After reading the posts about salvation and purgatory, it got me thinking. Thinking about how little I think about those things. So I wondered, is it just me? Or as a Jew, are these topics not really at the forefront. The answer is, I don’t really know.

One of the most exciting aspects of being a part of this blog is the opportunity I have for a greater understanding of my religion and others. Because, when I ponder these and other questions, the answer usually is – I don’t really know.

So, I did a brief online search on Judaism and afterlife and came across this excerpt on myjewishlearning.com:

Judaism is famously ambiguous about this matter. The immortality of the soul, the World to Come, and the resurrection of the dead all feature prominently in Jewish tradition, but the logistics of what these things are and how they relate to each…

Inter-religious dialogues usually crash and burn when a simple question is asked: Must I believe what you believe to be saved? I have witnessed this phenomenon on several occasions. There is an awkward silence, followed by several throats being cleared at once.

Usually, a peace-maker in the group makes a valiant attempt to change the subject. (”The Blues could certainly use some salvation.”) Dialogue groups are not the only instances of religious triumphalism to intrude on my daily Jewish routine. The age of pluralism has given rise to a great deal of interest in all things Jewish, including the synagogue.

Hardly a month goes by when some group or other is joining us for a tour and sometimes staying for the worship service. In giving tours of our synagogue, I am often confronted by impromptu missionaries. They did not plan our meeting in order to bring a rabbi to the…

My last post received a comment that was so important, I thought it deserved a whole post. A person asks about a Catholic friend who seems to have a mistakenly optimistic belief about his own chances for salvation. Here is the comment:

This person does not even attempt to lead a Holy life, much intentional lack of self control and mortal sin in his life. The danger I feel for this person is that he in all sincerity feels that he will receive salvation if he were to die in this state of his life.

He says, he realizes that he is living a life of sin, but as long as he repents before he dies, or even on his death bed that he will just have to spend some time in purgatory, but he will receive salvation (Heaven).

The reader asked about about both “salvation” and “purgatory” and I want…