I have been discussing the idea of Judgement in various religions with colleagues on an interfaith forum, here is a little of my own input into the conversations:

One theology I do like so far as judgement goes is that of the old Egyptian beliefs.

The story for this belief goes something like this.

On death the person travels to Duat (the underworld) in the company of Anubis (a God of the afterlife) [left quarter of the papyri].

In the Hall of Two Truths his/her heart (the seat of the soul) is weighed against the feather of Ma’at. Ma’at is the Goddess of Truth, Justice & Harmony, in her headdress she wears an ostrich feather also called the feather of truth or the Shu-feather [2nd quarter from the left].

If the heart weighs more than the feather, Ammut (a crocodile headed, lion bodied, hippo hind-quartered Goddess) devours the soul and they are destroyed forever, if the heart weight the same as the feather they then are presented to Osiris (another God of the afterlife) by Horus and they can then journey on with Anubis to Aaru (the reed fields – akin to heaven/paradise). Thoth (God of Magic, Writing & Truth and scribe to the Gods) stands by to record the outcome [right half of the papyri].

Most of this works fairly well for me however my idea of ‘heaven’ is somewhat different than the reed fields of Aaru.

How would you feel about having your heart weighed against the feather of Ma’at? Would you be confident in the continuation of your soul under this theological idea?