God, Heaven and Hell: The Philosophy of Belief

Abstract

While heaven is God’s promised reward for all who accept Christ and do His will, hell is the abode for all who denounce him. To merit heaven, one is required to renounce worldliness and love God in one’s neighbour. While many are undecided, some others remain confused about the reality or otherwise of both the categories and the promise of heaven and hell. Such confusion or un-decidedness arises in the face of manifold compelling options before the agent, who is thus immersed in some dilemma—since the issues (of God, heaven and hell) rest in probabilism. There is the need to emerge from the ensuing dilemma of deciding. Consequently, this paper, using the analytical method, articulates the logic/sense in believing heaven/hell real or otherwise. It indicates that heaven and hell, for the unbeliever, may be hypothetical; they, for the believer, are categorical positions. It also lays out the options available to the deciding agent. The paper, therefore, concludes that it could be more reasonable and beneficial for one to believe and make heaven—such that even if heaven turns out to be a farce, nothing would have been lost since one would have lived a moral/desirable life on earth; that there is some gain in believing God, heaven/hell as reasonable probability—which is a pedestal for public morality here on earth.

Keywords: God, heaven, hell, philosophy, belief.