Afterlife debate

Question from Anon on 1/25/2008:  
Dear Dr. Geraghty,

I was recently in a debate with someone who claimed that notions of the after life, both heaven and hell, are simply "opiates" for the masses to make them feel better about life and to have a sense of justice. I am not sure what arguments to make in defense of the Catholic conception of the afterlife but I have made some: 1. God has revealed to us throughout history through many sources that there is indeed a heaven and a hell. 2. That the argument of the afterlife as an opiate is to generalized and does not square with the fear many people have of hell, therefore it may not always act as a "feel good" inducing concept, but may actually make some people feel afraid and worried, and may make them feel they must act in a manner on earth that they'd rather not (although this is not the Christian ideal, we should be happy to live morally) 3. While justice is part of the concept of heaven and hell, the point is not to make people feel vindicated in their goodness while those they know as sinful are punished, that is a revenge mentality. We don't know who goes to hell or heaven, God is forgiving and maybe some bad people who repent do go to heaven. In fact, we pray for sinners to repent and go to heaven! Do you know of any better arguments I can use? I am unsure if mine are good enough. Thanks.
Answer by Richard Geraghty on 2/3/2008: 
Dear Anon,

Your arguments are good. An interesting point to note is that the teaching of the Church than the knowledge of an after life is not just a matter of Christ having revealed it. It is a matter of natural law so that even the ancient Greek Pagans recognized the existence of an after life. Their reasoning was that if the unjust in this life go unpunished, then there is really no justice. Pagans like Plato believed that the gods were just and, therefore, would see to it that injustice, which often goes unpunished on this earth, will be punished for sure in the next life. That is still a good argument.

Dr. Geraghty