Ahh...controversy. Intellectual conversations are rife with it, families are torn asunder by it, school boards thrive on trying to eliminate it. You should probably know that I am not someone who shies away from controversy or controversial topics. Quite the opposite, in fact. I believe that controversy and the topics that define it have much to teach us, and I am confident that the subject of this blog will only serve to reinforce that belief. Remember the golden rule of 204--to disagree is not to disrespect.
In 1999, a Gallup poll indicated that only approximately 60% of Americans believe that there is a hell. Out of that 60% only 4% were convinced that was their destination. So, first question--do YOU believe that hell exists? If so, do you know what it looks like? Smells like? Feels like? Where did your belief come from? Your parents? Your church? Your friends? What do you have to do in order to get there?
The word that is used most frequently in the New Testament for hell is Gehenna. Gehenna is a reference to the Valley of Hinnom located on the south side of Jerusalem, which served as the city's "garbage dump" during Jesus' time. The fires that burned here never went out. The Old Testament makes a reference to sheol as being a place where spirits reside (Deut. 32:22) and some of them will be resurrected to "everlasting life," while others are bound for "everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2)
One is a worldly destination, the other spiritual. Which one sounds more realistic to you?
Dante Alighieri was a prolific writer who wrote the epic narrative poem titled Inferno in which the main character, Alighieri himself, travels through nine circles of hell. The main theme of this particular work is that there is a perfection to God's justice. Sinners on earth are relegated to various circles (or levels) of hell depending on the severity of sin. This would seem to indicate, at least in Alighieri's eyes, that there are varying degrees of sin and that each one is punishable in its own way. Do you believe this? If so, what is the worst sin that you can imagine and how should it be dealt with in hell?
Lastly, is it easily reconcilable to think of God as being the embodiment of love and grace yet imagine that it is through his word that people descend into hell, which is, ostensibly, a place of eternal suffering?
Think about it and let me know..
***DUE TO THE LATE POSTING, THIS IS NOT DUE UNTIL FRIDAY***
Somewhat unfortunately I must agree that I do believe in hell but the idea was nothing that I have thought of myself. My “version” of hell is the catholic description of it; only recently did hell take on some characteristics that I have thought of. I was always taught that hell is an unending fire, and that was all they taught us at the CCD school I went. But now my hell is very much like if not the same as the one described in James Joyce’s Hell. It’s really hot and just entirely unpleasant and painful to experience and think about. However unlike the catholic religion I feel that repentance is not enough to be forgiven for mistakes and wrongdoings, I don’t necessarily believe that anyone who has done something wrong belongs in hell but I really like the ideas of Hinduism I think it is where you just get reincarnated until you fulfill your purpose and atone for you sins. Hell is a place reserved for people who are truly terrible, like child predators and mass murderers and those who find it justifiable to kill off millions of people like Hitler and Osama Bin Laden.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the whole worldly definition vs. spiritual place I think they are both equally realistic on different spectrums. Like Hell the place would be more realistic on a logical level whereas the spiritual hell would be more realistic on a faithful level. I don’t know that I could compare the two this way. Certainly a person’s ability to go and visit the city in Jerusalem obviously would serve those people who need to see it to believe in it realistic nature, and the fact that Hell in a spiritual sense is not visible at least while were alive. So I guess I’m sitting on the fence because I find them equally realistic.
The idea that hell exists on varying levels of severity is a very interesting idea however I feel like it kind of infers then that there’s no heaven. And well I like to believe that there is some sort of spiritual reward for keeping you life in order, but I suppose that my belief in purgatory could be considered a level of hell. In purgatory you basically just wait. Wait until you have spent enough time to atone for all of your sins, not that “time out” is an affective way to punish someone for their sins but I guess having an in between place is a nice thought for those of us who have no hard evidence for heaven or hell.
Since I happen to be one of those people without evidence of afterlife, I can definitely entertain the idea of varying degrees of hell. Lets say that there are five levels of hell.
ReplyDeleteLevel one: This is where many find themselves. It’s much like the purgatory I mentioned before, these people are trying to make up for their petty sins like who once or twice gossiped or “borrowed” money from their parents. These people have a moderately good chance of getting into heaven. These people would be considered the “goody goodies” of hell.
(I decided that Heaven could exist even in this multileveled hell)
Level two: People in this category have committed offences slightly more intense. Things like purposefully and knowingly making another human feel inferior on multiple occasions. People who consistently cheat the system and create obstacles for others so they come out on top. This is where most of the population of the wild finds itself.
Level three: People who commit crimes of passion or revenge. People who can realize that killing another person are wrong and who may eventually be able to make up for this.
Level four: This level is the scariest it is all the things James Joyce described. The People on this level are those who are like Hitler, people who literally don’t have a decent or kind bone in their body. The people who would lynch black men and women because they were black, and who didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry for them. And finally those people who may not have been evil on the outside, but the ones who quietly plot the demise of others and who find enjoyment in things like murder and rape. It has been decided that there isn’t enough time in eternity for them to try and make up for their sins, not that they’d be interested anyway.
Then again who am I to be judging who and what is worthy of the lowest depths of hell.
Yay Im first :D
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEdit: I deleted the last comment because it wasn't broken up into paragraphs. To make it easier for everyone else, here it is in actual paragraphs.
ReplyDeleteI don’t believe in hell. Plain and simple. But if I did, it probably wouldn’t be much. Even when I was religious, I couldn’t be bothered with it. It just wasn’t a viable threat. I was a good person and didn’t think I’d be going there. In the synagogue, hell wasn’t a thing we discussed regularly, unlike church. From what I’ve heard, it’s a bigger deal there. It’s just a threat for people who are considering doing things the church doesn’t want them doing. It’s the same with all religions. All I really thought about it was if I killed someone, I’d find my way there eventually. And that was the end of it.
As for the Valley of Hinnom, I hope I’m getting the gist of what you’re saying here Bunje. Because we’re talking about hell, I’m assuming this is a literal place where they would burn the dirty pagans and heretics of Jerusalem for not being faithful enough to whatever trend was on the rise. And that’s a good place to base hell off of. Constantly burning fire, along with constantly burning people, and screams, and the smell of burnt flesh. Yep. Sounds accurate to me. Except the elusive creature known as man took place of the demons. Which seems an awful lot more realistic to me than some winged, wrinkled, blood red beasts with tridents poking the eternally damned.
Although I don’t believe in eternal damnation, I know that if it existed there should be different levels of it. Say you go burn down an orphanage full of bright young children brimming with hope. And there’s a bundle of puppies that were just born, and an old lady that reads stories to the children, and the last member of an endangered species is hanging around there for no good reason. You’d go to hell. And you aren’t going to enjoy your visit. But say you burn down the orphanage, only after you politely lead everyone out. You really love orphans, but hate orphanages, and don’t want them to have a home. Well, you’d just go to hell and have to build houses all the time. And maybe hang around small children (I really do hate small children). Yes, there should be different punishments for different levels of sins.
And then we have the worst sin. This is the guy that sits on a throne made of crimes against humanity, that sits in a room made of breaking the ten commandments, that’s built inside this giant looming castle made of regular wimpy sins. I’d have to say that this is genocide. Giant meteors are not excluded from punishment either. On a serious note, genocide has (and nearly has) wiped out cultures, races, religions and nationalities. And to wipe out such a large group of people for almost any reason (besides the fact that it’s a nation of Hitler and Stalin) is an atrocity that is sadly very well known to man. People with enormous amounts of potential have probably died at the hands of genocide.
And for the last question, which is probably most controversial. Is it right that God, this omnipotent, all-loving being, would let people into hell? Nope. Not at all. If we go off of the accounts of the bible, we were created in his image. Then, he let us eat that damned apple. An omnipotent being couldn’t prevent us from eating an apple he told us not to eat. God’s also all-knowing, so he can see into our futures. Why would he let us be bad people? Why would he give us free will if he knew we would do terrible things with it? Or why didn’t he just give us free without the means to do terrible things? How about people who are mentally unstable, who murder without control of themselves? Or people who’ve been raised to believe that targeting a certain race or religion is perfectly acceptable? Sweet Jesus, I could go on with this for an hour. I won’t though. I’ve established from my point of view that isn’t reasonable that this all-loving, all-knowing, omnipotent being would have any reason to let us into hell.
According to what I’ve been taught; after I breathe my last breath, and my metabolic processes cease to function, if I have lived a sinless life I will ascend skyward and live my afterlife in blissful happiness. However, if the paradigms are correct, and there is a bearded man watching my every move (not Santa) I will most likely be taking the road of the damned, the “Highway to Hell,” as ACDC once yelled incoherently.
ReplyDeleteBut the stereotypical image of hell in which we are bombarded with on a daily basis is a mere figment of our imaginations. For that matter; heaven and hell themselves are simply constructs of the longing human mind. Our lifetimes are extraordinarily short, and many waste their time praying the day away as their mortal clock ticks closer and closer to its end in order to ascend to a cloudy white paradise in the sky that does not even exist.
Because hell is a human construct, it is clearly deduced that humans are not only the proprietors of hell, but also the incarnations of demons themselves. The worldly destination is obviously the correct context of hell. Hell and the concept of sin are human ideas. If you’ve done moral sin, you shall not be punished by Satan, however, you shall be punished by the actions of man. If you’re caught committing your sin in this lifetime, say murder, you will most likely be brutally executed. Such is life, this is your hell. Human hell is the repercussions we receive for our actions. There is a caveat to this hypothesis; what if you don’t get caught? Congratulations, you’re one hell of a sinner.
Our modern day Gehenna is the bowels of the prison system, where those who hath committed sin against their fellow man shall spend their time with others of their kind in an undersized, murky, foul-smelling hell. Here, the infallible and upstanding legal system decides which level of hell you are placed in. From the first level of a short vacation in minimum security, to the final level, where they sit you down and kindly send approximately ten amps of electricity through your body. Now, instead of slaving away eternity in the fiery pits of the underworld, the chemical components of your formerly working cadaver will serve some other purpose. Maybe you will help a tree grow, or provide nourishment for fungi, this is your punishment; enjoy it you murderer.
God is a walking (floating?) paradox. He is all powerful, yet powerless to stop human hardship. He is all seeing, yet he watches as millions starve. He can do everything, yet, he is powerless. Final summation, God is either sitting up there somewhere watching us like some nineties sitcom, or, he isn’t there at all. Could god create a boulder so heavy he himself could not lift it? The omnipotence paradox will always create doubt in the minds of believers and nonbelievers alike. Inevitably, if you deserve hell, you will reach it. Not through the afterlife, but in your life on Earth. Hell can be inside oneself; the guilt of committing sin can weigh on one like a boulder bound to their back as they were forced to walk up an endless hill. The idea of an afterlife is enticing, the idea of hell, less so. However, living in fear of hell only to one day never see the afterlife is truly a waste.
Growing up my family was very big into religion and God and the like. I was baptized and went to Sunday School etc. It just didn’t fit though. I never paid attention during sermons and when the preacher would talk about the devil or hell I thought it was more like a horror movie than real life. I still believe that today. I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe in Hell. I don’t believe that anything happens after you die. My mother and sister are really big into the whole paranormal “stuck in purgatory because you didn’t complete your life’s journey and then you go to heaven/hell” thing. I just don’t get it. My dad and grandparents believe in god, or at least there is some god-like creature out there. My views on the after-life definitely do not come from my family or my upbringing.
ReplyDeleteTo me, hell is a joke. Some guy came up with an idea to print bibles charge $20 for them and go on with his life as a millionaire. Churches, authors, musicians, actors and everyone else in entertainment make money off of the idea of hell. When in class and asked to write down my idea of hell I play along and write down the things that I don’t like or would hate being around. By writing this blog my very beliefs of hell are being shown. Truthfully, if there is a hell I don’t care. I probably am going there for some obvious and some not so obvious reasons and that’s that. I don’t know what hell would be. I don’t know if there is a hell to be certain. Being patronized by preachers, parents and friends doesn’t make me any more hell-fearing.
Now, I have absolutely no problems with people who do believe in God and the ideas of Hell and Heaven. Everyone has their own life, their own belief systems, and their own right to think. Being raised as a Christian I’ve been exposed to what people expect hell to be. I’ve also been told that there is no other way than God’s way. God seems like the embodiment of a regular person. He does whatever he wants. He seems tyrannical and if you go against him, you go to hell, if you go with him, you go to heaven. I am yet to read anyone else’s views on Hell but I am definitely interested to read what people have to write. Maybe someone can help me to understand why they believe in hell. I hope I didn’t offend anyone and I don’t think I did, but if for some reason I did, I apologize!
Oh, i forgot! I also think that Hell is used as a device for moral perfection. I think that by saying there are different levels of hell and that you ARE going there if you commit sins, that people with strong reputations and high authority are convincing people to do right. If you drill into someone's head that if they kill someone they are going to hell and will suffer greatly but if they commit adultery they will suffer but less than if they commit murder but if they commit no crimes they will go to heaven, than they are more likely to not commit crimes, that is if they believe you. I tend to see that people who have strong moral character are painted as Christians by Christians. I know this is highly stereotypical but that just my mind going.
ReplyDeleteEternal punishment. A place in which the sinner is exposed to unquenchable fire in an abyss of darkness and subject to the pungent smell of burning brimstone. Where rest is nonexistent and death and destruction loom around every bend. A place where a sinner is engulfed in hopelessness and suffering and is forced to live out the rest of their time in eternal damnation. My version of hell falls into the catholic description of hell, as provided by the Bible. This view of hell, as a furnace of fire used for torment comes from my Christian upbringings. Establishing the basis of what hell is like Bible 101. The first information I can recall learning was about the ascension of a spirit after death to heaven or the descension of a spirit to hell.
ReplyDeleteAs a result, I find it difficult to not believe in spiritual hell. It’s just been a part of my growing up. I remember fearing the evil wrath of God, and trying my hardest to not ‘sin.’
However, I have come to the realization that based on the Bible’s account of who goes to hell, and what counts as a sin, pretty much everyone is going to hell. Yes. Mostly everyone is going to hell. At least, the Bible version of hell. In this day in age, it’s difficult to not commit the grave sins listed in the commandments. There are a variety of ‘sins’ that are broken on a daily basis in today’s society ranging from lust to greed to ingratitude to envy to divorce. It appears as if the spiritual aspect of hell will soon be dealing with the issue of overpopulation. There are just too many sins that are punishable by damnation.
As a result, the worldly destination of hell appears to be more realistic. Not only is it a place where we can see suffering, but it’s a place where repercussions are handed out immediately. Our worldly destination of hell (at least in my opinion) exists in our prison systems. Though many argue that prison may not necessarily be ‘hell’ for sinners are rewarded with basic necessities, it’s the only thing we have to castigate individuals.
There are indeed varying degrees of sin which result in various degrees of punishment. My love for Cristiano Ronaldo or Chris Evans could most likely be considered a sin. However this sin shouldn’t have the same degree of punishment for say murder. Murder, in my eyes, is by far the worst sin ever imaginable. The punishment for this sin depends on a variety of elements. For instance, whether or not the murderer lives in Texas plays a huge role in what their punishment will be. Nevertheless, in hell, a murderer should be subject to the worst environment possible. They must not only be subject to the oven of fire, but they must have ample time to wallow in their sins.
God’s all-loving and all-forgiving nature is one of his greatest attributes. However, even though he is capable of forgiving one for their sins, hell still exists. The concept is a hard one to grasp. How can someone who is the embodiment of grace also create a place filled with such evil? This contradictory personality isn’t something I often think about. Why? Because if I question God and his motives, I get a one-way ticket straight to hell.
When I was little I constructed a “vision” of what I believed Hell would look like, sound like, feel like, etc. This particular image has stuck with me throughout my life, regardless of whatever religious knowledge I gained subsequent to my childhood. Mind you, my distant memories of attending mass consist of my brother and I making faces at each other and seeing who could suppress a laugh the longest, therefore, what I share is nothing philosophical or unique in the least.
ReplyDeleteHell to me is a cavernous, fiery pit; echoing with shrieks and cries, sorrow-filled with the agony of all who suffer there. This image probably came from a mixture of my church and my parent’s (faded) attempts to teach me about god. Though its illustration has been forever vivid to me, I have little belief in it. It is strange for me to say, however, because my religious views are constantly flickering. I believe in heaven, but not Hell…sometimes. Sometimes I believe in nothing at all. I see hell as more of a spiritual destination. When I see the suffering, and pain in the world, I fully understand people’s complete impatience with any kind of faith.
If anything, I’m inwardly religious. I’ve received my first communion, suffered through the many hours of CCD, but came out with nothing to show for it. Perhaps I’m not a good Christian; perhaps I stand for everything unholy and evil in the world. But somehow I find myself with this intrinsic faith that I’m not alone, and that I will get what I deserve when the time comes.
I was taught that when you die, there is somewhat of a judgment placed upon the life you led. The basic division was probably something along the lines of murderers going to hell, and even the people who lied once or twice got their ticket into heaven. But shouldn’t it be more in depth than that? I don’t know if I believe in any “levels” that designate your standing (or possible standing) in hell. If a person is Hell bound it is because they are evil without a shred of goodness. Simply, bad people go to hell, good people go to heaven. But what constitutes a bad person? Someone who feels no remorse for the wrongs they do? So many factors contribute into such a decision that I question even “God’s” authority to decide. I don’t see God’s embodiment of love and grace be the contradiction of him sending people to Hell…Though he stands for all that is good; he does just that, stand for something. His most devoted followers hail him as the ruler of all. So his job must include every aspect. As he, or whoever, is taking my life into account, I can’t help but have curiosity in what they’ll see. If someone is going to judge me once I die, I wonder what they’ll think.
Nyamekye : I like how you took into account the sins people commit on a daily basis. It's not like it's hard not too, it has just become more "socially acceptable". So it's interesting to think how religion has (in some ways) been less and less connected to people as time has gone on. There isn't room in hell for all of us...is there?
ReplyDeleteJanel: I respect your opinion and viewpoint but i'm sure that the bible wasn't written and published as money being the only motive. Consider all of the religous people in the world. I can't tell you specifically why they feel a certain way, but they just do. They aren't the victims of a scam for their money - they feel whole as apart of their religion. There are people who claim that their faith has kept them alive... that doesn't sound like a joke to me. I'm not offended or anything, just making a response :P.
Cole: Your blogs are always both philosophical and humorous :). After reading your "levels" of sin it kinda made me want to rethink mine so good job. And you made some points about not believing in hell that are hard to argue with so it was a nice change of pace !
Being raised Roman Catholic, I’ve always believed in a heaven and in a hell. Though I have throughout the years doubted my religion – due to its lack of support – I’ve never rejected it. I’ve always believed that the pure of heart are granted entrance into heaven’s eternal bliss and that the sinners are condemned to an eternity rotting in hell. I do, however, believe hell is different for everyone. There isn’t a set place in which the sinners are damned to, but a gruesome place personalized to conform to the person’s worst fears. My hell, for example, would fluctuate between the sweltering, unbearable heat of the ever-so-clichéd infernos of hell to a bitter cold that is similar to that of Antarctica’s, only intensified to meet hell’s standards. The smell of canned tuna mixed with that of vinegar and burning flesh lingers in the air, the combination of those burning your nostrils and throat as you inhale, and leaving you nauseated to the point where you’re vomiting twice an hour. The song Crazy by Gnarles Barkley hosted by Delilah is on repeat, blaring in your ears without any escape. My view of hell isn’t really based off of anything or anyone, my religion says that hell is a burning pit of fire controlled by the Devil, my parents believe what the church says, and honestly, however my friends view hell has absolutely no bearing on how I do. It is unspecified on what has to be done to be banished to hell, in my faith at least. I know that the breaking of one of the Ten Commandments or abiding of one of the Seven Deadly Sins is automatic damnation, but I feel like that’s a little harsh. No kid in this day and age honors their mother or their father, numerous people take the Lord God’s name in vein, and I know that nearly every person has experienced lust, gluttony, greed, discouragement, wrath, envy and pride. Knowing that, wouldn’t that mean that any average person would have to suffer for eternity for simply being HUMAN? I feel like hell should be reserved for the axe murderers, the cheaters, the liars, and the stealers.
ReplyDeleteOf the two destinations, I can’t necessarily say which sounds more realistic. The analytical part of me is saying, “The worldly destination, of course,” while my more religious side is saying, “The spiritual destination, duh.” I’m leaning more towards the worldly destination because it sounds much like the modern-day prison which is much easier for someone of our time to wrap their head around than the place in which spirits reside, not people.
As for the levels of hell, I think that there certainly are degrees to offences: like a shoplifter and a serial killer shouldn’t both be executed, but they should both face due punishment. On the contrary, hell is a concept far older than that of impartial punishment, and therefore levels (while they would be more practical) do not exist in hell. It’s too simplistic of an idea to have adopted the policies that are widely accepted in today’s society.
While God is catholically known as the giver of mercy and advocate of peace, he also is the ruler of a kingdom. No matter how pure a ruler may be, action must be taken in some cases in the best interest of His children who did not commit sin and don’t deserve spending eternity with the sinners, so though God is supposed to be the almighty embodiment of love, He must also prevent chaos by punishing those who deserve it.
Connie: I know what you mean when you say your beliefs are flickering. It's hard to maintain faith in something that can't be factually supported and that is rather old-fashioned. It seems like with the change of times, comes the change of support. It seems most people at church anymore are the elderly, because our generation simply doesn't believe in God anymore.
ReplyDeleteJanel: It seems to me that the force feeding of religion to you when you were younger was the eventual cause of your disbelief in God/hell/all that religious stuff. I can definitely relate because all my grandparents, my mom, my cousins, my aunts, my uncles, EVERYONE is so in touch with their religion and while I believe there's something, it's hard to put your faith in something that you simply can't make a personal connection with.
Cole: Your last point really made me think, probably because you're the most passionate about it compared to the other points you made. I actually asked myself those questions and every time, I came up with no. You have successfully made me doubt my opinion on that topic, because after reading your points, it seems to be more logical than mine; I can convince myself on your view more than my own. You're extremely persuasive, or maybe I'm just overly wishy-washy.
Our time on earth definitely has a beginning, but our lives’ end is still debatable. Of course, there is no possible way to determine what happens after a person dies because, well… he’s dead. I choose to live my life without worrying about what will happen later, so I don’t care about heaven or hell at the moment. I most likely feel apathetic towards my death because I never really cared; I know that it is inevitable, and my time isn’t for many, many years (hopefully). Although I do not worship God myself, I understand and am courteous to those that do. Although the presence of God seems unlikely to me, I am agnostic. In other words, I just go through my life day by day and worry about death later. I understand the “touchy-ness” of this subject, which is why I believe what I believe.
ReplyDeleteOn the hypothetical side, if there were such thing as hell, a person would go there by doing unspeakable evils or unjustified wrongs. Things like tampering with God, who is the one that would have created hell, and his duties would result in banishment to burn eternally in hell. By unspeakable evils, I mean acts like murdering someone before their time, defiling someone’s life unjustly, or obstructing divine justice.
The hell described in the New Testament, in my opinion, is more realistic than any “worldly destination” that we as humans can create on earth. Hell cannot exist on earth because it is a divine punishment for mortals, and earth is the place where the living people belong. If there were a hell on earth it would not make sense. Just the mere thought of having hell on the earth makes me cringe. Humans would try to exploit it, try to use it to their advantage, and try to control it. That, in the long run, would disastrous for the human race.
For me, it’s not hard to think that someone as powerful and omnipotent as God to be both a caring and forgiving entity and a creator of eternal suffering. Pretty much I look at God as a “guy” (another controversy) that made up a bunch of rules that humans, his greatest creation, must follow in order to join him in his self-made paradise. Basically he’s the Wizard of Oz for real life, except more powerful. The extent of God’s grace/punishment is one that no person can imagine or construct, but we can try to predict what it is like.
Okay, so let’s get one thing straight here. I do not in any way, shape or form believe in Hell. I do not think that we go anywhere after we die besides six feet under. I’m not atheist though. Heck, pretty much everyone in this class should know by now that I’m Jewish. My faith doesn’t really have a set description on what’s supposed to happen to us after we pass away (Euphemism!!!). I pretty much just assume that nothing happens to us because, quite frankly, we should be focused on what we do in this world and what we leave behind rather than on where we go after we’re gone.
ReplyDeleteI must confess however, that the idea of Hell makes an interesting story, and though I don’t believe in it, it does make for a Hell of a story. If there were to be a Hell, I’d rather there not be a Heaven. The Greek version of Hell is much more amusing than that of the Christian beliefs. I picture Hell as a multi-level dungeon where some people are tied down to the level in which their greatest sin has sent them, and others who had not done a great sin can wander around and explore this great world below the earth’s surface. However, not all of Hell is filled with fire, it’s more like the greatest video-game of all time that takes place in a dungeon, each level of the dungeon completely different than the one before it. The best part about this Hell is that the only thing you have to do to get in is die.
Now, obviously, this version of Hell would suck to be in as a spirit, it would pretty much have to be a worldly destination. You know the kind I’m talking about, they have amazingly crafted archways and gates to get into. Yeah, that’s what I want Hell to be. At least this way, after we die we can really have fun and not be able to get killed doing it this time. Before I mentioned the concept of those who sinned being chained down on their own respectful floors. By this I mean big hefty chains that hurt...a lot. This obviously goes hand and hand with Alighieri’s version of Hell, but alas the levels are more limitless and to be chained down you have to do some bad stuff like killing a lot of people through genocide or something. The worst sin that puts you in the most uncomfortable part of Hell (which probably is a level where you’re locked in a room with you least favorite in-law, forced to listen to them nag) is most likely not living life to the fullest nor bettering the world. In my opinion, if you wasted life then why should you be allowed to waste the afterlife as well. So all those people out there that are afraid to take chances are pretty much screwed. Sorry, even though I’m not all that sorry.
Lastly, I don’t really think God has a say in where we go in Hell, it’s more of a thing that we ourselves should be able to figure out. If not, then the bowels of the underworld will just engulf us and throw us wherever it wants. Actually, it would be really awesome if a ton of flying monkeys just fly out of no where when we enter Hell and carry us off to our designated area. Yeah, let’s go with the monkeys.
To Olivia: I like your version of the mulit-planar Hell, but I have a few questions for you. What happens to those who killed someone out of self defense or the defense of another. Also, where do you think politicians land in Hell? Otherwise I like your ideas, just not into the whole "striving for moral perfection" thing. I think that it just causes us to waste time in the end.
ReplyDeleteTo Cole: I always enjoy reading your blogs. I think that our views with Hell are about one in the same. I especially enjoy your input on the guy burning down the orphanages, how dare he kill some puppies! Very well written my friend.
To Tom: I definitely respect your opinion on the subject Tom. I actually really like the idea of God not being that almighty and powerful as people build him up to be, much like the "GREAT AND MIGHTY WIZARD OF OZ." I think Hell can be on earth though because it is in a place that no human can find nor conquer.
Connie: I see where you're coming from. I would have to agree with you that Hell is more of a spiritual destination. My views are pretty extreme so, yeah, but anyways, if there is a hell i could see it being how you described it. I also don't think you are the epitome of everything evil and unholy. I think that most people have those contemplations in their lives.
ReplyDeleteMatt: The longing of the human mind definitely plays a role in heaven and hell. I disagree that hell is the prison system though. If it were justice would rightfully be served and that isn't necessarily so. If it is hell though, your interpretations of the different levels of hell and the levels of prison security definitely make sense. That was a clear way to describe what many people are trying to!
Becca: Our hells would be similar. Literally I got chills reading it; I seriously hate all of the things you listed. It seems as though you aren't convinced by anyone about what hell should be and I respect that greatly.
While I am a very scientific and logic driven person, even if it may be my own brand of logic, I do still choose to believe in God. It does seem illogical to me that the universe could have just always been there. Everything in the world that is my reality, that sense that everything has a start and everything has an end, dictates that the universe had to have had a start. I can’t comprehend that it could possibly just always be here, but that may just be a flaw in my Amber-logic. People live and people die. A star exists and then it explodes. I bite my thumb nervously as I prepare myself to dive into a particularly painful subject for me to think about, and then I stop. But while this is my personally tailored belief, and I often need specially tailored things to fit my inability to think in a commonsensical manner, I do believe everybody should believe whatever suits them. Religion is not meant to be taught, it’s meant to comfort. Gandhi once said that there are as many different religions as there are people. Beliefs should be styled to blend to and smooth over the fears of life. They shouldn’t be forced upon others because what works for one will not work for another. A belief becomes your reality. If I believed that everything in the world was sinister and volatile, that would be the reality that dwelled within my mind. If I believe that all the bad is benign and beauty is bounding, I would live in a wonderful fancy little “heaven” of my own, here on Earth.
ReplyDeleteReligion stems to resolve ones deepest fears. Mine personally are in great conflict with my belief that everything must start and end, because there are two ideas I can’t bear to believe in that way. So I create a world that I can live with, one that lacks common sense but makes the world beautiful in my eyes. They are that there really is nothing after Death and that once somebody is gone they’re really gone, two slightly different concepts. The former is that a soul, a personality, is just created and is one with the body and only lasts so long as the body does. The latter is that even if there was something after Death, it wouldn’t involve any of the people I love in this Life. Perhaps my soul moves on, though I don’t believe it would go to a Heaven or a Hell, but it reincarnates or resides alone from all that it ever knew. I could go into much greater detail into what exactly I do believe, something that soothes my terror yet still makes perfect sense to me, but I’ll keep this pretty short. Perhaps ridiculously, I do believe in reincarnation. And that is Heaven in a sense to me. A second chance, a fresh start that allows you to better who you are and reset the odds against your success. And those you loved the most, your soul stays near them. Perhaps who was your father will be your uncle. Maybe your sister is your best friend, and maybe that’s why our best friends feel like sisters to us. Maybe that instant family connection with certain people is something more. It’s soothing to believe that I will get to atone in a future life, though I’ll still spend this life doing such. Maybe all of the stuff I do in this life will get to continue into another life. And maybe I’ll get to stay will those who I consider my best friends forever, well those who I care enough for to remain in contact with after high school. Maybe it’s all silly, but it’s the reality I choose to live in.
There is a Hell in my mind though. I believe that all that matters in life is love. If you can’t love, I believe we’ve lost the essence of what a human is. A human is a thinking and feeling being. We’ve succeeded because of passion, ambition, and love. To lack love is to lack humanity. It can be platonic. It can be for animals. It can be for the art of language. If you can give a piece of your heart to anybody besides yourself, I believe you are human. No matter what faults and errors you’ve made in your current life will leave little impressions on your nature but will be able to be made up for in the future. But hell is what happens if you let hate rule. If you kill out of hatred, you’ve lost it all. What you are, human, is gone. So whenever you may die, you don’t live again. Your soul is still there, wandering, in a constant daze. All the restraints of a body are gone. Sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste are completely limitless. But without the limits, there is nothing to hold you whole. So there is an everlasting tearing of emotion, body, and spirit. An appalling tearing of a soul that can’t remain whole by itself and a miserable state of mind that your past has lost you your future. This is Hell. A physical pain is there, a reminder that this is all very real. But worse yet there is a knowledge that this was your doing. You’ve lost you. You’ve lost at life. So I guess I kind of combined the whole spiritual and worldly destination aspect.
ReplyDeleteAnything with good intentions is excusable to me. It may still be wrong, but I choose to care less about what was done and more on why it was done. Actions are awful at times but what matters are the thoughts behind them. This is why many things to me are pardonable. Like I said, if something is done out of hatred, that’s what will damn you in the end. Murder in self-defense or even because the conditions pressed upon you are too deep is wrong in my eyes, but understandable. The worst sin of all is to take life because that’s something that you can’t ever stake a claim on. The only life that is yours is your own and unless you have a damn good reason to take such a vital, in every sense of the word, thing away from anybody else whether it be a dog, friend, or stranger, is a damnable offense. Still, I believe everybody is worth second chances. I think that in this “Hell” of an afterlife, it’s still possible to expiate. If you can be open enough to love, I think a second chance, or maybe it’s a 7th chance or an 894th chance at life, will be yours. And the world is beautiful to me in this reality I choose to believe in.
Tom: I really wish I could not care about that. It should be far away, so I should probably ignore it. But I know you’ve told me you simplify everything and I just over think everything. Plus, I think it’s nice that if you have a set belief, it kind of makes you live your life differently. People who think there’s nothing after life live with no regrets, and I live always trying to make up for whatever I’ve done before. I guess you live life worry free, which is pretty nice too.
ReplyDeleteBecca: I really like your last paragraph about how God is the ruler of a kingdom. Maybe that’s a Christian belief, I wouldn’t know, but I never really thought of that. It doesn’t really coincide with much I believe in, but not a lot probably does… You better than anybody could testify to my lack of common sense or lack of normality. But that really is a good explanation of why God can be anything other than amazing too. His intentions aren’t to hurt the bad, but to help the good.
Nyamekye: I remember being in love with God for like a week when I first heard of the idea, and then being extremely afraid. If I ever was playing with my fingers and my middle one was accidentally left standing alone, I would apologize constantly in my head for the rest of the day. And I like what you said about the prison systems. While they can be Heaven for poor people, they can be Hell a lot easier. I never thought about how we set up a Hell on Earth even when the majority believes there is a Hell after Life anyway.
Tom: I admire how you are able to just go with the flow. I wish I were able to live life without worrying, but every chance I get I'm biting my nails and questioning my motives. I'm always wondering "What comes after this?" I like how you compared God to the Wizard of Oz as well, I think it basically summed up your point of view! xD
ReplyDeleteBecca: I have to say I find your version of hell rather amusing. The song 'Crazy'...drives me crazy, so I understand where you're coming from. I also like how you mentioned how people today sin all the time and go against the Commandments. I totally agree with the fact that those little sins like lust and greed and gluttony shouldn't be punishable by eternal damnation.
Mike G: I'm kind of confused. Especially where you say God doesn't have a say in where we go afterlife, but we do. How exactly does one chose on what 'level' of Hell they want to go to? I'm pretty sure if humans had a choice they'd rather not go to Hell at all? Also, how can we differentiate people based on how much they've lived their lives to the fullest?And how exactly does one better the world? There are very few people that have actually had a great impact on the world, at least in my opinion.
Since I can remember I was told by my grandmother the lessons of Jesus Christ and God, and that those who committed great evil would burn in the inextinguishable dirty flames of hell. Of course being a child at the time I had no doubt that this was nothing but the undeniable truth. However, as I grew up, going to church less and less, I would have some serious doubts sometimes on whether Heaven and Hell really existed . Being surrounded by friends who were atheist, seeing the scientific side of how humans came to earth, helped to influence this change. I understand their stand point and it makes perfect sense through logic however, I just can't seem to deny my spiritual side. Heaven and Hell just give me a sense of peace, knowing that I won't just end up in a box in the damp dark ground. I guess that’s why spirituality is so strong. Once you get hooked you can't let go, knowing that there “may be” something after death, hoping, following blindly until you get your answer of what really comes after death. Well I guess you can say I believe and sometimes I just have my doubts; as with most people.
ReplyDeleteI formulate my idea of hell from my upbringing and the most common of tales from the Bible. I see Hell as this place with eternal darkness and inextinguishable dirty flames that are tainted with the smell of burning flesh of those individuals who are truly evil. The vastness of hell is undeniable, continuing in an infinite loop, never escaping the scorching touch of the flame. Never a second, without feeling the immense heat of the ground, on your now scarred feet or the burning air that feels the lungs. Demons roam this vastness preying on the suffering humans hoping to turn them into demons themselves. Who just are these demons? Humans themselves who have finally given up every last shred of humanity that they had left in them. At the head of the office we have the the big man himself, one of Gods fallen angels and most loved, you know and fear him... “The Devil” or “Lucifer”. He sits upon his throne watching the suffering, seeing the wickedness of each of the humans hearts, waiting for those who have done things that are seen as morally wrong and goes against the principles of love and peace.
Murdering someone in a painful way that takes a huge amount of time to actually kill the person would have to be the worst sin ever created. This is usually done as an act of revenge to get back at something that was done wrong toward that person. I can't stand the suffering of someone who probably was a decent human being, being killed in a way that leaves them suffering. This should be dealt with the ”eye for an eye” way in Hell. Sending that person who did the killing to the hottest and most silent part of hell so that they can experience the pain that was felt by that dying person. Every single jolt of pain should be felt, if not more, for eternity.
God is love, and though there are days where I can't believe, somehow I always manage to find my way back to him. He tries to help and understand everybody yet, there are times where people just don't want to be helped, it is then that he sends his own child in the pits of Hell, and he does so with great sorrow. Imagine having to give up on a child that you loved so dear once. He does this because he believes its the best decision to help the others out who have not sinned, protecting them from those who have committed a many wicked deeds. Its the best way he knows how to save everybody's soul.
Honestly, I was a bit disappointed in this blog topic; not because it’s so controversial, but because it discusses something religious. Being completely frank; I can’t tell anyone of there is a hell or a heaven for that matter. I choose to be agnostic about these places existing. Don’t get me wrong, I have some kind of beliefs. I would currently classify myself as a Deist; which really leaves interpretation of an afterlife to one’s own discretion. In this debate, especially in America, you’ll have the various religious quarrels between Atheists and Christians. Really, this is just very silly. These little scuffles only waste time, and distract society from what truly matters. Living life to its fullest when you have the chance. Now this all sounds very emotional and what not; but isn’t it really the truth? Why argue over these hypothetical ideas? I oft become disgruntled when people engage in religious brawls; I really don’t understand the reason. One cannot simply disprove another’s religion or beliefs, because they are exactly that; beliefs. Even Atheists require faith to stand behind and push their ideas forth. So do I believe in hell? I don’t know; I don’t give it much thought. The world would be better off if everyone just kept their religious ideals to themselves, and didn’t create controversy that detracts from living life.
ReplyDeleteSo I assume the next question brings forth the contemplation over whether heaven seems more realistic then hell, or vice versa. Honestly, if I were to guess, I would say that heaven would be more probable. I just don’t see how a loving god would put people through that torture; I mean some people that have existed do deserve torment (Stalin/Hitler), but that’s beside the point. I feel as though god might reward those who deserve salvation rather than condemn those who should be punished. Really, how does one not include one without the other? Again, this is all speculative; we will never know the answer until we all kick the bucket. Anyway, I fully understand how a group of people could make out such a terrible place as Gehenna to be this terrible abyss of darkness and evil. I mean if I were to lay my eyes upon it, I probably would be filled with overwhelming fear. Most likely, Christians took the scene at Gehenna and twisted it into what hell would look like. If one could convince others that they will spend eternity in a place of similarity to Gehenna for committing sin; there would be less sin. Similarly, if they could convince people that they could be rewarded with eternal bliss; they would garner support for their religion.
Again, speaking hypothetically; I would probably choose to believe that Hell, if it exists, would have various levels. I feel as though some people would not deserve the punishment that others should receive. The most outrageous crime and sin would have to be genocide as many have already proposed. The near annihilation of another group of people on a mass scale would have to be the most severe in terms of just how evil one could be. In addition to those who commit genocide, the truly evil and horrendous that perform sickening stunts would probably be thrown in there as well. Ex. John Wayne Gacy (Murderer among other things). And the severity would decrease from there on up through the levels. Most probably one would be subjected to the sins they had committed themselves, or something else ironic and terrible.
I’ve already touched on this briefly, but I’ll state it again. I would choose to believe that god, a loving and almighty force, would not create such a place of despair. Or maybe god isn’t the great and loving entity as described in this blog post. Maybe god does not fit the stereotype that is attached to it in America. Maybe this god would create such a place. Who knows? Everyone feel free to take their best stab at the conundrum. It’s essentially a crap shoot. Good luck everybody. Like I said initially, it’s very asinine in nature to quarrel over this stuff.
I really don't believe in Hell, but I guess I do. I mean, there has to be some place for all the bad guys to go right? So Hell is a good place. Well, for the bad guys. I imagine Hell as a dark and hot place that is very cramped and moist. There isn't much space for movement and everyone is locked up. Since I have never really been a committed churchgoer, I guess this image in my mind comes from a mixture of movies, stories, and books. I think becoming an elusive member of the club called Hell, you have to have taken someone's life, whether it be yours or someone else's.
ReplyDeleteI think both of these versions of Hell are equally realistic depending on what you believe. Neither of which I believe is true though. I think it's hard for me to believe anything that isn't concrete and that I know for sure is true, I guess i have a bad imagination. I believe that only one sin is truly worth going through Hell for and that would be murder. Although the idea of Dante's Inferno interested me enough to look up every level on Wiki, it's just a cool idea but it's just that, an idea. Murderers should be punished in the same way of which they caused pain for the families of their victims.
Even though I have trouble believing things that haven't been proven true, I do believe in God, whether or not Hell exists, God in my mind exists. It is hard to believe though, that if there is a God, why is there so much pain and suffering on Earth? And if God does exist, why is there a Hell that consists of eternal suffering? Well, God gave his life for our sins, but some sins just don't call for savior from God, I guess. I wish I had the answers to all these questions, but like everyone else in the world, I don't.
Connie- I think I have an easy time visualizing your image of Hell in my mind than my own image. Is that bad? Maybe you're just reading my mind. But yeah I totally agree with your image of Hell.
Matt- I think your concept really made me think that if there is a Hell, it's on Earth, not some mysterious underworld where the Devil resides. Your points may be the most realistic out of anyone's I've ever heard.
Olivia- I can agree with you on the difference between the two Hells. It's really hard to pick a side because they're both viewed differently based on your beliefs, so it's hard to say which one is more likely to be real, but I definitely agree with you there.
Amber Kell: I thought about it on some level in my brain but never really understood but your right. "Actions are awful at times but what matters are the thoughts behind them." I completely agree. I've always focused on the actions that were committed by the person and though I thought about the thoughts that went behind the actions I completely ignored them. I see now I am wrong and I need to start thinking about the thought that accompanied the actions to get an understanding.
ReplyDeleteTom: I respect that you take life day by day and don't really worry about death. I know that its inevitable also but I admit I'm still scared. I can't quite put my finger on what I'm scared of though. It could be what it would finally feel like to have my heart stop, finally knowing what come after death, or just a variety of things. Don't you ever get scared (at least a little)? In the end we'll never know whats going to happen until its out last breath, which can be any day, anytime, anyplace, in any kind of way. Doesn't not knowing just make you anxious?
Mikey G: I must admit you have a way with words. Even though we're talking about something purely negative you made me laugh multiple times. I guess its because I'm actually hearing in my head on how you would say this. Anyway I like the idea of the Greek version of hell now. I never really thought about a dungeon version of hell. In my head, I always just throw fire into the picture, because I've always just associated hell with fire, but now you've taken that out of the equation and it presents something very new to me.
If there is a hell, Gandhi is in hell.
ReplyDeleteThere, blog over, can I go home now?
But seriously, though of course there will be many counterarguments or protestations, this above statement applies to enough of the population, at least from what I've read, to make the idea of Hell seem ludicrous to me. And if Hell is ludicrous, perhaps that's why I've always found religion itself ludicrous as well... But I digress. Well, that's what I believe.
You ask me to consider an Earthly hell and a spiritual hell, but when I think about it, couldn't they be one and the same? I see enough crappy things that I'd be willing to posit that Earth IS Hell, or perhaps at least purgatory. You're stuck, as it were, on a world full of the worst people imaginable, and you're away from God, or about as away as you can be at any given time, since God is love and etc etc, though I do admit I'd be stumped as to what he'd do with the bad people after they died. Reincarnation, perhaps, though I admit this entire idea is rather cynical.
My mom doesn't believe in Hell, you know, though she is very religious. She thinks that everyone, everyone, goes to Heavan when they die. I like that idea. That when I die I I'd appear before God and we'd laugh away our misunderstandings, and I could ask him questions and we could go trout fishing, and everything would be fine. But no, instead I burn, and burn forever, body and soul, in a lake of fire because my mind operates in such a way that religion moves beyond my sphere of disbelief, like watching Star Wars and taking The Force as fact because, I dunno, everyone else does.
Oh well, I guess. That's life, it seems.
What is the worst sin? Well, truth be told, I've spent so much of my time looking into Dante's Inferno and the Seven Deadly Sins, and so little time actually immersed in religion myself, that I really haven't conceived of my own, disregarding Hell as I do. Pride is supposed to be the deadliest sin, superbia, placing oneself above God. I can see that. Murder, which you all have so detested, seems to me to fall under pride. Only God has power over life and death, right? Who are you to take precedence over him? As well, Dante's version of Hell makes as much sense to me as anything needs to I suppose, though I guess that would also make Hell a satire of 14th century Italian politics. Meh.
Can an all loving God send people to Hell? No. No, of course not. That's not love to me, that's not love at all, not even tough love. Who was it that said something along the lines of 'Either God is not all powerful, or he is evil'. Something like that. The problem of evil, right? Why doesn't he just get rid of evil, right? Kapoof! Thanks, God! No, instead this all omniscient, omnipowerful being, who knows everything that will happen and, apparently, still has the power to change it (?) would prefer to send bad people, who I guess he created, to Hell instead. We all get our kicks somehow, I suppose. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Lincoln said that, I think.
Nevermind.
It was Baron Acting.
If I end up in Hell I'll be glad for the company, as the undertaker said to the ghost. Well, not really, but at least I can go out with bravado, cursing an angry God, or something like that. And though I know my views expressed here by no means covers everyone, I also know that's nigh impossible to do, since nowadays many people just decide to build their own religion, like the build-a-robot kits you find at AC Moore.
And, well, I didn't really mean to offend anyone here. Except God, maybe. But we're already trading blows, I'd presume.
Schuyler:
ReplyDeleteI always love your blog posts. They're always so insightful and...entertaining. Even though I don't agree with your point of view, your writing is so eloquent that I can't help nodding along as I read.
Nyamekye: I really do appreciate the compliment, if only because I have no other way of knowing anyone ever reads what I write. I like to think I'm a good author, but on the other hand humility was never, as it were, one of my strong points.
ReplyDeleteAs Jefferson said 'I chose every word carefully and precisely'. Or rather, that's what I like to tell myself.
To Cole: I appreciate your views on the subject. I as well have never given much thought to the idea and agree that if I am good, I would not be going there anyway. I also share your thoughts on the levels thing. There should be different levels of hell for different levels of sin. Additionally I share your thoughts on genocide being the greatest sin. I enjoyed your thoughts on the last prompt; honestly, why would god this omnipotent, loving being conjure up the abyss that would be hell?
ReplyDeleteTo Tom: I enjoy your ability to not give these things much thought. I try to do that most every day. Sometimes I can’t help but ponder these things, but that is on occasion. I however tend to put some kind of faith into something, but it would be nice to just go on not worrying about anything like religion. The world would be better off.
To Schuyler: Bravo my good sir. Here. Here. I would say that your blog post is most superior to all other blog posts. Most ingenious and eloquently worded was your post. I respect completely all of your views. What you said about many people making their own beliefs these days is very true. That’s what I do anyway. As a realist, I oft try to rationalize a satisfactory explanation for the world. I would say that you supported your beliefs most adequately. Your style is most enjoyable. Also, a round of applause for getting you point across and not coming off as offensive. Once more, bravo.
To Olivia: I like how you organized the different echelons of hell. I also thought it was interesting that hell could have like its own "goody-two-shoes" section. That is kind of amusing.
ReplyDeleteTo Schuyler: HERE HERE! TAPTAPTAPTAPTAPTAP... That was hilarious Schuyler. I also pretty much agree with the seven deadly sins part, the one with pride? I said something like that in mine.
To Connie: I used to have shifting viewpoints about religion when I was little. Recently, though, I've stood by what I believe in and I haven't found any good reason to not do what I do. I think that everyone eventually finds some form of religious affiliation, whether they become Christians, Muslims, Jewishs, Hindis, Buddhists, Confucianists, or any of the other bajillion religions in the world.
Recently I’ve been thinking about topics such as our blog this week such as: what is the meaning of life? How do you know when you have fulfilled your purpose? Where does time go? And one of the main questions I have been pondering is “what awaits me after this life?”
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe there is a hell. At least I think I do, but sometimes I question my reasoning. I’ve thought of many variations of what hell could be like, specifically after we had to describe our own personal hell in class. When I think of hell, my first thought is the setting described in the Bible and the “usual” depiction of hell. But sometimes I wonder if the true definition of hell is different for every person and that each person sent to hell is sent to their OWN hell, which consists of things they truly hate. Although I would never want to be in the hell depicted in the Bible (obviously), I wrote something different down during the assignment. As we went around the room I realized that not one person had the same depiction. This really got me thinking if everyone was going to the same exact hell or not. So I guess I can’t say if I really know what hell looks like, but I do believe there could be one.
I guess my beliefs come from everyone and everything around me, but they also come from being exposed to many different beliefs and ideas in society. I think a lot of people’s beliefs are just a hodgepodge of other people’s beliefs. This is what makes everyone unique in their beliefs.
I’m not exactly sure what sends you to eternal damnation. The Bible enforces the fact that what it lists as sin will send you immediately to hell. But so many things have changed since the Bible was put into print. People sin daily, so does this mean everyone is going to hell? For some reason I can’t see that this is the way it is, so has God set new guidelines as to who goes to hell? Is it as strict as it used to be? I have no idea and probably never will.
Hell could be a worldly destination or it could be a spiritual one, but I don’t know which one or if it is both. (I keep saying that because, honestly, I’m still trying to figure everything out.) However I don’t think someone’s spirit ever dies. To me, people are energy and energy never dies. So does this mean people are kept on earth as a spirit or ghost, or do people leave the planet completely and look down (or up) at the people that stay on earth? Can they go back and forth?
To me, there are definitely degrees of varying sin and hell. Disrespecting your parents or lying will never be as bad as murder to me. And I think that within each sin, there are still varying degrees. Lying to someone and telling them you love their outfit when you really don’t is technically sin, but it isn’t as bad as lying to someone and that lie ends up ruining a part of their life. The worst sin someone could commit is murdering an innocent person.
I do think God is the embodiment of love and grace, so sometimes I find it hard to believe that God punishes people in hell, yet sometimes I can completely understand it. Maybe he is the embodiment of love and grace to people who do not sin, yet the opposite for sinners? I’m not very sure, but I still think about it frequently.
Overall, I’m pretty much confused on what I think because I change my mind every other day.
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ReplyDeleteI don’t like to speak with conviction about religion because when it comes to anything outside the realm of science, all I know is that no one really knows anything. I won’t even begin to think I have all the answers. What I do have is a jumbled mass of kinda-sorta beliefs. Part of me wants to believe in Heaven and Hell, good and evil, black and white. The problem with that is that, in real life, the lines are always blurry. There is no such thing as a good person or a bad person. Each person is a compilation of acts that they themselves classify as good and bad.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Hell can act as a comfort to those who lead sinless lives. It is a surefire way for people to get what they deserve. Many sinners don’t get punished on Earth. Humankind has done its best to simulate the idea of castigation (See what I did there?) that Hell offers by creating the prison system, but what about the criminals who don’t get caught? And as for the people who are wrongfully punished for crimes they did not commit, are they just destined to live a fate they don’t deserve? That’s why I can’t bring myself to believe in a Hell on Earth. Innocent people suffer while villains go unpunished. There are just too many flaws in the system.
But God is much more careful with his choices of who gets the punishment, right? I find it hard to believe that one being can rightfully decide the eternal fate of every human ever born. What if I don’t agree with the Bible on what a sin is? “You shall not steal” is written clearly in the Ten Commandments, but what if I am stealing from a serial rapist drug lord in order to pay for my dying orphan cousin’s diabetes medication? According to the Bible, this is still a sin. What’s worse is that according to the Bible, those who don’t atone for their sins go to Hell. Simple as that. No exceptions. No excuses. No blurry lines.
The main reason I don’t believe that Hell should exist is because I don’t believe that people can be all bad. Maybe I’m naïve, maybe I haven’t lived through enough to see all the evil that exists on Earth, or maybe I’m just hopelessly hopeful. Regardless of the reason, I just don’t think that a person can be filled with all evil. There has to be some ounce of humanity in even the most villainous of villains, even if it’s buried deep beneath layers upon layers of hatred. And, theoretically, only a truly bad-to-the-bone evil person deserves to go to Hell. Since I don’t believe in the existence of such people, I don’t believe in Hell.
Ultimately, I see Hell as an idea rather than a literal place. Religions use this idea to scare us into acting in a way they view as righteous. However, if you follow the voice in your own head and act as you see fit, there is nothing to fear. A religion should mold its beliefs to its individual follower; not the other way around. Not believing in Hell is freeing. It means never having to live in fear of judgment from an all-knowing being that you cannot and should not question. Maybe the belief in Hell is the worst Hell there is. Torturing ourselves with the worry of never being good enough to make the cut can be a much more agonizing punishment than a few fiery pits.
Ever since I was born I’ve been going to church on Sundays. I haven’t gone every Sunday of my life, nor have I gone to the same church my whole life, but I doubt that I’ve missed a month in my life without going to church. I haven’t always been interested in learning about the Bible, but Heaven and Hell have always been intriguing concepts to me. I do believe that there is a Heaven and that there is a Hell. From my experience in church, Hell seems to be described in more detail than Heaven. Heaven is greater than any place on Earth, it is eternal bliss, and Saint Peter is at the Gates with the Book of Life. That’s all I got. The description of Hell, however, is much more in depth. I can’t say that I know what Hell looks like, smells like, or feels like because I’ve never been there, nor do I ever want to be there. But I believe it’s a dark place, probably dimly lighted by the ubiquitous flames, and smells putrid. There’s either an uncomfortable pile of bodies in the Lake of Fire, or an intense isolation from any other living thing. Hell must feel more painful than any pain that could be felt on Earth. I haven’t read or heard of a description of Hell other than the Biblical description until I read James Joyce’s “Hell.” Until I read “Hell,” I never really thought of the smell or the sounds of Hell. I don’t believe that there are any specific deeds that must be committed in order to get to Hell, but rather a deed that is not committed, and that deed is the confession that all other Christians have made: Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of all sinners on Earth.
ReplyDeleteOf course the “worldly destination” of Hell sounds more realistic to me because that’s exactly what it is: a “worldly destination.” The world is familiar to me, unlike Hell. I perceive the world by living in it, unlike Hell. However, the spiritual Hell does sound realistic to me because it’s just what I’ve always believed. It may sound less realistic to me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t believe it exists.
Something that is present on Earth that is not present in Hell is called ethics. Ethics is essentially a system of moral principles that society abides to as a whole. However, contrary to its denotation, ethics has never been completely catholic and has changed numerous times over the course of history. For instance, during the time period of the Puritans, adultery was punishable by public humiliation or banishment. Adultery today may be frowned upon but there are no such legal punishments in the United States. There are much worse punishments for murder though. Different sins or “crimes” on Earth have different degrees of punishment, so therefore different sins are unethical at varying degrees. In God’s eyes, a sin is a sin. Which sins you’ve committed don’t really matter once you’re in Hell.
Accepting that it is through God’s word that people descend into Hell is the most difficult thing for me to accept as a Christian. Why give us a choice when You know that some of the people You created and love will not choose correctly? When it comes to questioning God’s intentions for creating the human race, I know I’m not alone.
To Cole: Once again, Cole, I find your blog post really entertaining to read. There is one thing I read with witch I would have to agree: “Why would he let us be bad people?” While this is more of an argument in your case, it’s a question that I occasionally ponder as a believer in God. I know that we have different views on religion, but we don’t let this come between our friendship, which is more important to me than religious disputes.
ReplyDeleteTo Tom: I never really heard an agnostic’s reasoning before because the debate is usually between theists and atheists, but your reasoning for agnosticism made perfect sense. Also, I really like your hypothetical hell on Earth, which is something I didn’t really go into. Your metaphor of Wizard of Oz was well placed, and your last sentence is my favorite. God’s grace and punishment are things that people cannot truly comprehend. It reminds me of a quote from a song: “I think our God isn’t God if He fits inside our heads.”
To Garret: You sure are brave to use the word “moist.” You said, “… you have to have taken someone’s life, whether it be yours or someone else’s,” so you believe that suicide sends you to hell. Believe it or not, that is a Catholic belief, called the Last Sin or something. Similarly, I feel like your last paragraph relates to Christian beliefs, except that you believe some sins are unforgiveable by God. Not that there’s anything wrong with your view, but it may be an uncommon one.
Schuyler: “You ask me to consider an Earthly hell and a spiritual hell, but when I think about it, couldn't they be one and the same? I see enough crappy things that I'd be willing to posit that Earth IS Hell, or perhaps at least purgatory. You're stuck, as it were, on a world full of the worst people imaginable, and you're away from God, or about as away as you can be at any given time, since God is love and etc etc, though I do admit I'd be stumped as to what he'd do with the bad people after they died. Reincarnation, perhaps, though I admit this entire idea is rather cynical.” I absolutely love this. Sometimes I do think parts of Earth could be hell itself. There are so many bad people on this planet, so could living with them be hell? It’s interesting to think about. You’re such an entertaining writer to read and always have an interesting insight.
ReplyDeleteTed: Your first paragraph was so interesting to me! I usually try to live life to the fullest, but sometimes I find myself wondering about things I may never find the answer to or my answer will always be changing such as religion and the afterlife. I don’t have a problem with other people’s religions, sexuality, or other controversial topics. I do have my own beliefs, but I understand that other people have theirs. Just because something is not my style or I won’t live my life that way, it doesn’t mean other people can’t live it that way.
Mike G: I’m a little confused on what you meant by God has no say in where we go to in hell. If he has no say, why would people choose to go to hell? I know if I had the option I would choose to opt out of eternal suffering. So I guess I was just wondering what you meant by that.
Amber:
ReplyDeleteI love your idea about how love is the deciding factor for the humanity of a person. It’s hard to determine what makes a person “good” or “bad”, but your concept makes sense. However, I disagree with your belief about how everything must have a beginning and an ending. The ideas of eternity and infinity may be impossible for a human to wrap its measly brain around, but I can’t help but believe that maybe the universe never really started. It doesn’t sound very logical, but maybe it’s just always been here.
Michael G.:
I don’t believe in Hell either, but I found your description of it the more interesting than any I’ve ever heard. It’s quite amusing to think of Hell as a video game with various levels, but I also find it harsh because it means that we all must be punished at some point in some way.
Nyamekye:
“It appears as if the spiritual aspect of hell will soon be dealing with the issue of overpopulation.” This made me laugh. Mostly because it’s true. If sins are determined entirely by the Bible, and not by what society finds socially acceptable, then we’re all going to Hell. And it’s true, according to most religions, that if you question God you go to Hell, but I believe that people should question everything. So if there really is a Hell, I guess I’ll be going there. Hmm, oh well.
I've never been influenced by anyone to believe any sort of religion. I've developed my own beliefs over time. And the concept of Heaven and Hell is not one of them. Personally, I believe spirits and an after life that I refer to as a spirit-world. I believe that some people are reincarnated, and others wander around in the spirit-world as lost souls. A place like Hell has never been a part of my beliefs. Who wants to believe there's a place waiting for you after death filled with never-ending pain and suffering? Certainly not me. I mean, I thought "God" was supposed to be forgiving. What ever happened to that?
ReplyDeleteAs for my beliefs, my thought process is that you wander the spiritworld if you have "unfinished business." And those that have sinned are punished by being reincarnated as something with a bad life. Those that have done good in their life are the opposite. they are reincarnated as something with a good life. Not entirely sure how or why I've come to believe this, that's just how it is.
Anyway, as for Hell being either a worldly destination or a spiritual one, it's my belief that people can create their own personal hell. What I mean is, the way you live your life is up to your own decisions and the emotions you feel are a result of your own mindset. Those that choose to be miserable may look at life as their own personal Hell.
I don't know, my emotions on this subject are pretty apathetic. I've never really believed in Heaven or Hell, except when I was little. But now, I don't really think about or believe it. And I don't really understand people who do. But everyone is entitled their own opinion, I guess.
My parents are Buddhist, but the only thing we have to show for it is small figure in our living room display cabinet of Buddha, who my mother and father have only mentioned to me maybe three times in my life. Otherwise, religion is practically nonexistent in my household. Largely due to this, I’ve become a science-driven Atheist and I don’t believe in spiritual concepts like hell.
ReplyDeleteIf hell were to exist, I think the experience of hell would be different for each person. I do think there would be different levels of hell like in Alighieri’s writing, but I think hell would be even more customized than that. Since each person has different weaknesses and dislikes different things, I don’t think there should be predetermined punishments, like say, everlasting fire. There are some pretty crazy people out there, and maybe some enjoy the stench of burning flesh more than others. I think each sinner would have their own personal hell, and their punishment would depend on their own sources of pain and the intensity of their sins. People who commit lesser sins like petty theft would have lesser punishments, and eventually allowed to transfer out of hell. On the other hand, mass-murderers, which are probably the worst sinners I can think of, would stay in hell and be tortured forever. I feel very odd saying this, but I actually enjoyed imagining hell while writing this. But of course, hell is more of just a cool concept to me rather than a real destination.
Surprisingly, I find the spiritual destination of Gehenna more believable than the worldly one. The idea that there’s a hell on earth just doesn’t sound right. Is it somewhere I can visit? How big is it? How do all these people fit there? There’s just too many questions. The fact that the spiritual hell is so inaccessible to the living and mysterious actually makes it more believable.
It’s extremely difficult to think of God as being loving while he sends people to hell. Of course, people need to be maintained. But sending them to hell, which is supposedly the worst place in existence? That seems like a bit of an overeaction to me. Likewise, if God exists, why does he let innocent people die constantly and allow all these horrible things to happen in the world? I don’t know what else to say. The supposed ways of God always puzzled me, and this only distances me more from believing.
Hell, and the idea of a punishment for the crimes of humanity in the afterlife, is in my opinion a ludicrous concept. I can't fathom that some all-knowing, all-powerful being would bother to sentence his creations to an eternity of suffering when there are far more interesting things for such a being to be getting on with. However, were I to accept the existence of a hell in which sinners were punished for their awful deeds, I would assume that each person would have his or her own version, for optimal punishment, or something like that. My personal hell would be less of the traditional fire-and-brimstone platitudes that make up religious depictions of hell, but more of a sweaty, decaying mass of human-flesh-type mass grave. It would smell like death, and everything would be moist and sticky to the touch. This hell comes as a reflection of my personal fears, and not as a result of my grudgingly United Methodist religious background.
ReplyDeleteAs for Gehenna and Sheol, Gehenna seems more likely to me, assuming of course that there is a hell at all. A massive garbage dump of wasted and used-up humanity would seem less ridiculous to me than the idea of a sorting of souls between good and evil, believers and sinners. Would I have to put on a hat? Is the line long? Can I get express checkout if I have ten sins or less? Do I get put in the back of the line if I sinned worse than anyone else?
This brings me to the ideas promulgated in Dante's inferno, the concept of the nine circles of hell, varying degrees of sins bringing varying degrees of punishment. The concept of circles of hell is some of the best evidence I've seen of the way humans attempt to define the afterlife in terms that relate to human experience. Worse sinners: worse punishments, by explaining the afterlife in logical terms, the greatest mystery of life solved by a simple relationship between sins and punishment. Humans as a whole create these concepts to define the afterlife, they define the afterlife because they fear it, and if they think they understand the afterlife, then they fear it less. Sadly for humanity, the nature of the afterlife is that it defies explanation and research, it defies logic and explanation, but that has never stopped religion before and it probably never will.
Finally, if this all-knowing and all-powerful entity loves humanity so much, why does it seek to banish its loved creations to such an awful place? If they're so unworthy, why does it care so much in the first place? The fact is that such an entity would have to have some seriously screwed up concept of love to force those it loves through suffering in life and afterlife. Of course, the best part about this debate is that I could be wrong in every respect, yet no one would ever be able to tell me otherwise while I have two feet firmly planted in this world.
Becca- Gnarls Barkley is awesome and I love that you included some good musical references in your post. I agree also with your objection to the idea that all sinners go to hell, it seems in many ways unreasonable, and the main draw of Christianity, I think, is that it doesn't require perfection.
Matt- The idea of hell as a human construct is spot on in my opinion. Like I said in my post, it's an effort by humanity to understand an unknown because the burden of not knowing is too much to bear. Whether evidence exists to support it or not, attempts will always be made to make sense of what happens after death.
Ted- I totally agree with your statement that the fact religion is still an issue in 2011 is ridiculous. Especially in the context of the ongoing Republican nomination process, where Mitt Romney is constantly being questioned about his religion. It pains me to think that because of someone's religion, which is more often than not something they're born into, that person can be considered unfit for the office of the President. I'm not a big Mitt Romney fan either, but I dislike the guy because of his policies, not his beliefs.
Hell. I was raised to believe it was the place for the “bad girls and boys who didn’t listen to their parents” went to. I grew up thinking that’s all it truly was. Never did the hot flames or piercing screams, or scary sharp instruments of torture cross my mind. No, all I really thought about was going to my parent’s version of “hell”. I never really had my own version of hell, until I grew up. Once I got to a certain age, I began having my own perspective of hell.
ReplyDeleteI believe hell is a place not only liars go, but people who lived awful or immoral lives. I believe that it is a really terrifying place that you go to, to be punished for all your sins that you committed during your lifetime. It’s a scary, fiery pit, which smells like burning ash and vomit. It is unbearably hot and humid. (When I am talking about the heat, I don’t mean Oakcrest heat, its more like being put on the sun kind of heat.) For some odd reason I also see very scary and sharp gadgets, like knives and machetes and chainsaws. Those objects just lay on the ground leading to a bright orange pit. Honestly though, I mostly see fire though. But seriously, isn’t that the worse punishment of all? Come on, being thrown into a hot fiery pit, what’s worse? I know that this is a pretty generic description of hell but I feel like how you get there is what matters more.
I do not think that every little mistake made in a person’s life sends them to hell. I mean come on, that would mean we were all going to hell. I think god looks at your intentions and the situation. I believe he doesn’t care as much about what you did as much as why you did it. I’d like to believe god does not enjoy punishing us; he loves us because he created us. Who wants to punish something they created? He does not want to punish us unless we do something horribly wrong and unforgiveable.
Most of my beliefs came from my parents, but changed recently as I was reading the Quran. While I was reading it, I just felt so much love and affection, which made it extremely hard to believe that god, actually WANTS to punish us.
I personally think that hell is another world; it’s a world your spirit moves to after you’re dead. But other than that I really can’t imagine it. Other than fire, I really have no clue what hell would look like.
Hell is a very scary place, which might sometimes make you think that god just wants to punish. I honestly think that all of his actions are justified, if he punishes you it’s because you deserve it. The worse sin a person could commit (in my mind) would be murder. I feel like taking someone’s life is a really unforgiveable sin. I feel like the only way a person could be properly punished for that would be to live in hell for the rest of eternity.
Even with all this punishing, I think god is a loving being. I feel like he is doing it out of love, he is just showing us what we did wrong by punishing us. He wouldn’t have created heaven if he didn’t love us.
Connie: That was a really scary description of hell. IT kind of creeped me out a little though haha. I also really like how you differentiated between the people that belong in heaven and the people that belong to hell. I hope it actually is like that.
ReplyDeleteBecca: Tuna mixed with vinegar? That really is gross, I understand how that could burn your nostrils. But I agree with your reasoning on why people are punished, that’s exactly what I thought.
Tom: Even though I don’t really know what happens when a person dies, I am still afraid of the after life. I envy you because you can live everyday to its fullest and not worry about anything else.
ReplyDeleteI like this topic. As soon as I saw that it was about hell, I thought, “Yes! I love religious topics because I tend to have a lot to say about them.” I used to be the “church girl.” No, literally, kids at school would call me that. But it was okay, it made a pride in me swell that I wish was still there. Coming from a very religious background, I usually have a strong opinion about things that come up having to do with God, even if my faith isn’t as strong as it used to be. So, hell. As probably expected from my previous little history lesson, I have a very nondenominationally Biblical outlook on the concept. I believe it is a place that people are sent to if and when they don’t believe in Jesus. I believe it is the exact opposite of the concept of heaven. It is a place that really is unimaginable, but the best I could describe it is like this: Hell is red and hot, the color so thick and unforgiving, no matter how tight you close your eyes, the images that surround you are burned into the deepest depths of your mind. The stagnant air is full of an unfathomable number of screaming creatures, so much so that the melody is inhuman. The stink surrounding you that won’t leave your nose is of burning flesh of a thousand souls, lost in a lake of most unfortunate death.
ReplyDeleteThis belief most definitely comes from my schooling during my early childhood, and my church that I have been raised in-both of what was taught to me is and was currently reinforced by my parents. I’m glad that I was raised in a religious way. I have heard people say that they are glad they were not, because they feel that that would have a biased on heaven and hell, and God and Satan. As true as this may be, I feel like I will always have a different outlook on life being raised a “Crazy Christian,” and I’m thankful. I’ve never heard of Gehenna, which I find strange because I consider myself quite familiar with the Bible, but I believe in a more spiritual hell, than a worldly; a place where a soul goes when it is not saved. Where this place is is anyone’s guess, but I have always had the thought that it is located on the dark side a planet somewhere far away. That’s just a silly little thought, but who knows.
Now, about sins and the degree of punishment according to the sin, I don’t believe that. I think that if you are sent to hell, you are going to get the standard hell punishment, which is just being there. There’s nothing worse than eternal damnation. The God I believe in is a loving God. Although I have been noticing how more and more difficult it is to live by the way he wants humans to subsist, if you do just that, you have eternal live. Some simple guide lines, and a love for his son, and you get a special spot with him forever in the clouds. That’s all he asks for. I feel as though the punishment he has for people who choose to not believe this is fair, just because it’s so simple to just live the way he wants us to. It’s our own doing if we end up in hell.
Emily: I agree with you on the sentiment that if God does exist, why does he allow innocent and good people to be murdered and tortured? The ways of "God" always used to confuse me, that's why I don't believe in the whole concept.
ReplyDeleteJanel: I agree with you that people with strong reputations and high authority are convincing others to do right by saying there is a Hell. I've always believed that Hell was just the creation of some guy back in ancient times who wanted to scare people into behaving.
Rachel: I agree with you that in real life, the lines that determine good and evil are sometimes a little blurry. I think that sometimes it's impossible to decide if someone is completely good or bad. I mean, what makes one person better than another? What distinguishes someone who deserves to go to hell from someone who doesn't?
Mike G: Your posts always amuse me. I especially liked the paragraph where you compared the Greek hell to a video game. That part made me smile and I thought to myself “Man that’s so cool! I wanna go there now!” The addition of flying monkeys to your post also made me smile. I agree with you on how we should focus on what we do now while we’re living rather than focus on our after life. But I find it difficult to stop worrying about all that after life stuff. I admire how carefree you are.
ReplyDeletePatrick: I know what you mean when you say your spiritual side gives you a sense of peace. Well, I don’t believe in an afterlife myself. But I kind of wish I did, because the idea that there is nothing after I die is depressing. I keep telling myself that I should stop worrying about it and live life to the fullest, but it still makes me uneasy. Now back to your post- I really liked your second paragraph. It put a very detailed image of hell in my head as I read it. It was like James Joyce’s “Hell,” but better.
Ted: I agree with your first paragraph oh so much. Sure, everyone has different beliefs of what happens after death, but it’s nothing worth arguing about since there is really no way to know the answer. I actually hadn’t thought of this before reading your post, but I’m glad you said what you said. It’s an excellent point.
Dan: A decent man once said, “There are two things you don’t talk about with friends; religion and politics.” Well, it seems, in this merry little blog, we have breached this cardinal rule. Oh well. For some reason, we get along pretty damn well, even with all the religious differences. And I’d like to keep it that way, because you’re good company.
ReplyDeleteTed: I liked how you touched upon the subject of living one’s life to the fullest. I suppose if we have one life on this nice planet of ours (or one life to remember, if you believe in reincarnation), we shouldn’t waste time chipping away at some pointless argument. At the moment I’m too tired to place myself in someone else’s shoes and imagine what it’s like to think of this silly debate as important.
James: I haven’t read your comment, but you seem like a good candidate. Oh, I see. An analogy between judgment and grocery shopping. I like that very much indeed. Ah yes. I suppose understanding anything would probably lead to less fear of it, unless if doesn’t make any sense. At that point, people can just conjure up explanations to work around other’s understanding. Or maybe that isn’t how it works.
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ReplyDeleteTo Patrick: You seem to be one of the only people with a similar believe to me, and that is both comforting and depressing. It’s so strange, because I used to be surrounded by people where EVERYONE believed how I believed, at my old school, but…it is what it is. I agree with you on how believing that there is a heaven and hell is comforting. Just like the concept of God in general is comforting. It’s hope.
ReplyDeleteTo Becca: I didn’t really think about the levels of hell like you did; I like how you put it in your blog. I agree with how there are levels of “offences,” but there aren’t levels in hell. Once you are there, you are there for the total sins you have committed, and will receive the same punishment the souls that are with you are receiving. It can’t get much worse than being in the worse place imaginable.
To Michael: I agree with the last thing that you said about how God doesn’t really have a say whether we go to hell or not. Well, kind of. I agree that we have full control of our actions, which of course would include the way we choose to live our lives, and therefore where we go after we die. So, in essence, we choose whether we go to heaven or hell . But I also believe that, like the Bible says, God has the final say about where we will spend eternity.
Cole: I love your line about "lets say you really love orphanages, but hate orphans" that made me laugh. I also like the examples you use in your posts they are always very like entertaining.
ReplyDeleteMatt: the description at the beginning of your post us really nice, i felt kind of warm and fuzzy when you said"ascend skyward" you seem to open with this style for a few of your posts, I like it.
Abbie: when you say Jesus what are you refering to, dose this mean that you are under the impression that people of other religious are damned no matter what? If so id just like to say that that this is one of the views of Christianity that really bother me for the main point that people who are genuinely good people who don't practice christianity would be sent to hell like Cole and Michael and Ms. Bunje and my mommom, which for me is just a horrible thing to think about, like my mommom is one of the most amazing people I know. That last part wasnt necessarily directed to you Abbie, unless you feel that way in which case it was, if not than i just wanted to speak my opinion.
Hell does not exist. Hell does not look like anything, Hell does not smell like anything, and Hell does not feel like anything. Done. Are my statements too bland? Maybe it is because I find the question to be quite silly. Actually, I find it to be a very hysterical question. How could you ever expect someone to describe a place no one has ever been?
ReplyDeleteMy beliefs are, in my opinion, natural. I was born with no beliefs, and I will probably die with none. My parents attempted to “save” my siblings and I. So far, their record is 0 for 3. We never bought into the beliefs being forced down our throats. There was really no need for religion in the family anyway. Friends never had any influence on me either, probably because all of my best friends have no beliefs either. There is no hell for me, no matter what you do, say, or think.
The Hell described in Gehenna is obviously much more believable to me. Hell isn’t some higher place “out there”. Hell should just be a synonym for a bad place. The garbage dump of Gehnna is in fact a hell, but not the spiritual one most think of.
To comment on Alighieri’s different levels of hell, who is spending this much time coming up with this? In other words, there’s no way I’m buying. He has never been there, neither has any other person, so why could I ever take this writer as credible. The worst sin in life is worrying about what happens next. Let’s not worry about how many “levels” of evilness come after this. Let’s just live.
God, who supposedly is this all loving being, has set up a concentration camp of eternal suffering? Red Flag! What a contradiction. Let’s have the creator, the lover of all beings, also be in control of the place of eternal suffering and damnation. Yea, that sounds right to me.
I don’t have much more to say. There is nothing for me to think about or dwell on. For me, the question of hell is obvious and quite silly. There is no thinking, or considering. There is no Hell to me, there is nothing more to say.
Cole: “Why would he let us be bad people?” Praise common sense. Why wouldn’t this God have everyone love him and cherish him? Oh wait, that makes too much sense. Thank you for reassuring me that I’m not crazy. I appreciate the mix of humor too.
Janel: “To me, hell is a joke” Basically, the entire theme for my response. I empathize on the whole issue of family forcing you to accept their beliefs. It sucks, I grew up in the exact situation you did. I also liked your prevalent use of humor “Some guy came up with an idea to print bibles charge $20 for them…” Thankfully, we are not alone.
Schuyler: “If there is a hell, Gandhi is in hell” Amen to that. Just as I was getting too annoyed to even comment on a third person’s response, I came along yours. I cant even really tell what your definite beliefs are because you blend your opinions in so well. Regardless, I appreciate the open mind. Thank you for saving me from giving up on comments.
Cole: You delve into the omnipotence paradox a little in your final paragraph. It has always seemed strange to me that this omnipotent God could allow so much hate, and send the humans made in his own image to the lake of fire.
ReplyDeleteJuliana: Honestly, one of the things that I've always found interesting is your take on spirituality. While our beliefs may not coincide, I find the spiritual aspect of your belief intriguing, and I truly enjoyed reading what you had to say.
Schuyler: I always thought Star Wars was based on a true story? I suppose not. Oh well, your personality is always a beacon of light a midst thousands of dreary blog posts.
Religion was something that I’ve never been too familiar with growing up. I’ve been to church a few times, but only for the sole purpose of meeting new people and making new friends. My parents and almost my whole family aren’t religious at all. So that’s why at this time in my life, following a religion is not worth putting my mind and soul into. However, I choose to believe in God. I just need something to put my faith into when I feel all other hope is lost. I’d like to believe that there is a heaven and a hell, and my reasoning is simple. But I have many doubts. The number one thing heaven and hell give me is a sense of peace. I believe that after death, I’ll be able to see my love ones once again. It makes death seem less scary. I won’t just be buried 6 feet under in a box or possibly even little parts of me hopelessly floating around in the ocean. Hell isn’t a big deal to me because I know it’s not a place where I’ll end up. It’s probably just a really dark, unpleasant, fiery, and physically and emotionally painful place.
ReplyDeleteThe worldly destination of Gehenna would be terrifying if it was a place on earth. It also seems kind of weird. I feel as though hell is a place where things should be sorted out after death.
The spiritual destination of Sceol seems more realistic to me. After death, it’s a place where our sins and spirits can be repented.
The short summary about “Inferno” really intrigued me and got me thinking about the complications of hell. There are so many variations and things to elaborate on with the statement “hell is a place where bad people go.” Well who gets to define if someone or something someone has done as “bad” or not? And how severe is the bad person or the sins they have committed? I’m sure most of the people on this Earth have probably lied, been selfish, and disrespectful in some way or another. Stuff like that probably won’t land someone in hell though. Otherwise, I’ll see all of you guys in hell. People might think of murder as the one sure thing that will confirm your spot in hell, but I don’t think it’s that easy. Furthermore, I think of hell as a place of punishment. Once again, masses of questions pop into my head. Who decides what punishment someone deserves? And that goes back to the severity of the sin. How long does the punishment go on? What purpose will it serve? It honestly hurts my brain to even think about it because there will never be a straight answer.
Although I believe in God, he gives me a fair share of doubts sometimes. If god is so powerful and embodies all things loving and beautiful, why do innocent people have to suffer or die senselessly? This to me does not seem justifiable. I believe that if god does send someone to hell, it is because that person is truly awful and 100% deserves to be in the wretched place. Those people have lost all sense of humanity and no one, not even god could stray them off the path of evil.
As an indecisive person, I find myself sitting on the fence with a lot of issues. Don’t get me wrong, there are certain things that I have strong opinions on, this isn’t really one of them. Hell is one of those things I’m torn between. I mean I half believe that it exists, because who wants to think that after however many years we spend here on Earth, there’s just…nothingness. We are strongly driven by our sense of meaningfulness and our sense of purpose. To believe that after we die, there is nothing but…well nothing, is not only depressing, but it makes you wonder why we bother? Why are we given this small taste of life, often full of insignificant events, only to have it ripped away? It’s not even something we can really grasp. It’s sort of like thinking about the vastness of the universe. It’s incomprehensible. Of course, being the intelligent, mostly rational and logical person I think myself as, it is really difficult to believe in something when there is nothing to back it up except the words of others who (obviously) don’t really know what they’re talking about either. They obviously aren’t dead, so how could anyone tell you for certain that these places exist? When I do think of Hell, it is often of the fiery, miserable, dark place that is portrayed on television and in movies. My parents neither promoted nor deprecated religion in our house. My sister and I were encouraged to believe whatever we wanted, and welcome to go to church with our neighbors if we were so inclined. For me, sleeping in on Sundays outweighed getting up and going to church, so my knowledge about it is strictly Sunday school related. I have my own ideas about what my personal Hell would be like, but the feeling of being eternally on fire and eternally miserable at the same time doesn’t exactly sound like a good time. It’s really hard for me to think of something that would make someone deserve a fate like that. I mean, people always have motivations for their actions. They may not always be justifiable or very good reasons, but people don’t act without reason. And those who seem to often have chemical imbalances in their brains that make them that way. While this makes them medical psychopaths, I’m not sure that it should equal an eternity in Hell.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think that the spiritual Hell sounds more realistic, if we’re thinking logically. Fires that never burn out? Not likely. I think there are definitely different levels of sin. Stealing a stick of gum from Wawa is not on the same level as murdering a man in cold blood. Obviously, most people are in agreement over this, based on the stipulated punishment for each crime. People sin everyday, it’s a part of human nature. The worst sin imaginable is pretty hard to think of. I guess I think that the worst sin imaginable would be to hurt someone (anyone) to a point where you’ve completely broken their spirit or caused them grief. It’s more a category than a specific act, but that’s what comes to mind when thinking of the worst thing someone could do. Honestly, if the person were sent to Hell, I think it should be punishable by whatever makes them feel the most guilty and regretful. Again, more of a category, but it would vary for every person.
The point about God is something I’ve thought about a lot; or at least I’ve thought about it a lot when I happen to think of religion (which isn’t all that often). How can we claim that God loves us, forgives us, believes in us when He is responsible for sending people to Hell is questionable. If he were really that accepting, there would be no Hell. Or maybe there still would be, if only to try to scare us all into good behavior. Obviously, no one is going to know anything until we reach the point where we are heading into this controversial unknown, so I guess we’ll all just have to wait and see.
ReplyDeleteMatt: I definitely agree with a lot of what you said. During your third paragraph, the idea of Earth being Hell came to mind. Basically we suffer through our years on Earth and our true happiness is to come after death. I think people definitely punish themselves here on Earth, possibly better than Hell ever could for some people. Your last paragraph was really good as well, and basically full of things that have run through my mind before. Great post as always!
Tom: I definitely respect your views. There were a couple things that I definitely agreed with, others not so much, but this post seemed really original to me, and I think it was pretty cool (and brave) to post about your beliefs (or lack of). Reading your posts every week, I can tell that you’ve definitely grown up since eighth grade! Looking forward to the rest of your posts to come!
Amber: I love reading your posts every week. They’re so…you. Anyways, you make a lot of good points, a few that I agree with, a few that I don’t, and a few that I never really thought of before. I really appreciate things that make me think, rather than things that I already agree with (though that can also be exciting sometimes in knowing there are people who share your exact opinion). Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I love reading your posts every week as well, I feel like I could definitely cover up your name and still know you wrote it. (Your writing is just so stylish! (: ).
Emily: I can definitely relate to the first 2 sentences of your first paragraph. Religion is very nonexistent in my household. My parents have figures of Buddha as well and the only time when I’ve truly experienced some sort of Buddhism were at family funerals. I know you don’t believe in spiritual concepts and family has influenced that, but it really just gives me a sense of hope.
ReplyDeleteAmber: I agree with your statement “it does seem illogical that the universe could have always been there.” It may seem far-fetched to think that god somehow had a part in all of it, but I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that there could have been no beginning and everything was just there.
Olivia: I like how you specifically laid out your levels of hell. I found that an interesting read. There are so many varying degrees and that’s why it’s a bit complicated to specify the different levels. Everyone’s judgments and beliefs are different, so it's not worth thinking about too much.
THIS IS JHONATAN'S BLOG POST
ReplyDeleteLet me start this blog by stating that I hate religion and the fundamental scare tactics that they advertise. The image of hell is a human mind creation, as humans we know that our time is going to end someday and death is the only thing we are positively assured of (with technology this assurance might not even be assured). The image of hell and sin in my interpretation is a scare tactic into doing what’s right, moral and ethical, in that person or group ideology. Thus, religion is a cheat code or short cut, for parents. It enlightens and makes their job easier, they send their child to an oh lordly worship school in which the preacher mostly scares the hell out of them by infusing the ideology of sin and if you don’t do this you would go to hell. They also infuse morality and ethicality into this ideology. My ideology is that you should be ethical PERIOD, no reward no punishment, done that’s it, you’re a human try to be moral, just try for god’s sake just do it. Then parents stop sending you students to a CCD or any other religious class that teaches why being moral could send you to an imaginary place were baby angels and unicorns tread very lightly without no worries and complications. I beg you stop, take a moment out of your meaningless lives and teach your children why you should be moral, and why there should be no reward or being a GOOD person.
However the story of hell is actually very interesting, it makes a good story of an imaginary place just like harry potter makes a good story of an imaginary place. For me the devil and hell is lie, life itself is hell, we live hell during many moments, while many families and children LIVE hell. I don’t think there is a hell or the devil or demons, because we already have them on earth. It’s that simple, I would like to say that humans and human nature is a very respectful and moral race, however that would be mendacious. I would more likely say that cats and dogs are more moral. My uncle, well half uncle, lived his whole entire life in the streets of one of the most dangerous cities in Colombia, Bogota, and la capital. He is the only person in my family that I actually like and talk to, sadly enough. However that’s not the point, people are born with a lie of hell, and he started out his life with a mother that died of diabetes when he was 3 and a drunken dad that died when he was 14. This was his life; he walked the streets, suffering as a hobo for half his life until he found the sanctuary of a library and books.
JHON'S BLOG CONTINUED
ReplyDeleteSin, well sin hum worst sin I could think of? That is really difficult; well let me start out with the weakest sin. Stealing, I would not say stealing is really bad, I mean stealing is bad however there are several cases in which stealing is not bad at all. In Colombia there is most notably the world’s oldest terrorist group, la guerriga. However this might seem a little stretched, at first they were a group of gentleman that really just stole from the rich and gave to the poor. They were heroes, without names, how it should be. They stole from the people that stole, and if that makes me go to hell, then hell with it, I’ll go to hell. Then I would go with the most severe case of sin, and that would be murder. In my eyes I do not know why somebody would want to hurt somebody else, that’s really just strange. I say this now; I really do not know what somebody could do to me and my family that could tempt me to murder them, that’s just inhumane.
I however through by rambling of how religion is the mother of all evils, do believe there is a god. However I just think of him as an imperfect animal or creation that made the universe and just left us here, I really do think he doesn’t give a hell about us, or if he does look out into the universe I would hope he has better destinations to pick from then earth. What a horrible place to look out on, corruption on every street (Wall Street for example) and self interest in every one. However if god is pure and all loving, I would think that he would not be able to send people to god, if he made us then he would know our imperfections. I really do hate that people state that god is pure and knows all and then state that life is a test to see if you could make it to heaven, that a little bit hypocritical. If he knew all then why would he even make the test, he would just send us to hell. Whatever in the end, I’m a proud deist that hates religion and hates the idea of fear tactics, but loves god.
To Cole: I think the same thing, If hell did actually exist I would think that I wouldn’t be going there, however the thing that really struck me an endless blow to severing myself from religion is that, do we even know what god is like? That was when I was around 8 years old, but any way i agree with you completely.
To Janal: My family much like yours is really into religion and they still are, only a few months ago I told my dad that I’m not going to church anymore, and that created a fracas. However in the end I got some weight out of my chest and I came out in a sense, something that I have been holding in for years.
To Michael g: like you said in class I also agree with you, that hell does make a hell of a story and that even though we don’t believe in it. It would be nice to imagine in some form what I looks like and conjure a story of somebody going through it, my interpretation any way.
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ReplyDeleteAmber: I feel like just because we don't know how something works yet, it doesn't mean we have to fall back onto some kind of supernatural explanation. Just because we didn't about bacteria centuries ago doesn't mean it really was caused by little demons, we weren't plucked out of the sky before Darwin came up with the theory of evolution, though the majority tended to think that because, well, we hadn't figured out the real reason yet. I figure there's a real reason for this, as well, and that as we push the limits of our understanding that kind of uncertainty will be pushed out in the same way. I get why you support the possibility, it just seems to me to be kind of like what people believed with my previous examples.
ReplyDeleteAnd it also seems to me that where the universe came from would be much easier to figure out then where a GOD, a sentient being with unlimited power, came from. A God would be harder to explain than a Universe, I'd think.
ReplyDeleteWell, I don't know if it's good or bad to believe in hell. However, do to my upbringing, I fully believe in hell, just as i do in heaven. Personally, my perception of hell would be the stereotypical scene of fire and black and red walls led by a man with horns and a tail. To me, this isn't the worst thing possible though, which I always believed that the reason for hell was to, in fact, be the worst thing possible. If it was the worst thing possible, then my hell would be a place with people everywhere in an extremely cold environment. It would smell like sweat and fish, and you could hear peoples faint cries for help while being able to do nothing because of the crowds around you pushing everyone together. I absolutely hate large amounts of people and the cold (which makes the days before christmas much less enjoyable than they should be.) I also hate feeling helpless or not helpful. I hate knowing that I have to do something, but not being able to do it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as what it takes to get to this place formally known as hell, you would have to do something truly terrible in my opinion. I don't know much about faith so I may be wrong but I always thought the catholic church made it fairly easy to go to hell. I always felt like lying to your parents could make you go to hell. As much as this made me a fantastic child, it now seems really unrealistic (but then again so does the idea of a place with burning walls and a red man with a tail ruling). In my mind, you can only truly go to hell if you have taken someones life from them on purpose. I feel like everything else can be made up for except for murder. I mean, it was God's intention to create life, so it would only make sense that if you took it away then you would go to hell.
Next, spiritual hell verses worldly definition. I agree with Olivia completely in the sense that it is hard to choose. To me, they both seem like a far stretch, but completely possible at the same time. I always felt that there has to be something after death, so spiritual hell when it comes to faith is the first hell that comes to my mind. However, when you think of what it would be like, it makes me feel as if that is almost too crewel and completely impossible. However, on the other hand, Hell the place seems to not be severe enough to me. I mean, a garbage dump on the side of a town seems like it could be anywhere, why is it such a big deal? Both seem to be extremes, just on the oposite ends of the spectrum.
The next subject would be the levels of sin and hell. Personally, as I said before, I truly believe there are three levels of sin. One level being the most serious which is murder, whether one person or a million people. The next level would be every other sin that is mentioned, being cheating, lying, etc. I believe these would fall into the category of "middle to low" level sins. Then the next level would be simply not going to church. You don't necessarily sin, but you don't believe in God or sin itself. All three levels should be dealt with differently. The most severe should be eternal misery. The next for middle level sin should just be a few years of misery. The final would be for not going to church which could be dealt with by one or two years of misery. But, hey, that's not my decision to make.
ReplyDeleteLastly, it is weird to think of God as being a loving and caring figure of warmth and embrace to be able to send people to such a terrible place. Wouldn't that be sinning for him? Or maybe he's above sin just the way police officers are above speeding and red lights. But police officers can go to jail for crimes, so why doesn't God go to hell? This topic is just confusing and in a way hurts my head. I don't make the rules and in my mind, God isn't even the one that sends them to hell; he just picks who goes to heaven. He has found the most spiritual example of a loophole.
In conclusion, I'm not really sure what to think of hell. It could either be a place of complete torture with burning walls and lava as a floor. However, it could just be the worst thought of a place that comes to your mind. This blog if nothing else really made me think of what comes after this life, and why anyone would have to be tortured after their life. I understand murder but that's about it. However, in any sense, it's completely out of my hands and I can't change the way it is. So i guess the easiest way to find out what all of this is like is to die. See you guys in the afterlife! (I'm just kidding).
In response to Amanda- Not to call you out, but it's really cool to see hell and religion from someone out of the catholic faith. Same goes for Mike G and everyone else of different faith than me. I've always grown up thinking that God was the only spiritual figure and that everything that the catholic church teaches you HAS to be true. After thinking about it because of everyone else's posts about their religion i realize I have just been ignorant.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Garret- I think it's interesting to think that Hell is a "good place". When you think of it, Hell is supposed to a bad place, but then the bad people would like it. It's like a paradox....I think. Because if they liked it, wouldn't it be their heaven? So in that case, Hell wouldn't exist. Or is it that whatever the bad people have done, Hell is ten times worse for them. It's fun to think about. I would recommend it on long car rides. :p
In response to George- That first sentence is pretty bold big guy. To just come out and say Hell doesn't exist is something I pretty much expected from you though. I know you don't really believe in religion so i went out of my way to find your blog. I found it very insightful. I also found it interesting that you could write so much about something you don't even believe in. To be honest, there have been times where you have had me thinking that heaven and hell don't exist outside of the blog and school. As much as this is a controversial topic, this goes to show that it is so easy to talk about and so easy to have an opinion that is not quite clear. So george, i respect that your opinion WAS so clear.
Sorry for this being late, just got home from Bobby's. Blogger.com worked.
ReplyDeleteTo start, I just want to say that anything I'm about to write, isn't meant to offend anyone or any religion at all. It's just my personal opinion and isn't targeted towards anybody's beliefs.
Whether there is a heaven and hell after death, obviously, no one knows the answer. I honestly could care less about religion and whether or the two places actually exist after death. For the most part, religion is filled with controversy. "The two things you never bring up at a party are religion and politics." There's no definite answer has to which religion is more dominant, and which religion is the "right" religion. That's why I just choose not to care about it at all. I'm not saying I'm an Atheist or a non-believer in God. What I am saying is that I don't want to take the time or the effort to sit down and think whether a God exists or not. I think part of this was always because I've been to a church "session" (I can't even remember the proper word for it) twice in my life. Both times, were not my choosing. My babysitter made me go with her when I was ten or so, and I had to go with my friend's family when I slept over his house one night. Back to the question of whether or not I think I hell exists, I think I've said that it doesn't matter to me that it does. I believe that after death, we lie in the ground, and that's that, it's the end of the road.
Theoretically speaking, I do think that there are different variations of "sin". It's comparable to the court system. Taking away someone's life should be more punishable then stealing someone's purse.
Janel: Your point about hell being a way of being perfect was spot on. I had never really thought of it like that, but you're absolutely right. People will try the best they can in order not to go to hell.
Mike G: "I pretty much just assume that nothing happens to us because, quite frankly, we should be focused on what we do in this world and what we leave behind rather than on where we go after we’re gone." I couldn't have said it any better myself. We should try to live our life to the fullest without any regret.
Dan: Your comment about ethics was what I was trying to say but couldn't exactly find the words for. It's similar to the way a judge decides a ruling based on how awful (lack of a better word) the crime is.
Replying to Dominique: What I mean is that he doesn't get bored one day and says, "hey you, yeah go burn in hell for all of eternity." We choose our actions that end us wherever it is that we end up in life. God doesn't pick our actions.
ReplyDeleteReplying to Rachel: You don't necessarily have to end up in a bad part of hell. just picture everything you could possibly want or not want down in the underworld.