Hubertus Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 I recently made this post on Catholic Answers asking about Orthodox Christianity and the afterlife. [url="http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?p=9406566#post9406566"]http://forums.cathol...566#post9406566[/url] And I'm now even more confused. Can anyone give me a simple explanation on what Orthodox Christianity teaches about where we go after we die? Catholics have Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory.. Pretty straightforward. But I'm confused about the Orthodox teaching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 This is what I got from that thread. It seems that you only go to Heaven (or Hell) after the Second Coming, and that in the meantime, people get a "taste" of whatever there is to come for them (Be it heaven or hell). It seems what some there have said is that those in a "temporary hell" before the second coming and final judgment are still able to get out, if they pray hard enough and God has mercy. The main difference seems to be that Catholics believe that we go and get judged and whatnot when we die, whereas the Orthodox seem to believe that God don't make the final say on your soul until the Final Judgment. While we have purgatory and pray for those who are there, the Orthodox pray for those who are in "temporary hell." While we believe that all those in purgatory will eventually go to Heaven, that isn't necessarily the case for those in "temporary hell" according to the Orthodox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubertus Posted June 14, 2012 Author Share Posted June 14, 2012 That sounds about right. Maybe I'm just out of practice with learning in general, but this is all so confusing for me. The Catholic version seems a lot more clear, but maybe it's because we only have one use for the word "Hell" after Christ, which is just, "the place where Satan lives and where bad people go when they die, from whence there is no return." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Nah, I find it all confusing too. So much of it is very similar, that the differences are usually in fine distinctions. I had an Orthodox scripture professor try to explain Divine Energies to me once...my brain nearly exploded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ice_nine Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 Divine energies . . . sounds trippy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle_eye222001 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I bet it's divine. :mellow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laudate_Dominum Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 I hereby invoke Apotheoun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 [quote name='Ice_nine' timestamp='1339733368' post='2444901'] Divine energies . . . sounds trippy [/quote] Yeah. It's like fancy grace. Involves something with union with God. I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubertus Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 [quote name='Basilisa Marie' timestamp='1339705062' post='2444733'] Nah, I find it all confusing too. So much of it is very similar, that the differences are usually in fine distinctions. I had an Orthodox scripture professor try to explain Divine Energies to me once...my brain nearly exploded. [/quote] That must be it; there are many similarities on the whole, but when you get down to the specifics there are many fine distinctions. But also, from the reading I've been doing about Orthodoxy, it seems that there is a general unwillingness to pin things down to [i]too[/i] precise of a definition, for fear of making God seem.. finite. Or maybe it's just that most members of the Orthodox Church are not English speaking, which means I can only find limited resources..? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selah Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Then of course, there are the Aerial Toll Houses. That's always fun to talk about. Heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Basilisa Marie Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Thread necromancy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selah Posted November 15, 2012 Share Posted November 15, 2012 Tis I, tis I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anastasia13 Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 [quote name='Hubertus' timestamp='1339804020' post='2445231']Or maybe it's just that most members of the Orthodox Church are not English speaking, which means I can only find limited resources..? [/quote] Might these help? http://orthodoxinfo.com/ http://www.goarch.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubertus Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 I'll check them out, thanks! I just want to comment on how strange it is to come back after a long time away from Phatmass and see a thread I posted being on the first page.. And what are Aerial Toll Houses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selah Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 [quote]And what are Aerial Toll Houses?[/quote] http://orthodoxwiki.org/Aerial_Toll-Houses http://orthodoxwiki.org/Aerial_Toll-Houses#Controversy It's not really dogma, and not every Orthodox Christian believes in them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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