Philosophy
 

Hell

From Atheism

Hell is a concept in some types of Christianity and in some other religions notably Islam. Christians generally believe that Hell involves eternal torment. Hell is a punishment for sin or for unbelief. People who commit sin and don't repent before they die risk Hell. Similarly people who don't believe Christianity and don't become Christians before they die go to Hell. Some sects of Christianity teach that only believers in their sect can escape Hell. Incidentally the God who causes Hell is also a God of love. Not all Christians believe in Hell fortunately.

Contents

Memeplex

Hell can be seen as part of the Christian Memeplex. Sometimes belief in Hell reinforces Christianity.

  • Christians who believe in Hell dare not examine any doubts they have.
  • Christians who believe in Hell dare not let their children grow up to think for themselves. The prospect of their children going to Hell if they stop believing Christianity also frightens them.
  • Christians who believe in Hell frequently go out and proselytize. Partly they do this to increase their own chances of getting to Heaven and escaping Hell. Partly they do this to save the souls of the sinners whom they try to convert.
  • Christians who believe in Hell see Atheism as something terrible that leads to damnation. Websites like this are terrible as they lead people astray to damnation.
  • Christians who believe in Hell frequently think it is right to cause considerable suffering in this world if they believe that this reduces the risk that a soul will be damned eternally hereafter.
  • Former Christians who have once believed in Hell can have nagging uncomfortable feelings after they deconvert. This applies especially when former Christians were taught to believe in Hell during the formative years of their childhood. Christian evangelists frequently know how to play on irrational fears of Hell. They work at intensifying fear because they hope they can bring a former Christian back to Christianity that way.

The concept of Hell can also weaken Christianity. Many Christians want to see God as a friend who supports them during life’s troubles. They want further to believe that God is looking after deceased loved-ones and that they will be reunited with their loved ones in Heaven. The idea of a tyrant who sends souls to Hell for minor sins or unbelief doesn’t fit easily with the idea of a God of love. Some Christians just don’t let themselves look closely into what type of God they worship. Liberal Christians try and argue that God is love, also that Hell does not exist and that passages referring to Hell in the Bible are symbolic of something or other in some way or other. This is known as Christian Universalism. Christian Universalism causes far less suffering than types of Christianity that believe in Hell cause.

Some religions believe that Hell is not for eternity, and everybody will eventually be forgiven (including Satan).

The Catholic hell

According to the official website of the holy see:[1]

"The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal fire." The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs."[2]

Which rather suggests that hell includes:

Eternal fire

and

Eternal separation from God.

From the point of view of the writers of the article it seems as though they feel that the "eternal separation" is worse than the "eternal fire". This is probably a matter of opinion, but given that the place obviously doesn't exist it's nothing to really worry about either way.


See also

Pascal's Wager

References

  1. ↑ Vatican webiste
  2. ↑ Official Catholic hell

External Links

  • Hell (Iron Chariots Wiki Article)

Videos

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