Christian theologyChristian theology is the theology of Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theologians use biblical exegesis, rational analysis and argument.
Problem of HellThe problem of Hell is an ethical problem in the Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, in which the existence of Hell (aka Jahannam or Sheol) for the punishment of souls in the Afterlife is regarded as inconsistent with the notion of a just, moral, and omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient supreme being.
LimboIn Catholic theology, Limbo (limbus, or , referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Europe described the underworld ("hell", "hades", "infernum") as divided into three distinct parts: Hell of the Damned, Limbo of the Fathers or Patriarchs, and Limbo of the Infants. The Limbo of the Fathers is an official doctrine of the Catholic Church, but the Limbo of the Infants is not.
Outer darknessIn Christianity, the "exterior darkness" or outer darkness is a place referred to three times in the Gospel of Matthew (8:12, 22:13, and 25:30) into which a person may be "cast out", and where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth". Generally, the outer darkness is thought to be hell; however, many Christians associate the outer darkness more generally as a place of separation from God or from the metaphorical "wedding banquet" that Jesus is expected to have upon his Second Coming.
Intermediate state (Christianity)In some forms of Christianity the intermediate state or interim state is a person's existence between death and the universal resurrection. In addition, there are beliefs in a particular judgment right after death and a general judgment or last judgment after the resurrection. Early Christians looked for an imminent end of the world and many of them had little interest in an interim state between death and resurrection.
Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna)The Valley of Hinnom () is a historic valley surrounding Ancient Jerusalem from the west and southwest. The valley is also known by the name Gehinnom ( Gēʾ-Hīnnōm, lit. 'Valley of Hinnom'), an alternative Biblical Hebrew form which survived into Aramaic and has received various fundamental theological connotations, and by the Greek and Syriac transliteration Gehenna (Γέεννα Géenna/ܓܼܼܗܲܢܵܐ Gihanna). The Valley of Hinnom is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as part of the border between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:8).
PurgatoryPurgatory ( purgatorium, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations and Islam, an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory is the final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. Tradition, by reference to certain texts of scripture, sees the process as involving a cleansing fire. Some forms of Western Christianity, particularly within Protestantism, deny its existence.
Salvation in ChristianityIn Christianity, salvation (also called deliverance or redemption) is the saving of human beings from sin and its consequences—which include death and separation from God—by Christ's death and resurrection, and the justification entailed by this salvation. The idea of Jesus' death as an atonement for human sin was recorded in the Christian Bible, and was elaborated in Paul's epistles and in the Gospels. Paul saw the faithful redeemed by participation in Jesus' death and rising.
AnnihilationismIn Christianity, annihilationism (also known as extinctionism or destructionism) is the belief that after the Last Judgment, all damned humans and fallen angels including Satan will be totally destroyed, cremated, and their consciousness extinguished rather than suffering forever in Hell. Annihilationism stands in contrast to both the belief in eternal torment and the belief that everyone will be saved ("universalism"). However, it is also possible to hold to a partial annihilationism, believing unsaved humans to be obliterated or cremated, but demonic beings to suffer forever.
Second deathThe second death, also known as eternal death, is an eschatological concept in Judaism, Christianity, and Mandaeism related to punishment after a first/initial death on Earth. Jewish eschatology Although the term is not found in the Hebrew Bible (the Canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures), Harry Sysling, in his study (1996) of Teḥiyyat ha-metim (Hebrew; "the resurrection of the dead") in the Palestinian Targums, identifies a consistent usage of the term "second death" in texts of the Second Temple period and early rabbinical writings.
