I believe exactly what the Word of God has to say about both. The problem, or perhaps confusion, with this subject is due to the altered versions given through various religions and for entertainment purposes. What God actually says about either has nothing at all to do with floating on clouds with angel wings or hanging out with a red guy holding a pitchfork. This is taking something very spiritually serious and turning it into a cartoon.
I embalmed hundreds of people in my first career and never felt that they were going to a Heaven or a Hell to be re-united with loved ones or the devil.
oooh purleeease... if anyone is listening up there, I hope they can hear me when I say I think I must have done enough penance for whatever misdeeds I've been guilty of in the past lives.. please do not send me back.
You embalmed bodies, not the spirits. Way too many think in terms of the material, what you see is what you get kind of thing. For we are told, “to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”.
@Bobby Cole The Catholic Church ruled for a mighty long time that Cremation was unacceptable as it "destroys the Soul". Such was the origin of my Dad's always questioning when the subject came up: Are those folks incinerated when burned up in say, a plane crash, denied the release of their souls? The conversation once included a Priest in our neighborhood. He answered quickly and succinctly: God makes exceptions for the souls of folks so burned up........My Dad shook his head in answer. Frank
Don't agree Frank, we shed the body like a piece of clothing so we're long gone by then (that's my belief) As for Heaven and Hell, I believe our place on Earth is Hell - and its how we progress through it all that determines our place in Heaven. Eve though Earth has Heavenly qualities, so many don't see or recognise that. @Frank Sanoica
My first husband was raised as a Catholic, and he believed this exact same thing about being cremated. When my daughter was talking to him about the subject of cremation, he was adamant that it was wrong and destroyed the soul. However, when you look at Catholic saints, some of those had been burned at the stake, and yet were still claimed as a saint afterwards. The whole idea that God just “makes an exception” if it was an accidental burning to death, or something similar, but the soul is destroyed if the dead body burns (and by then, the soul would have departed from the body anyway), makes no sense. I don’t know if they still teach this doctrine, but probably many of the old-time Catholics were raised to believe this.
My thoughts too I was reared a Catholic and had never heard this until someone mentioned it to me a few weeks back, I laughed and said its just a body, the soul is elsewhere
I know that a lot of things changed with Vatican II. I often wondered how pissed the group that went to hell for eating meat on Friday was after the rules changed. (And that is a JOKE, Frank!!!)
What Is The Soul? This definition tells me nothing. the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
I looked up the definition of soul to be able to ask this question. For those the believe that heaven or hell is where the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal will end up how would the soul of an animal be determined? soul /sōl/ 1. the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal. I don't believe there is a heaven or hell but the concept is interesting. Considering the violence & evil over the centuries, hell must be pretty full by now.
I have too many questions about the whole belief system. Assuming we have a soul... where did the soul come from in the first place? And yeah, both heaven and hell must be about full by now--not to mention purgatory. In my limited view, the concept of heaven or hell has simply been a means of controlling people. As the population moves away from organized religion there is a definite breakdown of kindness and respect in society.