Christian theology

===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.