The images, both mental and pictorial, of Heaven and Hell come from words which cannot be taken literally, For example, a non-material spirit, the soul, cannot be "burned". It can, however, be tormented by memories of bad deeds done and good deeds left undone.
Heaven is harder to visualize. A spirit can't just float around being happy, smiling and singing songs. Even spirits must have something worthwhile to do. What kind of reward would you expect from having lived an exemplary life? Some say just being in God's presence is enough but that had been true all your life, so what's new? Remembering and being tormented by bad memories for those in Hell seems reasonable but floating around remembering all the good you did seems like bragging. Sounds almost boring but still better than the alternative.
Heaven is harder to visualize. A spirit can't just float around being happy, smiling and singing songs. Even spirits must have something worthwhile to do. What kind of reward would you expect from having lived an exemplary life? Some say just being in God's presence is enough but that had been true all your life, so what's new? Remembering and being tormented by bad memories for those in Hell seems reasonable but floating around remembering all the good you did seems like bragging. Sounds almost boring but still better than the alternative.
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