Beyond Heaven and Earth

by Steven H. Propp

  The basic statement of faith of Jews is the Shema: “Hear, O Israel! The LORD our God, the LORD is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4) There is a formidable and detailed body of Jewish law (Halakah), with very detailed commandments (mitzvoh) given in the Tanakh, Talmud, and the teachings of the later rabbis. For example, during morning prayers, men should strap tefillin (boxes containing Exodus 13:1-16, and Deuteronomy 6:4-9 & 11:13-21) to their arms and forehead. As a sign of reverence to God, the heads of Jewish people are often covered (if not all the time, at least during prayer services). The yarmulke (a Yiddish word; Yiddish is the language of many East European Jews) or skullcap is one traditional way of covering the head, as is the tallit (prayer shawl). Women traditionally also cover their heads during prayer services, which separate men and women. Prayers traditionally end with the Hebrew word “Amen,” which means “so be it.” At age 13, boys (and more recently, girls) may be initiated into the Jewish community by a ceremony called a Bar (or Bat, for girls) Mitzvah, or “Son/Daughter of the Law.” A Jewish home is supposed to have a mezuzah (a piece of parchment with the Shema written on it, that is placed in a small case) attached to the doorpost (Dt 6:9). The most important holidays are Rosh Hashanah (the New Year)—and Yom Kippur (the “Day of Atonement”), which comprise the 10-day “High Holy Days”—as well as Passover (celebrating the command in Exodus 12:1-13 resulting in them being “passed over” by the Angel of Death, as well as their deliverance from Egypt).

  Who is a “Jew”? Traditionally, one is a Jew because of (1) being born to a Jewish mother, or (2) conversion to the Jewish religion. Historically, the major groups of Jews were the Pharisees (from the Second Temple period; the forerunners of today’s Judaism); the Sadduccees (who did not believe in life after death, since they accepted only the Torah as authoritative), and the Essenes (ascetic separatists, who probably wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls). The major contemporary groups of modern Jews are Orthodox (the most conservative, and smallest group); Reform (the most liberal), Conservative (midway between Orthodoxy and Reform), and the much smaller Reconstructionist (which emphasizes the cultural aspects of Judaism, rather than the religious). There is also a sub-group of Orthodox known as the Hasidim (“pious ones” in Hebrew; founded by an 18th century rabbi who became known as the Baal Shem Tov, or “Master of the good name”), a mystical sect which emphasizes joyous worship, including song and dance. Their distinctive manner of dress (and the untrimmed forelocks of men) make them unique wherever they go.

  Because of an irrational hatred of the Jewish people known as anti-Semitism, Jews in Europe were often forced by law to gather into ghettoes. The two major communities of Jews that evolved are Ashkenazic (from the Hebrew word for “Germans”), those Jews from northern France, Germany and Eastern Europe, while Sephardic are Spanish Jews, many of whom emigrated to Palestine when they were expelled from Spain in the 15th century—there have been many such expulsions (Greek “Diaspora”) throughout Jewish history. In the 20th century, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) of B’nai B’rith (a Jewish social services organization) was created to try and expose instances of anti-Semitism.

  A Jewish movement which crosses religious boundaries is the Zionist movement, which was founded by Theodore Herzl in the 19th century (with forerunners Moses Hess and Leo Pinsker). “Zion” was a stronghold within Jerusalem that was captured by King David, but has become a name for the Holy City of Jerusalem (recognized as such by Christians and Muslims, as well as Jews), and was used to indicate the desire of Jewish people to return to their traditional homeland (now known as Palestine). There were a series of Aliyahs (Hebrew for “ascent”)—periods of Jewish immigrations to Israel—beginning in the late 19th century. Perhaps the greatest impetus for Zionism came with the Holocaust (Hitler’s attempt during the Second World War to relocate, then later exterminate the Jews of Europe), in which as many as 6 million Jews died. This process culminated in the creation in 1948—by United Nations mandate—of the State of Israel, which was only secured after a “War of Independence.” Jerusalem and the Temple Mount (i.e., the site of the ancient Temple) area came under Israeli control after the Six-Day War in 1967.

  Do Jews believe in life after death? Some do, and some don’t; the Hebrew Bible is not too clear on the subject, although the doctrine developed considerably after the biblical period. (The Pharisees generally did believe in life after death, while the Sadducees did not.) The idea of an afterlife seems to have become “mainstream” in Medieval times, however, since belief in the resurrection of the dead is the last of the Thirteen Articles of Faith developed by the important Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides. Nevertheless, Judaism certainly does not emphasize life after death in the way that Christianity does; Jews tend to believe that “the reward for the good life is the good life itself.”

  Zoroastrianism began in Persia (modern-day Iran) in the 6th century BCE, founded by a prophet named Zarathushtra. (“Zoroaster” is the Greek form of Zarathushtra; like “Confucius,” Zarathushtra is ironically best known by another name.) When he was 30, he felt that he saw visions of God, whom he called Ahura Mazda (“Lord All-Wise”), who was the creator of all that is good; Ahura Mazda was calling him to teach the true religion. Ahura Mazda had previously been worshipped by Persians as one of three Ahuras, but Zarathushtra declared him to be the sole God worthy of worship. Zoroastrianism is often called “dualistic”—meaning that it conceives of there being two fundamental realities behind the universe—however, it is also strongly monotheistic, in that Ahura Mazda is the only God to whom we should give our allegiance.

  Zoroastrianism does not view evil as unreal or illusory; on the contrary, it is a highly ethical religion. Ahura Mazda gave the Asha (spiritual Law of Truth, or righteousness) to humans. However, in his visions, Ahura Mazda revealed to Zarathushtra that there was an opposing force known as Angra Mainyu (the “Hostile Spirit,” called Ahriman in the earlier scriptures) in the world, who was the spirit and source of all evil. Ahura Mazda charged Zarathushtra with the task of inviting all human beings—who are endowed with both reason and free will— to choose between him (good) and Angra Mainyu (evil), and to actively oppose evil. Angra Mainyu was opposed by his equal twin, Spenta Mainyu (“Good Spirit”), who was viewed as either the son or the Holy Spirit of Ahura Mazda, and was assisted by six other good entities.

  Zoroastrianism grew slowly, requiring ten years before it gained its first convert (a cousin of Zarathushtra), but it progressed rapidly after that. Zarathushtra’s followers are also known as Parsis or Parsees, from the ancient word for “Persia.” Zoroastrianism has a hereditary priesthood, and only the son of a priest can become a priest. Their sacred book is the “Avesta” (“Book of the Law,” or “authoritative utterance”), the oldest part of which are 17 hymns composed by Zarathushtra called Gathas; the Avesta also includes the Vendidad (“code against demons,” concerned with ritual purification), as well as other prayers, hymns, and invocations. Much of the Avesta has been lost over time (it was originally transmitted orally) due to persecution of its priests, and the parts that remain are mostly those that are used in worship services. Zoroastrian ethics emphasize the concept of “good thought, good word, good deed,” and strongly encourage education and charity.

  Zarathushtra was perhaps thus the first historical religious figure to clearly teach immortality of the soul, as well as the belief in two heavenly judgments: one of the individual soul right after death, and a later one for all humankind after a general resurrection from the dead. In Zoroastrianism, there is no such thing as vicarious salvation—one is judged purely based on one’s own works in life. Zarathushtra taught that after death, the soul stays with the body for three days, then on the fourth day journeys across a bridge (Chinvat) spanning the abyss of Hell. If one’s good deeds outweigh one’s bad deeds one makes it to Paradise, and if one’s bad deeds are greater, one goes to Hell; if they are equal, one goes to Misvan Gatu (“the Place of Mixed Ones”), where they lack both joy and sorrow. Life
in Paradise will not be perfect, however, until after the Last Day (Frashegird). A general resurrection will be followed by the Last Judgment of all, including those who were already judged at their death. Once the world has come to the end planned for it by Ahura Mazda, a World Saviour named Saoshyant will finish the work, destroying Angra Mainyu along with the inhabitants of Hell. With all evil destroyed, the world will enter into a period of eternal bliss, with people enjoying eternal youth and peace.

  Beginning with the 3rd century CE, Zoroastrianism became Persia’s state religion—but it declined dramatically after Persia was conquered by Islam, with most Zoroastrians emigrating to India, where they remain. Today, fewer than 200,000 (and perhaps only 100,000) practicing Zoroastrians remain, mostly in India and Iran. Despite this decline, however, Zarathushtra’s ideas of Paradise, Hell, The Last Day, the Last Judgment, and the resurrection of the body are thought to have profoundly influenced Judaism (during Jews’ period of captivity in Babylon, they were in frequent contact with Persians), then later Christianity and Islam. Greek thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Theopompus and others showed knowledge of Zarathushtra’s doctrines, as well.

  From my own cultural perspective, as well as the fact that it has (even in the most liberal wings) a strong belief and emphasis on life after death, Christianity is clearly my main area of study. It is also encouraging that, with about two billion adherents (Catholics making up about one-half that group), Christianity is the world’s largest religion—even though we are less than one-third of the world’s inhabitants.

  Until I began my “Quest,” I never realized the diversity of different kinds of Christian groups there are. There are either several dozen, several hundred, or several thousand such groups, depending on how you subdivide them; for example, you can consider most “Baptists” in one category (based on their original distinctive emphasis upon baptism—or re-baptism—of adults, rather than infant baptism), or in many categories (Southern Baptists, American Baptists, Missionary Baptists, etc.). For my part, I tend to agree with commentators who agree that general theological orientation is more important than denomination among many Protestant groups, for example; a conservative Lutheran (e.g., of the Missouri Synod) probably has a lot more in common theologically with a conservative Southern Baptist, than with a very theologically liberal Lutheran.

  Naturally, all Christian groups (Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Protestant; even groups such as Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses) claim identity with the original Christians of the New Testament. Apart from the sects such as the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who believe that there was almost universal apostasy from the original church, the Christian Church remained united until the (Roman) Catholic Church and the Eastern (or Greek) Orthodox Churches officially split in 1054. Differences had been building up between the Eastern Churches (Albanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Syrian, etc.) and the “Latin” or Western Church for centuries prior to this, however. The next major split came in 1517, when a Catholic monk in Germany named Martin Luther left the Roman Church, being followed soon by millions of others, who were unhappy with some of the lax morals and practices (particularly the “selling” of Indulgences) of some Catholic priests and members of the hierarchy.

  Since Luther’s followers (known as Lutherans) were protesting against the abuses of the Roman Church, they became known as “Protestants,” and the movement in general (significantly led by John Calvin in France & Switzerland, Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland, and John Knox in Scotland) became known as the Reformation (i.e., the “re-formation” of the Christian Church). Soon afterwards, however, the Roman Catholic Church initiated the Counter-Reformation, culminating in the Council of Trent, and corrected the most objectionable abuses that had been occurring. Separate from the Reformation in Europe, the Catholics in England under the reign of Henry VIII separated from the Roman Catholics beginning in 1529 (ostensibly over the Pope’s refusal to grant Henry an annulment of his marriage, but the English Church had long viewed itself as somewhat “independent” of Rome anyway), founding the Church of England. The American branch of this Church is known as the Episcopalian (from the Greek word for “bishop”) Church, a name chosen during the American Revolutionary War period, to distinguish the American branch from the English branch of the Church.

  There were further divisions among the Protestant groups. The Reformed Churches (influenced by Calvin and Zwingli) broke from Lutheranism, and Presbyterians broke from the Roman Church and the Church of England in the mid-16th century. (The terms “Presbyterian” and “Episcopalian” refer to these churches’ emphasis upon ecclesiastical authority subsisting in elders or bishops, rather than in a hierarchy headed by the Pope. Congregationalists, on the other hand, gave all authority to the local congregations of believers.) Arising separately were the Anabaptists (so named for their doctrine requiring “rebaptism” of believers in adulthood, even for those who had already been baptized as infants). Quakers (the “Society of Friends”) were founded in England in 1647 by George Fox, and they emphasized finding the “inner light” rather than theological reasoning, as well as social equality (they were the first Christian group to actively oppose slavery in America) and complete pacifism. Methodists separated from the Church of England under John Wesley’s leadership starting in 1738; the Disciples of Christ formed under the guidance of Alexander Campbell in the early 1800’s; Pentecostal groups (so named because of their emphasis upon spiritual gifts such as “speaking in tongues” that the apostles manifested on the day of Pentecost, as described in the 2nd chapter of Acts) such as the Assemblies of God began forming in the early 20th century. More recently, there has been a trend toward forming of Non-denominational churches that are not part of any traditional ecclesiastical body. It can get bewildering, even without considering any of the more “controversial” groups, such as Unitarians, Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, United Pentecostal Church, the rapidly-changing Worldwide Church of God (founded by Herbert Armstrong), Reverend Sun Myung Moon’s Unification Church, and others, who are sometimes called “cults” by more traditional Christians. (19th-20th century America seemed to be a particularly fertile ground for the origin of such groups.)

  However, theology in general is not my concern—I am predominantly concerned with their doctrines about life after death; and secondarily, with their doctrines about salvation. (Once I decide upon the correct religion to follow, however, salvation should be pretty easy: you just do whatever they tell you to do, without asking too many questions.)

  Probably the most significant differences between Christians concerning the afterlife are regarding (1) Purgatory, (2) Hell and eternal punishment, and (3) the eschatological Resurrection of the Dead. Catholics, of course, accept the idea of Purgatory, where souls destined for Heaven are purged through suffering, as temporal punishment and expiation for their unforgiven venial (i.e., non-”mortal”) sins. Eastern Orthodox reject the Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory— although they do believe in praying for the dead, as well as in an intermediate stage between Heaven and Hell where souls experience a foretaste of their eventual bliss or punishment. The Anglican/Episcopalian church, on the other hand, in Article XXII of their Articles of Religion repudiate, “The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory…(as) repugnant to the Word of God.” (Although, like the Eastern Orthodox, they have beliefs about the nature of the afterlife that are somewhat similar to the Catholic notion of Purgatory). All other major Protestant groups strongly reject the idea of Purgatory.

  As far as the doctrine of eternal punishment in Hell is concerned, it is accepted by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox (although there is considerable discussion about the precise nature of this “punishment”—is it simply “being deprived of the beatific vision,” or is it actual torment?), but other Protestant groups vary— the more theologically conservative strongly accept it (often not shying away from describing it as “conscious eternal to
rment”), whereas others of a more liberal persuasion (such as the United Church of Christ) ignore or reject the idea. The resurrection of the dead—both of the righteous, and sinners—at the time of the Second Coming of Christ is accepted by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox as well as conservative Protestants, and is a firm doctrine in groups such as the Seventh-Day Adventists, Mormons, and Jehovah’s Witnesses; most more liberal Protestants either reject the notion of a literal “reanimation of the body to be joined with the soul” (since they believe that the condition one goes to after death is one’s eternal reward, and not some “temporary” state), or else leave the matter up to individual interpretation.

  Along with Christianity, the religion that has had the most influence throughout the world is undoubtedly Islam, which (with more than one billion followers, and rapidly growing) is the second-largest religion in the world. Islam means “submission,” as to the will of God, whose name in Islam is Allah. Followers of Allah are known as Muslims (Arabic for “those who have submitted”); they were so named in their holly book, the Qur’an in 22:78. The terms “Muhammadans” (or “Mohammadans”) and “Muhammadanism” are strongly rejected by Muslims, since these terms imply that their religion is focused on Muhammad, whereas it is really focused on Allah and their submission to Allah’s revelation. Islam is strongly monotheistic (the Christian concept of the Trinity is regarded as polytheistic), and its basic creed (the shahada) is, “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet,” which faithful Muslims recite throughout the day.