Which Heaven and Hell Exists?

[Soph0571]

For most religious people, belief in heaven and hell is a matter of faith. Faith by definition is a belief in something where there is an absence of evidence to prove its existence.

Mathew chapter 25 reveals how the Son of Man will come in all his glory, surrounded by the holy angels and will divide the nations of the world as a shepherd divides his sheep from his goats. The sheep will go to heaven; the goats are destined for hell, described in the Bible as a place of everlasting fire and eternal punishment, designed by God for Satan and his demons.

Some people of faith would argue that both Heaven and Hell are a physical place. Hell is a place of Torment. Heaven is a place of Love and Peace. That as there is evil in this world, not having a place where a loving and just God could punish that evil would be impossible.

Many people, across faith structures, fervently believe in heaven as a real place, but differing belief structures leads to the exclusion of other faiths accessing their heaven in most circumstances. So do different heavens and hells exist for different faiths? Or is only one heaven available and if you do not follow the tenants of that faith you are excluding yourself from heaven, and ergo condemning yourself to hell, for all eternity? Does that not seem a bit harsh??

Hawkings has said that death is the same as a breakdown of a computer when the components fail. If that is the case, perhaps the best heaven we can hope for is akin to a trip to the recycling centre??

There is a clear difference between the Islamic and Judeo-Christian views of heaven and hell. Heaven for Muslims seems a rather opulent affair. The Koran is very descriptive and goes into a lot of detail, with regards to age, beards, maidens and virgins and every man will have 2 wives! Rivers of wine, rivers or milk, rivers of honey. Women are compared to gem stones. It is a very paternalistic view of heaven. Hell is also rather different. Muslims do not believe that hell is a place of eternal damnation, of fire or brimstones. Rather it is a place where you do penance before moving onto a place of final abode.

Heaven from a Judeo – Christian standpoint it somewhat different. With a belief structure centred on a moral god, there is a fundamental tenant of faith that God will judge us. Scriptures talk about spending eternity with God, being in the presence of God, that if you make it to Heaven you will make it to a place where the old order of things has passed away. No more tears, sorrow or death. A new Heaven and a new Earth. Condemned for eternity into the lake of fire if you do not get through the Pearly Gates, there is no redemption in the after life if you got it wrong in this life.

So who’s Heaven and Hell is the right Heaven and Hell? What if you get it wrong? What do you do then?