Non-Christian (and Christian) Conceptions of Hell

[meltzerboy]

I’m interested in finding out what conceptions of Hell exist in non-Christian religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism, and so on. Also, whether non-mainstream “Christians” and others have a similar concept of Hell to that of Catholicism: for example, Quakers, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Oneness Pentecostals, Unitarians, Christian Scientists, Religious Scientists, Pagans, Wicken, and the like. Further, is Protestantism similar to Catholicism in its notion of Hell, apart from the lack of Purgatory (which, of course, is not Hell)? Are there variations regarding Hell between different Protestant denominations? Or between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox religions? Finally, do any of the above religions NOT have a traditional concept of Hell, or any concept, as part of their theology?

 

[mark_a]

I’m interested in finding out what conceptions of Hell exist in non-Christian religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism, and so on. Also, whether non-mainstream “Christians” and others have a similar concept of Hell to that of Catholicism: for example, Quakers, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Oneness Pentecostals, Unitarians, Christian Scientists, Religious Scientists, Pagans, Wicken, and the like. Further, is Protestantism similar to Catholicism in its notion of Hell, apart from the lack of Purgatory (which, of course, is not Hell)? Are there variations regarding Hell between different Protestant denominations? Or between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox religions? Finally, do any of the above religions NOT have a traditional concept of Hell, or any concept, as part of their theology?

This is not what you’re asking for, but I always love to quote Fr. Groeschel (a Catholic) on these types of threads:

“Hell is the kindest place to send someone who cannot accept the love of God.”

 

[rossum]

I’m interested in finding out what conceptions of Hell exist in non-Christian religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism, and so on.

All the Buddhist hells are temporary;once you serve your time you get reborn somewhere else. The disadvantage is that the heavens are the same, only temporary. The details vary, but the Abhidharmakosa has sixteen hells of varying intensity: eight hot and eight cold. The worst of the hot hells is called Avici, ‘Unremitting’.

The worse your actions the worse the hell you end up in, and the longer you stay there. Kill one person and maybe you get a medium stay in one of the medium hells. Kill twenty people and perhaps you get twenty long lifetimes in one of the worst hells. The punishment is graduated according to the severity of the wrong actions.

rossum

 

[Sufjon]

I’m interested in finding out what conceptions of Hell exist in non-Christian religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism, and so on. Also, whether non-mainstream “Christians” and others have a similar concept of Hell to that of Catholicism: for example, Quakers, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Oneness Pentecostals, Unitarians, Christian Scientists, Religious Scientists, Pagans, Wicken, and the like. Further, is Protestantism similar to Catholicism in its notion of Hell, apart from the lack of Purgatory (which, of course, is not Hell)? Are there variations regarding Hell between different Protestant denominations? Or between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox religions? Finally, do any of the above religions NOT have a traditional concept of Hell, or any concept, as part of their theology?

Hi Melzerboy: Good to hear from you again. In Hinduism, heaven are hell are states of being. In accordance with what is in your heart and your deeds, you have either a hellish or heaven-like existence in successive lifetimes and the astral periods between lives. You can make good progress in one life and take steps back as well. Some say that your soul or Jivatman has some say in picking what life it will take on each time. In other words you assess where you and are, and you take on the life that helps you learn what you need to learn next. My brother is of that opinion and claims to recall making the decision as to where he ended up this time. I have no such recollection, but we do believe that more advanced souls have such recollections, and can also recall many of the lives they’ve lived, as well as see what ones they will have later. I tend to believe that because of all the miracles that commonly happen with Hindu saints. They do some very unexplainable things. Most of it is intuitive stuff, but many heal people of things for which there is no medical hope. A few have raised people from the dead. These sorts of people see past lives and future lives of themselves and others.

Anyway, basically we believe that you are where you put yourself, and there is nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be. Eventually, every soul finds it’s way back to God after many gradations of hellish and heaven-like existences. For us there is no physical place for heaven and hell. In terms of physical location, they are wherever you happen to be. Once you have gone beyond good and bad and beyond the realm of good karma and bad karma, you can go home for good. Any sort of karma - good or bad, will keep you in the cycle or birth and death.

Your friend,
Sufjon

 

[valentino]

There is tremendous disagreements on hell between many of the religions and among all the christian denominations.They range from no hell at all to fire for all eternity.I couldn’t begin to tell u which religions and christian denominations differ in their views because it would take a small book to define them.

 

[meltzerboy]

Hi Melzerboy: Good to hear from you again. In Hinduism, heaven are hell are states of being. In accordance with what is in your heart and your deeds, you have either a hellish or heaven-like existence in successive lifetimes and the astral periods between lives. You can make good progress in one life and take steps back as well. Some say that your soul or Jivatman has some say in picking what life it will take on each time. In other words you assess where you and are, and you take on the life that helps you learn what you need to learn next. My brother is of that opinion and claims to recall making the decision as to where he ended up this time. I have no such recollection, but we do believe that more advanced souls have such recollections, and can also recall many of the lives they’ve lived, as well as see what ones they will have later. I tend to believe that because of all the miracles that commonly happen with Hindu saints. They do some very unexplainable things. Most of it is intuitive stuff, but many heal people of things for which there is no medical hope. A few have raised people from the dead. These sorts of people see past lives and future lives of themselves and others.

Anyway, basically we believe that you are where you put yourself, and there is nowhere you can be that isn’t where you’re meant to be. Eventually, every soul finds it’s way back to God after many gradations of hellish and heaven-like existences. For us there is no physical place for heaven and hell. In terms of physical location, they are wherever you happen to be. Once you have gone beyond good and bad and beyond the realm of good karma and bad karma, you can go home for good. Any sort of karma - good or bad, will keep you in the cycle or birth and death.

Your friend,
Sufjon

Hi Sufjon, I thought this was the case in Hinduism, that is, there is no physical Heaven or Hell. I have a question about the successive reincarnation process. Is the initial “separation” from G-d designed for us to learn about ourselves and others in the world, things that we could not have known when we were joined with G-d, and thereby grow spiritually? If not, and we simply return to where we started, come full circle as it were, then why did we take such a long journey? One might ask the same question about Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, none of which talk about reincarnation (well, Judaism does, but it’s not a principal tenet of the religion). I think the answer–at least for Judaism–is that G-d, in a sense, “needs” Man to complete the Universe through his moral acts of kindness, which G-d formed partially incomplete (doesn’t Catholicism say something similar?), and also G-d created Man not out of necessity, but out of love. What is the Hindu perspective on this?

 

[meltzerboy]

All the Buddhist hells are temporary;once you serve your time you get reborn somewhere else. The disadvantage is that the heavens are the same, only temporary. The details vary, but the Abhidharmakosa has sixteen hells of varying intensity: eight hot and eight cold. The worst of the hot hells is called Avici, ‘Unremitting’.

The worse your actions the worse the hell you end up in, and the longer you stay there. Kill one person and maybe you get a medium stay in one of the medium hells. Kill twenty people and perhaps you get twenty long lifetimes in one of the worst hells. The punishment is graduated according to the severity of the wrong actions.

rossum

Hi rossum: this is all very interesting and new to me. It is also quite logical, that is, let the punishment fit the crime. I assume it works the same way in reverse for Heaven. I’m not sure if Christianity has any concept of gradations of intensity with respect to Hell. Dante, after all, did write about this. I don’t think there are any for Heaven: either you’re “in” or “out.”

 

[meltzerboy]

There is tremendous disagreements on hell between many of the religions and among all the christian denominations.They range from no hell at all to fire for all eternity.I couldn’t begin to tell u which religions and christian denominations differ in their views because it would take a small book to define them.

Hi valentino; I wasn’t aware that there are differences in Hell between mainstream Christian denominations. Are the differences primarily between the views of Catholicism and Protestantism?

 

[meltzerboy]

This is not what you’re asking for, but I always love to quote Fr. Groeschel (a Catholic) on these types of threads:

“Hell is the kindest place to send someone who cannot accept the love of God.”

Mark, I appreciate the profound quotation!

 

[Sufjon]

Hi Sufjon, I thought this was the case in Hinduism, that is, there is no physical Heaven or Hell. I have a question about the successive reincarnation process. Is the initial “separation” from G-d designed for us to learn about ourselves and others in the world, things that we could not have known when we were joined with G-d, and thereby grow spiritually? If not, and we simply return to where we started, come full circle as it were, then why did we take such a long journey? One might ask the same question about Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, none of which talk about reincarnation (well, Judaism does, but it’s not a principal tenet of the religion). I think the answer–at least for Judaism–is that G-d, in a sense, “needs” Man to complete the Universe through his moral acts of kindness, which G-d formed partially incomplete (doesn’t Catholicism say something similar?), and also G-d created Man not out of necessity, but out of love. What is the Hindu perspective on this?

Hi Meltzerboy: It’s kind of hard to explain. I’ve never had to put into words, so you sure are making me think. Basically, the issue is that we believe that there actually is no “you” or “me” in the typical sense. We are the means by which God experiences what He created. Each individual soul is what is called a Jivatman. The soul of God, or that which is God is the Atman. We are Jivatman (Jiv-Atman) or fragments of that big soul. Sometimes referred to just a Jiva. Like pieces of a puzzle that got scattered all over the place, we wind our way through many journeys until we find our way back to fit in our place in the puzzle. These bodies that we wear over time are measuring and analyzing devices. The sense organs coupled with the minds of countless billions of creatures over untold expanses of time. are simply for experiential purposes. They are manifestations of God - many, yet one. The problem is Maya ( the great illusion). We get so wrapped up in these experiences that we mistake this interaction between mind and sense organs to be what we are, and from this is born the idea of an individual self, but that is an illusion. It is also the illusion that lifetime after lifetime delays our journey home.

The is a Hindu story of a man who was bathing in a pond who asked the Lord what Maya was. The Lord told him to go underwater for a moment. When he surfaced, he was a beautiful young woman who couldn’t recall who she was. A prince found her and married her. They built a life together. She had a kingdom and two sons. Many years passed. The sons grew up and went off to war with their father. The father and the sons were killed in battle. Upon hearing the news, the woman was overcome with grief. She went to the ponds where she met her husband so many years ago, and threw herself in to drown. She awoke on the edge of the pond with the Lord still in the same spot where she had seen him so many years ago. Suddenly she remembered all she had forgotten about her dialog with the Lord and remembered about who she was. The Lord smiled and said “that’s Maya!”

Now, I have been told on this forum that because of this, we Hindus think we are God. That is not exactly true.We do not believe this is possible, because there is no me or you. There is only God. A piece of a puzzle is not a puzzle. Once dropped into the ocean, a drop of water is no longer a drop of water. There is now only an ocean. We are to God like a drop of water to the ocean. Where does the drop of water stop and the ocean begin? Where does the ocean stop and the drop of water begin? Yet the ocean can certainly manifest as drops of water, clouds, and even becomes the essence of things that are nourished by the drops and the clouds. Where does anything in all creation end and another begin?

Your friend
Sufjon

 

[meltzerboy]

Hi Meltzerboy: It’s kind of hard to explain. I’ve never had to put into words, so you sure are making me think. Basically, the issue is that we believe that there actually is no “you” or “me” in the typical sense. We are the means by which God experiences what He created. Each individual soul is what is called a Jivatman. The soul of God, or that which is God is the Atman. We are Jivatman (Jiv-Atman) or fragments of that big soul. Sometimes referred to just a Jiva. Like pieces of a puzzle that got scattered all over the place, we wind our way through many journeys until we find our way back to fit in our place in the puzzle. These bodies that we wear over time are measuring and analyzing devices. The sense organs coupled with the minds of countless billions of creatures over untold expanses of time. are simply for experiential purposes. They are manifestations of God - many, yet one. The problem is Maya ( the great illusion). We get so wrapped up in these experiences that we mistake this interaction between mind and sense organs to be what we are, and from this is born the idea of an individual self, but that is an illusion. It is also the illusion that lifetime after lifetime delays our journey home.

The is a Hindu story of a man who was bathing in a pond who asked the Lord what Maya was. The Lord told him to go underwater for a moment. When he surfaced, he was a beautiful young woman who couldn’t recall who she was. A prince found her and married her. They built a life together. She had a kingdom and two sons. Many years passed. The sons grew up and went off to war with their father. The father and the sons were killed in battle. Upon hearing the news, the woman was overcome with grief. She went to the ponds where she met her husband so many years ago, and threw herself in to drown. She awoke on the edge of the pond with the Lord still in the same spot where she had seen him so many years ago. Suddenly she remembered all she had forgotten about her dialog with the Lord and remembered about who she was. The Lord smiled and said “that’s Maya!”

Now, I have been told on this forum that because of this, we Hindus think we are God. That is not exactly true.We do not believe this is possible, because there is no me or you. There is only God. A piece of a puzzle is not a puzzle. Once dropped into the ocean, a drop of water is no longer a drop of water. There is now only an ocean. We are to God like a drop of water to the ocean. Where does the drop of water stop and the ocean begin? Where does the ocean stop and the drop of water begin? Yet the ocean can certainly manifest as drops of water, clouds, and even becomes the essence of things that are nourished by the drops and the clouds. Where does anything in all creation end and another begin?

Your friend
Sufjon

This is fascinating and beautiful, Sufjon. You’ve explained it very well, and it all seems so true and profound. The only parallel I can think of in Western thought is the Gestalt school of psychology, in which the whole structure is formed by the arrangement of its parts, and no parts are separate from the whole but related to it and to each other. Jungian psychology–so influenced by Eastern thought–also comes to mind. And I think the idea of the force field in physics–from which social psychology and group dynamics derive–also bears a resemblance. Thanks for the explanation and the story.

 

[AveChriste11]

I love mostly any story that comes from Indian spirituality! They usually all end up being very beautiful, much like a Celtic poem.

Meltzer: The Bahai’s believe in a state of “separation” from God, where one can learn from the consequences of one’s actions. That state is certainly not eternal, and the idea might be very similar to your Jewish Gehennom. They believe that a soul can progress ad infinitum, towards union with God. The great irony is that, such a goal could never be ultimately reached. Afterlife specifics were never discussed much by Abdul Baha, or Baha’u’llah their prophet.

Jehovah’s Witnesses (who are Unitarians by the way) do not believe in Hell the way traditional Christianity does. I have learned that after the resurrection of the dead, the wicked and those who have done evil in life simply “stay dead”. They cease to exist, so they are annihilated. The righteous end up going and living some form of Paradise Lost, on a physical Earth in physical bodies. Only 144,000 are reserved to go to the spiritual realm to be with Jehovah. Strangely though, no one is sure who exactly is part of this “144,000”. The JW elders in New York are a very good possibility though.

Unitarian Universalists believe in universalism, so basically everyone gets “saved” and as to what happens is up to debate. I used to go to a Unity church, which was part of the New Thought Movement very similar to Mary Baker Eddy’s Christian Science. They also do not believe in a Hell, but take up ideas such as reincarnation, and reject the belief in a literal Satan.

 

[valentino]

Hi valentino; I wasn’t aware that there are differences in Hell between mainstream Christian denominations. Are the differences primarily between the views of Catholicism and Protestantism?

You are aware there are over 3,000 different christian denominations aren’t you?If you consider Jehovah’s witness or Mormons protestants along with many others there are substantial differences.I not sure but 1 of these don’t believe in Hell.Others have many varieations on the afterlife.

 

[rossum]

I assume it works the same way in reverse for Heaven.

Almost. There are better and worse heavens, depending on how good you are. The very highest heavens are attained by meditation only; you can experience a bit of what they are like on Earth while meditating. Keep it up and when you die you get a very long lifetime there.

Nirvana is different. You can get there while still alive (as the Buddha did) and you don’t get reborn anywhere after you die.

rossum

 

[Publisher]

You are aware there are over 3,000 different christian denominations aren’t you?If you consider Jehovah’s witness or Mormons protestants along with many others there are substantial differences.I not sure but 1 of these don’t believe in Hell.Others have many varieations on the afterlife.

Friend…you numbers are a little off. Many of your Catholic brethren tell us there are 30,000…not 3000…you must have missed a “0”.

 

[Denise1957]

I hesitate to post a view of Hell as it is described in a small catechism book that I have, because it’s difficult to separate the view of Hell from the view of Heaven, Purgatory, the need for the Sacraments, and the need to stay in a state of grace, to avoid Hell. The whole package really needs to be looked at in order to get a proper idea. It should be mentioned, too, the Catholic belief is that it is considered to be alright, though imperfect to avoid sin just because we want to avoid going to Hell. It is considered more perfect to want to avoid Hell out of our love for God. Yet Hell is a reality. Though it has never been the habit of Catholics to, say, stand out on street corners and shout out that “Sinners are going to Hell!” That’s not the Catholic way.

Here are a few questions and answers from the little book called, A Brief Catechsim for Adults, by Fr. William J. Cogan (1958). It should not be considered as absolute Catholic teaching, but I think it comes close. The newer and official catechism might be a little different.

Excerpts from chapter on Hell:

“The son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdon all scandals, and them that work iniquity. And shall cast them into the furnace: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:41-42)

1. What is Hell? The place in the next world where the souls of the damned are condemned to suffer forever with the devils.

“If anyone abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth.” (John 15:6)

1. How do you know that there is a Hell? The Bible and Tradition often speak of the everlasting punishments of Hell.

“That he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go into everlasting punishments: but the just, into life everlasting.” (Matt 25:41-46)

1. Who will go to Hell? Only those who die with mortal sin on their soul, that is, without Sanctifying Grace.

“Whosoever was not found written in the book of life, was cast into the pool of fire.” (Apocalypse 20:15)

1. Does anyone ever get out of Hell? No, Hell is a place of everlasting punishment (Matt 25:46)

“And the smoke of their torments shall ascend up for ever and ever: neither have they rest day or night.” (Apocalypse 14:11)

1. What are the pains of Hell? Separation from God, torture by fire, regret, and the compaionship of the devils.

“Before I go, and return no more, to a land that is dark and covered with the mist of death: a land of misery and darkness, where the shadow of death and no order, but everlasting horror dwelleth.” (Job 10:21-22)

 

[Denise1957]

Continuation of excerpts from, “A brief Catechism for Adults,” by Fr. William J. Cogan,
(chapter on Hell):

6.What is the pain of separtion from God? To be separated from God, the source of all happiness, will be the greatest pain in Hell.

“The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven, with the angels of his power: in a flame of fire, giving vengence to them that know not God, and who obey not the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction, from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)

1. Is there real fire in Hell? Yes, Jesus often spoke of the “unquenchable fire” of Hell, and says that the damned souls shall be “salted with fire” (Mark 9:42)

“If anyone abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and he burneth.” (John 15:6)

1. How does the fire in Hell differ from the fire here on earth? The fire in Hell burns without consuming and can torture not ony the body but the soul as well.

“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished.” (Mark 9:47) “Humble thy spirit very much, for the vengence on the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms.” (Ecclesiaticus 7:19)

1. What is the pain of regret? The pain of reget means that you will be tortured forever with the thought that you had so many chances to save your soul and be happy with God, but lost Heaven because of mortal sin.
2. What is the pain of the companionship of devils? Your companions in Hell will be the devils and other lost souls, who will always hate you and mock you for being such a fool.
3. Are the pains in Hell the same for all? All the souls in Hell will have the same type of punishment, but the degree of suffering will differ according to the number and kind of sins committed.

The catechism then goes on to mention that Presumption is the sin committed by people who think that a good God will not punish a sinner with the torments of Hell. God, being a just judge, has to reject those who choose to separate themselves from him by mortal sin.

 

[meltzerboy]

Continuation of excerpts from, “A brief Catechism for Adults,” by Fr. William J. Cogan,
(chapter on Hell):

6.What is the pain of separtion from God? To be separated from God, the source of all happiness, will be the greatest pain in Hell.

“The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven, with the angels of his power: in a flame of fire, giving vengence to them that know not God, and who obey not the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Who shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction, from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)

1. Is there real fire in Hell? Yes, Jesus often spoke of the “unquenchable fire” of Hell, and says that the damned souls shall be “salted with fire” (Mark 9:42)

“If anyone abide not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and he burneth.” (John 15:6)

1. How does the fire in Hell differ from the fire here on earth? The fire in Hell burns without consuming and can torture not ony the body but the soul as well.

“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished.” (Mark 9:47) “Humble thy spirit very much, for the vengence on the flesh of the ungodly is fire and worms.” (Ecclesiaticus 7:19)

1. What is the pain of regret? The pain of reget means that you will be tortured forever with the thought that you had so many chances to save your soul and be happy with God, but lost Heaven because of mortal sin.
2. What is the pain of the companionship of devils? Your companions in Hell will be the devils and other lost souls, who will always hate you and mock you for being such a fool.
3. Are the pains in Hell the same for all? All the souls in Hell will have the same type of punishment, but the degree of suffering will differ according to the number and kind of sins committed.

The catechism then goes on to mention that Presumption is the sin committed by people who think that a good God will not punish a sinner with the torments of Hell. God, being a just judge, has to reject those who choose to separate themselves from him by mortal sin.

Thanks for all the information, Denise! I think the Christian (at least, Catholic) idea of Hell is somewhat similar to the Hell portrayed in Islam, in that for both religions there is literal punishment and torture, as well as separation from G-d. But I’d like a Muslim to explain the idea in more detail. This Hell, accompanied by torture, is quite different from the Jewish notion, which is thought of mainly as a separation from G-d. Actually, Jews don’t go into many details about the nature of Hell, or Heaven for that matter. It is actually forbidden to dwell too much on the afterlife. The primary focus in Judaism is on the here and now and leading as good a life as possible, while trusting that G-d will take care of the rest.

 

[arthra]

Ave Christe 11 above wrote:

*“Meltzer: The Bahai’s believe in a state of “separation” from God, where one can learn from the consequences of one’s actions. That state is certainly not eternal, and the idea might be very similar to your Jewish Gehennom. They believe that a soul can progress ad infinitum, towards union with God. The great irony is that, such a goal could never be ultimately reached. Afterlife specifics were never discussed much by Abdul Baha, or Baha’u’llah their prophet.” *

I read your statement and feel it is fairly accurate as to Baha’i belief… I think however it would have been more accurate had you written:

The soul can progress eternally toward the presence of God… We don’t believe the soul can ever “unite” with God. The purpose of life though is to reflect the attributes of God as much as possible and after we leave the body and progress in the after life is based on the mercy of God. We also believe in intercessory prayer so that we can pray for the progress of souls in the next life…

There’s also a bibliography on the Baha’i views of the after-life at

bahai-library.com/books/biblio/life.after.death.html

 

[LOCO]

I’m interested in finding out what conceptions of Hell exist in non-Christian religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, Confucianism, and so on. Also, whether non-mainstream “Christians” and others have a similar concept of Hell to that of Catholicism: for example, Quakers, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventists, Oneness Pentecostals, Unitarians, Christian Scientists, Religious Scientists, Pagans, Wicken, and the like. Further, is Protestantism similar to Catholicism in its notion of Hell, apart from the lack of Purgatory (which, of course, is not Hell)? Are there variations regarding Hell between different Protestant denominations? Or between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox religions? Finally, do any of the above religions NOT have a traditional concept of Hell, or any concept, as part of their theology?

Hello Meltzerboy,

For Catholics right now if you are in:

Heaven - You are a ‘holy person’, you’ve made it, you are in the presence of God and his angels! Catholics believe some like Moses, Elijah, Mary, Joseph and all the Saints e.g. Thomas Aquinas, Augustine etc are already there. We believe this because Moses and Elijah were there at the Transfiguration of Christ where Jesus was called ‘Son’ by a voice in the sky.(Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-8, Luke 9:28-36). This is the reward for how you led your life. You reap what you sow.

Purgatory - You’re in the waiting room, you died with unconfessed sins. You are unclean to enter the presence of God, you’ll make it to heaven eventually. It is not a ‘physical place/location’ it is a state of being.

Hell - No chance of getting into heaven. You are in the presence of the Devil and all his fallen angels. You are in an unending state of pain and anguish. You are aware of where you are and that heaven does exist. This is the punishment for how you led your life. You reap what you sow.

I like Archbishop Fulton Sheens definition:

Love without Pain is Heaven
Love with Pain is Purgatory
Pain without Love is Hell