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Hell

March 20, 2023

This article is about the abode of the dead in various cultures and religious traditions around the world. For other uses, see Hell (disambiguation).

In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations, the biggest examples of which are Christianity and Islam, whereas religions with reincarnation usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations, as is the case in the dharmic religions. Religions typically locate hell in another dimension or under Earth's surface. Other afterlife destinations include heaven, paradise, purgatory, limbo, and the underworld.

Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180)
Hell – detail from a fresco in the medieval church of St Nicholas in Raduil, Bulgaria
Belief in Hell by country (2017-20)

Other religions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward, merely describe an abode of the dead, the grave, a neutral place that is located under the surface of Earth (for example, see Kur, Hades, and Sheol). Such places are sometimes equated with the English word hell, though a more correct translation would be "underworld" or "world of the dead". The ancient Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman, and Finnic religions include entrances to the underworld from the land of the living.

Overview

Etymology

 
Hel (1889) by Johannes Gehrts, depicts the Old Norse Hel, a goddess-like figure, in the location of the same name, which she oversees

The modern English word hell is derived from Old English hel, helle (first attested around 725 AD to refer to a nether world of the dead) reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period.[1] The word has cognates in all branches of the Germanic languages, including Old Norse hel (which refers to both a location and goddess-like being in Norse mythology), Old Frisian helle, Old Saxon hellia, Old High German hella, and Gothic halja. All forms ultimately derive from the reconstructed Proto-Germanic feminine noun *xaljō or *haljō ('concealed place, the underworld'). In turn, the Proto-Germanic form derives from the o-grade form of the Proto-Indo-European root *kel-, *kol-: 'to cover, conceal, save'.[2] Indo-European cognates include Latin cēlāre ("to hide", related to the English word cellar) and early Irish ceilid ("hides"). Upon the Christianization of the Germanic peoples, extensions of the Proto-Germanic *xaljō were reinterpreted to denote the underworld in Christian mythology[1][3] (see Gehenna).

Related early Germanic terms and concepts include Proto-Germanic *xalja-rūnō(n), a feminine compound noun, and *xalja-wītjan, a neutral compound noun. This form is reconstructed from the Latinized Gothic plural noun *haliurunnae (attested by Jordanes; according to philologist Vladimir Orel, meaning 'witches'), Old English helle-rúne ('sorceress, necromancer', according to Orel), and Old High German helli-rūna 'magic'. The compound is composed of two elements: *xaljō (*haljō) and *rūnō, the Proto-Germanic precursor to Modern English rune.[4] The second element in the Gothic haliurunnae may however instead be an agent noun from the verb rinnan ("to run, go"), which would make its literal meaning "one who travels to the netherworld".[5][6]

Proto-Germanic *xalja-wītjan (or *halja-wītjan) is reconstructed from Old Norse hel-víti 'hell', Old English helle-wíte 'hell-torment, hell', Old Saxon helli-wīti 'hell', and the Middle High German feminine noun helle-wīze. The compound is a compound of *xaljō (discussed above) and *wītjan (reconstructed from forms such as Old English witt 'right mind, wits', Old Saxon gewit 'understanding', and Gothic un-witi 'foolishness, understanding').[7]

Religion, mythology, and folklore

Hell appears in several mythologies and religions. It is commonly inhabited by demons and the souls of dead people. A fable about hell which recurs in folklore across several cultures is the allegory of the long spoons.[citation needed]

Punishment

 
Preserved colonial wall painting of 1802 depicting Hell,[8][9][10] by Tadeo Escalante, inside the Church of San Juan Bautista in Huaro, Peru

Punishment in hell typically corresponds to sins committed during life. Sometimes these distinctions are specific, with damned souls suffering for each sin committed, such as in Plato's myth of Er or Dante's The Divine Comedy, but sometimes they are general, with condemned sinners relegated to one or more chamber of hell or to a level of suffering.[citation needed]

In many religious cultures, including Christianity and Islam, hell is often depicted as fiery, painful, and harsh, inflicting suffering on the guilty.[11] Despite these common depictions of hell as a place of fire, some other traditions portray hell as cold. Buddhist – and particularly Tibetan Buddhist – descriptions of hell feature an equal number of hot and cold hells. Among Christian descriptions Dante's Inferno portrays the innermost (9th) circle of hell as a frozen lake of blood and guilt.[12] But cold also played a part in earlier Christian depictions of hell or purgatory, beginning with the Apocalypse of Paul, originally from the early third century;[13] the "Vision of Dryhthelm" by the Venerable Bede from the seventh century;[14] "St Patrick's Purgatory", "The Vision of Tundale" or "Visio Tnugdali", and the "Vision of the Monk of Eynsham", all from the twelfth century;[15] and the "Vision of Thurkill" from the early thirteenth century.[16]

Polytheism

Africa

The hell of Swahili mythology is called kuzimu, and belief in it developed in the 7th and 8th century under the influence of Muslim merchants at the East African coast.[17] It is imagined as a very cold place.[17] Serer religion rejects the general notion of heaven and hell.[18] In Serer religion, acceptance by the ancestors who have long departed is as close to any heaven as one can get. Rejection and becoming a wandering soul is a sort of hell for one passing over. The souls of the dead must make their way to Jaaniw (the sacred dwelling place of the soul). Only those who have lived their lives on earth in accordance with Serer doctrines will be able to make this necessary journey and thus be accepted by the ancestors. Those who can't make the journey become lost and wandering souls, but they do not burn in "hell fire".[18][19]

According to the Yoruba mythology, there is no hellfire. Wicked people (guilty of e.g. theft, witchcraft, murder, or cruelty[20]) are confined to Orun Apaadi (heaven of potsherds), while the good people continue to live in the ancestral realm, Orun Baba Eni (heaven of our fathers).[21]

Ancient Egypt

 
In this ~1275 BC Book of the Dead scene the dead scribe Hunefer's heart is weighed on the scale of Maat against the feather of truth, by the canine-headed Anubis. The ibis-headed Thoth, scribe of the gods, records the result. If his heart is lighter than the feather, Hunefer is allowed to pass into the afterlife. If not, he is eaten by the crocodile-headed Ammit.[22]

With the rise of the cult of Osiris during the Middle Kingdom the "democratization of religion" offered to even his humblest followers the prospect of eternal life, with moral fitness becoming the dominant factor in determining a person's suitability. At death a person faced judgment by a tribunal of forty-two divine judges. If they had led a life in conformance with the precepts of the goddess Maat, who represented truth and right living, the person was welcomed into the heavenly reed fields. If found guilty the person was thrown to Ammit, the "devourer of the dead" and would be condemned to the lake of fire.[23] The person taken by the devourer is subject first to terrifying punishment and then annihilated. These depictions of punishment may have influenced medieval perceptions of the inferno in hell via early Christian and Coptic texts.[24] Purification for those considered justified appears in the descriptions of "Flame Island", where humans experience the triumph over evil and rebirth. For the damned complete destruction into a state of non-being awaits but there is no suggestion of eternal torture; the weighing of the heart in Egyptian mythology can lead to annihilation.[25][26] The Tale of Khaemwese describes the torment of a rich man, who lacked charity, when he dies and compares it to the blessed state of a poor man who has also died.[27] Divine pardon at judgment always remained a central concern for the ancient Egyptians.[28]

Modern understanding of Egyptian notions of hell relies on six ancient texts:[29]

  1. The Book of Two Ways (Book of the Ways of Rosetau)
  2. The Book of Amduat (Book of the Hidden Room, Book of That Which Is in the Underworld)
  3. The Book of Gates
  4. The Book of the Dead (Book of Going Forth by Day)
  5. The Book of the Earth
  6. The Book of Caverns

Asia

The hells of Asia include the Bagobo "Gimokodan" (which is believed to be more of an otherworld, where the Red Region is reserved who those who died in battle, while ordinary people go to the White Region)[30] and in Dharmic religions, "Kalichi" or "Naraka".

According to a few sources, hell is below ground, and described as an uninviting wet[31] or fiery place reserved for sinful people in the Ainu religion, as stated by missionary John Batchelor.[32] However, belief in hell does not appear in oral tradition of the Ainu.[33] Instead, there is belief within the Ainu religion that the soul of the deceased (ramat) would become a kamuy after death.[33] There is also belief that the soul of someone who has been wicked during lifetime, committed suicide, got murdered or died in great agony would become a ghost (tukap) who would haunt the living,[33] to come to fulfillment from which it was excluded during life.[34]

In Taoism, hell is represented by Diyu.

Ancient Mesopotamia

Main article: Ancient Mesopotamian underworld
 
Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons

The Sumerian afterlife was a dark, dreary cavern located deep below the ground,[35] where inhabitants were believed to continue "a shadowy version of life on earth".[35] This bleak domain was known as Kur,[36]: 114  and was believed to be ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal.[35][37]: 184  All souls went to the same afterlife,[35] and a person's actions during life had no effect on how the person would be treated in the world to come.[35]

The souls in Kur were believed to eat nothing but dry dust[36]: 58  and family members of the deceased would ritually pour libations into the dead person's grave through a clay pipe, thereby allowing the dead to drink.[36]: 58  Nonetheless, funerary evidence indicates that some people believed that the goddess Inanna, Ereshkigal's younger sister, had the power to award her devotees with special favors in the afterlife.[35][38] During the Third Dynasty of Ur, it was believed that a person's treatment in the afterlife depended on how he or she was buried;[36]: 58  those that had been given sumptuous burials would be treated well,[36]: 58  but those who had been given poor burials would fare poorly.[36]: 58 

The entrance to Kur was believed to be located in the Zagros mountains in the far east.[36]: 114  It had seven gates, through which a soul needed to pass.[35] The god Neti was the gatekeeper.[37]: 184 [36]: 86  Ereshkigal's sukkal, or messenger, was the god Namtar.[36]: 134 [37]: 184  Galla were a class of demons that were believed to reside in the underworld;[36]: 85  their primary purpose appears to have been to drag unfortunate mortals back to Kur.[36]: 85  They are frequently referenced in magical texts,[36]: 85–86  and some texts describe them as being seven in number.[36]: 85–86  Several extant poems describe the galla dragging the god Dumuzid into the underworld.[36]: 86  The later Mesopotamians knew this underworld by its East Semitic name: Irkalla. During the Akkadian Period, Ereshkigal's role as the ruler of the underworld was assigned to Nergal, the god of death.[35][37]: 184  The Akkadians attempted to harmonize this dual rulership of the underworld by making Nergal Ereshkigal's husband.[35]

Europe

See also: Hel (location) and Nav (Slavic folklore)

The hells of Europe include Breton mythology's "Anaon", Celtic mythology's "Uffern", Slavic mythology's "Peklo", Norse mythology's Náströnd, the hell of Sami mythology and Finnish "Tuonela" ("manala").

Ancient Greece and Rome

Main article: Tartarus

In classic Greek mythology, below heaven, Earth, and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros (Greek Τάρταρος, deep place). It is either a deep, gloomy place, a pit or abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides within Hades (the entire underworld) with Tartarus being the hellish component. In the Gorgias, Plato (c. 400 BC) wrote that souls of the deceased were judged after they paid for crossing the river of the dead and those who received punishment were sent to Tartarus.[39] As a place of punishment, it can be considered a hell. The classic Hades, on the other hand, is more similar to Old Testament Sheol. The Romans later adopted these views.

Abrahamic religions

Hell is conceived of in most Abrahamic religions as a place of, or a form of, punishment.[40]

Judaism

See also: Gehenna and Sheol

Judaism does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife, but it does have a mystical/Orthodox tradition of describing Gehinnom. Gehinnom is not hell, but originally a grave and in later times a sort of Purgatory where one is judged based on one's life's deeds, or rather, where one becomes fully aware of one's own shortcomings and negative actions during one's life. The Kabbalah explains it as a "waiting room" (commonly translated as an "entry way") for all souls (not just the wicked). The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are not in Gehinnom forever; the longest that one can be there is said to be 12 months, however, there has been the occasional noted exception. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Olam Habah (heb. עולם הבא; lit. "The world to come", often viewed as analogous to heaven). This is also mentioned in the Kabbalah, where the soul is described as breaking, like the flame of a candle lighting another: the part of the soul that ascends being pure and the "unfinished" piece being reborn.

According to Jewish teachings, hell is not entirely physical; rather, it can be compared to a very intense feeling of shame. People are ashamed of their misdeeds and this constitutes suffering which makes up for the bad deeds. When one has so deviated from the will of God, one is said to be in Gehinnom. This is not meant to refer to some point in the future, but to the very present moment. The gates of teshuva (return) are said to be always open, and so one can align his will with that of God at any moment. Being out of alignment with God's will is itself a punishment according to the Torah.

Many scholars of Jewish mysticism, particularly of the Kabbalah, describe seven "compartments" or "habitations" of hell, just as they describe seven divisions of heaven. These divisions go by many different names, and the most frequently mentioned are as follows:[41]

Besides those mentioned above, there also exist additional terms that have been often used to either refer to hell in general or to some region of the underworld:

  • Azazel (Hebrew: עֲזָאזֵל, compd. of ez עֵז: "goat" + azal אָזַל: "to go away" – "goat of departure", "scapegoat"; "entire removal", "damnation")
  • Dudael (Hebrew: דּוּדָאֵל – lit. "cauldron of God")
  • Tehom (Hebrew: תְהוֹם – "abyss"; "sea", "deep ocean")[42]
  • Tophet (Hebrew: תֹּפֶת or תוֹפֶת, Topheth – "fire-place", "place of burning", "place to be spit upon"; "inferno")[43][44]
  • Tzoah Rotachat (Hebrew: צוֹאָה רוֹתֵחַת, Tsoah Rothachath – "boiling excrement")[45]
  • Mashchit (Hebrew: מַשְׁחִית, Mashchith – "destruction", "ruin")
  • Dumah (Hebrew: דוּמָה – "silence")
  • Neshiyyah (Hebrew: נְשִׁיָּה – "oblivion", "Limbo")
  • Bor Shaon (Hebrew: בּוֹר שָׁאוֹן – "cistern of sound")
  • Eretz Tachtit (Hebrew: אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּית, Erets Tachtith – "lowest earth").[46][47]
  • Masak Mavdil (Hebrew: מָסָך מַבְדִּ֔יל, Masak Mabdil – "dividing curtain")
  • Haguel (Ethiopic: ሀጉለ – "(place of) destruction", "loss", "waste")[48]
  • Ikisat (Ethiopic: አክይስት – "serpents", "dragons"; "place of future punishment")[49][50]

For more information, see Qliphoth.

Maimonides declares in his 13 principles of faith that the hells of the rabbinic literature were pedagogically motivated inventions to encourage respect of the Torah commandments by mankind, which had been regarded as immature.[51] Instead of being sent to hell, the souls of the wicked would actually get annihilated.[52]

In Judaism around the time of Jesus, almost all practitioners believed that their descent from Abraham automatically stopped them from going to hell.[53]

Christianity

Main articles: Hell in Christianity and Christian views on Hades
 
"Gehenna", Valley of Hinnom, 2007
 
The parable of the Rich man and Lazarus depicting the rich man in hell asking for help to Abraham and Lazarus in heaven by James Tissot
 
Harrowing of Hell. Christ leads Adam by the hand, c.1504
 
The Last Judgment, Hell, c.1431, by Fra Angelico

The Christian doctrine of hell derives from passages in the New Testament. The word hell does not appear in the Greek New Testament; instead one of three words is used: the Greek words Tartarus or Hades, or the Hebrew word Gehinnom.

In the Septuagint and New Testament, the authors used the Greek term Hades for the Hebrew Sheol, but often with Jewish rather than Greek concepts in mind. In the Jewish concept of Sheol, such as expressed in Ecclesiastes,[54] Sheol or Hades is a place where there is no activity. However, since Augustine, some[which?] Christians have believed that the souls of those who die either rest peacefully, in the case of Christians, or are afflicted, in the case of the damned, after death until the resurrection.[55]

Hebrew OT Septuagint Greek NT times in NT Vulgate KJV NIV
שְׁאוֹל (Sheol)[56] Ἅιδης (Haïdēs)[57] ᾌδης (Ádēs)[58] x10[59] infernus[60] Hell Hades
גֵיא בֶן־הִנֹּם (Ge Hinom)[61] Εννομ (Ennom)[62] γέεννα (géenna)[63] x11[64] gehennae[65]/gehennam[66] Hell Hell
(Not applicable) (Not applicable) Ταρταρόω (Tartaróō)[67] x1 tartarum[68] Hell Hell

While these three terms are translated in the KJV as "hell" they have three very different meanings.

  • Hades has similarities to the Old Testament term, Sheol as "the place of the dead" or "grave". Thus, it is used in reference to both the righteous and the wicked, since both wind up there eventually.[69]
  • Gehenna refers to the "Valley of Hinnom", which was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem. It was a place where people burned their garbage and thus there was always a fire burning there.[contradictory] Bodies of those deemed to have died in sin without hope of salvation (such as people who committed suicide) were thrown there to be destroyed.[70] Gehenna is used in the New Testament as a metaphor for the final place of punishment for the wicked after the resurrection.[71]
  • Tartaróō (the verb "throw to Tartarus", used of the fall of the Titans in a scholium on Illiad 14.296) occurs only once in the New Testament in II Peter 2:4, where it is parallel to the use of the noun form in 1 Enoch as the place of incarceration of the fallen angels. It mentions nothing about human souls being sent there in the afterlife.

The Catholic Church defines hell as "a state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed". One finds oneself in hell as the result of dying in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love, becoming eternally separated from him by one's own free choice[72] immediately after death.[73] In the Roman Catholic Church, many other Christian churches, such as the Methodists, Baptists and Episcopalians, and some Greek Orthodox churches,[74] hell is taught as the final destiny of those who have not been found worthy after the general resurrection and last judgment,[75][76][77] where they will be eternally punished for sin and permanently separated from God.[78] The nature of this judgment is inconsistent with many Protestant churches teaching the saving comes from accepting Jesus Christ as their savior, while the Greek Orthodox and Catholic Churches teach that the judgment hinges on both faith and works. However, many Liberal Christians throughout Mainline Protestant churches believe in universal reconciliation (see below), even though it contradicts the traditional doctrines that are usually held by the evangelicals within their denominations.[79] Regarding the belief in hell, the interpretation of Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus is also relevant.[80]

Some modern Christian theologians subscribe to the doctrines of conditional immortality. Conditional immortality is the belief that the soul dies with the body and does not live again until the resurrection. As with other Jewish writings of the Second Temple period, the New Testament text distinguishes two words, both translated "hell" in older English Bibles: Hades, "the grave", and Gehenna where God "can destroy both body and soul".[81] A minority of Christians read this to mean that neither Hades nor Gehenna are eternal but refer to the ultimate destruction of the wicked in the Lake of Fire in a consuming fire after resurrection. However, because of the Greek words used in translating from the Hebrew text, the Hebrew ideas have become confused with Greek myths and ideas. In the Hebrew text when people died they went to Sheol, the grave[82] and the wicked ultimately went to Gehenna and were consumed by fire. The Hebrew words for "the grave" or "death" or "eventual destruction of the wicked", were translated using Greek words and later texts became a mix of mistranslation, pagan influence, and Greek myth.[83]

Christian mortalism is the doctrine that all men and women, including Christians, must die, and do not continue and are not conscious after death. Therefore, annihilationism includes the doctrine that "the wicked" are also destroyed rather than tormented forever in traditional "hell" or the lake of fire. Christian mortalism and annihilationism are directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given eternal life at the second coming of Christ and resurrection of the dead.

Biblical scholars looking at the issue through the Hebrew text have denied the teaching of innate immortality.[84][85] Rejection of the immortality of the soul, and advocacy of Christian mortalism, was a feature of Protestantism since the early days of the Reformation with Martin Luther himself rejecting the traditional idea, though his mortalism did not carry into orthodox Lutheranism. One of the most notable English opponents of the immortality of the soul was Thomas Hobbes who describes the idea as a Greek "contagion" in Christian doctrine.[86] Modern proponents of conditional immortality include some in the Anglican church such as N. T. Wright[87] and as denominations the Seventh-day Adventists, Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christadelphians, Living Church of God, The Church of God International, and some other Protestant Christians. The Catholic Caechism states "The souls of sinners descend into hell, where they suffer 'eternal fire'". However, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the most senior Catholic in England and Wales, said "there's nowhere in Catholic teaching that actually says any one person is in hell".[88] The 1993 Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called 'hell'"[89] and "they suffer the punishments of hell, 'eternal fire'".[90] The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God" (CCC 1035). During an Audience in 1999, Pope John Paul II commented: "images of hell that Sacred Scripture presents to us must be correctly interpreted. They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God. 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."[91]

Other denominations

The Seventh-day Adventist Church's official beliefs support annihilationism.[92][93] They deny the Catholic purgatory and teach that the dead lie in the grave until they are raised for a last judgment, both the righteous and wicked await the resurrection at the Second Coming. Seventh-day Adventists believe that death is a state of unconscious sleep until the resurrection. They base this belief on biblical texts such as Ecclesiastes 9:5 which states "the dead know nothing", and 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 which contains a description of the dead being raised from the grave at the second coming. These verses, it is argued, indicate that death is only a period or form of slumber.

Adventists teach that the resurrection of the righteous will take place shortly after the second coming of Jesus, as described in Revelation 20:4–6 that follows Revelation 19:11–16, whereas the resurrection of the wicked will occur after the millennium, as described in Revelation 20:5 and 20:12–13 that follow Revelation 20:4 and 6–7, though Revelation 20:12–13 and 15 actually describe a mixture of saved and condemned people being raised from the dead and judged. Adventists reject the traditional doctrine of hell as a state of everlasting conscious torment, believing instead that the wicked will be permanently destroyed after the millennium by the lake of fire, which is called 'the second death' in Revelation 20:14.

Those Adventist doctrines about death and hell reflect an underlying belief in: (a) conditional immortality (or conditionalism), as opposed to the immortality of the soul; and (b) the monistic nature of human beings, in which the soul is not separable from the body, as opposed to bipartite or tripartite conceptions, in which the soul is separable.

Jehovah's Witnesses hold that the soul ceases to exist when the person dies[94] and therefore that hell (Sheol or Hades) is a state of non-existence.[94] In their theology, Gehenna differs from Sheol or Hades in that it holds no hope of a resurrection.[94] Tartarus is held to be the metaphorical state of debasement of the fallen angels between the time of their moral fall (Genesis chapter 6) until their post-millennial destruction along with Satan (Revelation chapter 20).[95]

Bible Students and Christadelphians also believe in annihilationism.

Christian Universalists believe in universal reconciliation, the belief that all human souls will be eventually reconciled with God and admitted to heaven.[96] This belief is held by some Unitarian-Universalists.[97][98][99]

According to Emanuel Swedenborg's Second Coming Christian revelation, hell exists because evil people want it.[100] They, not God, introduced evil to the human race.[101] In Swedenborgianism, every soul joins the like-minded group after death in which it feels the most comfortable. Hell is therefore believed to be a place of happiness for the souls which delight in evilness.[102]

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) teach that hell is a state between death and resurrection, in which those spirits who did not repent while on earth must suffer for their own sins (Doctrine and Covenants 19:15–17[103]). After that, only the Sons of perdition, who committed the Eternal sin, would be cast into Outer darkness. However, according to Mormon faith, committing the Eternal sin requires so much knowledge that most persons cannot do this.[104] Satan and Cain are counted as examples of Sons of perdition.

Islam

Main article: Jahannam
 
Muhammad, along with Buraq and Gabriel, visit hell, and they see "shameless women" being eternally punished for exposing their hair to the sight of strangers. Persian, 15th century.

In Islam, jahannam (in Arabic: جهنم) (related to the Hebrew word gehinnom) is the counterpart to heaven and likewise divided into seven layers, both co-existing with the temporal world,[105] filled with blazing fire, boiling water, and a variety of other torments for those who have been condemned to it in the hereafter. In the Quran, God declares that the fire of Jahannam is prepared for both mankind and jinn.[106][107] After the Day of Judgment, it is to be occupied by those who do not believe in God, those who have disobeyed his laws, or rejected his messengers.[108] "Enemies of Islam" are sent to hell immediately upon their deaths.[109] Muslim modernists downplay the vivid descriptions of hell common during Classical period, on one hand reaffirming that the afterlife must not be denied, but simultaneously asserting its exact nature remains unknown. Other modern Muslims continue the line of Sufism as an interiorized hell, combining the eschatological thoughts of Ibn Arabi and Rumi with Western philosophy.[105] Although disputed by some scholars, most scholars consider jahannam to be eternal.[110][105] There is belief that the fire which represents the own bad deeds can already be seen during the Punishment of the Grave, and that the spiritual pain caused by this can lead to purification of the soul.[111] Not all Muslims and scholars agree whether hell is an eternal destination or whether some or all of the condemned will eventually be forgiven and allowed to enter paradise.[109][112][113][114][excessive citations]

Over hell, a narrow bridge called As-Sirāt is spanned. On Judgment Day one must pass over it to reach paradise, but those destined for hell will find too narrow and fall from into their new abode.[115] Iblis, the temporary ruler of hell,[116] is thought of residing in the bottom of hell, from where he commands his hosts of infernal demons.[117][118] But contrary to Christian traditions, Iblis and his infernal hosts do not wage war against God,[112] his enmity applies against humanity only. Further, his dominion in hell is also his punishment. Executioners of punishment are the zabaniyya, who have been created from the fires of hell. According to the Muwatta Hadith, the Bukhari Hadith, the Tirmidhi Hadith, and the Kabir Hadith, Muhammad claimed that the fire of Jahannam is not red, but pitch-black, and is 70 times hotter than ordinary fire, and is much more painful than ordinary fire.[citation needed]

Seven stages of punishment

The seven gates of jahannam, mentioned in the Quran, inspired Muslim exegetes (tafsir) to develop a system of seven stages of hell, analogue to the seven doors of paradise. The stages of hell get their names by seven different terms used for hell throughout the Quran. Each is assigned for a different type of sinners. The concept later accepted by Sunni authorities list the levels of hell as follows, although some stages may vary:[119][120]

  1. Jahannam (جهنم Gehenna)
  2. Laza (لظى fierce blaze)
  3. Hutama (حطم crushing fire)
  4. Sa'ir (سعير raging fire)
  5. Saqar (سقر scorching fire)
  6. Jahim (جحيم furnace)
  7. Hawiya (هاوية infernal abyss)

The highest level (jahannam) is traditionally thought of as a type of purgatory reserved for Muslims. Polytheism (shirk) is regarded as a particularly grievous sin; therefore entering Paradise is forbidden to a polytheist (musyrik) because his place is hell;[121] and the second lowest level (jahim) only after the bottomless pit for the hypocrites (hawiyah), who claimed aloud to believe in God and his messenger but in their hearts did not.[122]

Gatekeepers
  • Sukha'il (صوخائيل) of Jahannam
  • Tufa'il (طوفائيل) of Laza
  • Tafta'il (طفطائيل) of Sa’ir
  • Susbabil (صوصَابيل) of Saqar
  • Tarfatil (طرفاطيل) of Jahim
  • Istafatabil (اصطافاطابيل) of Haviya

[123]

In the heavens

 
Muhammad requests Maalik to show him Hell during his heavenly journey. Miniature from The David Collection.

Although the earliest reports about Muhammad's journey through the heavens, do not locate hell in the heavens,[124] only brief references about visiting hell during the journey appears. But extensive accounts about Muhammad's night journey, in the non-canonical but popular Miraj-Literature, tell about encountering the angels of hell. Maalik, the keeper to the gates of hell, namely appears in Ibn Abbas' Isra and Mi'raj.[105] The doors to hell are either in the third[124] or fifth heaven,[125][105] or (although only implicitly) in a heaven close God's throne,[124] or directly after entering heaven,[126] whereupon Muhammad requests a glaze at hell. Ibn Hisham gives extensive details about Muhammad visiting hell and its inhabitants punished wherein, but can only endure watching the punishments of the first layer of hell.[127] Muhammad meeting Malik, the Dajjal and hell, was used as a proof for Muhammad's Night Journey.[128]

Beneath the earth

Medieval sources often identified hell with the seven earths mentioned in Quran 65:12, inhabited by devils, harsh angels, scorpions and serpents, who torment the sinners. They described thorny shrubs, seas filled with blood and fire and darkness only illuminated by the flames of hell.[105] One popular concept arrange the earths as follows:[129][130]

  1. Adim or Ramaka (رمکا) - the surface, on which human, animals and jinn live on.
  2. Basit or Khawfa (خوفا)
  3. Thaqil or ‘Arafa (عرفه) - anthechamber
  4. Batih or Hadna (حدنه) - a valley with stream of boiling sulphur.
  5. Hayn or Dama (دمَا)
  6. Sijjin, (سجىن dungeon or prison) or Masika (sometimes, Sijjin is at the bottom) - Quran 83:7
  7. Nar as-Samum, Zamhareer or As-Saqar / Athara,[131] or Hanina (حنينا) - venomous wind of fire and a cold wind of ice.

Baháʼí Faith

In the Baháʼí Faith, the conventional descriptions of hell and heaven are considered to be symbolic representations of spiritual conditions. The Baháʼí writings describe closeness to God to be heaven, and conversely, remoteness from God as hell.[132] The Baháʼí writings state that the soul is immortal and after death it will continue to progress until it finally attains God's presence.[133]

Eastern religions

Buddhism

Main article: Naraka (Buddhism)
 
Naraka in the Burmese representation

In "Devaduta Sutta", the 130th discourse of the Majjhima Nikaya, Buddha teaches about hell in vivid detail. Buddhism teaches that there are five or six realms of rebirth, which can then be further subdivided into degrees of agony or pleasure.[citation needed]) Of these realms, the hell realms, or Naraka, is the lowest realm of rebirth. Of the hell realms, the worst is Avīci (Sanskrit and Pali for "without waves"). The Buddha's disciple, Devadatta, who tried to kill the Buddha on three occasions, as well as create a schism in the monastic order, is said[by whom?] to have been reborn in the Avici hell.

Like all realms of rebirth in Buddhism, rebirth in the hell realms is not permanent, though suffering can persist for eons before being reborn again.[citation needed] In the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha teaches that eventually even Devadatta will become a Pratyekabuddha himself, emphasizing the temporary nature of the hell realms. Thus, Buddhism teaches to escape the endless migration of rebirths (both positive and negative) through the attainment of Nirvana.

The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha, according to the Ksitigarbha Sutra, made a great vow as a young girl to not reach Nirvana until all beings were liberated from the hell realms or other unwholesome rebirths. In popular literature, Ksitigarbha travels to the hell realms to teach and relieve beings of their suffering.

Hinduism

Main article: Naraka (Hinduism)
 
Yama's Court and Hell. The Blue figure is Yamaraja (The Hindu god of death) with his consort Yami and Chitragupta
17th-century painting from Government Museum, Chennai.

Early Vedic religion does not have a concept of hell. The Rigveda mentions three realms, bhūr (the earth), svar (the sky) and bhuvas or antarikṣa (the middle area, i.e. air or atmosphere). In later Hindu literature, especially the law books and Puranas, more realms are mentioned, including a realm similar to hell, called naraka (in Devanāgarī: नरक). Yama as the first born human (together with his twin sister Yamī), by virtue of precedence, becomes ruler of men and a judge on their departure. Originally he resides in heaven, but later, especially medieval, traditions mention his court in naraka.[citation needed]

In the law-books (smṛtis and dharma-sūtras, like the Manu-smṛti), naraka is a place of punishment for misdeeds. It is a lower spiritual plane (called naraka-loka) where the spirit is judged and the partial fruits of karma affect the next life. In the Mahabharata there is a mention of the Pandavas and the Kauravas both going to heaven. At first Yudhisthir goes to heaven where he sees Duryodhana enjoying heaven; Indra tells him that Duryodhana is in heaven as he did his Kshatriya duties. Then he shows Yudhisthir hell where it appears his brothers are. Later it is revealed that this was a test for Yudhisthir and that his brothers and the Kauravas are all in heaven and live happily in the divine abode of gods. Hells are also described in various Puranas and other scriptures. The Garuda Purana gives a detailed account of Hell and its features; it lists the amount of punishment for most crimes, much like a modern-day penal code.

It is believed[by whom?] that people who commit misdeeds go to hell and have to go through punishments in accordance with the misdeeds they committed. The god Yama, who is also the god of death, presides over hell. Detailed accounts of all the misdeeds committed by an individual are kept by Chitragupta, who is the record keeper in Yama's court. Chitragupta reads out the misdeeds committed and Yama orders appropriate punishments to be given to individuals. These punishments include dipping in boiling oil, burning in fire, torture using various weapons, etc. in various hells. Individuals who finish their quota of the punishments are reborn in accordance with their balance of karma. All created beings are imperfect and thus have at least one misdeed to their record; but if one has generally led a meritorious life, one ascends to svarga, a temporary realm of enjoyment similar to Paradise, after a brief period of expiation in hell and before the next reincarnation, according to the law of karma.[citation needed] With the exception of Hindu philosopher Madhva, time in hell is not regarded as eternal damnation within Hinduism.[134]

According to Brahma Kumaris, the Iron Age (Kali Yuga) is regarded as hell.

Jainism

Main article: Naraka (Jainism)
 
17th-century cloth painting depicting seven levels of Jain Hell and various tortures suffered in them. Left panel depicts the demi-god and his animal vehicle presiding over each Hell.

In Jain cosmology, Naraka (translated as hell) is the name given to realm of existence having great suffering. However, a Naraka differs from the hells of Abrahamic religions as souls are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment and punishment. Furthermore, length of a being's stay in a Naraka is not eternal, though it is usually very long and measured in billions of years. A soul is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her previous karma (actions of body, speech and mind), and resides there for a finite length of time until his karma has achieved its full result. After his karma is used up, he may be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of an earlier karma that had not yet ripened.

The hells are situated in the seven grounds at the lower part of the universe. The seven grounds are:

  1. Ratna prabha
  2. Sharkara prabha
  3. Valuka prabha
  4. Panka prabha
  5. Dhuma prabha
  6. Tamaha prabha
  7. Mahatamaha prabha

The hellish beings are a type of souls which are residing in these various hells. They are born in hells by sudden manifestation.[135] The hellish beings possess vaikriya body (protean body which can transform itself and take various forms). They have a fixed life span (ranging from ten thousand to billions of years) in the respective hells where they reside. According to Jain scripture, Tattvarthasutra, following are the causes for birth in hell:[136]

  1. Killing or causing pain with intense passion
  2. Excessive attachment to things and worldly pleasure with constantly indulging in cruel and violent acts
  3. Vowless and unrestrained life[137]

Meivazhi

According to Meivazhi, the purpose of all religions is to guide people to heaven.[138] However, those who do not approach God and are not blessed by Him are believed to be condemned to hell.[139]

Sikhism

In Sikh thought, heaven and hell are not places for living hereafter, they are part of spiritual topography of man and do not exist otherwise. They refer to good and evil stages of life respectively and can be lived now and here during our earthly existence.[140] For example, Guru Arjan explains that people who are entangled in emotional attachment and doubt are living in hell on this Earth i.e. their life is hellish.

So many are being drowned in emotional attachment and doubt; they dwell in the most horrible hell.

— Guru Arjan, Guru Granth Sahib 297[141]

Taoism

Ancient Taoism had no concept of hell, as morality was seen to be a man-made distinction and there was no concept of an immaterial soul. In its home country China, where Taoism adopted tenets of other religions, popular belief endows Taoist hell with many deities and spirits who punish sin in a variety of horrible ways.

Chinese folk beliefs

Main article: Diyu
 
A Chinese glazed earthenware sculpture of "Hell's torturer", 16th century, Ming Dynasty

Diyu is the realm of the dead in Chinese mythology. It is very loosely based upon the Buddhist concept of Naraka combined with traditional Chinese afterlife beliefs and a variety of popular expansions and re-interpretations of these two traditions. Ruled by Yanluo Wang, the King of hell, Diyu is a maze of underground levels and chambers where souls are taken to atone for their earthly sins.

Incorporating ideas from Taoism and Buddhism as well as traditional Chinese folk religion, Diyu is a kind of purgatory place which serves not only to punish but also to renew spirits ready for their next incarnation. There are many deities associated with the place, whose names and purposes are the subject of much conflicting information.

The exact number of levels in Chinese hell – and their associated deities – differs according to the Buddhist or Taoist perception. Some speak of three to four 'Courts', other as many as ten. The ten judges are also known as the 10 Kings of Yama. Each Court deals with a different aspect of atonement. For example, murder is punished in one Court, adultery in another. According to some Chinese legends, there are eighteen levels in hell. Punishment also varies according to belief, but most legends speak of highly imaginative chambers where wrong-doers are sawn in half, beheaded, thrown into pits of filth or forced to climb trees adorned with sharp blades.

However, most legends agree that once a soul (usually referred to as a 'ghost') has atoned for their deeds and repented, he or she is given the Drink of Forgetfulness by Meng Po and sent back into the world to be reborn, possibly as an animal or a poor or sick person, for further punishment.

Other religions

Zoroastrianism

Main article: Zoroastrian eschatology

Zoroastrianism has historically suggested several possible fates for the wicked, including annihilation, purgation in molten metal, and eternal punishment, all of which have standing in Zoroaster's writings. Zoroastrian eschatology includes the belief that wicked souls will remain in Duzakh until, following the arrival of three saviors at thousand-year intervals, Ahura Mazda reconciles the world, destroying evil and resurrecting tormented souls to perfection.[142]

The sacred Gathas mention a "House of the Lie″ for those "that are of an evil dominion, of evil deeds, evil words, evil Self, and evil thought, Liars".[143] However, the best-known Zoroastrian text to describe hell in detail is the Book of Arda Viraf.[144] It depicts particular punishments for particular sins—for instance, being trampled by cattle as punishment for neglecting the needs of work animals.[145] Other descriptions can be found in the Book of Scriptures (Hadhokht Nask), Religious Judgments (Dadestan-i Denig) and the Book of the Judgments of the Spirit of Wisdom (Mainyo-I-Khard).[146]

Mandaeism

See also: World of Darkness (Mandaeism) and Ur (Mandaeism)

The Mandaeans believe in purification of souls inside of Leviathan,[147] whom they also call Ur.[148] Within detention houses, so called Matartas,[149] the detained souls would receive so much punishment that they would wish to die a Second death, which would, however, not (yet) befall their spirit.[150] At the end of days, the souls of the Mandaeans which could be purified, would be liberated out of Ur's mouth.[151] After this, Ur would get destroyed along with the souls remaining inside him,[152] so they die the second death.[153]

Wicca

The Gardnerian Wicca and Alexandrian Wicca sects of Wicca include "wiccan laws" that Gerald Gardner wrote, which state that wiccan souls are privileged with reincarnation, but that the souls of wiccans who break the wiccan laws, "even under torture", would be cursed by the goddess, never be reborn on earth, and "remain where they belong, in the Hell of the Christians".[154][155] Other recognized wiccan sects do not include Gerald Gardner's "wiccan laws". The influential wiccan author Raymond Buckland wrote that the wiccan laws are unimportant. Solitary wiccans, not involved in organized sects, do not include the wiccan laws in their doctrine.

In literature

 
Dante and Virgil in Hell (1850) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. In this painting, the two are shown watching the condemned.

In his Divina commedia (Divine Comedy), set in the year 1300, Dante Alighieri employed the concept of taking Virgil as his guide through Inferno (and then, in the second canticle, up the mountain of Purgatorio). Virgil himself is not condemned to hell proper in Dante's poem but is rather, as a virtuous pagan, confined to Limbo just at the edge of hell. The geography of hell is very elaborately laid out in this work, with nine concentric rings leading deeper into Earth, and deeper into the various punishments of hell, until, at the center of the world, Dante finds Satan himself trapped in the frozen lake of Cocytus. A small tunnel leads past Satan and out to the other side of the world, at the base of the Mount of Purgatory.

John Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) opens with the fallen angels, including their leader Satan, waking up in hell after having been defeated in the war in heaven and the action returns there at several points throughout the poem. Milton portrays hell as the abode of the demons, and the passive prison from which they plot their revenge upon heaven through the corruption of the human race. 19th-century French poet Arthur Rimbaud alluded to the concept as well in the title and themes of one of his major works, A Season in Hell (1873). Rimbaud's poetry portrays his own suffering in a poetic form as well as other themes.

 
Visit to hell by Mexican artist Mauricio García Vega

Many of the great epics of European literature include episodes that occur in hell. In the Roman poet Virgil's Latin epic, the Aeneid, Aeneas descends into Dis (the underworld) to visit his father's spirit. The underworld is only vaguely described, with one unexplored path leading to the punishments of Tartarus, while the other leads through Erebus and the Elysian Fields.

The idea of hell was highly influential to writers such as Jean-Paul Sartre who authored the 1944 play No Exit about the idea that "Hell is other people". Although not a religious man, Sartre was fascinated by his interpretation of a hellish state of suffering. C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce (1945) borrows its title from William Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1793) and its inspiration from the Divine Comedy as the narrator is likewise guided through hell and heaven. Hell is portrayed here as an endless, desolate twilight city upon which night is imperceptibly sinking. The night is actually the Apocalypse, and it heralds the arrival of the demons after their judgment. Before the night comes, anyone can escape hell if they leave behind their former selves and accept Heaven's offer, and a journey to heaven reveals that hell is infinitely small; it is nothing more or less than what happens to a soul that turns away from God and into itself.

In popular culture

Main article: Hell in the arts and popular culture

Piers Anthony in his series Incarnations of Immortality portrays examples of heaven and hell via Death, Fate, Underworld, Nature, War, Time, Good-God, and Evil-Devil. Robert A. Heinlein offers a yin-yang version of hell where there is still some good within; most evident in his 1984 book Job: A Comedy of Justice. Lois McMaster Bujold uses her five Gods 'Father, Mother, Son, Daughter and Bastard' in The Curse of Chalion with an example of hell as formless chaos. Michael Moorcock is one of many who offer Chaos-Evil-(Hell) and Uniformity-Good-(Heaven) as equally unacceptable extremes which must be held in balance; in particular in the Elric and Eternal Champion series. Fredric Brown wrote a number of fantasy short stories about Satan's activities in hell. Cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo created a series of cartoons about life in hell called The Hatlo Inferno, which ran from 1953 to 1958.[156]

See also

References

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  2. ^ For discussion and analysis, see Orel (2003:156) and Watkins (2000:38).
  3. ^ "hell, n. and int." OED Online, Oxford University Press, January 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/85636. Accessed 7 February 2018.
  4. ^ See discussion at Orel (2003:155–156 & 310).
  5. ^ Scardigli, Piergiuseppe, Die Goten: Sprache und Kultur (1973) pp. 70–71.
  6. ^ Lehmann, Winfred, A Gothic Etymological Dictionary (1986)
  7. ^ Orel (2003:156 & 464).
  8. ^ Elena Phipps; Joanna Hecht; Cristina Esteras Martín (2004). The Colonial Andes: Tapestries and Silverwork, 1530–1830. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 106. ISBN 0-300-10491-X.
  9. ^ Santiago Sebastián López (1990). El bárroco iberoamericano. Mensaje iconográfico. Madrid: Ediciones Encuentro. p. 241. ISBN 9788474902495.
  10. ^ Ananda Cohen Suarez (May 2016). "Painting Beyond the Frame: Religious Murals of Colonial Peru". MAVCOR of the Yale University.
  11. ^ Examples from the New Testament include Mark 9:43–48, Luke 16:19–24, Revelation 9:11; from the Quran, Al-Baqara verse 24, and Al-Mulk verses 5–7.
  12. ^ Alighieri, Dante (June 2001) [c. 1315]. "Cantos XXXI–XXXIV". Inferno. orig. trans. 1977. trans. John Ciardi (2 ed.). New York: Penguin.
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  14. ^ Gardiner, Visions, pp. 58 and 61.
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  20. ^ Asante, M. K.; Mazama, A.: Encyclopedia of African religion, vol. 1. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. 2009, p. 238, ISBN 978-1-4129-3636-1.
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  25. ^ The Divine Verdict, John Gwyn Griffiths, p233, BRILL, 1991, ISBN 90-04-09231-5
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  60. ^ infernus. Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short. A Latin Dictionary on Perseus Project.
  61. ^ גֵיא בֶן־הִנֹּם Hinnom 6 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine: Jer.19:6
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  66. ^ "Blue Letter Bible: VUL Search Results for "gehennam"".
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  70. ^ The New Schaf-Herzog Encyclopedia of religious Knowledge, p. 415
  71. ^ The New Schaf-Herzog Encyclopedia of religious Knowledge pgs. 414–415
  72. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 1033
  73. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 1035
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  78. ^ Evangelical Methodist Church Discipline. Evangelical Methodist Church Conference. 15 July 2017. p. 17.
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  80. ^ Heinrich Döring: Der universale Anspruch der Kirche und die nichtchristlichen Religionen, in: Münchener Theologische Zeitschrift 41 (1990), p. 78 et sqq.
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  83. ^ Bedore, Th.D., W. Edward (September 2007). "Hell, Sheol, Hades, Paradise, and the Grave". Berean Bible Society. from the original on 11 July 2015. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  84. ^ Knight (1999), A brief history of Seventh-Day Adventists, p. 42, Many biblical scholars down throughout history, looking at the issue through Hebrew rather than Greek eyes, have denied the teaching of innate immortality.
  85. ^ Pool 1998, p. 133: 'Various concepts of conditional immortality or annihilationism have appeared earlier in Baptist history as well. Several examples illustrate this claim. General as well as particular Baptists developed versions of annihilationism or conditional immortality.'
  86. ^ Stephen A. State Thomas Hobbes and the Debate Over Natural Law and Religion 2013 "The natural immortality of the soul is in fact a pagan presumption: "For men being generally possessed before the time of our Saviour, by contagion of the Daemonology of the Greeks, of an opinion, that the Souls of men were substances distinct from their Bodies, and therefore that when the Body was dead"
  87. ^ N. T. Wright For All the Saints?: Remembering the Christian Departed 2004 "many readers will get the impression that I believe that every human being comes already equipped with an immortal soul. I don't believe that. Immortality is a gift of God in Christ, not an innate human capacity (see 1 Timothy 6.16)."
  88. ^ "Vatican: Pope did not say there is no hell". BBC News. 30 March 2018. from the original on 31 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  89. ^ 1033
  90. ^ 1035
  91. ^ GENERAL AUDIENCE 28 July 1999, from the original on 13 November 2016
  92. ^ "Fundamental Beliefs 10 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine" (1980) webpage from the official church website. See "25. Second Coming of Christ", "26. Death and Resurrection", "27. Millennium and the End of Sin", and "28. New Earth". The earlier 1872 and 1931 statements also support conditionalism
  93. ^ Samuele Bacchiocchi, "Hell: Eternal Torment or Annihilation? 16 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine" chapter 6 in Immortality Or Resurrection?. Biblical Perspectives, 1997; ISBN 1-930987-12-9, ISBN 978-1-930987-12-8[page needed]
  94. ^ a b c "What Does the Bible Really Teach?", 2005, Published by Jehovah's Witnesses
  95. ^ "Insight on the scriptures, Volume 2", 1988, Published by Jehovah's Witnesses.
  96. ^ . Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017. What is Christian Universalism by Ken Allen Th.D
  97. ^ New Bible Dictionary, "Hell", InterVarsity Press, 1996.
  98. ^ New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, "Hell", InterVarsity Press, 2000.
  99. ^ Evangelical Alliance Commission on Truth and Unity Among Evangelicals, The Nature of Hell, Paternoster, 2000.
  100. ^ Swedenborg, E. Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen(Swedenborg Foundation, 1946 #545ff.)
  101. ^ Swedenborg, E. The True Christian Religion Containing the Universal Theology of The New Church Foretold by the Lord in Daniel 7; 13, 14; and in Revelation 21; 1, 2 (Swedenborg Foundation, 1946, #489ff.).
  102. ^ offTheLeftEye: The Good Thing About Hell - Swedenborg and Life, YouTube.com, 14 March 2016.
  103. ^ "Doctrine and Covenants 19".
  104. ^ Spencer W. Kimball: The Miracle of Forgivness, p. 123.
  105. ^ a b c d e f Lange, Christian (2016). "Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies". In Lange, Christian (ed.). Locating Hell in Islamic Traditions. Brill. pp. 1–28. doi:10.1163/9789004301368_002. ISBN 978-90-04-30121-4. JSTOR 10.1163/j.ctt1w8h1w3.7.
  106. ^ Qur'an 7:179 Qur'an 7:179 17 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  107. ^ Varza, Bahram. 2016. Thought-Provoking Scientific Reflections on Religion. New York: BOD Publisher
  108. ^ "A Description of Hellfire (part 1 of 5): An Introduction". Religion of Islam. from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  109. ^ a b . Religion Facts. Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  110. ^ Thomassen, Einar (2009). "Islamic Hell". Numen. 56 (2/3): 401–416. doi:10.1163/156852709X405062. JSTOR 27793798.
  111. ^ "Feuer".
  112. ^ a b Emerick, Yahiya (2011). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Islam (3rd ed.). Penguin. ISBN 9781101558812.
  113. ^ "A Description of Hellfire (part 1 of 5): An Introduction". Religion of Islam. from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2014. No one will come out of Hell except sinful believers who believed in the Oneness of God in this life and believed in the specific prophet sent to them (before the coming of Muhammad).
  114. ^ Muslim Scholarly Discussions on Salvation and the Fate of 'Others' , Mohammad Hassan Khalil, p.223 "The Fitnah of Wealth", Abû Ammâr Yasir al-Qadhî
  115. ^ Encyclopedia of World Religions. Encyclopædia Britannica Store. 2008. p. 421. ISBN 9781593394912.
  116. ^ Gordon Newby A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam Oneworld Publications 2013 ISBN 978-1-780-74477-3
  117. ^ Robert Lebling Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar I.B.Tauris 2010 ISBN 978-0-857-73063-3 page 30
  118. ^ ANTON M. HEINEN ISLAMIC COSMOLOGY A STUDY OF AS-SUYUTI’S al-Hay’a as-samya fi l-hay’a as-sunmya with critical edition, translation, and commentary ANTON M. HEINEN BEIRUT 1982 p. 143
  119. ^ Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam (2 Vols.): Volume 1: Foundations and Formation of a Tradition. Reflections on the Hereafter in the Quran and Islamic Religious Thought / Volume 2: Continuity and Change. The Plurality of Eschatological Representations in the Islamicate World. (2017). Niederlande: Brill. p. 174
  120. ^ A F Klein Religion Of Islam Routledge 2013 ISBN 978-1-136-09954-0 page 92
  121. ^ see Quran 5:72: 5:72 20 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine
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  123. ^ Christiane Gruber The Ilkhanid Book of Ascension: A Persian-Sunni Devotional Tale I.B.Tauris 2010 ISBN 978-0-857-71809-9 page 54
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  126. ^ Colby, F. S. (2008). Narrating Muhammad's Night Journey: Tracing the Development of the Ibn 'Abbas Ascension Discourse. USA: State University of New York Press. p. 138
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  129. ^ Miguel Asin Palacios Islam and the Divine Comedy Routledge 2013 ISBN 978-1-134-53650-4 page 88-89
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  137. ^ refer Mahavrata for the vows and restraints in Jainism
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  148. ^ Hans Jonas: The Gnostic Religion, 3. ed., Boston 2001, p. 117.
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  151. ^ Kurt Rudolph: Theogonie. Kosmonogie und Anthropogonie in den mandäischen Schriften. Eine literarkritische und traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung, Göttingen 1965, p. 241.
  152. ^ Ginza, ed. and transl. by Lidzbarski, p. 203.
  153. ^ Ginza, ed. and transl. by Lidzbarski, p. 321.
  154. ^ Gerald Gardner, The Gardnerian Book of Shadows
  155. ^ Alex Sanders, The Alexandrian Book of Shadows
  156. ^ Sample Hatlo Inferno comic: 15 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

External links

 
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March 20, 2023
hell, this, article, about, abode, dead, various, cultures, religious, traditions, around, world, other, uses, disambiguation, religion, folklore, hell, location, state, afterlife, which, evil, souls, subjected, punitive, suffering, most, often, through, tortu. This article is about the abode of the dead in various cultures and religious traditions around the world For other uses see Hell disambiguation In religion and folklore hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering most often through torture as eternal punishment after death Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations the biggest examples of which are Christianity and Islam whereas religions with reincarnation usually depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations as is the case in the dharmic religions Religions typically locate hell in another dimension or under Earth s surface Other afterlife destinations include heaven paradise purgatory limbo and the underworld Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg about 1180 Hell detail from a fresco in the medieval church of St Nicholas in Raduil Bulgaria Belief in Hell by country 2017 20 Other religions which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward merely describe an abode of the dead the grave a neutral place that is located under the surface of Earth for example see Kur Hades and Sheol Such places are sometimes equated with the English word hell though a more correct translation would be underworld or world of the dead The ancient Mesopotamian Greek Roman and Finnic religions include entrances to the underworld from the land of the living Contents 1 Overview 1 1 Etymology 1 2 Religion mythology and folklore 1 3 Punishment 2 Polytheism 2 1 Africa 2 1 1 Ancient Egypt 2 2 Asia 2 2 1 Ancient Mesopotamia 2 3 Europe 2 3 1 Ancient Greece and Rome 3 Abrahamic religions 3 1 Judaism 3 2 Christianity 3 2 1 Other denominations 3 3 Islam 3 3 1 Seven stages of punishment 3 3 1 1 Gatekeepers 3 3 2 In the heavens 3 3 3 Beneath the earth 3 4 Bahaʼi Faith 4 Eastern religions 4 1 Buddhism 4 2 Hinduism 4 3 Jainism 4 4 Meivazhi 4 5 Sikhism 4 6 Taoism 4 7 Chinese folk beliefs 5 Other religions 5 1 Zoroastrianism 5 2 Mandaeism 5 3 Wicca 6 In literature 7 In popular culture 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External linksOverviewEtymology Hel 1889 by Johannes Gehrts depicts the Old Norse Hel a goddess like figure in the location of the same name which she oversees The modern English word hell is derived from Old English hel helle first attested around 725 AD to refer to a nether world of the dead reaching into the Anglo Saxon pagan period 1 The word has cognates in all branches of the Germanic languages including Old Norse hel which refers to both a location and goddess like being in Norse mythology Old Frisian helle Old Saxon hellia Old High German hella and Gothic halja All forms ultimately derive from the reconstructed Proto Germanic feminine noun xaljō or haljō concealed place the underworld In turn the Proto Germanic form derives from the o grade form of the Proto Indo European root kel kol to cover conceal save 2 Indo European cognates include Latin celare to hide related to the English word cellar and early Irish ceilid hides Upon the Christianization of the Germanic peoples extensions of the Proto Germanic xaljō were reinterpreted to denote the underworld in Christian mythology 1 3 see Gehenna Related early Germanic terms and concepts include Proto Germanic xalja runō n a feminine compound noun and xalja witjan a neutral compound noun This form is reconstructed from the Latinized Gothic plural noun haliurunnae attested by Jordanes according to philologist Vladimir Orel meaning witches Old English helle rune sorceress necromancer according to Orel and Old High German helli runa magic The compound is composed of two elements xaljō haljō and runō the Proto Germanic precursor to Modern English rune 4 The second element in the Gothic haliurunnae may however instead be an agent noun from the verb rinnan to run go which would make its literal meaning one who travels to the netherworld 5 6 Proto Germanic xalja witjan or halja witjan is reconstructed from Old Norse hel viti hell Old English helle wite hell torment hell Old Saxon helli witi hell and the Middle High German feminine noun helle wize The compound is a compound of xaljō discussed above and witjan reconstructed from forms such as Old English witt right mind wits Old Saxon gewit understanding and Gothic un witi foolishness understanding 7 Religion mythology and folklore Hell appears in several mythologies and religions It is commonly inhabited by demons and the souls of dead people A fable about hell which recurs in folklore across several cultures is the allegory of the long spoons citation needed Punishment Preserved colonial wall painting of 1802 depicting Hell 8 9 10 by Tadeo Escalante inside the Church of San Juan Bautista in Huaro Peru Punishment in hell typically corresponds to sins committed during life Sometimes these distinctions are specific with damned souls suffering for each sin committed such as in Plato s myth of Er or Dante s The Divine Comedy but sometimes they are general with condemned sinners relegated to one or more chamber of hell or to a level of suffering citation needed In many religious cultures including Christianity and Islam hell is often depicted as fiery painful and harsh inflicting suffering on the guilty 11 Despite these common depictions of hell as a place of fire some other traditions portray hell as cold Buddhist and particularly Tibetan Buddhist descriptions of hell feature an equal number of hot and cold hells Among Christian descriptions Dante s Inferno portrays the innermost 9th circle of hell as a frozen lake of blood and guilt 12 But cold also played a part in earlier Christian depictions of hell or purgatory beginning with the Apocalypse of Paul originally from the early third century 13 the Vision of Dryhthelm by the Venerable Bede from the seventh century 14 St Patrick s Purgatory The Vision of Tundale or Visio Tnugdali and the Vision of the Monk of Eynsham all from the twelfth century 15 and the Vision of Thurkill from the early thirteenth century 16 PolytheismAfrica The hell of Swahili mythology is called kuzimu and belief in it developed in the 7th and 8th century under the influence of Muslim merchants at the East African coast 17 It is imagined as a very cold place 17 Serer religion rejects the general notion of heaven and hell 18 In Serer religion acceptance by the ancestors who have long departed is as close to any heaven as one can get Rejection and becoming a wandering soul is a sort of hell for one passing over The souls of the dead must make their way to Jaaniw the sacred dwelling place of the soul Only those who have lived their lives on earth in accordance with Serer doctrines will be able to make this necessary journey and thus be accepted by the ancestors Those who can t make the journey become lost and wandering souls but they do not burn in hell fire 18 19 According to the Yoruba mythology there is no hellfire Wicked people guilty of e g theft witchcraft murder or cruelty 20 are confined to Orun Apaadi heaven of potsherds while the good people continue to live in the ancestral realm Orun Baba Eni heaven of our fathers 21 Ancient Egypt In this 1275 BC Book of the Dead scene the dead scribe Hunefer s heart is weighed on the scale of Maat against the feather of truth by the canine headed Anubis The ibis headed Thoth scribe of the gods records the result If his heart is lighter than the feather Hunefer is allowed to pass into the afterlife If not he is eaten by the crocodile headed Ammit 22 With the rise of the cult of Osiris during the Middle Kingdom the democratization of religion offered to even his humblest followers the prospect of eternal life with moral fitness becoming the dominant factor in determining a person s suitability At death a person faced judgment by a tribunal of forty two divine judges If they had led a life in conformance with the precepts of the goddess Maat who represented truth and right living the person was welcomed into the heavenly reed fields If found guilty the person was thrown to Ammit the devourer of the dead and would be condemned to the lake of fire 23 The person taken by the devourer is subject first to terrifying punishment and then annihilated These depictions of punishment may have influenced medieval perceptions of the inferno in hell via early Christian and Coptic texts 24 Purification for those considered justified appears in the descriptions of Flame Island where humans experience the triumph over evil and rebirth For the damned complete destruction into a state of non being awaits but there is no suggestion of eternal torture the weighing of the heart in Egyptian mythology can lead to annihilation 25 26 The Tale of Khaemwese describes the torment of a rich man who lacked charity when he dies and compares it to the blessed state of a poor man who has also died 27 Divine pardon at judgment always remained a central concern for the ancient Egyptians 28 Modern understanding of Egyptian notions of hell relies on six ancient texts 29 The Book of Two Ways Book of the Ways of Rosetau The Book of Amduat Book of the Hidden Room Book of That Which Is in the Underworld The Book of Gates The Book of the Dead Book of Going Forth by Day The Book of the Earth The Book of CavernsAsia The hells of Asia include the Bagobo Gimokodan which is believed to be more of an otherworld where the Red Region is reserved who those who died in battle while ordinary people go to the White Region 30 and in Dharmic religions Kalichi or Naraka According to a few sources hell is below ground and described as an uninviting wet 31 or fiery place reserved for sinful people in the Ainu religion as stated by missionary John Batchelor 32 However belief in hell does not appear in oral tradition of the Ainu 33 Instead there is belief within the Ainu religion that the soul of the deceased ramat would become a kamuy after death 33 There is also belief that the soul of someone who has been wicked during lifetime committed suicide got murdered or died in great agony would become a ghost tukap who would haunt the living 33 to come to fulfillment from which it was excluded during life 34 In Taoism hell is represented by Diyu Ancient Mesopotamia Main article Ancient Mesopotamian underworld Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons The Sumerian afterlife was a dark dreary cavern located deep below the ground 35 where inhabitants were believed to continue a shadowy version of life on earth 35 This bleak domain was known as Kur 36 114 and was believed to be ruled by the goddess Ereshkigal 35 37 184 All souls went to the same afterlife 35 and a person s actions during life had no effect on how the person would be treated in the world to come 35 The souls in Kur were believed to eat nothing but dry dust 36 58 and family members of the deceased would ritually pour libations into the dead person s grave through a clay pipe thereby allowing the dead to drink 36 58 Nonetheless funerary evidence indicates that some people believed that the goddess Inanna Ereshkigal s younger sister had the power to award her devotees with special favors in the afterlife 35 38 During the Third Dynasty of Ur it was believed that a person s treatment in the afterlife depended on how he or she was buried 36 58 those that had been given sumptuous burials would be treated well 36 58 but those who had been given poor burials would fare poorly 36 58 The entrance to Kur was believed to be located in the Zagros mountains in the far east 36 114 It had seven gates through which a soul needed to pass 35 The god Neti was the gatekeeper 37 184 36 86 Ereshkigal s sukkal or messenger was the god Namtar 36 134 37 184 Galla were a class of demons that were believed to reside in the underworld 36 85 their primary purpose appears to have been to drag unfortunate mortals back to Kur 36 85 They are frequently referenced in magical texts 36 85 86 and some texts describe them as being seven in number 36 85 86 Several extant poems describe the galla dragging the god Dumuzid into the underworld 36 86 The later Mesopotamians knew this underworld by its East Semitic name Irkalla During the Akkadian Period Ereshkigal s role as the ruler of the underworld was assigned to Nergal the god of death 35 37 184 The Akkadians attempted to harmonize this dual rulership of the underworld by making Nergal Ereshkigal s husband 35 Europe See also Hel location and Nav Slavic folklore The hells of Europe include Breton mythology s Anaon Celtic mythology s Uffern Slavic mythology s Peklo Norse mythology s Nastrond the hell of Sami mythology and Finnish Tuonela manala Ancient Greece and Rome Main article Tartarus In classic Greek mythology below heaven Earth and Pontus is Tartarus or Tartaros Greek Tartaros deep place It is either a deep gloomy place a pit or abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides within Hades the entire underworld with Tartarus being the hellish component In the Gorgias Plato c 400 BC wrote that souls of the deceased were judged after they paid for crossing the river of the dead and those who received punishment were sent to Tartarus 39 As a place of punishment it can be considered a hell The classic Hades on the other hand is more similar to Old Testament Sheol The Romans later adopted these views Abrahamic religionsHell is conceived of in most Abrahamic religions as a place of or a form of punishment 40 Judaism See also Gehenna and Sheol Judaism does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife but it does have a mystical Orthodox tradition of describing Gehinnom Gehinnom is not hell but originally a grave and in later times a sort of Purgatory where one is judged based on one s life s deeds or rather where one becomes fully aware of one s own shortcomings and negative actions during one s life The Kabbalah explains it as a waiting room commonly translated as an entry way for all souls not just the wicked The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are not in Gehinnom forever the longest that one can be there is said to be 12 months however there has been the occasional noted exception Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Olam Habah heb עולם הבא lit The world to come often viewed as analogous to heaven This is also mentioned in the Kabbalah where the soul is described as breaking like the flame of a candle lighting another the part of the soul that ascends being pure and the unfinished piece being reborn According to Jewish teachings hell is not entirely physical rather it can be compared to a very intense feeling of shame People are ashamed of their misdeeds and this constitutes suffering which makes up for the bad deeds When one has so deviated from the will of God one is said to be in Gehinnom This is not meant to refer to some point in the future but to the very present moment The gates of teshuva return are said to be always open and so one can align his will with that of God at any moment Being out of alignment with God s will is itself a punishment according to the Torah Many scholars of Jewish mysticism particularly of the Kabbalah describe seven compartments or habitations of hell just as they describe seven divisions of heaven These divisions go by many different names and the most frequently mentioned are as follows 41 Sheol Hebrew ש או ל underworld Hades grave Abaddon Hebrew א ב ד ו ן doom perdition Be er Shachat Hebrew ב א ר ש ח ת Be er Shachath pit of corruption Tit ha Yaven Hebrew ט יט ה י ו ן clinging mud Sha are Mavet Hebrew ש ע ר י מ ו ת Sha arei Maveth gates of death Tzalmavet Hebrew צ למ ו ת Tsalmaveth shadow of death Gehinnom Hebrew ג יה נו ם Gehinnom valley of Hinnom Tartarus Purgatory Besides those mentioned above there also exist additional terms that have been often used to either refer to hell in general or to some region of the underworld Azazel Hebrew ע ז אז ל compd of ez ע ז goat azal א ז ל to go away goat of departure scapegoat entire removal damnation Dudael Hebrew ד ו ד א ל lit cauldron of God Tehom Hebrew ת הו ם abyss sea deep ocean 42 Tophet Hebrew ת פ ת or תו פ ת Topheth fire place place of burning place to be spit upon inferno 43 44 Tzoah Rotachat Hebrew צו א ה רו ת ח ת Tsoah Rothachath boiling excrement 45 Mashchit Hebrew מ ש ח ית Mashchith destruction ruin Dumah Hebrew דו מ ה silence Neshiyyah Hebrew נ ש י ה oblivion Limbo Bor Shaon Hebrew ב ו ר ש או ן cistern of sound Eretz Tachtit Hebrew א ר ץ ת ח ת ית Erets Tachtith lowest earth 46 47 Masak Mavdil Hebrew מ ס ך מ ב ד יל Masak Mabdil dividing curtain Haguel Ethiopic ሀጉለ place of destruction loss waste 48 Ikisat Ethiopic አክይስት serpents dragons place of future punishment 49 50 For more information see Qliphoth Maimonides declares in his 13 principles of faith that the hells of the rabbinic literature were pedagogically motivated inventions to encourage respect of the Torah commandments by mankind which had been regarded as immature 51 Instead of being sent to hell the souls of the wicked would actually get annihilated 52 In Judaism around the time of Jesus almost all practitioners believed that their descent from Abraham automatically stopped them from going to hell 53 Christianity Main articles Hell in Christianity and Christian views on Hades Gehenna Valley of Hinnom 2007 The parable of the Rich man and Lazarus depicting the rich man in hell asking for help to Abraham and Lazarus in heaven by James Tissot Harrowing of Hell Christ leads Adam by the hand c 1504 The Last Judgment Hell c 1431 by Fra Angelico The Christian doctrine of hell derives from passages in the New Testament The word hell does not appear in the Greek New Testament instead one of three words is used the Greek words Tartarus or Hades or the Hebrew word Gehinnom In the Septuagint and New Testament the authors used the Greek term Hades for the Hebrew Sheol but often with Jewish rather than Greek concepts in mind In the Jewish concept of Sheol such as expressed in Ecclesiastes 54 Sheol or Hades is a place where there is no activity However since Augustine some which Christians have believed that the souls of those who die either rest peacefully in the case of Christians or are afflicted in the case of the damned after death until the resurrection 55 Hebrew OT Septuagint Greek NT times in NT Vulgate KJV NIVש או ל Sheol 56 Ἅidhs Haides 57 ᾌdhs Ades 58 x10 59 infernus 60 Hell Hadesג יא ב ן ה נ ם Ge Hinom 61 Ennom Ennom 62 geenna geenna 63 x11 64 gehennae 65 gehennam 66 Hell Hell Not applicable Not applicable Tartarow Tartaroō 67 x1 tartarum 68 Hell HellWhile these three terms are translated in the KJV as hell they have three very different meanings Hades has similarities to the Old Testament term Sheol as the place of the dead or grave Thus it is used in reference to both the righteous and the wicked since both wind up there eventually 69 Gehenna refers to the Valley of Hinnom which was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem It was a place where people burned their garbage and thus there was always a fire burning there contradictory Bodies of those deemed to have died in sin without hope of salvation such as people who committed suicide were thrown there to be destroyed 70 Gehenna is used in the New Testament as a metaphor for the final place of punishment for the wicked after the resurrection 71 Tartaroō the verb throw to Tartarus used of the fall of the Titans in a scholium on Illiad 14 296 occurs only once in the New Testament in II Peter 2 4 where it is parallel to the use of the noun form in 1 Enoch as the place of incarceration of the fallen angels It mentions nothing about human souls being sent there in the afterlife The Catholic Church defines hell as a state of definitive self exclusion from communion with God and the blessed One finds oneself in hell as the result of dying in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God s merciful love becoming eternally separated from him by one s own free choice 72 immediately after death 73 In the Roman Catholic Church many other Christian churches such as the Methodists Baptists and Episcopalians and some Greek Orthodox churches 74 hell is taught as the final destiny of those who have not been found worthy after the general resurrection and last judgment 75 76 77 where they will be eternally punished for sin and permanently separated from God 78 The nature of this judgment is inconsistent with many Protestant churches teaching the saving comes from accepting Jesus Christ as their savior while the Greek Orthodox and Catholic Churches teach that the judgment hinges on both faith and works However many Liberal Christians throughout Mainline Protestant churches believe in universal reconciliation see below even though it contradicts the traditional doctrines that are usually held by the evangelicals within their denominations 79 Regarding the belief in hell the interpretation of Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus is also relevant 80 Some modern Christian theologians subscribe to the doctrines of conditional immortality Conditional immortality is the belief that the soul dies with the body and does not live again until the resurrection As with other Jewish writings of the Second Temple period the New Testament text distinguishes two words both translated hell in older English Bibles Hades the grave and Gehenna where God can destroy both body and soul 81 A minority of Christians read this to mean that neither Hades nor Gehenna are eternal but refer to the ultimate destruction of the wicked in the Lake of Fire in a consuming fire after resurrection However because of the Greek words used in translating from the Hebrew text the Hebrew ideas have become confused with Greek myths and ideas In the Hebrew text when people died they went to Sheol the grave 82 and the wicked ultimately went to Gehenna and were consumed by fire The Hebrew words for the grave or death or eventual destruction of the wicked were translated using Greek words and later texts became a mix of mistranslation pagan influence and Greek myth 83 Christian mortalism is the doctrine that all men and women including Christians must die and do not continue and are not conscious after death Therefore annihilationism includes the doctrine that the wicked are also destroyed rather than tormented forever in traditional hell or the lake of fire Christian mortalism and annihilationism are directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality the idea that a human soul is not immortal unless it is given eternal life at the second coming of Christ and resurrection of the dead Biblical scholars looking at the issue through the Hebrew text have denied the teaching of innate immortality 84 85 Rejection of the immortality of the soul and advocacy of Christian mortalism was a feature of Protestantism since the early days of the Reformation with Martin Luther himself rejecting the traditional idea though his mortalism did not carry into orthodox Lutheranism One of the most notable English opponents of the immortality of the soul was Thomas Hobbes who describes the idea as a Greek contagion in Christian doctrine 86 Modern proponents of conditional immortality include some in the Anglican church such as N T Wright 87 and as denominations the Seventh day Adventists Bible Students Jehovah s Witnesses Christadelphians Living Church of God The Church of God International and some other Protestant Christians The Catholic Caechism states The souls of sinners descend into hell where they suffer eternal fire However Cardinal Vincent Nichols the most senior Catholic in England and Wales said there s nowhere in Catholic teaching that actually says any one person is in hell 88 The 1993 Catechism of the Catholic Church states This state of definitive self exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called hell 89 and they suffer the punishments of hell eternal fire 90 The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God CCC 1035 During an Audience in 1999 Pope John Paul II commented images of hell that Sacred Scripture presents to us must be correctly interpreted They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God 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 91 Other denominations The Seventh day Adventist Church s official beliefs support annihilationism 92 93 They deny the Catholic purgatory and teach that the dead lie in the grave until they are raised for a last judgment both the righteous and wicked await the resurrection at the Second Coming Seventh day Adventists believe that death is a state of unconscious sleep until the resurrection They base this belief on biblical texts such as Ecclesiastes 9 5 which states the dead know nothing and 1 Thessalonians 4 13 18 which contains a description of the dead being raised from the grave at the second coming These verses it is argued indicate that death is only a period or form of slumber Adventists teach that the resurrection of the righteous will take place shortly after the second coming of Jesus as described in Revelation 20 4 6 that follows Revelation 19 11 16 whereas the resurrection of the wicked will occur after the millennium as described in Revelation 20 5 and 20 12 13 that follow Revelation 20 4 and 6 7 though Revelation 20 12 13 and 15 actually describe a mixture of saved and condemned people being raised from the dead and judged Adventists reject the traditional doctrine of hell as a state of everlasting conscious torment believing instead that the wicked will be permanently destroyed after the millennium by the lake of fire which is called the second death in Revelation 20 14 Those Adventist doctrines about death and hell reflect an underlying belief in a conditional immortality or conditionalism as opposed to the immortality of the soul and b the monistic nature of human beings in which the soul is not separable from the body as opposed to bipartite or tripartite conceptions in which the soul is separable Jehovah s Witnesses hold that the soul ceases to exist when the person dies 94 and therefore that hell Sheol or Hades is a state of non existence 94 In their theology Gehenna differs from Sheol or Hades in that it holds no hope of a resurrection 94 Tartarus is held to be the metaphorical state of debasement of the fallen angels between the time of their moral fall Genesis chapter 6 until their post millennial destruction along with Satan Revelation chapter 20 95 Bible Students and Christadelphians also believe in annihilationism Christian Universalists believe in universal reconciliation the belief that all human souls will be eventually reconciled with God and admitted to heaven 96 This belief is held by some Unitarian Universalists 97 98 99 According to Emanuel Swedenborg s Second Coming Christian revelation hell exists because evil people want it 100 They not God introduced evil to the human race 101 In Swedenborgianism every soul joins the like minded group after death in which it feels the most comfortable Hell is therefore believed to be a place of happiness for the souls which delight in evilness 102 Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints LDS Church teach that hell is a state between death and resurrection in which those spirits who did not repent while on earth must suffer for their own sins Doctrine and Covenants 19 15 17 103 After that only the Sons of perdition who committed the Eternal sin would be cast into Outer darkness However according to Mormon faith committing the Eternal sin requires so much knowledge that most persons cannot do this 104 Satan and Cain are counted as examples of Sons of perdition Islam Main article Jahannam Muhammad along with Buraq and Gabriel visit hell and they see shameless women being eternally punished for exposing their hair to the sight of strangers Persian 15th century In Islam jahannam in Arabic جهنم related to the Hebrew word gehinnom is the counterpart to heaven and likewise divided into seven layers both co existing with the temporal world 105 filled with blazing fire boiling water and a variety of other torments for those who have been condemned to it in the hereafter In the Quran God declares that the fire of Jahannam is prepared for both mankind and jinn 106 107 After the Day of Judgment it is to be occupied by those who do not believe in God those who have disobeyed his laws or rejected his messengers 108 Enemies of Islam are sent to hell immediately upon their deaths 109 Muslim modernists downplay the vivid descriptions of hell common during Classical period on one hand reaffirming that the afterlife must not be denied but simultaneously asserting its exact nature remains unknown Other modern Muslims continue the line of Sufism as an interiorized hell combining the eschatological thoughts of Ibn Arabi and Rumi with Western philosophy 105 Although disputed by some scholars most scholars consider jahannam to be eternal 110 105 There is belief that the fire which represents the own bad deeds can already be seen during the Punishment of the Grave and that the spiritual pain caused by this can lead to purification of the soul 111 Not all Muslims and scholars agree whether hell is an eternal destination or whether some or all of the condemned will eventually be forgiven and allowed to enter paradise 109 112 113 114 excessive citations Over hell a narrow bridge called As Sirat is spanned On Judgment Day one must pass over it to reach paradise but those destined for hell will find too narrow and fall from into their new abode 115 Iblis the temporary ruler of hell 116 is thought of residing in the bottom of hell from where he commands his hosts of infernal demons 117 118 But contrary to Christian traditions Iblis and his infernal hosts do not wage war against God 112 his enmity applies against humanity only Further his dominion in hell is also his punishment Executioners of punishment are the zabaniyya who have been created from the fires of hell According to the Muwatta Hadith the Bukhari Hadith the Tirmidhi Hadith and the Kabir Hadith Muhammad claimed that the fire of Jahannam is not red but pitch black and is 70 times hotter than ordinary fire and is much more painful than ordinary fire citation needed Seven stages of punishment The seven gates of jahannam mentioned in the Quran inspired Muslim exegetes tafsir to develop a system of seven stages of hell analogue to the seven doors of paradise The stages of hell get their names by seven different terms used for hell throughout the Quran Each is assigned for a different type of sinners The concept later accepted by Sunni authorities list the levels of hell as follows although some stages may vary 119 120 Jahannam جهنم Gehenna Laza لظى fierce blaze Hutama حطم crushing fire Sa ir سعير raging fire Saqar سقر scorching fire Jahim جحيم furnace Hawiya هاوية infernal abyss The highest level jahannam is traditionally thought of as a type of purgatory reserved for Muslims Polytheism shirk is regarded as a particularly grievous sin therefore entering Paradise is forbidden to a polytheist musyrik because his place is hell 121 and the second lowest level jahim only after the bottomless pit for the hypocrites hawiyah who claimed aloud to believe in God and his messenger but in their hearts did not 122 Gatekeepers Sukha il صوخائيل of Jahannam Tufa il طوفائيل of Laza Tafta il طفطائيل of Sa ir Susbabil صوص ابيل of Saqar Tarfatil طرفاطيل of Jahim Istafatabil اصطافاطابيل of Haviya 123 In the heavens Muhammad requests Maalik to show him Hell during his heavenly journey Miniature from The David Collection Although the earliest reports about Muhammad s journey through the heavens do not locate hell in the heavens 124 only brief references about visiting hell during the journey appears But extensive accounts about Muhammad s night journey in the non canonical but popular Miraj Literature tell about encountering the angels of hell Maalik the keeper to the gates of hell namely appears in Ibn Abbas Isra and Mi raj 105 The doors to hell are either in the third 124 or fifth heaven 125 105 or although only implicitly in a heaven close God s throne 124 or directly after entering heaven 126 whereupon Muhammad requests a glaze at hell Ibn Hisham gives extensive details about Muhammad visiting hell and its inhabitants punished wherein but can only endure watching the punishments of the first layer of hell 127 Muhammad meeting Malik the Dajjal and hell was used as a proof for Muhammad s Night Journey 128 Beneath the earth Medieval sources often identified hell with the seven earths mentioned in Quran 65 12 inhabited by devils harsh angels scorpions and serpents who torment the sinners They described thorny shrubs seas filled with blood and fire and darkness only illuminated by the flames of hell 105 One popular concept arrange the earths as follows 129 130 Adim or Ramaka رمکا the surface on which human animals and jinn live on Basit or Khawfa خوفا Thaqil or Arafa عرفه anthechamber Batih or Hadna حدنه a valley with stream of boiling sulphur Hayn or Dama دم ا Sijjin سجىن dungeon or prison or Masika sometimes Sijjin is at the bottom Quran 83 7 Nar as Samum Zamhareer or As Saqar Athara 131 or Hanina حنينا venomous wind of fire and a cold wind of ice Bahaʼi Faith In the Bahaʼi Faith the conventional descriptions of hell and heaven are considered to be symbolic representations of spiritual conditions The Bahaʼi writings describe closeness to God to be heaven and conversely remoteness from God as hell 132 The Bahaʼi writings state that the soul is immortal and after death it will continue to progress until it finally attains God s presence 133 Eastern religionsBuddhism Main article Naraka Buddhism Naraka in the Burmese representation In Devaduta Sutta the 130th discourse of the Majjhima Nikaya Buddha teaches about hell in vivid detail Buddhism teaches that there are five or six realms of rebirth which can then be further subdivided into degrees of agony or pleasure citation needed Of these realms the hell realms or Naraka is the lowest realm of rebirth Of the hell realms the worst is Avici Sanskrit and Pali for without waves The Buddha s disciple Devadatta who tried to kill the Buddha on three occasions as well as create a schism in the monastic order is said by whom to have been reborn in the Avici hell Like all realms of rebirth in Buddhism rebirth in the hell realms is not permanent though suffering can persist for eons before being reborn again citation needed In the Lotus Sutra the Buddha teaches that eventually even Devadatta will become a Pratyekabuddha himself emphasizing the temporary nature of the hell realms Thus Buddhism teaches to escape the endless migration of rebirths both positive and negative through the attainment of Nirvana The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha according to the Ksitigarbha Sutra made a great vow as a young girl to not reach Nirvana until all beings were liberated from the hell realms or other unwholesome rebirths In popular literature Ksitigarbha travels to the hell realms to teach and relieve beings of their suffering Hinduism Main article Naraka Hinduism Yama s Court and Hell The Blue figure is Yamaraja The Hindu god of death with his consort Yami and Chitragupta 17th century painting from Government Museum Chennai Early Vedic religion does not have a concept of hell The Rigveda mentions three realms bhur the earth svar the sky and bhuvas or antarikṣa the middle area i e air or atmosphere In later Hindu literature especially the law books and Puranas more realms are mentioned including a realm similar to hell called naraka in Devanagari नरक Yama as the first born human together with his twin sister Yami by virtue of precedence becomes ruler of men and a judge on their departure Originally he resides in heaven but later especially medieval traditions mention his court in naraka citation needed In the law books smṛtis and dharma sutras like the Manu smṛti naraka is a place of punishment for misdeeds It is a lower spiritual plane called naraka loka where the spirit is judged and the partial fruits of karma affect the next life In the Mahabharata there is a mention of the Pandavas and the Kauravas both going to heaven At first Yudhisthir goes to heaven where he sees Duryodhana enjoying heaven Indra tells him that Duryodhana is in heaven as he did his Kshatriya duties Then he shows Yudhisthir hell where it appears his brothers are Later it is revealed that this was a test for Yudhisthir and that his brothers and the Kauravas are all in heaven and live happily in the divine abode of gods Hells are also described in various Puranas and other scriptures The Garuda Purana gives a detailed account of Hell and its features it lists the amount of punishment for most crimes much like a modern day penal code It is believed by whom that people who commit misdeeds go to hell and have to go through punishments in accordance with the misdeeds they committed The god Yama who is also the god of death presides over hell Detailed accounts of all the misdeeds committed by an individual are kept by Chitragupta who is the record keeper in Yama s court Chitragupta reads out the misdeeds committed and Yama orders appropriate punishments to be given to individuals These punishments include dipping in boiling oil burning in fire torture using various weapons etc in various hells Individuals who finish their quota of the punishments are reborn in accordance with their balance of karma All created beings are imperfect and thus have at least one misdeed to their record but if one has generally led a meritorious life one ascends to svarga a temporary realm of enjoyment similar to Paradise after a brief period of expiation in hell and before the next reincarnation according to the law of karma citation needed With the exception of Hindu philosopher Madhva time in hell is not regarded as eternal damnation within Hinduism 134 According to Brahma Kumaris the Iron Age Kali Yuga is regarded as hell Jainism Main article Naraka Jainism 17th century cloth painting depicting seven levels of Jain Hell and various tortures suffered in them Left panel depicts the demi god and his animal vehicle presiding over each Hell In Jain cosmology Naraka translated as hell is the name given to realm of existence having great suffering However a Naraka differs from the hells of Abrahamic religions as souls are not sent to Naraka as the result of a divine judgment and punishment Furthermore length of a being s stay in a Naraka is not eternal though it is usually very long and measured in billions of years A soul is born into a Naraka as a direct result of his or her previous karma actions of body speech and mind and resides there for a finite length of time until his karma has achieved its full result After his karma is used up he may be reborn in one of the higher worlds as the result of an earlier karma that had not yet ripened The hells are situated in the seven grounds at the lower part of the universe The seven grounds are Ratna prabha Sharkara prabha Valuka prabha Panka prabha Dhuma prabha Tamaha prabha Mahatamaha prabhaThe hellish beings are a type of souls which are residing in these various hells They are born in hells by sudden manifestation 135 The hellish beings possess vaikriya body protean body which can transform itself and take various forms They have a fixed life span ranging from ten thousand to billions of years in the respective hells where they reside According to Jain scripture Tattvarthasutra following are the causes for birth in hell 136 Killing or causing pain with intense passion Excessive attachment to things and worldly pleasure with constantly indulging in cruel and violent acts Vowless and unrestrained life 137 Meivazhi According to Meivazhi the purpose of all religions is to guide people to heaven 138 However those who do not approach God and are not blessed by Him are believed to be condemned to hell 139 Sikhism In Sikh thought heaven and hell are not places for living hereafter they are part of spiritual topography of man and do not exist otherwise They refer to good and evil stages of life respectively and can be lived now and here during our earthly existence 140 For example Guru Arjan explains that people who are entangled in emotional attachment and doubt are living in hell on this Earth i e their life is hellish So many are being drowned in emotional attachment and doubt they dwell in the most horrible hell Guru Arjan Guru Granth Sahib 297 141 Taoism This section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Ancient Taoism had no concept of hell as morality was seen to be a man made distinction and there was no concept of an immaterial soul In its home country China where Taoism adopted tenets of other religions popular belief endows Taoist hell with many deities and spirits who punish sin in a variety of horrible ways Chinese folk beliefs Main article Diyu A Chinese glazed earthenware sculpture of Hell s torturer 16th century Ming Dynasty Diyu is the realm of the dead in Chinese mythology It is very loosely based upon the Buddhist concept of Naraka combined with traditional Chinese afterlife beliefs and a variety of popular expansions and re interpretations of these two traditions Ruled by Yanluo Wang the King of hell Diyu is a maze of underground levels and chambers where souls are taken to atone for their earthly sins Incorporating ideas from Taoism and Buddhism as well as traditional Chinese folk religion Diyu is a kind of purgatory place which serves not only to punish but also to renew spirits ready for their next incarnation There are many deities associated with the place whose names and purposes are the subject of much conflicting information The exact number of levels in Chinese hell and their associated deities differs according to the Buddhist or Taoist perception Some speak of three to four Courts other as many as ten The ten judges are also known as the 10 Kings of Yama Each Court deals with a different aspect of atonement For example murder is punished in one Court adultery in another According to some Chinese legends there are eighteen levels in hell Punishment also varies according to belief but most legends speak of highly imaginative chambers where wrong doers are sawn in half beheaded thrown into pits of filth or forced to climb trees adorned with sharp blades However most legends agree that once a soul usually referred to as a ghost has atoned for their deeds and repented he or she is given the Drink of Forgetfulness by Meng Po and sent back into the world to be reborn possibly as an animal or a poor or sick person for further punishment Other religionsZoroastrianism Main article Zoroastrian eschatology Zoroastrianism has historically suggested several possible fates for the wicked including annihilation purgation in molten metal and eternal punishment all of which have standing in Zoroaster s writings Zoroastrian eschatology includes the belief that wicked souls will remain in Duzakh until following the arrival of three saviors at thousand year intervals Ahura Mazda reconciles the world destroying evil and resurrecting tormented souls to perfection 142 The sacred Gathas mention a House of the Lie for those that are of an evil dominion of evil deeds evil words evil Self and evil thought Liars 143 However the best known Zoroastrian text to describe hell in detail is the Book of Arda Viraf 144 It depicts particular punishments for particular sins for instance being trampled by cattle as punishment for neglecting the needs of work animals 145 Other descriptions can be found in the Book of Scriptures Hadhokht Nask Religious Judgments Dadestan i Denig and the Book of the Judgments of the Spirit of Wisdom Mainyo I Khard 146 Mandaeism See also World of Darkness Mandaeism and Ur Mandaeism The Mandaeans believe in purification of souls inside of Leviathan 147 whom they also call Ur 148 Within detention houses so called Matartas 149 the detained souls would receive so much punishment that they would wish to die a Second death which would however not yet befall their spirit 150 At the end of days the souls of the Mandaeans which could be purified would be liberated out of Ur s mouth 151 After this Ur would get destroyed along with the souls remaining inside him 152 so they die the second death 153 Wicca The Gardnerian Wicca and Alexandrian Wicca sects of Wicca include wiccan laws that Gerald Gardner wrote which state that wiccan souls are privileged with reincarnation but that the souls of wiccans who break the wiccan laws even under torture would be cursed by the goddess never be reborn on earth and remain where they belong in the Hell of the Christians 154 155 Other recognized wiccan sects do not include Gerald Gardner s wiccan laws The influential wiccan author Raymond Buckland wrote that the wiccan laws are unimportant Solitary wiccans not involved in organized sects do not include the wiccan laws in their doctrine In literature Dante and Virgil in Hell 1850 by William Adolphe Bouguereau In this painting the two are shown watching the condemned In his Divina commedia Divine Comedy set in the year 1300 Dante Alighieri employed the concept of taking Virgil as his guide through Inferno and then in the second canticle up the mountain of Purgatorio Virgil himself is not condemned to hell proper in Dante s poem but is rather as a virtuous pagan confined to Limbo just at the edge of hell The geography of hell is very elaborately laid out in this work with nine concentric rings leading deeper into Earth and deeper into the various punishments of hell until at the center of the world Dante finds Satan himself trapped in the frozen lake of Cocytus A small tunnel leads past Satan and out to the other side of the world at the base of the Mount of Purgatory John Milton s Paradise Lost 1667 opens with the fallen angels including their leader Satan waking up in hell after having been defeated in the war in heaven and the action returns there at several points throughout the poem Milton portrays hell as the abode of the demons and the passive prison from which they plot their revenge upon heaven through the corruption of the human race 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud alluded to the concept as well in the title and themes of one of his major works A Season in Hell 1873 Rimbaud s poetry portrays his own suffering in a poetic form as well as other themes Visit to hell by Mexican artist Mauricio Garcia Vega Many of the great epics of European literature include episodes that occur in hell In the Roman poet Virgil s Latin epic the Aeneid Aeneas descends into Dis the underworld to visit his father s spirit The underworld is only vaguely described with one unexplored path leading to the punishments of Tartarus while the other leads through Erebus and the Elysian Fields The idea of hell was highly influential to writers such as Jean Paul Sartre who authored the 1944 play No Exit about the idea that Hell is other people Although not a religious man Sartre was fascinated by his interpretation of a hellish state of suffering C S Lewis s The Great Divorce 1945 borrows its title from William Blake s Marriage of Heaven and Hell 1793 and its inspiration from the Divine Comedy as the narrator is likewise guided through hell and heaven Hell is portrayed here as an endless desolate twilight city upon which night is imperceptibly sinking The night is actually the Apocalypse and it heralds the arrival of the demons after their judgment Before the night comes anyone can escape hell if they leave behind their former selves and accept Heaven s offer and a journey to heaven reveals that hell is infinitely small it is nothing more or less than what happens to a soul that turns away from God and into itself In popular cultureMain article Hell in the arts and popular culture Piers Anthony in his series Incarnations of Immortality portrays examples of heaven and hell via Death Fate Underworld Nature War Time Good God and Evil Devil Robert A Heinlein offers a yin yang version of hell where there is still some good within most evident in his 1984 book Job A Comedy of Justice Lois McMaster Bujold uses her five Gods Father Mother Son Daughter and Bastard in The Curse of Chalion with an example of hell as formless chaos Michael Moorcock is one of many who offer Chaos Evil Hell and Uniformity Good Heaven as equally unacceptable extremes which must be held in balance in particular in the Elric and Eternal Champion series Fredric Brown wrote a number of fantasy short stories about Satan s activities in hell Cartoonist Jimmy Hatlo created a series of cartoons about life in hell called The Hatlo Inferno which ran from 1953 to 1958 156 See alsoAppeal to fear Damnation Divine retribution Harrowing of Hell Problem of Hell The Well to Hell hoaxReferences a b Barnhart Robert K 1995 The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology page 348 HarperCollins ISBN 0 06 270084 7 For discussion and analysis see Orel 2003 156 and Watkins 2000 38 hell n and int OED Online Oxford University Press January 2018 www oed com view Entry 85636 Accessed 7 February 2018 See discussion at Orel 2003 155 156 amp 310 Scardigli Piergiuseppe Die Goten Sprache und Kultur 1973 pp 70 71 Lehmann Winfred A Gothic Etymological Dictionary 1986 Orel 2003 156 amp 464 Elena Phipps Joanna Hecht Cristina Esteras Martin 2004 The Colonial Andes Tapestries and Silverwork 1530 1830 New York Metropolitan Museum of Art p 106 ISBN 0 300 10491 X Santiago Sebastian Lopez 1990 El barroco iberoamericano Mensaje iconografico Madrid Ediciones Encuentro p 241 ISBN 9788474902495 Ananda Cohen Suarez May 2016 Painting Beyond the Frame Religious Murals of Colonial Peru MAVCOR of the Yale University Examples from the New Testament include Mark 9 43 48 Luke 16 19 24 Revelation 9 11 from the Quran Al Baqara verse 24 and Al Mulk verses 5 7 Alighieri Dante June 2001 c 1315 Cantos XXXI XXXIV Inferno orig trans 1977 trans John Ciardi 2 ed New York Penguin Gardiner Eileen 1989 Visions of heaven and hell before Dante Italica Press p 43 ISBN 978 0 934977 14 2 OCLC 18741120 Gardiner Visions pp 58 and 61 Gardiner Visions pp 141 160 and 174 and 206 7 Gardiner Visions pp 222 and 232 a b Crisafulli Chuck Thompson Kyra 2010 Go to Hell A Heated History of the Underworld Simon amp Schuster p 75 ISBN 978 1451604733 Retrieved 5 August 2015 a b in French Thiaw Issa Laye La religiosite des Seereer avant et pendant leur islamisation in Ethiopiques no 54 volume 7 2e semestre 1991 in French Gravrand Henry La civilisation sereer vol II Pangool Nouvelles editions africaines Dakar 1990 pp 91 128 ISBN 2 7236 1055 1 Jaaniw variation Jaaniiw Asante M K Mazama A Encyclopedia of African religion vol 1 Thousand Oaks SAGE Publications 2009 p 238 ISBN 978 1 4129 3636 1 Ogunade R African Eschatology and the Future of the cosmos www unilorin edu ng Egyptian Book of the Dead Egyptartsite com Archived from the original on 26 September 2012 Retrieved 18 August 2012 Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt Rosalie David p 158 159 Penguin 2002 ISBN 0 14 026252 0 The Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology The Oxford Guide Hell p161 162 Jacobus Van Dijk Berkley Reference 2003 ISBN 0 425 19096 X The Divine Verdict John Gwyn Griffiths p233 BRILL 1991 ISBN 90 04 09231 5 See also letter by Prof Griffith to The Independent 32 clarification needed December 1993 Letter Hell in the ancient world Independent co uk 18 September 2011 Archived from the original on 1 September 2012 Retrieved 28 October 2017 The Civilization of Ancient Egypt Paul Johnson 1978 p 170 see also Ancient Egyptian Literature Miriam Lichtheim vol 3 p 126 Egyptian Religion Jan Assman The Encyclopedia of Christianity p77 vol2 Wm B Eerdmans Publishing 1999 ISBN 90 04 11695 8 Eileen Gardiner editor Hell On Line Egyptian Hell Texts Book of Two Ways Book of Amduat Book of Gates Book of the Dead Book of the Earth Book of Caverns Archived from the original on 5 November 2015 pantheon org articles g gimokodan html Gimokodan Encyclopedia Mythica 10 August 2004 Carl Etter 1949 Ainu Folklore Traditions and Culture of the Vanishing Aborigines of Japan Wilcox amp Follett Company p 150 John Batchelor The Ainu and Their Folk Lore London 1901 p 567 569 a b c Takako Yamada The Worldview of the Ainu Nature and Cosmos Reading from Language p 25 37 p 123 Norbert Richard Adami Religion und Schaminismus der Ainu auf Sachalin Karafuto Bonn 1989 p 45 a b c d e f g h i Choksi M 2014 Ancient Mesopotamian Beliefs in the Afterlife World History Encyclopedia worldhistory org Archived from the original on 20 August 2017 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Black Jeremy Green Anthony 1992 Gods Demons and Symbols of Ancient Mesopotamia An Illustrated Dictionary The British Museum Press ISBN 978 0 7141 1705 8 a b c d Nemet Nejat Karen Rhea 1998 Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia Daily Life Greenwood ISBN 978 0313294976 Barrett Caitlin 2007 Was Dust Their Food and Clay Their Bread Grave Goods the Mesopotamian Afterlife and the Liminal Role of Inana Ishtar Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Religions 7 1 7 65 doi 10 1163 156921207781375123 S2CID 55116377 Plato Gorgias 523a 527e Heart of Buddha Heart of China James Carter 2010 p 75 edit Boustan Ra anan S Reed Annette Yoshiko Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions Cambridge University Press 2004 Palmer Abram Smythe Studies on Biblical Studies No I Babylonian Influence on the Bible and Popular Beliefs Tĕhom and Tiamat Hades and Satan A Comparative Study of Genesis I 2 London 1897 pg 53 Rev Clarence Larkin The Spirit World Chapter VI The Underworld Philadelphia PA 1921 Moyer amp Lotter Wright Charles Henry Hamilton The Fatherhood of God And Its Relation to the Person and Work of Christ and the Operations of the Holy Spirit Edinburgh Scotland 1867 T and T Clark pg 88 Rev Edward Bouverie Pusey What is of Faith as to Everlasting Punishment In Reply to Dr Farrar s Challenge in His ʻEternal Hope 1879 James Parker amp Co 1881 pg 102 spelled zoa rothachath Mew James Traditional Aspects of Hell Ancient and Modern S Sonnenschein amp Company Lim 1903 Rev A Lowy Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology Volume 10 Old Jewish Legends of Biblical Topics Legendary Description of Hell 1888 pg 339 Charles Robert Henry The Ascension of Isaiah London A amp C Black 1900 pg 70 synonymous with Abaddon Sheol and Gehinnom in the sense of being the final abode of the damned Sola David Aaron Signification of the Proper Names Etc Occurring in the Book of Enoch From the Hebrew and Chaldee Languages London 1852 Rev X Y Z Merry England Volume 22 The Story of a Conversion 1894 pg 151 Maimonides Introduction to Perek Helek ed and transl by Maimonides Heritage Center p 3 4 Maimonides Introduction to Perek Helek ed and transl by Maimonides Heritage Center p 22 23 Frost Michael 2018 Keep Christianity Weird Embracing the Discipline of Being Different Colorado Springs CO NavPress p 81 ISBN 978 1 63146 853 7 OCLC 1057237223 Ecclesiastes 9 10 panta ὅsa ἂn eὕrῃ ἡ xeir soy toῦ poiῆsai ὡs ἡ dynamis soy poihson ὅti oὐk ἔstin poihma kaὶ logismὸs kaὶ gnῶsis kaὶ sofia ἐn ᾅdῃ ὅpoy sὺ poreyῃ ἐkeῖ Hoekema Anthony A 1994 The Bible and the Future Grand Rapids Wm B Eerdmans p 92 Lexicon H7585 shĕ owl Blue Letter Bible BLB Institute Archived from the original on 5 November 2015 Retrieved 26 February 2017 1Mos 37 35 42 38 44 29 44 31 Lexicon Strong s G86 hades Blue Letter Bible BLB Institute Archived from the original on 15 April 2012 Retrieved 28 January 2017 Ἅidhs in Liddell Henry George Scott Robert 1940 A Greek English Lexicon revised and augmented throughout by Jones Sir Henry Stuart with the assistance of McKenzie Roderick Oxford Clarendon Press In the Perseus Digital Library Tufts University Lexicon Strong s G86 hades Blue Letter Bible BLB Institute Archived from the original on 30 January 2017 Retrieved 28 January 2017 Mat 11 23 16 18 Luk 10 15 Ap 2 27 31 1Kor 15 55 Upp 1 18 6 8 20 13 14 infernus Charlton T Lewis and Charles Short A Latin Dictionary on Perseus Project ג יא ב ן ה נ ם Hinnom Archived 6 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine Jer 19 6 Lexicon Strong s H8612 Topheth Blue Letter Bible BLB Institute Archived from the original on 2 February 2017 Retrieved 28 January 2017 kaὶ ἐmianen tὸn Tafe8 tὸn ἐn faraggi yἱoῦ Ennom toῦ diagein ἄndra tὸn yἱὸn aὐtoῦ kaὶ ἄndra tὴn 8ygatera aὐtoῦ tῷ Molox ἐn pyri geenna in Liddell Henry George Scott Robert 1940 A Greek English Lexicon revised and augmented throughout by Jones Sir Henry Stuart with the assistance of McKenzie Roderick Oxford Clarendon Press In the Perseus Digital Library Tufts University Lexicon Strong s G1067 geenna Blue Letter Bible BLB Institute Archived from the original on 30 January 2017 Retrieved 28 January 2017 Mat 5 22 29 30 10 28 18 09 23 15 33 Mar 9 43 45 47 Luk 12 05 Jak 3 6 Blue Letter Bible VUL Search Results for gehennae Blue Letter Bible VUL Search Results for gehennam Tartarow in Liddell Henry George Scott Robert 1940 A Greek English Lexicon revised and augmented throughout by Jones Sir Henry Stuart with the assistance of McKenzie Roderick Oxford Clarendon Press In the Perseus Digital Library Tufts University Blue Letter Bible VUL Search Results for tartarum Unger Merrill F 1981 Unger s Bible Dictionary Chicago Moody Bible Institute The p 467 The New Schaf Herzog Encyclopedia of religious Knowledge p 415 The New Schaf Herzog Encyclopedia of religious Knowledge pgs 414 415 Catechism of the Catholic Church Article 1033 Catechism of the Catholic Church Article 1035 See Kallistos Ware Dare we hope for the salvation of all in The Inner Kingdom Volume 1 of the Collected Works Revelation 20 11 15 Bible Gateway Archived from the original on 3 December 2007 Romans 6 23 Bible Gateway Archived from the original on 2 June 2008 Mt 25 31 32 46 Evangelical Methodist Church Discipline Evangelical Methodist Church Conference 15 July 2017 p 17 Gooden Joe 4 April 2000 Hell it s about to get hotter BBC Archived from the original on 31 October 2012 Retrieved 30 April 2012 Heinrich Doring Der universale Anspruch der Kirche und die nichtchristlichen Religionen in Munchener Theologische Zeitschrift 41 1990 p 78 et sqq 4 9 Hell The Christadelphians Retrieved 6 August 2015 Hirsch Emil G SHEOL JewishEncyclopedia com Archived from the original on 18 September 2015 Retrieved 10 August 2015 Bedore Th D W Edward September 2007 Hell Sheol Hades Paradise and the Grave Berean Bible Society Archived from the original on 11 July 2015 Retrieved 10 August 2015 Knight 1999 A brief history of Seventh Day Adventists p 42 Many biblical scholars down throughout history looking at the issue through Hebrew rather than Greek eyes have denied the teaching of innate immortality Pool 1998 p 133 Various concepts of conditional immortality or annihilationism have appeared earlier in Baptist history as well Several examples illustrate this claim General as well as particular Baptists developed versions of annihilationism or conditional immortality sfn error no target CITEREFPool1998 help Stephen A State Thomas Hobbes and the Debate Over Natural Law and Religion 2013 The natural immortality of the soul is in fact a pagan presumption For men being generally possessed before the time of our Saviour by contagion of the Daemonology of the Greeks of an opinion that the Souls of men were substances distinct from their Bodies and therefore that when the Body was dead N T Wright For All the Saints Remembering the Christian Departed 2004 many readers will get the impression that I believe that every human being comes already equipped with an immortal soul I don t believe that Immortality is a gift of God in Christ not an innate human capacity see 1 Timothy 6 16 Vatican Pope did not say there is no hell BBC News 30 March 2018 Archived from the original on 31 March 2018 Retrieved 30 March 2018 1033 1035 GENERAL AUDIENCE 28 July 1999 archived from the original on 13 November 2016 Fundamental Beliefs Archived 10 March 2006 at the Wayback Machine 1980 webpage from the official church website See 25 Second Coming of Christ 26 Death and Resurrection 27 Millennium and the End of Sin and 28 New Earth The earlier 1872 and 1931 statements also support conditionalism Samuele Bacchiocchi Hell Eternal Torment or Annihilation Archived 16 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine chapter 6 in Immortality Or Resurrection Biblical Perspectives 1997 ISBN 1 930987 12 9 ISBN 978 1 930987 12 8 page needed a b c What Does the Bible Really Teach 2005 Published by Jehovah s Witnesses Insight on the scriptures Volume 2 1988 Published by Jehovah s Witnesses What is Christian Universalism Archived from the original on 22 November 2017 Retrieved 17 December 2017 What is Christian Universalism by Ken Allen Th D New Bible Dictionary Hell InterVarsity Press 1996 New Dictionary of Biblical Theology Hell InterVarsity Press 2000 Evangelical Alliance Commission on Truth and Unity Among Evangelicals The Nature of Hell Paternoster 2000 Swedenborg E Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen Swedenborg Foundation 1946 545ff Swedenborg E The True Christian Religion Containing the Universal Theology of The New Church Foretold by the Lord in Daniel 7 13 14 and in Revelation 21 1 2 Swedenborg Foundation 1946 489ff offTheLeftEye The Good Thing About Hell Swedenborg and Life YouTube com 14 March 2016 Doctrine and Covenants 19 Spencer W Kimball The Miracle of Forgivness p 123 a b c d e f Lange Christian 2016 Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies In Lange Christian ed Locating Hell in Islamic Traditions Brill pp 1 28 doi 10 1163 9789004301368 002 ISBN 978 90 04 30121 4 JSTOR 10 1163 j ctt1w8h1w3 7 Qur an 7 179 Qur an 7 179 Archived 17 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine Varza Bahram 2016 Thought Provoking Scientific Reflections on Religion New York BOD Publisher A Description of Hellfire part 1 of 5 An Introduction Religion of Islam Archived from the original on 23 December 2014 Retrieved 23 December 2014 a b Islamic Beliefs about the Afterlife Religion Facts Archived from the original on 23 December 2014 Retrieved 23 December 2014 Thomassen Einar 2009 Islamic Hell Numen 56 2 3 401 416 doi 10 1163 156852709X405062 JSTOR 27793798 Feuer a b Emerick Yahiya 2011 The Complete Idiot s Guide to Islam 3rd ed Penguin ISBN 9781101558812 A Description of Hellfire part 1 of 5 An Introduction Religion of Islam Archived from the original on 23 December 2014 Retrieved 23 December 2014 No one will come out of Hell except sinful believers who believed in the Oneness of God in this life and believed in the specific prophet sent to them before the coming of Muhammad Muslim Scholarly Discussions on Salvation and the Fate of Others Mohammad Hassan Khalil p 223 The Fitnah of Wealth Abu Ammar Yasir al Qadhi Encyclopedia of World Religions Encyclopaedia Britannica Store 2008 p 421 ISBN 9781593394912 Gordon Newby A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam Oneworld Publications 2013 ISBN 978 1 780 74477 3 Robert Lebling Legends of the Fire Spirits Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar I B Tauris 2010 ISBN 978 0 857 73063 3 page 30 ANTON M HEINEN ISLAMIC COSMOLOGY A STUDY OF AS SUYUTI S al Hay a as samya fi l hay a as sunmya with critical edition translation and commentary ANTON M HEINEN BEIRUT 1982 p 143 Roads to Paradise Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam 2 Vols Volume 1 Foundations and Formation of a Tradition Reflections on the Hereafter in the Quran and Islamic Religious Thought Volume 2 Continuity and Change The Plurality of Eschatological Representations in the Islamicate World 2017 Niederlande Brill p 174 A F Klein Religion Of Islam Routledge 2013 ISBN 978 1 136 09954 0 page 92 see Quran 5 72 5 72 Archived 20 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine Lazarus William P 2011 Comparative Religion For Dummies Wiley p 287 ISBN 9781118052273 Christiane Gruber The Ilkhanid Book of Ascension A Persian Sunni Devotional Tale I B Tauris 2010 ISBN 978 0 857 71809 9 page 54 a b c Colby Frederick 2016 Fire in the Upper Heavens Locating Hell in Middle Period Narratives of Muḥammad s Ascension In Lange Christian ed Locating Hell in Islamic Traditions Brill pp 124 143 doi 10 1163 9789004301368 007 ISBN 978 90 04 30121 4 JSTOR 10 1163 j ctt1w8h1w3 12 Colby F S 2008 Narrating Muhammad s Night Journey Tracing the Development of the Ibn Abbas Ascension Discourse USA State University of New York Press p 137 Colby F S 2008 Narrating Muhammad s Night Journey Tracing the Development of the Ibn Abbas Ascension Discourse USA State University of New York Press p 138 Lange C 2016 Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions Vereinigtes Konigreich Cambridge University Press Vuckovic Brooke Olson 2004 Heavenly Journeys Earthly Concerns The Legacy of the Mi raj in the Formation of Islam Routledge ISBN 978 1 135 88524 3 page needed Miguel Asin Palacios Islam and the Divine Comedy Routledge 2013 ISBN 978 1 134 53650 4 page 88 89 Patrick Hughes Thomas Patrick Hughes Dictionary of Islam Asian Educational Services 1995 ISBN 9788120606722 p 102 Tottoli Roberto توتولي روبرتو 2008 The Qur an Qur anic Exegesis and Muslim Traditions The Case of zamharir Q 76 13 Among Hell s Punishments القرآن والتفاسير والروايات الاسلامية سورة الانسان آية رقم 13 الزمهرير من ألوان العقوبة في جهنم Journal of Qur anic Studies 10 1 142 152 doi 10 3366 E1465359109000291 JSTOR 25728276 Masumian Farnaz 1995 Life After Death A study of the afterlife in world religions Oxford Oneworld Publications ISBN 978 1 85168 074 0 Bahaʼu llah Gleanings from the Writings of Bahaʼu llah ed by US Bahaʼi Publishing Trust 1990 pp 155 156 Helmuth von Glasenapp Der Hinduismus Religion und Gesellschaft im heutigen Indien Hildesheim 1978 p 248 Sanghvi Sukhlal 1974 Commentary on Tattvarthasutra of Vacaka Umasvati trans by K K Dixit Ahmedabad L D Institute of Indology pp 107 Sanghvi Sukhlal 1974 pp 250 52 refer Mahavrata for the vows and restraints in Jainism மரணம ந க க ஜ வ மர ந த 9 Gods plan YouTube 3 August 2018 Meivazhi The True Path angelfire com ms Salai TruePath html Singh Jagraj 2009 A Complete Guide to Sikhism Unistar Books p 271 ISBN 978 8 1714 2754 3 Archived from the original on 24 April 2017 Sri Granth Sri Guru Granth Sahib Archived from the original on 3 September 2017 Meredith Sprunger An Introduction to Zoroastrianism Archived from the original on 6 February 2007 Retrieved 10 October 2008 Yasna 49 11 Avesta Yasna Archived from the original on 9 October 2008 Retrieved 11 October 2008 Eileen Gardiner 10 February 2006 About Zoroastrian Hell Archived from the original on 15 October 2008 Retrieved 10 October 2008 Chapter 75 The Book of Arda Viraf Archived from the original on 8 October 2008 Retrieved 10 October 2008 Eileen Gardiner 18 January 2009 Zoroastrian Hell Texts Archived from the original on 17 September 2010 Retrieved 24 August 2010 Das Johannesbuch der Mandaer ed and transl by Mark Lidzbarski part 2 Giessen 1915 p 98 99 Hans Jonas The Gnostic Religion 3 ed Boston 2001 p 117 Ginza Der Schatz oder das grosse Buch der Mandaer ed and transl by Mark Lidzbarski Quellen der Religionsgeschichte vol 13 Gottingen 1925 p 183 Ginza ed and transl by Lidzbarski p 185 186 Kurt Rudolph Theogonie Kosmonogie und Anthropogonie in den mandaischen Schriften Eine literarkritische und traditionsgeschichtliche Untersuchung Gottingen 1965 p 241 Ginza ed and transl by Lidzbarski p 203 Ginza ed and transl by Lidzbarski p 321 Gerald Gardner The Gardnerian Book of Shadows Alex Sanders The Alexandrian Book of Shadows Sample Hatlo Inferno comic Archived 15 April 2012 at the Wayback MachineFurther readingBellarmine Robert 1902 Fifth Sunday Hell Sermons from the Latins Benziger Brothers Boston Thomas Hell Diggory Press ISBN 978 1 84685 748 5 Bunyan John A Few Sighs from Hell Or The Groans of the Damned Soul Diggory Press ISBN 978 1 84685 727 0 Challoner Richard 1801 Day 13 On hell Think Well On t or Reflections on the great truths of the Christian religion for every day of the month T Haydock Edwards Jonathan The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners Diggory Press ISBN 978 1 84685 672 3 Hontheim Joseph 1910 Hell In Herbermann Charles ed Catholic Encyclopedia Vol 7 New York Robert Appleton Company Gardiner Eileen Visions of Heaven and Hell before Dante New York Italica Press 1989 ISBN 0 934977 14 3 Liguori Alphonus 1882 Sermon X Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany On the pains of hell Sermons for all the Sundays in the year Dublin Loftus John W 2008 Hell No Why I became an atheist Amherst NY Prometheus Books p 387 ISBN 978 1 59102 592 4 Metzger Bruce M Michael D Coogan eds 1993 The Oxford Companion to the Bible Oxford UK Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 19 504645 8 External links Wikiquote has quotations related to Hell Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hell Look up hell in Wiktionary the free dictionary Wikibooks has a book on the topic of God and Religious Toleration Christianity Is There a Hell Hell on In Our Time at the BBC Heaven and Hell in Christian Thought entry by Thomas Talbott in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Hell on line A cultural history of Hell in The Fortnightly Review Atheist Foundation of Australia 666 words about hell The Jehovah s Witnesses perspective Dying Yamaraja and Yamadutas terminal restlessness example Buddhist Hells Swedenborg E Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen Swedenborg Foundation 1946 Maps of hell at the Hell and Heaven subject the Persuasive Cartography The PJ Mode Collection Cornell University Library Collection Heaven Hell and Afterlives from the University of Michigan Museum of Art Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hell amp oldid 1144290556, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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