heaven. However, Catholics believe that if the friends and the families of these individuals offer prayers, masses and other piety or devotion acts, then, their stay is reduced (Markwell, 1134). Purgatory is similar to hell. The difference, from the perspective of the Catholics is that the person will be released after a series of torture, but in hell, the individual vanishes in eternal fire.

So far, the Catholic views hold that Purgatory is a place where venial sins of the faithful individuals are purified after death. A purgatorial fire cleanses these souls to prepare them for heaven (Salkeld, 133). Kelly (366) clarified that Purgatory is not a place of trial or repentance, but of punishment where fire: - believed to be a material agent, serves by a representation of great pain to purify the poor souls. Salkeld (127) emphasized that the purgatory doctrine is closely associated with the understanding of sin and its consequences as well as forgiveness in the context of the Catholic Church. He stated that the principle of Purgatory is rooted in need to complete forgiveness on earth or after death to be assured of eternal life.

Since Catholic believers see Purgatory as a state of purification, Singleton (464) added that it is part of the economy of salvation. As such, it is closely linked to the dogma of justification. It is necessary to observe that for Catholics, praying for the souls in Purgatory is part of praying for the Kingdom of God (Davis, 77). Simply stated, Purgatory, form the perspective of the Catholics is an intermediary place of cleansing and maturation for people who commit venial sins and die without obtaining complete purification. The state is transitional rather than eschatological. After purification, the individuals are assured of the eternal life.

Hell

Catholics hope to avoid hell as the final destination. Catholic Catechism (1033) highlights that "Hell is a self-exclusion from communion with God and a free decision made by humans by failing to accept God's love and caring for the needy." The souls of the wicked individuals who were corrupted in sin and continuously disobeyed God until their death cannot be cleansed even in the purgatorial fire (Exline and Yali, 231). Such souls go straight to hell to be damned for all eternity. The teachings of the Catholic Church affirm the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death, the souls of individuals who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer in eternal fire as the punishment of hell.

The Chief punishment of hell according to Catholics is eternal alienation from God, in whom alone humans can possess life and happiness for which they were created and for which they long (Exline and Yali, 235). Traditionally, hell was thought as a place of unending torment but is today perceived to be a state of removing a wicked soul from the goodness of God's presence. Catholics also believe that individuals who are not baptized cannot go to heaven because they dwell in a limbo suppose they die without moral sin (Kelly, 367). Theologians today describe suffering in hell as an endless sorrow that has no possibility of a reprieve.

If the scripture is full of affirmations of everlasting life as the hope of Christians and the objective of God's redemptive work, it is equally true that the goal of eternity can be missed due to human sinful nature (Levering, 242). This leads to the eternal loss which is heaven according to Catholicism. The Catholic doctrine illustrate that the Council of Tent once spoke of fear of hel...