Christian theology

==Cosmology: Things created==
{{Main|Christian cosmology}}
{{rquote|right| And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
<small>[[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 1: 3–5</small>}}

The various [[authors of the Bible|authors]] of the [[Old Testament|Old]] and [[New Testament]] provide glimpses of their insight regarding [[Religious cosmology|cosmology]]. The [[cosmos]] was created by God by divine command, in the best-known and most complete account in the Bible, that of Genesis 1.

===World===
{{See also|Creator deity|Creationism}}
Within this broad understanding, however, there are a number of views regarding exactly how this doctrine ought to be interpreted.
* Some Christians, particularly [[Young Earth creationism|Young]] and [[Old Earth creationism|Old Earth creationists]], interpret Genesis as an accurate and literal account of creation.
* Others may understand these to be, instead, spiritual insights more vaguely defined.

It is a tenet of Christian faith (Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant) that God is the [[creatio ex nihilo|creator of all things from nothing]], and has made human beings in the [[Image of God]], who by direct inference is also the source of the human [[Soul (spirit)|soul]]. In [[Chalcedonian]] Christology, [[Jesus the Logos|Jesus is the Word of God]], which was in the beginning and, thus, is uncreated, and hence [[God the Son|is God]], and consequently identical with the Creator of the world ''[[ex nihilo]]''.

[[Roman Catholicism]] uses the phrase special creation to refer to the doctrine of immediate or special creation of each human soul. In 2004, the International Theological Commission, then under the presidency of Cardinal [[Joseph Ratzinger]], published a paper in which it accepts the current scientific accounts of the history of the universe commencing in the Big Bang about 15 billion years ago and of the evolution of all life on earth including humans from the micro organisms commencing about 4 billion years ago.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20040723_communion-stewardship_en.html Communion and Stewardship: Human Persons Created in the Image of God] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140621050711/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20040723_communion-stewardship_en.html |date=21 June 2014 }},(23 July 2004), International Theological Commission, La Civiltà Cattolica 2004, IV, 254–286</ref> The [[Roman Catholic Church]] allows for both a [[literal interpretation|literal]] and [[Allegorical interpretation of the Bible|allegorical interpretation]] of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]], so as to allow for the possibility of Creation by means of an [[Evolution|evolutionary process]] over great spans of time, otherwise known as [[theistic evolution]].{{Dubious|date=September 2010}} It believes that the creation of the world is a work of God through the ''[[Logos]]'', the Word (idea, intelligence, reason and logic):
:"In the beginning was the Word...and the Word was God...all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made."

The New Testament claims that God created everything by the eternal Word, Jesus Christ his beloved Son. In him
:"all things were created, in heaven and on earth.. . all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/291.htm |title=CCC Search Result– Paragraph # 291 |publisher=Scborromeo.org |access-date=2010-08-08}}</ref>

===Anthropology: Humanity===
{{Main|Christian anthropology}}
{{Further|Theology of the body}}
Christian anthropology is the study of [[Human nature|humanity]], especially as it relates to the divine. This [[theological anthropology]] refers to the study of the human ("anthropology") as it relates to [[God]]. It differs from the [[social science]] of [[anthropology]], which primarily deals with the comparative study of the physical and social characteristics of humanity across times and places.

One aspect studies the innate nature or constitution of the human, known as the ''nature of mankind''. It is concerned with the relationship between notions such as [[Human body|body]], [[Soul (spirit)|soul]] and spirit which together form a person, based on their descriptions in the [[Bible]]. There are three traditional views of the human constitution– [[trichotomism]], [[dichotomism]] and [[monism]] (in the sense of anthropology).<ref>[[Millard Erickson]], ''Christian Theology'' 2nd edn, 537</ref>

====Components====
;Soul
{{See also|soul|nephesh|psyche (psychology)|Spirit (animating force)|Human body|Flesh}}
The semantic domain of [[Bible|Biblical]] soul is based on the [[Hebrew]] word ''[[nephesh|nepes]]'', which presumably means "breath" or "breathing being".<ref>''Hebrew–English Lexicon,'' Brown, Driver & Briggs, Hendrickson Publishers.</ref> This word never means an immortal soul<ref>''Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology.''</ref> or an incorporeal part of the human being<ref>''Dictionary of Biblical Theology,'' Father Xavier Leon Dufour, 1985.</ref> that can survive death of the body as the spirit of dead.<ref>''New International Dictionary''.</ref> This word usually designates the person as a whole<ref>New Dictionary of Biblical Theology</ref> or its physical life. In the [[Septuagint]] ''nepes'' is mostly translated as ''psyche'' ({{lang|grc|[[wikt:ψυχή|ψυχή]]}}) and, exceptionally, in the [[Book of Joshua]] as ''empneon'' (ἔμπνεον), that is "breathing being".<ref>"A careful examination of the biblical material, particularly the words nefesh, neshama, and ruaḥ, which are often too broadly translated as "soul" and "spirit," indicates that these must not be understood as referring to the psychical side of a psychophysical pair. A man did not possess a nefesh but rather was a nefesh, as Gen. 2:7 says: "wayehi ha-adam le-nefesh ḥayya" (". . . and the man became a living being"). Man was, for most of the biblical writers, what has been called "a unit of vital power," not a dual creature separable into two distinct parts of unequal importance and value. While this understanding of the nature of man dominated biblical thought, in apocalyptic literature (2nd century BC–2nd century AD) the term nefesh began to be viewed as a separable psychical entity with existence apart from body.... The biblical view of man as an inseparable psychosomatic unit meant that death was understood to be his dissolution."—Britannica, 2004.</ref>

The [[New Testament]] follows the terminology of the [[Septuagint]], and thus uses the word ''psyche'' with the Hebrew semantic domain and not the Greek,<ref>''Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament''</ref> that is an invisible power (or ever more, for [[Plato]]nists, immortal and immaterial) that gives life and motion to the body and is responsible for its attributes.

In [[Patristic]] thought, towards the end of the 2nd century ''psyche'' was understood in more a Greek than a Hebrew way, and it was contrasted with the body. In the 3rd century, with the influence of [[Origen]], there was the establishing of the doctrine of the inherent immortality of the soul and its divine nature.<ref>The early Hebrews apparently had a concept of the soul but did not separate it from the body, although later Jewish writers developed the idea of the soul further. Old Testament references to the soul are related to the concept of breath and establish no distinction between the ethereal soul and the corporeal body. Christian concepts of a body-soul dichotomy originated with the ancient Greeks andwere introduced into Christian theology at an early date by St. Gregory of Nyssa and by St. Augustine.—''Britannica,'' 2004</ref> Origen also taught the [[Reincarnation|transmigration]] of the souls and their preexistence, but these views were officially rejected in 553 in the [[Fifth Ecumenical Council]]. Inherent immortality of the soul was accepted among western and eastern theologians throughout the [[middle ages]], and after the Reformation, as evidenced by the [[Westminster Confession]].

;Spirit
The spirit (Hebrew ''ruach'', Greek {{lang|grc|[[wikt:πνεῦμα|πνεῦμα]]}}, ''pneuma'', which can also mean "breath") is likewise an immaterial component. It is often used interchangeably with "soul", ''psyche'', although trichotomists believe that the spirit is distinct from the soul.

:"When Paul speaks of the ''pneuma'' of man he does not mean some higher principle within him or some special intellectual or spiritual faculty of his, but simply his self, and the only questions is whether the self is regarded in some particular aspect when it is called ''pneuma''. In the first place, it apparently is regarded in the same way as when it is called ''psyche''– viz. as the self that lives in man's attitude, in the orientation of his will."<ref>Bultmann, I:206</ref>

;Body, Flesh
The body (Greek {{lang|grc|[[wikt:σῶμα|σῶμα]]}} ''soma'') is the corporeal or physical aspect of a human being. Christians have traditionally believed that the body will be [[Resurrection of the dead|resurrected]] at the end of the age.

Flesh (Greek {{lang|grc|[[wikt:σάρξ|σάρξ]]}}, ''sarx'') is usually considered synonymous with "body", referring to the corporeal aspect of a human being. The [[apostle Paul]] contrasts flesh and spirit in [[Epistle to the Romans|Romans]] 7–8.

====Origin of humanity====
{{See also|Creationism|Theistic evolution|Image of God}}
The [[Bible]] teaches in the book of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] the humans were created by God. Some Christians believe that this must have involved a miraculous creative act, while others are comfortable with the idea that God worked through the [[evolution]]ary process.

The book of [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] also teaches that human beings, male and female, were created in the image of God. The exact meaning of this has been debated throughout church history.

====Death and afterlife====
{{See also|Afterlife }}
Christian anthropology has implications for beliefs about [[death]] and the [[afterlife]]. The Christian church has traditionally taught that the soul of each individual separates from the body at death, to be reunited at the [[resurrection of the dead|resurrection]]. This is closely related to the doctrine of the [[immortality of the soul]]. For example, the [[Westminster Confession]] (chapter XXXII) states:
:"The bodies of men, after death, return to dust, and see corruption: but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, having an immortal subsistence, immediately return to God who gave them"

;Intermediate state
{{Main|Intermediate state (Christianity)}}
The question then arises: where exactly does the disembodied soul "go" at death? Theologians refer to this subject as the [[Intermediate state (Christianity)|intermediate state]]. The [[Old Testament]] speaks of a place called ''[[sheol]]'' where the spirits of the dead reside. In the [[New Testament]], ''[[hades]]'', the classical Greek realm of the dead, takes the place of ''sheol''. In particular, Jesus teaches in Luke 16:19–31 ([[Lazarus and Dives]]) that ''hades'' consists of two separate "sections", one for the righteous and one for the unrighteous. His teaching is consistent with [[Intertestamental period|intertestamental]] Jewish thought on the subject.<ref>D. K. Innes, "Sheol" in ''New Bible Dictionary'', IVP 1996.</ref>

Fully developed Christian theology goes a step further; on the basis of such texts as Luke 23:43 and Philippians 1:23, it has traditionally been taught that the souls of the dead are received immediately either into heaven or hell, where they will experience a foretaste of their eternal destiny prior to the resurrection. ([[Roman Catholicism]] teaches a third possible location, [[Purgatory]], though this is denied by [[Protestants]] and [[Eastern Orthodox]].)
:"the souls of the righteous, being then made perfect in holiness, are received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God, in light and glory, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies. And the souls of the wicked are cast into hell, where they remain in torments and utter darkness, reserved to the judgment of the great day." (''Westminster Confession'')

Some Christian groups which stress a monistic anthropology deny that the soul can exist consciously apart from the body. For example, the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] teaches that the intermediate state is an [[Unconsciousness|unconscious]] sleep; this teaching is informally known as "[[soul sleep]]".

;Final state
In Christian belief, both the righteous and the unrighteous will be resurrected at the [[last judgment]]. The righteous will receive incorruptible, immortal bodies (1 Corinthians 15), while the unrighteous will be sent to [[hell]]. Traditionally, Christians have believed that hell will be a place of eternal physical and psychological punishment. In the last two centuries, [[annihilationism]] has become popular.

===Mariology===
{{Main|Mariology}}
The study of the [[Blessed Virgin Mary]], doctrines about her, and how she relates to the Church, Christ, and the individual Christian is called Mariology. Examples of Mariology include the study of and doctrines regarding her [[perpetual virginity of Mary|Perpetual Virginity]], her [[Theotokos|Motherhood of God]] (and by extension her [[Mother of the Church|Motherhood/Intercession for all Christians]]), her [[Immaculate Conception]], and her [[assumption of Mary|Assumption into heaven]]. [[Catholic Mariology]] is the Marian study specifically in the context of the [[Catholic Church]].

===Angelology===
{{Main|Heavenly host|Christian angelic hierarchy}}
Most descriptions of angels in the Bible describe them in military terms. For example, in terms such as encampment ([http://www.bible.org/netbible/gen32.htm Gen.32:1–2]), command structure ([http://bible.org/netbible/psa91.htm Ps.91:11–12]; [http://bible.org/netbible/mat13.htm Matt.13:41]; [http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?rev7.htm Rev.7:2]), and combat ([http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?jdg5.htm Jdg.5:20]; [http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?job19.htm Job 19:12]; [http://bible.org/netbible/index.htm?rev12.htm Rev.12:7]).

Its specific hierarchy differs slightly from the [[Christian angelic hierarchy|Hierarchy of Angels]] as it surrounds more military services, whereas the Hierarchy of angels is a division of angels into non-military services to God.

====Members of the heavenly host====
{{Main|Cherub}}
Cherubim are depicted as accompanying God's chariot-throne ([http://bible.org/netbible/psa80.htm Ps.80:1]). {{bibleverse||Exodus|25:18–22}} refers to two Cherub statues placed on top of the [[Ark of the Covenant]], the two cherubim are usually interpreted as guarding the throne of God. Other guard-like duties include being posted in locations such as the gates of Eden ([http://bible.org/netbible/gen3.htm Gen.3:24]). Cherubim were mythological winged bulls or other beasts that were part of ancient Near Eastern traditions.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P9sYIRXZZ2MC |encyclopedia=Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible |first1=David Noel |last1=Freedman |first2=Allen C. |last2=Myers |first3=Astrid B. |last3=Beck |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-8028-2400-4 |title=Cherubim}}</ref>

{{Main|Archangel}}
This angelic designation might be given to angels of various ranks. An example would be [[Raphael (archangel)|Raphael]] who is ranked variously as a Seraph, Cherub, and Archangel .<ref>{{Cite book|last = Davidson |first = Gustav | orig-year = 1967 | year = 1994 | title = A Dictionary of Fallen Angels, Including the Fallen Angels | publisher = Macmillan, Inc. | location = New York, NY | isbn = 978-0-02-907052-9 }}</ref> This is usually a result of conflicting schemes of hierarchies of angels.

{{Main|Angel}}
It is not known how many angels there are but one figure given in [http://bible.org/netbible/rev5.htm Revelation 5:11] for the number of "many angels in a circle around the throne, as well as the living creatures and the elders" was "ten thousand times ten thousand", which would be 100 million.

====Demonology: Fallen angels====
[[File:AngelCaido.jpg|upright|thumb|Statue of the Fallen Angel, [[Retiro Park]] (Madrid, Spain).]]
{{Main|Christian demonology|Demon|Fallen angel}}
In most of [[Christianity]], a fallen angel is an [[angel]] who has been [[exile]]d or banished from [[Heaven]]. Often such banishment is a punishment for disobeying or rebelling against [[God]] (see [[War in Heaven]]). The best-known fallen angel is [[Lucifer]]. Lucifer is a name frequently given to [[Satan]] in [[Christianity|Christian]] belief. This usage stems from a particular interpretation, as a reference to a fallen angel, of a passage in the [[Bible]] ({{Bibleverse||Isaiah|14:3–20|ESV}}) that speaks of someone who is given the name of "Day Star" or "Morning Star" (in [[Latin]], ''Lucifer'') as fallen from heaven. The [[Greek Language|Greek]] etymological synonym of Lucifer, Φωσφόρος (''Phosphoros'', "light-bearer").<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://scripturetext.com/2_peter/1-19.htm |title=ScriptureText.com |publisher=ScriptureText.com |access-date=2010-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=phosphorous |title=Etymonline.com |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=2010-08-08}}</ref> is used of the morning star in {{Bibleverse|2|Peter|1:19|ESV}} and elsewhere with no reference to Satan. But Satan is called Lucifer in many writings later than the Bible, notably in Milton's ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' (7.131–134, among others), because, according to Milton, Satan was "brighter once amidst the host of Angels, than that star the stars among."

Allegedly, fallen angels are those which have committed one of the seven deadly sins. Therefore, are banished from heaven and suffer in hell for all eternity. Demons from hell would punish the fallen angel by ripping out their wings as a sign of insignificance and low rank.
<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.online-literature.com/view.php/paradiselost/7?term=lucifer |title=Online-Literature.com |publisher=Online-Literature.com |access-date=2010-08-08}}</ref>

===Heaven===
[[File:Paradiso Canto 31.jpg|thumb|[[Dante Alighieri|Dante]] and [[Beatrice Portinari|Beatrice]] gaze upon the highest heavens; from [[Gustave Doré]]'s illustrations to the ''[[Divine Comedy]]''.]]
{{main|Heaven (Christianity)}}
[[Christianity]] has taught Heaven as a place of [[Eternal life (Christianity)|eternal life]], in that it is a shared plane to be attained by all the elect (rather than an abstract experience related to individual concepts of the ideal). The Christian Church has been divided over how people gain this eternal life. From the 16th to the late 19th century, [[Christendom]] was divided between the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] view, the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] view, the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic]] view, the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobite]] view, the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Abyssinian]] view and [[Protestantism|Protestant]] views. See also [[Christian denominations]].

Heaven is the English name for a [[transcendence (religion)|transcendental]] realm wherein human beings who have transcended human living live in an [[afterlife]]. in the Bible and in English, the term "heaven" may refer to the physical heavens, the [[atmosphere|sky]] or the seemingly endless expanse of the [[universe]] beyond, the traditional literal meaning of the term in English.

Christianity maintains that entry into Heaven awaits such time as, "When the form of this world has passed away." (*[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_21071999_en.html JPII]) One view expressed in the Bible is that on the day Christ returns the righteous dead are resurrected first, and then those who are alive and judged righteous will be brought up to join them, to be taken to heaven. (I Thess 4:13–18)

Two related and often confused concepts of heaven in Christianity are better described as the [[Resurrection of the dead|"resurrection of the body"]], which is exclusively of biblical origin, as contrasted with the "[[immortality of the soul]]", which is also evident in the Greek tradition. In the first concept, the soul does not enter heaven until the [[last judgement]] or the "end of time" when it (along with the body) is resurrected and judged. In the second concept, the [[Soul#Christianity|soul]] goes to a heaven on another plane such as the [[Intermediate state (Christianity)|intermediate state]] immediately after death. These two concepts are generally combined in the doctrine of the double judgement where the soul is judged once at death and goes to a temporary heaven, while awaiting a second and final physical judgement at the [[Eschatology|end of the world]].(*[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_21071999_en.html" JPII], also see [[eschatology]], [[afterlife]])

One popular medieval view of Heaven was that it existed as a physical place above the clouds and that God and the Angels were physically above, watching over man. Heaven as a physical place survived in the concept that it was located far out into space, and that the stars were "lights shining through from heaven".

Many of today's biblical scholars, such as [[N. T. Wright]], in tracing the concept of Heaven back to its Jewish roots, see Earth and Heaven as overlapping or interlocking. Heaven is known as God's space, his dimension, and is not a place that can be reached by human technology. This belief states that Heaven is where God lives and reigns whilst being active and working alongside people on Earth. One day when God restores all things, Heaven and Earth will be forever combined into the [[New Heavens and New Earth]] of the [[World to Come]].

{{See also|Salvation|Soteriology}}
Religions that teach about heaven differ on how (and if) one gets into it, typically in the [[afterlife]]. In most, entrance to Heaven is conditional on having lived a "good life" (within the terms of the spiritual system). A notable exception to this is the '[[sola fide]]' belief of many mainstream Protestants, which teaches that one does not have to live a perfectly "good life," but that one must accept [[Jesus Christ]] as one's saviour, and then Jesus Christ will assume the guilt of one's [[sin]]s; believers are believed to be forgiven regardless of any good or bad "works" one has participated in.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allaboutjesuschrist.org/|title=What do you think?|access-date=2008-10-05|publisher=AllAboutJesusChrist.org}}</ref>

Many religions state that those who do not go to heaven will go to a place "without the presence of God", [[Hell]], which is eternal (see [[annihilationism]]). Some religions believe that other afterlives exist in addition to Heaven and Hell, such as [[Purgatory]]. One belief, [[universalism]], believes that everyone will go to Heaven eventually, no matter what they have done or believed on earth. Some forms of Christianity believe Hell to be the termination of the soul.

Various [[saint]]s have had [[Vision (spirituality)|visions]] of heaven ({{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|12:2–4|KJV}}). The Eastern Orthodox concept of life in heaven is described in one of the [[prayer for the dead|prayers for the dead]]: "...a place of light, a place of green pasture, a place of repose, whence all sickness, sorrow and sighing are fled away."<ref>''Book for Commemoration of the Living and the Dead'', trans. Father Lawrence (Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville NY), p. 77.</ref>

The Church bases its belief in Heaven on some main biblical passages in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures (Old and New Testaments) and collected church wisdom. Heaven is the Realm of the Blessed [[Trinity]], the [[angels]]<ref>Treated extensively in [[C. S. Lewis]], ''The Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and Renaissance Literature'' (1964).</ref> and the [[saints]].<ref>See discussion at http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=3322510 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509060655/http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=3322510 |date=9 May 2011 }}, where a.o. Hebrews 12:22–24 is quoted.</ref>

The essential joy of heaven is called the [[beatific vision]], which is derived from the vision of God's essence. The soul rests perfectly in God, and does not, or cannot desire anything else than God. After the [[Last Judgment]], when the soul is reunited with its body, the body participates in the happiness of the soul. It becomes incorruptible, glorious and perfect. Any physical defects the body may have laboured under are erased. Heaven is also known as [[paradise]] in some cases. [[The Great Gulf]] separates heaven from [[hell]].

Upon dying, each soul goes to what is called "the [[particular judgement]]" where its own afterlife is decided (i.e. Heaven after Purgatory, straight to Heaven, or [[Hell]].) This is different from "the general judgement" also known as "the [[Last judgement]]" which will occur when [[Second Coming|Christ returns]] to judge all the living and the dead.

The term Heaven (which differs from "The [[Kingdom of God|Kingdom of Heaven]]" see note below) is applied by the biblical authors to the realm in which God currently resides. Eternal life, by contrast, occurs in a renewed, unspoilt and perfect creation, which can be termed Heaven since God will choose to dwell there permanently with his people, as seen in {{bibleverse||Revelation|21:3}}. There will no longer be any separation between God and man. The believers themselves will exist in incorruptible, resurrected and new bodies; there will be no sickness, no death and no tears. Some teach that death itself is not a natural part of life, but was allowed to happen after [[Adam and Eve]] disobeyed [[God]] (see [[original sin]]) so that mankind would not live forever in a state of [[sin]] and thus a state of separation from God.

Many evangelicals understand this future life to be divided into two distinct periods: first, the [[Millennialism|Millennial Reign of Christ]] (the one thousand years) on this earth, referred to in {{bibleverse||Revelation|20:1–10}}; secondly, the [[New Heavens and New Earth]], referred to in Revelation 21 and 22. This millennialism (or chiliasm) is a revival of a strong tradition in the [[Early Church]]<ref>For instance, with Justin Martyr. See: Philippe Bobichon, "Millénarisme et orthodoxie dans les écrits de Justin Martyr" in ''Mélanges sur la question millénariste de l'Antiquité à nos jours'', Martin Dumont (dir.) [Bibliothèque d'étude des mondes chrétiens, 11], Paris, 2018, pp. 61-82</ref> that was dismissed by Saint Augustine of Hippo and the Roman Catholic Church after him.

Not only will the believers spend eternity with God, they will also spend it with each other. John's vision recorded in Revelation describes a [[New Jerusalem]] which comes from Heaven to the New Earth, which is seen to be a symbolic reference to the people of God living in community with one another. 'Heaven' will be the place where life will be lived to the full, in the way that the designer planned, each believer 'loving the Lord their God with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their mind' and 'loving their neighbour as themselves' (adapted from Matthew 22:37–38, the [[Great Commandment]])—a place of great joy, without the negative aspects of earthly life. See also [[World to Come]].

;Purgatory
[[Purgatory]] is the condition or temporary punishment<ref name="EB-purgatory"/> in which, it is believed, the [[souls]] of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for [[Heaven (Christianity)|Heaven]]. This is a theological idea that has ancient roots and is well-attested in [[early Christian]] literature, while the poetic conception of purgatory as a geographically situated place is largely the creation of medieval Christian piety and imagination.<ref name="EB-purgatory"/>

The notion of purgatory is associated particularly with the [[Latin Church]] of the [[Catholic Church]] (in the [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] it is a doctrine, though often without using the name "Purgatory"); [[Anglican]]s of the [[Anglo-Catholic]] tradition generally also hold to the belief.{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} [[John Wesley]], the founder of [[Methodism]], believed in an [[Intermediate state (Christianity)|intermediate state]] between death and the [[Last judgment|final judgment]] and in the possibility of "continuing to grow in holiness there."<ref name="Methodism">{{cite web|title=What happens after a person dies?|url=http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=4746355&content_id={94F6F768-0EA6-4C1B-B6B6-0C88EC04E8A2}&notoc=1|quote=Purgatory is believed to be a place where the souls of the faithful dead endure a period of purification and cleansing, aided by the prayers of the living, prior to their entrance into heaven. Although John Wesley believed in an intermediate state between death and the final judgment, that idea is not formally affirmed in Methodist doctrine, which "reject the idea of purgatory but beyond that maintain silence on what lies between death and the last judgment." (Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials by Ted A. Campbell)|publisher=[[The United Methodist Church]]|access-date=10 March 2011}}</ref><ref name="Wesley">{{cite web|author=Robin Russell|title=Heavenly minded: It's time to get our eschatology right, say scholars, authors|url=http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=5101|quote=John Wesley believed in the intermediate state between death and the final judgment "where believers would share in the 'bosom of Abraham' or 'paradise,' even continuing to grow in holiness there," writes Ted Campbell, a professor at Perkins School of Theology, in his 1999 book Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials (Abingdon). That view has not been officially affirmed by the Church.|publisher=UM Portal|access-date=10 March 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722154244/http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=5101|archive-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]es believe in the possibility of a change of situation for the souls of the dead through the prayers of the living and the offering of the [[Divine Liturgy]],<ref name="Orthodox Confession of Faith">''[http://esoptron.umd.edu/ugc/ocf1c.html Orthodox Confession of Faith] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990421091223/http://esoptron.umd.edu/ugc/ocf1c.html |date=21 April 1999 }}'', questions 64–66.</ref> and many Eastern Orthodox, especially among ascetics, hope and pray for a general [[apocatastasis]].<ref>Olivier Clément, L'Église orthodoxe. Presses Universitaires de France, 2006, Section 3, IV</ref> A similar belief in at least the possibility of a final salvation for all is held by [[Mormonism]].<ref>See, for instance, [http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/heavenly-father-s-plan-of-salvation/life-after-death LDS Life After Death] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714104559/http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/basic-beliefs/heavenly-father-s-plan-of-salvation/life-after-death |date=14 July 2009 }}</ref> [[Judaism]] also believes in the possibility of after-death purification<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6558-gehenna|title=GEHENNA - JewishEncyclopedia.com|website=jewishencyclopedia.com}}</ref> and may even use the word "purgatory" to present its understanding of the meaning of [[Gehenna]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chabad.org/search/keyword_cdo/kid/10797/jewish/Gehinnom.htm|title=Browse by Subject|website=www.chabad.org}}</ref> However, the concept of soul "purification" may be explicitly denied in these other faith traditions.

===Hell===
[[File:Hieronymus_Bosch_-_The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights_-_Hell.jpg|thumb|upright|Hell as depicted in [[Hieronymus Bosch]]'s [[triptych]] ''[[The Garden of Earthly Delights]]'' (c. 1504).]]
{{Main|Hell in Christian beliefs}}
Hell in [[Christianity|Christian]] beliefs, is a place or a state in which the [[Soul (spirit)|soul]]s of the unsaved will suffer the consequences of [[sin]]. The Christian doctrine of Hell derives from the teaching of the [[New Testament]], where Hell is typically described using the Greek words ''[[Gehenna]]'' or ''[[Tartarus]]''. Unlike [[Hades in Christianity|Hades]], [[Sheol]], or [[Purgatory]] it is eternal, and those damned to Hell are without hope. In the [[New Testament]], it is described as the place or state of [[punishment]] after death or [[last judgment]] for those who have rejected Jesus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ibs.org/bible/verse/?q=John3:18&niv=yes |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120804200948/http://www.ibs.org/bible/verse/?q=John3:18&niv=yes |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-08-04 |title=Biblical Reference: John 3:18 |publisher=Ibs.org |access-date=2010-08-08 }}</ref> In many classical and popular depictions it is also the abode of [[Satan]] and of Demons.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hell |title=hell– Definitions from Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date=2010-08-08}}</ref>

Hell is generally defined as the eternal fate of unrepentant sinners after this life.<ref name="Hell"/> Hell's character is inferred from biblical teaching, which has often been understood literally.<ref name="Hell">"Hell." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005</ref> Souls are said to pass into Hell by God's irrevocable judgment, either immediately after death ([[particular judgment]]) or in the [[general judgment]].<ref name="Hell"/> Modern theologians generally describe Hell as the logical consequence of the soul using its free will to reject the will of God.<ref name="Hell"/> It is considered compatible with God's justice and mercy because God will not interfere with the soul's free choice.<ref name="Hell"/>

Only in the King James Version of the bible is the word "Hell" used to translate certain words, such as ''[[sheol]]'' (Hebrew) and both ''[[hades]]'' and ''[[Gehenna]]''(Greek). All other translations reserve Hell only for use when [[Gehenna]] is mentioned. It is generally agreed that both [[sheol]] and [[hades]] do not typically refer to the place of eternal punishment, but to the [[underworld]] or temporary abode of the dead.<ref>''New Bible Dictionary'' third edition, IVP 1996. Articles on "Hell", "Sheol".</ref>

Traditionally, the majority of Protestants have held that Hell will be a place of unending conscious torment, both physical and spiritual,<ref name="Acute">{{Cite book|title=The Nature of Hell|author=Evangelical Alliance Commission on Unity and Truth among Evangelicals|publisher=Acute, Paternoster (London)|year=2000|isbn=0-9532992-2-8}}</ref> although some recent writers (such as [[C. S. Lewis]]<ref>C. S. Lewis, ''The Great Divorce'', 1946</ref> and [[J.P. Moreland]]<ref>Lee Strobel, ''The Case for Faith'', 2000</ref>) have cast Hell in terms of "eternal separation" from God. Certain biblical texts have led some theologians to the conclusion that punishment in Hell, though eternal and irrevocable, will be proportional to the deeds of each soul (e.g. {{Bibleverse||Matthew|10:15|NIV}}, {{Bibleverse||Luke|12:46–48|NIV}}).<ref>{{Cite book|title=Introducing Christian Doctrine, 2nd ed|author=Millard Erickson|publisher=Baker Academic|year=2001|author-link=Millard Erickson}}</ref>

Another area of debate is the fate of the unevangelized (i.e. those who have never had an opportunity to hear the Christian gospel), those who die in infancy, and mentally disabled people. Some Protestants agree with [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] that people in these categories will be damned to Hell for [[original sin]], while others believe that God will make an exception in these cases.<ref name="Acute"/>

A "significant minority" believe in the doctrine of [[Christian conditionalism|conditional immortality]],<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.eauk.org/theology/acute/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=9164|title=The Nature of Hell. Conclusions and Recommendations|publisher=[[Evangelical Alliance]]|year=2000|access-date=11 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222053151/http://www.eauk.org/theology/acute/loader.cfm?csModule=security%2Fgetfile&pageid=9164|archive-date=22 February 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> which teaches that those sent to Hell will not experience eternal conscious punishment, but instead will be extinguished or [[annihilationism|annihilated]] after a period of "limited conscious punishment".<ref name="NDBThell">''New Dictionary of Biblical Theology''; IVP Leicester 2000, "Hell"</ref> Prominent evangelical theologians who have adopted conditionalist beliefs include [[John Wenham]], [[Edward Fudge]], [[Clark Pinnock]] and [[John Stott]] (although the latter has described himself as an "agnostic" on the issue of annihilationism).<ref name="Acute"/> Conditionalists typically reject the traditional concept of the immortality of the soul.

Some Protestants (such as [[George MacDonald]], [[Karl Barth|Karl Randall]], [[Keith DeRose]] and [[Thomas Talbott]]), also, however, in a minority, believe that after serving their sentence in [[Gehenna]], all souls are reconciled to [[God]] and admitted to heaven, or ways are found at the time of death of drawing all souls to repentance so that no "hellish" suffering is experienced. This view is often called [[Christian universalism]]—its conservative branch is more specifically called 'Biblical or [[Trinitarian Universalism]]'—and is not to be confused with [[Unitarian Universalism]]. See [[universal reconciliation]], ''[[apocatastasis]]'' and [[the problem of Hell]].

===Theodicy: Allowance of evil===
{{Further|Theodicy and the Bible}}
[[Theodicy]] can be said to be defense of God's goodness and omnipotence in view of the existence of evil. Specifically, Theodicy is a specific branch of [[theology]] and [[philosophy]] which attempts to reconcile belief in [[God]] with the perceived existence of [[evil]].<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica: Theodicy</ref> As such, theodicy can be said to attempt to justify the behaviour of [[God]] (at least insofar as God allows evil).

Responses to the problem of evil have sometimes been classified as ''defenses'' or ''theodicies''. However, authors disagree on the exact definitions.<ref name="Stanford">The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evil The Problem of Evil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906123231/https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/evil/ |date=6 September 2018 }}", [[Michael Tooley]]</ref><ref name="IepEvidential">The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "[http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evil-evi.htm The Evidential Problem of Evil] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410032149/http://www.iep.utm.edu/e/evil-evi.htm |date=10 April 2009 }}", Nick Trakakis</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopaedia |first=Ted |last=Honderich |author-link=Ted Honderich |year=2005 |title=theodicy |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to Philosophy |isbn=0-19-926479-1 |quote=[[John Hick]], for example, proposes a theodicy, while [[Alvin Plantinga]] formulates a defense. The idea of human free will often appears in both of these strategies, but in different ways.}}</ref> Generally, a ''defense'' attempts to show that there is no logical incompatibility between the existence of evil and the existence of God. A defense need not argue that this is a probable or plausible explanation, only that the defense is logically possible. A defense attempts to answer the ''logical'' problem of evil.

A theodicy, on the other hand, is a more ambitious attempt to provide a plausible justification for the existence of evil. A theodicy attempts to answer the ''evidential'' problem of evil.<ref name="IepEvidential" /> [[Richard Swinburne]] maintains that it does not make sense to assume there are greater goods, unless we know what they are, i.e., we have a successful theodicy.<ref name=swinburne05>{{cite encyclopaedia |first=Richard |last=Swinburne |author-link=Richard Swinburne |year=2005 |title=evil, the problem of |editor=[[Ted Honderich]] |encyclopedia=The Oxford Companion to Philosophy |isbn=0-19-926479-1}}</ref>

As an example, some authors see arguments including [[demon]]s or the [[fall of man]] as not logically impossible but not very plausible considering our knowledge about the world. Thus they are seen as defenses but not good theodicies.<ref name="IepEvidential"/> [[C. S. Lewis]] writes in his book [[The Problem of Pain]]:
{{Blockquote|We can, perhaps, conceive of a world in which God corrected the results of this abuse of free will by His creatures at every moment: so that a wooden beam became soft as grass when it was used as a weapon, and the air refused to obey me if I attempted to set up in it the sound waves that carry lies or insults. But such a world would be one in which wrong actions were impossible, and in which, therefore, freedom of the will would be void; nay, if the principle were carried out to its logical conclusion, evil thoughts would be impossible, for the cerebral matter which we use in thinking would refuse its task when we attempted to frame them.<ref>Lewis, C. S., ''The Problem of Pain'' HarperCollins:New York, 1996 pp. 24–25</ref>}}

Another possible answer is that the world is corrupted due to the sin of mankind. Some answer that because of sin, the world has fallen from the grace of God, and is not perfect. Therefore, evils and imperfections persist because the world is fallen.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}} [[William A. Dembski]] argues that the effects of Adam's sin recorded in the Book of Genesis were 'back-dated' by God, and hence applied to the earlier history of the universe.<ref>William A. Dembski, The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil World. (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2009</ref>

Evil is sometimes seen as a test or trial for humans. [[Irenaeus|Irenaeus of Lyons]] and more recently [[John Hick]] have argued that evil and suffering are necessary for spiritual growth. This is often combined with the free will argument by arguing that such spiritual growth requires free will decisions. A problem with this is that many evils do not seem to cause any kind of spiritual growth, or even permit it, as when a child is abused from birth and becomes, seemingly inevitably, a brutal adult.

The problem of evil is often phrased in the form: ''Why do bad things happen to good people?''. [[Christianity]] teach that all people are inherently sinful due to the [[fall of man]] and [[original sin]]; for example, [[Calvinist]] theology follows a doctrine called [[federal headship]], which argues that the first man, [[Adam and Eve|Adam]], was the legal representative of the entire human race. A counterargument to the basic version of this principle is that an omniscient God would have predicted this, when he created the world, and an omnipotent God could have prevented it.

The [[Book of Isaiah]] clearly claims that God is the source of at least some natural disasters, but Isaiah doesn't attempt to explain the motivation behind the creation of evil.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah+45%3A7&version=KJV|title=Bible Gateway passage: Isaiah 45:7 – King James Version|website=Bible Gateway}}</ref> In contrast, the [[Book of Job]] is one of the most widely known formulations of the problem of evil in Western thought. In it, Satan challenges God regarding his servant Job, claiming that Job only serves God for the blessings and protection that he receives from him. God allows Satan to plague Job and his family in a number of ways, with the limitation that Satan may not take Job's life (but his children are killed). Job discusses this with three friends and questions God regarding his suffering which he finds to be unjust. God responds in a speech and then more than restores Job's prior health, wealth, and gives him new children.

[[Bart D. Ehrman]] argues that different parts of the Bible give different answers. One example is evil as punishment for sin or as a consequence of sin. Ehrman writes that this seems to be based on some notion of free will although this argument is never explicitly mentioned in the Bible. Another argument is that suffering ultimately achieves a greater good, possibly for persons other than the sufferer, that would not have been possible otherwise. The Book of Job offers two different answers: suffering is a test, and you will be rewarded later for passing it; another that God in his might chooses not to reveal his reasons. [[Ecclesiastes]] sees suffering as beyond human abilities to comprehend. [[Apocalyptic literature|Apocalyptic]] parts, including the [[New Testament]], see suffering as due to cosmic evil forces, that God for mysterious reasons has given power over the world, but which will soon be defeated and things will be set right.<ref>Ehrman, Bart D., ''God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question – Why We Suffer''. HarperOne, 2008</ref>
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