Christianity

Afterlife

Majority of Christians believe in some kind of heaven, in which the deceased enjoy the
presence of God and loved ones for eternity. Views differ as to what is required to get to
heaven, and conceptions of heaven differ as well.

A slightly smaller majority of Christians believe in hell, a place of suffering where unbelievers or
sinners are punished. Views differ as to whether hell is eternal and whether its punishment is
spiritual or physical. Some Christians reject the notion altogether.

Catholic Christians also believe in purgatory, a temporary place of punishment for Christians
who have died with unconfessed sins.

Treatment of Women

Women in early Christian communities often owned the 'house churches' where congregations
gathered to worship. There's evidence in the New Testament itself of women doing many
things within early Christianity. In Paul's letters he greets women. Calls them co-workers refers
to one of them with a word in Greek that we would translate as "deaconess." Even calls one of
the women an Apostle. In the New Testament period itself, it is related to women's role in the
house churches.

Concept of sin

Christian Faith, says that sin is a hindrance of the power of the spirit by man's sensuous
nature.& The original perfection of man is to be seen in Christ rather than in Adam. Sin arises as
there is unequal development of will and insight. All Christian believers came to believe that the
violation of the teachings of Christ constituted a sin. Sin involves willful decision and causes
disruption in the relationship between man and God. It occurs as idolatry or self-love; often this
self-love is unconscious and takes the form of loyalty to false Gods, which is really serving the
self while supposedly serving others.
Judaism

Afterlife

The Bible itself has very few references to life after death. Sheol, the bowels of the earth, is
portrayed as the place of the dead, but in most instances Sheol seems to be more a metaphor
for oblivion than an actual place where the dead “live” and retain consciousness. The notion of
heaven and hell may be the most ambiguous of all Jewish afterlife ideas. References to
Gehinnom as a fiery place of judgment can be found in the apocalyptic literature of the Second
Temple period. The Talmud embellished this idea, claiming that Gehinnom is 60 times hotter
than earthly fire

Treatment of Women

In traditional Judaism, women are for the most part seen as separate but equal. Women's obligations
and responsibilities are different from men's, but no less important. Judaism has always maintained that
G-d has both masculine and feminine qualities. As one Chasidic rabbi explained it to me, G-d has no
body, no genitalia, therefore the very idea that G-d is male or female is patently absurd.

Concept of sin

For Jews, sin enters the picture when bad instinct leads us into doing something that violates
one of the 613 commandments described in the Torah. Many of these are obvious
transgressions, such as committing murder, injuring another person, committing sexual
transgressions, or stealing. But there are also a considerable number of sins of omission—
transgressions that are defined by NOT acting when a situation calls for it, such as ignoring a call
for help. But Judaism also takes a somewhat matter-of-fact view of sin, recognizing that being
sinful is part of every human life and that all sins can be forgiven. Jews also recognize, though,
that every sin has real-life consequences. Forgiveness for sins is readily available, but it does not
mean people are free from the consequences of their actions.