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for other uses of the word Hell see Hell (disambiguation)
In Christian, Jewish or Islamic belief Hell is the place where the souls of the damned are sent for punishment or torment. Althogh the actual details vary between religions, it is usually thought of as an unpleasent hot place that is, metaphysically speaking, below. The word comes from the early Anglo-Saxon 'Hel', the pagan abode of the dead.
==todo refer to underworld, sheol etc. Lucifer and the fallen angel story.
Rabbinic Jewish view of Hell
[edit]Gehenna is fairly well defined in rabbinic literature. It is sometimes translated as "hell", but this doesn't effectively convey its meaning. In Judaism, Gehenna—while certainly a terribly unpleasant place—is not hell. The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are not tortured in hell forever; the longest that one can be there is said to be 12 months. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Gan Eden (heaven), where all imperfections are purged.
Ancient Greek views of Hell
[edit]Another source for the modern idea of 'Hell' is the Greek Tartarus, a fiery place in which evildoers were punished. Tartarus formed part of Hades in Greek mythology, but Hades also included the Elysian fields, a place for the reward of heroes (though some sources have the Elysian fields, not in the underworld, but as islands in the west), whilst most spent a shadowy existence wandering the asphodels (a flower, most likely Narcissus poeticus) fields. Like most ancient (pre-Christian) religions, the underworld was not viewed as negatively as it is in Christianity.
Hell appears in several mythologies and religions in different guises, and is commonly inhabited by demons and the souls of dead people.
Christian view of Hell
[edit]According to popular imagery connected to the Christian mythos, Hell is a place ruled by the Devil, or Satan, who is often depicted as a being who carries a pitchfork, has flaming red skin, horns on his head, and a long thin tail with a diamond shaped barb on it. Hell is often depicted as a place underground, with fires and molten rock. Demons, looking much like the Devil, eternally torment the souls of the dead. Christian theologians (or at least those who believe in the traditional Christian idea of Hell) reject this view: the popular image of the Devil has no biblical basis (it may be a Christian corruption of the god Pan), and rather than demons punishing humans, demons themselves are punished in Hell along with the humans led astray by them.
For many ancient Christians, Hell was the same "place" as Heaven: living in the presence of God and directly experiencing God's love. Whether this was experienced as pleasure or torment depended on one's disposition towards God. St. Isaac of Syria wrote in Mystic Treatises:
- ... those who find themselves in hell will be chastised by the scourge of love. How cruel and bitter this torment of love will be! For those who understand that they have sinned against love, undergo no greater suffering than those produced by the most fearful tortures. The sorrow which takes hold of the heart, which has sinned against love, is more piercing than any other pain. It is not right to say that the sinners in hell are deprived of the love of God ... But love acts in two ways, as suffering of the reproved, and as joy in the blessed!
The present Roman Catholic view of Hell is stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by [one's] own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called 'hell'" Thus, Pope John Paul II has said (see link below), "Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy."
Most Christian groups teach that Hell is eternal. Some, however, believe that Hell is only temporary, and that souls in hell cease to exist after serving their time there; this belief is called annihilationism. Others believe that after serving their time in hell souls are reconciled to God and admitted to heaven; this belief is called universalism.
Islamic view of Hell
[edit]Muslims believe in Hell; their view of Hell is similar in most ways to the Christian. There are many Qur'anic texts about the suffering in Hell of evildoers.
Chinese and Japanese view of Hell
[edit]The structure of Hell is remarkably complicated. The ruler of Hell has to deal with politics as human rulers. They are the subjects of many folk stories and manga. Note that in many such stories, people in hell could die again but none seems to care about the seemingly contradiction.
Other religions
[edit]Although Buddhists acknowledge several Hells, which are places of punishment and discipline for evildoers, they remain temporary for inhabitants. Those with sufficiently negative karma are reborn there, where they stay until their bad karma has been burnt, whereupon they are reborn as humans or hungry ghosts.
Bahá'ís do not accept Hell as a place but rather a state of being "Heaven is nearness to me and Hell is separation from Me." – Bahá'u'llah
See also: Eschatology, damnation, purgatory
External links
[edit]- July 28, 1999 statement of Pope John Paul II, concerning the topic of Hell, http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_28071999_en.html