The Devil and Hell

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Melek

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Is the Devil supposed to be taken metaphorically? It makes no sense to me when people say others are influenced by the Devil when God gave us the gift of Free Will. You choose to sin out of your own choice. This is not the work of the Devil.

My other question is how did Judaism and Christianity form different beliefs on the afterlife? Jews believe that the world to come is for all. The good will enjoy the world to come and the sinful will not. The point is though, it’s one place. Christianity is supposed to be the completion of Judaism yet the afterlife is composed of Hell, Heaven, and also in Catholicism, Purgatory.
 
Correct! Metaphor is not applicable here. It is a lot worse though.

We are in the domain of the evil one and have an inclination to sin ourselves. When we sin we place ourselves within reach of the evil one. It takes effort, sacraments, and grace, to stay safe.
 
Our free will comes from God, Who desires that we love Him. Love is a choice and so we must have the ability to choose, as well as at least two different objects to choose from. Mankind has always been free to choose between good and evil, otherwise Adam and Eve could not have chosen sin (disobedience). Our fallen nature is subject to temptations to evil, and so the evil one influences or deceives us to use our free will improperly. He cannot force us to sin, but he is the most crafty and subtle of all the creatures.

Saint John Vianney knew that the devil was not a metaphor, since his bed was set afire by the evil one. Saint Pio knew well that the evil one was not a metaphor - he had physical fights with him. Satan is very real. He is pure spirit, as are all angels, but he has influence over the physical world. Read the first chapter of Job.

As to Judaism and Christianity believing in different afterlives,Judaism was not united on this subject. The Sadducees, for example, did not believe in a resurrection. The Pharisees, on the other hand, had a more complete revelation, but it still stopped short of being the path to eternal life. They ruined even what they had, by their faithless physical observation of the law. Christ fulfilled the incomplete work of the Pharisees, by supplanting animal and grain sacrifice with His own Body. Judaism is the old covenant, while Chrstianity is the new and eternal covenant.
 
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