Christian Beliefs about the Afterlife

What happens after death? The Christian tradition offers a range of answers, from bodily resurrection to the immortality of the soul, from the hope of universal salvation to the possibility of eternal damnation. This lesson examines the key concepts in Christian eschatology — the theology of the "last things" — and considers how different Christians have understood heaven, hell, purgatory, and the final judgment.

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Resurrection of the Body vs Immortality of the Soul

Christianity inherited two distinct traditions about the afterlife, and the tension between them remains unresolved.