I've had numerous discussions on AFF about the Afterlife (Heaven, Hell, ect). I can't help but consider how bold we can be about a place we've never been too, while ignoring the facts about how these Eternal dogmas came about via, History, Religion, Ancient writings, and Cultures/Teachings of past civilizations.
Also, the evolution of this subject must be understood; Ladies and Gentlemen, the Jews did not, and do not believe in the Christian Heaven or Hell (Eternal Damnation). The Torah and Old Testament do not support our current Christian ideals about the afterlife, and this is a huge problem. We are supporting this teaching without accurately investigating the TRUTH about the origin of Eternal doctrine, ignoring this spiritual transition of bad to worse.
The Jews believe this subject to be more of a "Personal Opinion". They also talk about reincarnation, and that many lives may be what follow a person's existence. For those Jews who do believe in an Afterlife, the punishment of those who don’t deserve Gan Eden in the Olam Ha-Ba (World to come), spend a 12 month period Gehinnom, and when purification is over they move on to better dimensions, not worse. Some Jews feel the extremely wicked will be annihilated after the 12 month penance, not tormented for Eternity.
Below is a link and paragraph which discusses this subject on behalf of Judaism. It appears that this later understanding of Eternity might be the result of leveraging discipline upon those who were disobedient in the Church, as unknown realms are a torment to most people. It’s just like a Country or Nation when people decide to ignore or rebel against a Government; enforcement is amped up until obedience is achieved.
This again is the path of using the "Unseen" to gain a dominant momentum within a Belief, using FEAR to control. I believe it is morally and ethically wrong to even use the Christian “Hell” in the predominant ways of the past, as this takes advantage of the weak in mind and spirit, manipulating people with a God of terror. We also discredit ourselves by perpetuating Eternal Ultimatums that can’t be proven and which directly contradict the teachings of previous people who supposedly had direct insight with God.
http://www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm
Traditional Judaism firmly believes that death is not the end of human existence. However, because Judaism is primarily focused on life here and now rather than on the afterlife, Judaism does not have much dogma about the afterlife, and leaves a great deal of room for personal opinion. It is possible for an Orthodox Jew to believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected. Likewise, Orthodox Jews can believe that the souls of the wicked are tormented by demons of their own creation, or that wicked souls are simply destroyed at death, ceasing to exist.
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