Rlst 160 Introduction To Theology Analysis Papers

Theological Analysis Paper

Erin Washington

RLST 160: Introduction to Theology

March 15, 2015

The homily I have chosen is about Heaven and Hell and how it is not up to one person to decide who gets to go where, but up to God and through a person’s actions and salvation might that person be granted a chosen afterlife. The deciding factor for who goes to which place seems to be unclear and this piece demonstrates that placement into one or the other is not forced. “God will not send people to Hell nor drag people into Heaven by their hair.” One cannot predict who is going to Heaven or Hell after death; a decision of that magnitude is one that must be made by God himself. Since there is not one person who can predict the path of our afterlife, there is also not one particular act a person can do or commit that will automatically send them to either place. Understanding the different forms of love and how God’s unconditional love plays a role in determining a person’s outcome is important in knowing that the fate of a person in their afterlife is not as simple as a list of sinners and non-sinners. Agape is a Greek term for love used to describe, more specifically, “God’s unconditional love.” Through God’s unconditional love people can be accepted and offered salvation. According to Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology,

Although there is not one specific act, sin is an important aspect of determining a person’s fate and their destination to either Heaven or Hell. According to Cambridge Dictionary of Christian Theology, sin “refers to a disordered or disrupted relationship to God.” The type of sin such as an opposition to God’s grace and love is significant to this piece because with this type of sin, it is difficult if not impossible, to accept God’s actions in salvation and the eventual placement into Heaven or Hell after