Nomen Nescio
2012-06-30 01:00:06 UTC
DARK TRANCE GO TO HELL...
...DON'T TELL LIES, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!
--
In many religious traditions, hell is a place of suffering
and punishment in an afterlife, often after resurrection.
Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells
as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a
hell as an intermediary period between incarnations.
Typically these traditions locate hell under the Earth's
external surface and often include entrances to Hell from
the land of the living. Other afterlife destinations
include Heaven, Purgatory, Paradise, and Limbo.
Other traditions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as
a place of punishment or reward, merely describe hell as an
abode of the dead, a neutral place located under the
surface of Earth. Modern understandings of hells often
depict them abstractly, as a state of loss rather than as
fiery torture literally underground, but this view of the
concept of a hell can, in fact, be traced back into the
ancient and medieval periods as well. Hell is sometimes
portrayed as populated with demons who torment those
dwelling there. Many are ruled by a death god such as
Nergal, Hades, Enma or the Christian and Islamic Devil
(Satan or Lucifer). In Islam, the Devil does not actually
reside in Hell.
Punishment in Hell typically corresponds to sins committed
during life. Sometimes these distinctions are specific, with
damned souls suffering for each sin committed (see for
example 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.
In many religious cultures, including Christianity and Islam,
Hell is traditionally depicted as fiery and painful,
inflicting guilt and suffering. 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. But cold also played a part
in earlier Christian depictions of hell, beginning with the
Apocalypse of Paul, originally from the early third century;
the "Vision of Dryhthelm" by the Venerable Bede from the
seventh century; "St Patrick's Purgatory", "The Vision of
Tundale" or "Visio Tnugdali", and the "Vision of the Monk of
Enysham", all from the twelfth century; and the "Vision of
Thurkill" from the early thirteenth century.
Early Judaism had no concept of Hell, though the concept of
an afterlife was introduced during the Hellenic period,
apparently from neighboring Hellenistic religions. It occurs
for example in Book of Daniel. Daniel 12:2 proclaims "And many
of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some
to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt."
Judaism does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife,
but it does have a mystical/Orthodox tradition of describing
Gehenna. Gehenna 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 Gehenna 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. 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 gehinom.
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.
Muslims believe in jahannam (which is related to the Hebrew
word gehinnom and resembles the versions of Hell in
Christianity). In the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, there
are literal descriptions of the condemned in a fiery Hell, as
contrasted to the garden-like Paradise (jannah) enjoyed by
righteous believers.
In addition, Heaven and Hell are split into many different
levels depending on the actions perpetrated in life, where
punishment is given depending on the level of evil done in
life, and good is separated into other levels depending on how
well one followed God while alive. The gate of Hell is guarded
by Maalik who is the leader of the angels assigned as the
guards of hell also known as Zabaaniyah.
Although generally Hell is often portrayed as a hot steaming
and tormenting place for sinners, there is one Hell pit which
is characterized differently from the other Hell in Islamic
tradition. Zamhareer is the Hell of extreme coldness, of
unbearable blizzards, ice, and snow.
The lowest pit of Hell is Hawiyah, meant for those hypocrites
who claimed aloud to believe in Allah and his messenger but
denounced both in their hearts. Hypocrisy is considered to be
one of the most dangerous sins, along with shirk.
The Christian doctrine of hell derives from the teaching of the
New Testament, where hell is typically described using the
Greek words Tartarus or Hades or the Hebrew word Gehenna.
In many Christian churches, such as the Catholic Church, most
Protestant churches (such as the Baptists, Episcopalians, etc.),
and some Greek Orthodox churches, Hell is taught as the final
destiny of those who have not been found worthy after they have
passed through the great white throne of judgment, where they
will be punished for sin and permanently separated from God after
the general resurrection and last judgment. 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 Liberal Protestant, Anglican and some
Orthodox churches believe in Universal Reconciliation even though
it might contradict more evangelical views in their denomination.
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. This is the view held by a few Christian sects
such as the Living Church of God, The Church of God International,
and Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Annihilationism is the belief that the soul is mortal unless
granted eternal life, making it possible to be destroyed in Hell.
Jehovah's Witnesses hold that the soul ceases to exist when the
person dies and therefore that Hell (Sheol or Hades) is a state of
non-existence. In their theology, Gehenna differs from Sheol or
Hades in that it holds no hope of a resurrection. Tatarus 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).
Universal Reconciliation is the belief that all human souls
(and even Demons) will be eventually reconciled with God and
admitted to Heaven. This view is held by some Unitarian-
Universalists.
According to Emanuel SwedenborgÂ’s Second Coming Christian
revelation, hell exists because evil people want it. They, not
God, introduced evil to the human race.
In "Devaduta Sutta", the 130th discourse of the Majjhima Nikaya,
Buddha teaches about the hell in vivid detail. Buddhism teaches
that there are five (sometimes six) realms of rebirth, which can
then be further subdivided into degrees of agony or pleasure. Of
these realms, the hell realms, or Naraka, is the lowest realm of
rebirth. Of the hell realms, the worst is Avici or "endless
suffering". 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 to have been reborn in the Avici Hell.
However, like all realms of rebirth, rebirth in the Hell realms is
not permanent, though suffering can persist for eons before being
reborn again. 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.
Early Vedic religion doesn't have a concept of Hell. ?g-veda
mentions three realms, bhur (the earth), svar (the sky) and
bhuvas or antarik?a (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 Yama as first born human (together with his twin
sister Yami) in 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.
In the law-books (sm?tis and dharma-sutras, like the Manu-sm?ti)
naraka is a place of punishment for sins. It is a lower spiritual
plane (called naraka-loka) where the spirit is judged, or partial
fruits of karma affected in a next life. In 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 in heaven, Indra tells him Duryodhana is in heaven as he
did his Kshatriya duties, then he shows Yudhisthir hell where it
appears his brothers are but later its revealed it was a test for
Yudhisthir and his brothers and Kauravas both are in heaven and
both live happily in divine abode of gods. Hells are also
described in various Puranas and other scriptures. Garuda Purana
gives a detailed account of Hell, its features and enlists amount
of punishment for most of the crimes like a modern day penal code.
It is believed that people who commit sins go to Hell and have to
go through punishments in accordance with the sins they committed.
The god Yamaraja, who is also the god of death, presides over Hell.
Detailed accounts of all the sins committed by an individual are
kept by Chitragupta, who is the record keeper in Yama's court.
Chitragupta reads out the sins 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 sin to their record; but if one has generally
led a pious life, one ascends to svarga, a temporary realm of
enjoinment similar to Paradise, after a brief period of expiation
in Hell and before the next reincarnation according to the law of
karma.
--
...DON'T TELL LIES, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!
--
In many religious traditions, hell is a place of suffering
and punishment in an afterlife, often after resurrection.
Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells
as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a
hell as an intermediary period between incarnations.
Typically these traditions locate hell under the Earth's
external surface and often include entrances to Hell from
the land of the living. Other afterlife destinations
include Heaven, Purgatory, Paradise, and Limbo.
Other traditions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as
a place of punishment or reward, merely describe hell as an
abode of the dead, a neutral place located under the
surface of Earth. Modern understandings of hells often
depict them abstractly, as a state of loss rather than as
fiery torture literally underground, but this view of the
concept of a hell can, in fact, be traced back into the
ancient and medieval periods as well. Hell is sometimes
portrayed as populated with demons who torment those
dwelling there. Many are ruled by a death god such as
Nergal, Hades, Enma or the Christian and Islamic Devil
(Satan or Lucifer). In Islam, the Devil does not actually
reside in Hell.
Punishment in Hell typically corresponds to sins committed
during life. Sometimes these distinctions are specific, with
damned souls suffering for each sin committed (see for
example 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.
In many religious cultures, including Christianity and Islam,
Hell is traditionally depicted as fiery and painful,
inflicting guilt and suffering. 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. But cold also played a part
in earlier Christian depictions of hell, beginning with the
Apocalypse of Paul, originally from the early third century;
the "Vision of Dryhthelm" by the Venerable Bede from the
seventh century; "St Patrick's Purgatory", "The Vision of
Tundale" or "Visio Tnugdali", and the "Vision of the Monk of
Enysham", all from the twelfth century; and the "Vision of
Thurkill" from the early thirteenth century.
Early Judaism had no concept of Hell, though the concept of
an afterlife was introduced during the Hellenic period,
apparently from neighboring Hellenistic religions. It occurs
for example in Book of Daniel. Daniel 12:2 proclaims "And many
of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some
to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt."
Judaism does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife,
but it does have a mystical/Orthodox tradition of describing
Gehenna. Gehenna 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 Gehenna 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. 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 gehinom.
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.
Muslims believe in jahannam (which is related to the Hebrew
word gehinnom and resembles the versions of Hell in
Christianity). In the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam, there
are literal descriptions of the condemned in a fiery Hell, as
contrasted to the garden-like Paradise (jannah) enjoyed by
righteous believers.
In addition, Heaven and Hell are split into many different
levels depending on the actions perpetrated in life, where
punishment is given depending on the level of evil done in
life, and good is separated into other levels depending on how
well one followed God while alive. The gate of Hell is guarded
by Maalik who is the leader of the angels assigned as the
guards of hell also known as Zabaaniyah.
Although generally Hell is often portrayed as a hot steaming
and tormenting place for sinners, there is one Hell pit which
is characterized differently from the other Hell in Islamic
tradition. Zamhareer is the Hell of extreme coldness, of
unbearable blizzards, ice, and snow.
The lowest pit of Hell is Hawiyah, meant for those hypocrites
who claimed aloud to believe in Allah and his messenger but
denounced both in their hearts. Hypocrisy is considered to be
one of the most dangerous sins, along with shirk.
The Christian doctrine of hell derives from the teaching of the
New Testament, where hell is typically described using the
Greek words Tartarus or Hades or the Hebrew word Gehenna.
In many Christian churches, such as the Catholic Church, most
Protestant churches (such as the Baptists, Episcopalians, etc.),
and some Greek Orthodox churches, Hell is taught as the final
destiny of those who have not been found worthy after they have
passed through the great white throne of judgment, where they
will be punished for sin and permanently separated from God after
the general resurrection and last judgment. 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 Liberal Protestant, Anglican and some
Orthodox churches believe in Universal Reconciliation even though
it might contradict more evangelical views in their denomination.
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. This is the view held by a few Christian sects
such as the Living Church of God, The Church of God International,
and Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Annihilationism is the belief that the soul is mortal unless
granted eternal life, making it possible to be destroyed in Hell.
Jehovah's Witnesses hold that the soul ceases to exist when the
person dies and therefore that Hell (Sheol or Hades) is a state of
non-existence. In their theology, Gehenna differs from Sheol or
Hades in that it holds no hope of a resurrection. Tatarus 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).
Universal Reconciliation is the belief that all human souls
(and even Demons) will be eventually reconciled with God and
admitted to Heaven. This view is held by some Unitarian-
Universalists.
According to Emanuel SwedenborgÂ’s Second Coming Christian
revelation, hell exists because evil people want it. They, not
God, introduced evil to the human race.
In "Devaduta Sutta", the 130th discourse of the Majjhima Nikaya,
Buddha teaches about the hell in vivid detail. Buddhism teaches
that there are five (sometimes six) realms of rebirth, which can
then be further subdivided into degrees of agony or pleasure. Of
these realms, the hell realms, or Naraka, is the lowest realm of
rebirth. Of the hell realms, the worst is Avici or "endless
suffering". 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 to have been reborn in the Avici Hell.
However, like all realms of rebirth, rebirth in the Hell realms is
not permanent, though suffering can persist for eons before being
reborn again. 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.
Early Vedic religion doesn't have a concept of Hell. ?g-veda
mentions three realms, bhur (the earth), svar (the sky) and
bhuvas or antarik?a (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 Yama as first born human (together with his twin
sister Yami) in 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.
In the law-books (sm?tis and dharma-sutras, like the Manu-sm?ti)
naraka is a place of punishment for sins. It is a lower spiritual
plane (called naraka-loka) where the spirit is judged, or partial
fruits of karma affected in a next life. In 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 in heaven, Indra tells him Duryodhana is in heaven as he
did his Kshatriya duties, then he shows Yudhisthir hell where it
appears his brothers are but later its revealed it was a test for
Yudhisthir and his brothers and Kauravas both are in heaven and
both live happily in divine abode of gods. Hells are also
described in various Puranas and other scriptures. Garuda Purana
gives a detailed account of Hell, its features and enlists amount
of punishment for most of the crimes like a modern day penal code.
It is believed that people who commit sins go to Hell and have to
go through punishments in accordance with the sins they committed.
The god Yamaraja, who is also the god of death, presides over Hell.
Detailed accounts of all the sins committed by an individual are
kept by Chitragupta, who is the record keeper in Yama's court.
Chitragupta reads out the sins 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 sin to their record; but if one has generally
led a pious life, one ascends to svarga, a temporary realm of
enjoinment similar to Paradise, after a brief period of expiation
in Hell and before the next reincarnation according to the law of
karma.
--