What happens to truly evil people when die?

It's a shame but she really believes it. And she's an intelligent woman!

I believe your Mum was absolutely right. Your brother in law will stand before God and that is all you need to know. The rest is up to God who is, as you say, loving and forgiving. I hope you can find peace over this and leave it in his hands.

I do believe in God, & I’ve been thinking about what I learnt about death and God’s judgement growing up catholic. My mum still prays for deceased relatives who were/are supposedly in “Purgatory”, the place you go when not deserving of hell (eternal punishment), but aren’t entitled to the “eternal joy of living with God”. After a time in Purgatory repenting, souls can potentially move “up” into heaven. The prayers of the faithful still on earth can speed this up - hence mum's daily prayers.
Personally I think the idea of purgatory is to give hope to believers who might otherwise worry about eternal damnation if they feel undeserving of heaven.
IMO if there’s a hell child murderers are dragged there straight away with absolutely no hope of redemption.

I’ve been to church this morning funnily enough - it’s my daughter’s 15th anniversary. Undoubtedly (I’m biased) when she faced God’s judgement she went straight to heaven, and one day (after repenting my many faults) I hope to join her there! That hope certainly helped my sanity in the early days.

The OP should listen to her mum and hopefully find peace moving forward.

All my own opinion - please be kind!!!

I share your views and hopes Helen. A sad day for you.?

It is a sad day for, so thank you for responding to my question.
My mum's birthday today, she would have been 102, but only made it to 98. A very strong, Christian lady, who had been through so much in her life.

My thoughts are with you too Santana, and all those recently bereaved or for whom Christmas brings back sad memories. You are not alone.?

grannyrebel7

It's a shame but she really believes it. And she's an intelligent woman!

Those two sentences completely contradict each other.

If somebody is a psychopath or narcissist they may have no empathy, with little or no control of their behaviour. How can that make them 'truly evil' when it's an inborn condition - rather than a choice?

Most of us know right from wrong, can control impulses, have empathy and have choice. We are lucky, as we can easily behave well and fit into society. Where would the justice be in punishing the sick?

I think the same Hetty58, imprisoned yes but not treated the same as they have treated their victims

He's dead. He can no longer be evil. He deserves to be forgotten by everyone.
Pondering the why's and wherefore's will make you bitter.

Helen, a sad day for you

We are humans, and therefore capable of making choices. But the acts we commit are influenced by our own upbringing as well as innate traits of character. So in many ways, we are not free to 'choose' our actions. Most of us are 'average' in that we have a loosely defined sense of morality and we judge others on that basis.
Some people are outside these norms and commit horrific acts. So, does some kind of divine retribution take into consideration all the intricate facts that lead to evil actions?
I am in no way condoning the evil actions, just pointing out that the actions are not committed in isolation.
Personally, I think that, good, bad or indifferent, when we die, that's game over and we cease to exist.

Jesus said...” Everyone who believes in me will be saved” Your brother in law may have repented on his death bed, and be saved, but he won’t have lived the life God would have liked for him on earth, and was probably most unhappy.

If he didn’t repent....we don’t know for sure. We only know that Christians will be taken to the next life.

That’s not to say Christians sail through this life with no problems, but we know there is better to come. This life’s just the rehearsal.

I am a Woo person! We all go through many life times to learn 'lessons'. So the evil people will have to go through a 'life-time' of a victim. In my head, this is the karma they deserve. Heaven and Hell does not exist, it is all one Universe, so to speak. So, yes, they will get their comeuppance.
Oh and truly beautiful people who have endured so much, will return again, to live an easier life. Honestly, it's fascinating stuff this Spirituality!

We only know that Christians will be taken to the next life.

Well - such an exclusive club. Some people are born into families with a different religion. They too lead decent kind lives and the idea that some people believe they might have hell as their reward is beyond credence.

Religion can be so divisive. Let us all just be kind to one another and, in my belief, simply accept that we are not here to be judged and punished but just to do our best and accept that we are part of nature and go back to our atoms when we die and become some other part of the natural world.

There is comfort in that too.

If Christians will be taken to the next life what about the thief
on the cross ?

Christ said to him -‘ today you will be with me in paradise’

Anniebach

If Christians will be taken to the next life what about the thief
on the cross ?

Christ said to him -‘ today you will be with me in paradise’

The thief repented, and then Jesus said that.

He didn’t repent DiscoDancer he accepted his punishment with no hope of forgiveness, he asked Christ to remember him
in paradise.

Anniebach

He didn’t repent DiscoDancer he accepted his punishment with no hope of forgiveness, he asked Christ to remember him
in paradise.

He turned to Jesus on the cross, he acknowledged He is faultless and asked to be remembered when He came into His Kingdom. The thief acknowledged his own faults, therefore confessing his sin.

The thief on the cross accepted Jesus as his Lord and Master which is why Jesus said 'today you will be with me in paradise'.

Smileless2012

The thief on the cross accepted Jesus as his Lord and Master which is why Jesus said 'today you will be with me in paradise'.

Exactly Smileless

The rain falls on the just and the unjust. The truly most evil people gain oblivion same as the truly good.

Most Christians, Jews and Muslims believe that when we die we will come to stand before the throne of God and have to answer for our lives and whether we believed in Him or not.

Hell is not clearly defined anywhere in either the Jewish or the Christian texts, but only mentioned as a concept, and I believe much the same exists in Islam . We are told that the unrighteous will not be admited to the presence of God, but not what else, if indeed anything, will happen to them.

Standard Jewish practice has wisely refraned from attempting to picture the after life, whether people have been good or bad.

Most modern Christians have come to see too, that we cannot know anything about what it will be like, as the Gospels do not tell us that. Christ said to the dying robber "This day you will be with me in Paradise" but said nothing about what that would be like.

Modern thought amongst Jesuits holds that if we are able to answer truthfully that we believe in God at the moment of our death that may be all that is required of us.

This fits in nicely with the concept of a merciful, loving God, but may well seem unfair to anyone who has suffered at the hands of an evil person.

Belief in an almighty and omnipotent God must surely lead us to realise that only God can know why any one of us do or did the things we did and whether the evil that anyone did was in the words of the Bible "necessary that good may come of it" - a hard saying that I certainly do not pretend to understand.

Try to do as much good and as little harm as possible in this life and leave the consequences of it and the afterlife to God.

No religion, no God -people die, good or evil.

Kali2

No religion, no God -people die, good or evil.

This, in a nutshell.