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What is hell?

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
In an other thread i discussed what hell is, and gave an answer, but after some reflection i think my answer was incorrect.

What does your religion or spiritual teaching say about Hell?
What is you own understanding of what Hell might be?
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
There is little about hell in the bible, in fact i don't think it mentions it by name at all. I can't speak for the Qur'an.

The modern christian notion of hell comes from Dante Alighieri, Inferno and the works of Hieronymus Bosch.

It's good to know that when i am threatened with an eternity in hell for being atheist, am being threatened with wonderful art and comedy.
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
Hell, when it exists, is in the mind. You can find heaven there too. :)
I checked a bit in the teachings and this is what i found

Hell, in the words of the Qur’an, is ‘God’s kindled fire which rises above the hearts’ (Al-Humazah 104:6-7). In other words, this ‘fire’ originates in a person’s inner consciousness. This clearly alludes to the spiritual nature of the ‘fire’ in a person’s belated realization of wrongdoing. It is a painful realization of one’s failure as a person that arises within one’s own consciousness, not imposed by an external agency.

According to the teachings of the Qur’an, the re-emergence of the soul brings it a ‘sharp sight’ (Qaf 50:22).

There is no such thing as eternal damnation in Islam. The word ‘eternity’ used in certain verses in the Qur’an relating to Hell, is explained by the Qur’an itself to mean only a period of time (An-Naba 78:23).
Salvation, Heaven, and Hell: The Qur’anic Viewpoint
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
There is little about hell in the bible, in fact i don't think it mentions it by name at all. I can't speak for the Qur'an.

The modern christian notion of hell comes from Dante Alighieri, Inferno and the works of Hieronymus Bosch.

It's good to know that when i am threatened with an eternity in hell for being atheist, am being threatened with wonderful art and comedy.
I dont think all atheists experience hell :) and i think many who claim to be believers may end up in hell before Atheists
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
Hell and heaven are states during a past life review. Those who led negative lives experience the suffering they caused and experience what is called hell. Those who on balance lived positive lives have a positive experience called heaven.
 

WalterTrull

Godfella
Hell and heaven are states during a past life review. Those who led negative lives experience the suffering they caused and experience what is called hell. Those who on balance lived positive lives have a positive experience called heaven.
Wow. I wish I was that positive about what I thought. Be sort of convenient.
 

Vee

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
In an other thread i discussed what hell is, and gave an answer, but after some reflection i think my answer was incorrect.

What does your religion or spiritual teaching say about Hell?
What is you own understanding of what Hell might be?

Long story short: a bad translation of two words in the bible.
Hell means "grave". It's the place where people are buried. Nothing to do with eternal punishment or fire.
 

Spirit of Light

Be who ever you want
Long story short: a bad translation of two words in the bible.
Hell means "grave". It's the place where people are buried. Nothing to do with eternal punishment or fire.
I dont know that much about the bible :)
Since i follow the teaching in the quran:)

It's good to hear your understanding.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
In an other thread i discussed what hell is, and gave an answer, but after some reflection i think my answer was incorrect.

What does your religion or spiritual teaching say about Hell?
What is you own understanding of what Hell might be?
My understanding of hell is for a soul to become a victim of self and passion, and sink in their depths.

“Thou hast asked Me concerning the nature of the soul. Know, verily, that the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to unravel. It is the first among all created things to declare the excellence of its Creator, the first to recognize His glory, to cleave to His truth, and to bow down in adoration before Him. If it be faithful to God, it will reflect His light, and will, eventually, return unto Him. If it fail, however, in its allegiance to its Creator, it will become a victim to self and passion, and will, in the end, sink in their depths...”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 158-159
 

1213

Well-Known Member
...What does your religion or spiritual teaching say about Hell?
What is you own understanding of what Hell might be?

Bible says about hell:

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matt. 10:28

…Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:12-15

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23

These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Mat. 25:46

If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire,
Mark 9:43

Hell can mean commonly two things, Hades, or Gehenna. And when I speak about hell, I mean Gehenna, which is the unquenchable lake of fire where body and soul are destroyed.
 

Onoma

Active Member
Probably what the word says it is

hádēs - from 1 /A "not" + idein/eidō, "see"

It merely uses a negative particle prefix " alpha " attached to the word " eidō "

If it were actually a place, it would be preceded by εις ( in ) and not εν ( in )

Like "in jerusalem" uses εις ( in ) whereas "in hell" / " in heaven" and "in spirit" or "in righteousness" use εν ( in )

Neither " spirit " nor " righteousness " are places

I attribute the confusion over this concept to fundamentalist zealots that are seriously lacking real study of the scriptures
 

Vouthon

Dominus Deus tuus ignis consumens est
Staff member
Premium Member
In my tradition, "Hell" is not a place of damnation but rather the incapacity of a soul to apprehend the saving love of God, because it has totally excluded itself from it by its manner of living and being: "This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell."" (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1033).

My church does not affirm that anyone is actually 'in' this eternal state or condition after death (we cannot know this), it merely teaches that on account of human freewill we cannot "deny" that it is a possible choice before every one of us.

St. Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) thus stated: "The separated soul goes naturally to its own state. The soul in the state of sin, finding no place more suitable, throws itself of its own accord into hell. And the soul which is not yet ready for divine union, casts itself voluntarily into purgatory. Heaven has no gates. Whoever will can enter there, because God is all goodness. But the divine essence is so pure that the soul, finding in itself obstacles, prefers to enter purgatory, and there to find in mercy the removal of the impediment…” (The Doctrine of Catherine of Genoa).

As to the nature of this possible 'spiritual state of being' after death - hell - the Church Father Saint Isaac the Syrian (a 7th century father) contended that heaven and hell are both postmortem encounters with the Love of God, albeit experienced differently as a result of the different conditions of souls:


Those who are tormented in hell are tormented by the invasion of love. What is there more bitter and more violent than the pains of love? Those who feel they have sinned against love bear in themselves a damnation much heavier than the most dreaded punishments. The suffering with which sinning against love afflicts the heart is more keenly felt than any other torment.

It is absurd to suppose that sinners in hell are deprived of God’s love.

Love.. is offered impartially. But by its very power it acts in two ways. It torments sinners, as happens here on earth when we are tormented by a friend to whom we have been unfaithful. And it gives joy to those who have been faithful. That is what the torment of hell is – remorse
.’

[St. Isaac of Nineveh, ‘Ascetic Treatises’, p 326]​


I believe in the omnipresence of God and therefore accept He is present even in the state of Hell.

A particularly striking argument to this effect, that God is present even in Hell no less than in Heaven, can be found in the works of St. Angela of Foligno, (1248 - 1309), an Italian mystic of the Catholic Church:


In a vision I beheld the fullness of God in which I beheld and comprehended the whole creation, that is, what is on this side and what is beyond the sea, the abyss, the sea itself, and everything else. And in everything that I saw, I could perceive nothing except the presence of the power of God, and in a manner totally indescribable. And my soul in an excess of wonder cried out: "This world is pregnant with God!" ...

God presents himself in the inmost depths of my soul. I understand not only that He is present, but also how He is present in every creature and in everything that has being, in a devil and a good angel, in heaven and hell, in good deeds and in adultery or homicide, in all things, finally, which exist or have some degree of being, whether beautiful or ugly.

She further said: I also understand that he is no less present in a devil than a good angel. Therefore, while I am in this truth, I take no less delight in seeing or understanding his presence in a devil or in an act of adultery than I do in a good angel or in a good deed. This mode of divine presence in my soul has become almost habitual


(Paulist Press, 1993, pp. 212-213)​


There's a modern Christian hymn, which contains the following lyric in its bridge: "No matter how far I run, I run into Your love":




This song expresses the underlying idea well.
 
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halbhh

The wonder and awe of "all things".
There is little about hell in the bible, in fact i don't think it mentions it by name at all.
Just an fyi (but an interesting one) -- there's a very prominent verse (as you might recall once it's pointed out) using 'hell' in most translations --

Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

This can be a pretty important verse to know in modern times, as it helps show the error in a notable popular misconception people have from poor reading where they imagined human souls were supposed to be immortal (like the angels) before being given immortality, aka John 3:16, so the lack of awareness of various such verses allows false ideas like 'eternal torment' for human souls (which of course are not angel souls) to be imagined and then repeated, becoming a popular misconception.
 

Ponder This

Well-Known Member
In an other thread i discussed what hell is, and gave an answer, but after some reflection i think my answer was incorrect.

What does your religion or spiritual teaching say about Hell?
What is you own understanding of what Hell might be?

Hell appears to be a spiritual place or state of suffering.
It is a consequence of actions, desires, or sins accumulated during the course of a lifetime that are said to be the cause of this suffering.

Heaven on the other hand, appears to be an alternative wherein there is a cessation of suffering.

Both Heaven and Hell are associated with the Afterlife. In other words, the consequences of our desires cannot be avoided through the apparent deaths of our material bodies.
 
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