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GCSE · Christianity

RS.CB7 The Afterlife: Judgement, Heaven and Hell

AQA 8062 · Calculators not allowed · about 55 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Show all your working.

This question checks key vocabulary used in Christian teaching about the afterlife.

(a)State what is meant by judgement, in Christian belief.(1)

(b)State what Christians mean by heaven.(1)

(c)State what Christians mean by hell.(1)

(d)Give one word Catholic Christians use for the process of purification after death, before entering heaven.(1)

(e)State what is meant by the immortality of the soul.(1)

(Total for Question 1 is 5 marks)

Give three Christian beliefs about the final judgement.

(Total for Question 2 is 3 marks)

Explain two Christian teachings about heaven. Refer to scripture in your answer.

(Total for Question 3 is 4 marks)

Explain two contrasting Christian views on the nature of hell. Refer to a source of wisdom and authority in your answer.

(Total for Question 4 is 5 marks)

This question is about the afterlife, judgement, heaven and hell in Christian belief. It is the AQA-style 24-mark, five-part question.

(a)State one word Catholic Christians use for the process of purification after death, before entering heaven.(1)

(b)Give two things the Bible teaches will happen at the final judgement.(2)

(c)Explain two Christian teachings about what happens to a person immediately after death. Refer to scripture in your answer.(4)

(d)Explain two contrasting Christian views on purgatory. Refer to a source of wisdom and authority in your answer.(5)

(e)Evaluate this statement: 'The idea of eternal punishment in hell is not compatible with a loving God.' In your answer you should: refer to Christian teaching, refer to different points of view, reach a justified conclusion.(12)

(Total for Question 5 is 24 marks)

Explain two ways a belief in judgement, heaven and hell might affect the life of a Christian believer today.

(Total for Question 6 is 4 marks)

Give three sources of authority Christians use to learn about the afterlife.

(Total for Question 7 is 3 marks)

Mark scheme · RS.CB7 The Afterlife: Judgement, Heaven and Hell

Question 1

(a) B1 God/Christ assessing how a person has lived, deciding their eternal destiny, oe
(a) Answer: God/Christ assessing how a person has lived, deciding their eternal destiny.
(b) B1 a state of eternal life in God's presence, free from suffering, oe
(b) Answer: A state of eternal life in God's presence, free from suffering.
(c) B1 a state of eternal separation from God, oe
(c) Answer: A state of eternal separation from God.
(d) B1 Purgatory, oe
(d) Answer: Purgatory.
(e) B1 the belief that a person's soul continues to exist after physical death, oe
(e) Answer: The belief that a person's soul continues to exist after physical death.

Question 2

B1 everyone will be judged by God/Christ, oe
B1 judgement will be based on how a person lived, including how they treated others, oe
B1 the outcome of judgement determines whether a person experiences heaven or hell, oe
Answer: Any three: everyone will be judged; judged on how they lived/treated others; determines heaven or hell.

Question 3

B1 point 1: heaven is a state of eternal, perfect closeness with God, free from suffering, oe
B1 development: Revelation 21:3-4 describes God dwelling among his people, wiping away every tear, with 'no more death or mourning or crying or pain', oe
B1 point 2: heaven is prepared by Jesus for believers, oe
B1 development: John 14:2-3 records Jesus saying, 'My Father's house has many rooms ... I am going there to prepare a place for you', oe
Answer: E.g. (1) eternal closeness with God, free from suffering (Revelation 21:3-4); (2) prepared by Jesus for believers (John 14:2-3).

Question 4

B1 view 1: some Christians believe hell is a real, literal place of eternal conscious suffering and separation from God, oe
B1 development: based on Matthew 25:41, which describes 'eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels', oe
B1 view 2: other Christians believe descriptions of hell, such as fire, are symbolic rather than literal, oe
B1 development: on this reading, hell represents the reality and seriousness of total, freely chosen, eternal separation from God's presence and love, a view reflected in modern Catholic catechetical teaching, which describes hell primarily as a state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God, rather than physical fire, oe
B1 reference to a source of wisdom and authority made accurately, oe
Answer: Contrast: a literal reading of hell as eternal conscious suffering (Matthew 25:41) vs a symbolic reading of hell as self-exclusion from God, reflected in modern Catholic catechetical teaching.

Question 5

(a) B1 Purgatory, oe
(a) Answer: Purgatory.
(b) B1 people will be judged according to their deeds/how they treated others, oe
(b) B1 everyone will appear before Christ's judgement seat, oe
(b) Answer: E.g. judged according to their deeds (Matthew 25:31-46), and everyone appearing before Christ's judgement seat (2 Corinthians 5:10).
(c) B1 point 1: many Christians believe the soul goes immediately to be with Christ, sometimes called an intermediate state, oe
(c) B1 development: Philippians 1:23 records Paul's desire 'to depart and be with Christ', and Luke 23:43 records Jesus telling the thief on the cross, 'today you will be with me in paradise', oe
(c) B1 point 2: many Christians also hold there will be a future, final bodily resurrection and general judgement at the end of time, oe
(c) B1 development: 1 Corinthians 15:52 teaches 'the dead will be raised imperishable', so full and final entry into heaven's presence comes at that final point, oe
(c) Answer: E.g. (1) the soul goes immediately to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23, Luke 23:43); (2) a future final resurrection and judgement (1 Corinthians 15:52).
(d) B1 view 1: the Catholic Church officially teaches purgatory as a real process of purification for those who die in God's grace and friendship but are imperfectly purified, so they may attain the holiness needed to enter heaven, oe
(d) B1 development: this doctrine was formally defined at the Council of Trent (1545-1563) and is traditionally supported with reference to prayer for the dead in 2 Maccabees 12:44-46, part of the Catholic biblical canon, oe
(d) B1 view 2: most Protestant Christians reject purgatory, while Orthodox Christians, though they do not hold the specific Catholic doctrine as formally defined, commonly pray for the dead and hold there is some kind of intermediate state before the final judgement, approached with more reserve than Catholic teaching's formal definition, oe
(d) B1 development: Protestant rejection is based on the belief that salvation is by grace through faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9), a rejection central to the Reformation, since Martin Luther's objections to indulgences linked to purgatory were a major trigger of the Reformation in 1517; 2 Maccabees is not part of the Protestant biblical canon, oe
(d) B1 reference to a source of wisdom and authority made accurately, oe
(d) Answer: Contrast: Catholic doctrine of purgatory (Council of Trent, 2 Maccabees 12:44-46) vs Protestant rejection of purgatory (Ephesians 2:8-9, the Reformation) and the Orthodox Church's own distinct, more reserved position of praying for the dead without holding the formally defined Catholic doctrine.
(e) L4 (10-12): A well-argued, balanced answer that considers more than one point of view in a developed way, using accurate and detailed references to Christian teaching and/or scripture to support each point, and reaches a clear, justified conclusion.
(e) L3 (7-9): A clear and reasoned answer that considers more than one point of view, supported by relevant references to Christian teaching and/or scripture, though the justification of the conclusion may be less developed.
(e) L2 (4-6): A reasoned answer that considers at least one point of view, with some relevant supporting evidence, but with limited or no consideration of an alternative view.
(e) L1 (1-3): One or more relevant points are made, but with little or no supporting evidence and no reasoned conclusion.
(e) L0 (0): No relevant content.
(e) Indicative content:
- Agree: if God is perfectly loving (1 John 4:8, 'God is love'), eternal, unending conscious suffering as the consequence of a finite life's wrongdoing can seem disproportionate and hard to reconcile with that love.
- Agree: a minority of Christians, sometimes called annihilationists or conditionalists, interpret biblical language about 'destruction' (Matthew 10:28, 'be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell') as suggesting the wicked cease to exist rather than suffer forever, which they see as more compatible with a loving God.
- Agree: a small minority hold a universal reconciliation view, that all will ultimately be saved, citing verses such as 1 Timothy 2:4, that God 'wants all people to be saved'.
- Disagree: most Christians across denominations hold that God's love does not remove human free will and moral responsibility - hell is understood as the freely chosen consequence of persistently rejecting God, not an arbitrary punishment inflicted against someone's will, a concept memorably expressed by the Christian writer C.S. Lewis, who described hell as being locked from the inside, in The Great Divorce (1945).
- Disagree: Jesus himself is recorded warning about hell more than almost any other biblical figure, e.g. Matthew 25:46, 'these will go away to eternal punishment', so many argue an honest reading of scripture cannot avoid it, however uncomfortable.
- Disagree: some argue perfect love requires perfect justice too, since Psalm 89:14 states 'righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne', and a love that never held wrongdoing accountable might not be fully loving.
- A balanced answer might conclude that the tension between God's love and eternal punishment is a genuine and long-debated one within Christianity itself, with mainstream teaching resolving it mainly through free will and the seriousness of freely rejecting God, while a minority of Christians resolve it instead through annihilationism or universal reconciliation.

Question 6

B1 point 1: a Christian might try to live a morally good life, treating others well, oe
B1 development: e.g. inspired by the sheep and goats teaching (Matthew 25:31-46), a Christian might help those in need, such as volunteering at a food bank, oe
B1 point 2: a Christian might find comfort and hope at funerals and in bereavement, oe
B1 development: e.g. some Christians, particularly in Catholic and Orthodox practice, pray for the souls of the dead as an ongoing act of care and solidarity, oe
Answer: E.g. living a morally good life inspired by Matthew 25:31-46; comfort/hope at funerals, including praying for the dead in some traditions.

Question 7

B1 the Bible, oe
B1 the Nicene Creed, which states belief in 'the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come', oe
B1 Church teaching, e.g. the Catechism of the Catholic Church for Catholic Christians, oe
Answer: Any three: the Bible; the Nicene Creed; Church teaching (e.g. the Catechism of the Catholic Church).

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