Does Hell Exist? What is Hell? According to the online Oxford Dictionary, “ A place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often traditionally depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death.” A horrible place to be. Have you ever see someone tortured? I hope not, it is a terrible thing. Imagine this scene: An individual, engulfed in flames. Screaming for help but no one can do anything about it. Skin boiling, shrieks of agony, truly a horrid scene. What crime could someone have done to deserve such a punishment. Let us use an illustration. A good father would punish his child when he has done something wrong. But a cruel father would torture him. Hell from this perspective is illogical. The average human life is between 70-80 years. The amount of sins one can commit in that time period can vary from few to a large number. But does a limited number of sins deserve everlasting torture? Many are disgusted with God but this. They wonder if “God is love” why would he do such a terrible thing to his ...
In most ancient literature some sort of divine justice is used to punish people's acts in life. This is that case with Dante's Inferno, where the Author categorizes hell in 9 circles. Circle 9 being the lowest sins and punishments as the circles decrease. From the time this was written to now in days many things have changed, and things are not seen the same no more. Back then sins like greed and gluttony were ranked as high sins but now people would probably rank those very low with other things like murder way on top. Yet the basic structure set by Dante remains.
Chastisement or punishment can be performed in various forms that can produce in a variety of consequences. In J.B., the sudden punishment of God on J.B has caused a commotion in his family physically and mentally. Nevertheless, J.B’s faith does not die and he also continues to fulfill his responsibility as a “puppet” in a play created by God. After the death of his five children, J.B is placid and not abhorring God for his punishment. “God will not punish without cause, God is just.”, said J.B (109). J.B knows that there must be a reason for God to punish him, because God always acts impartially. Ev...
Fire and brimstone, flames engulfing people, and the endless cries from the souls that are suffering are all things that are commonly associated with hell. It’s not thought of as some place of just punishment, but filled with pain and torment. The question raised is whether or not it is actually full of fire and heat, or is it something different. When we read about hell in Dante’s Inferno, he describes the place not only full of fire, but also of ice, wind, and rain. All of the elements sit on different levels that have been thoughtfully laid out by Dante himself. Carol Forman speaks of how Dante set up his hell, “Hell is structured around Dante’s concept of sin.
Abraham Lincoln, one of the most revered presidents of our country, once expressed “I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.” Throughout history, many men have tried to teach their people by punishment. From the times of ancient Egypt, to the Dark Ages of Europe, even up to the times of colonial America, persecution, humiliation, and torture have been used to enforce the principles of righteousness. But God has seemingly different ideas. From the very beginning, God has been teaching his children on Earth by showing them mercy instead of giving them misery. This theme is exemplified in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter as Hester and Dimmesdale suffer
From Dante's perspective, crimes of passion or desire are the least abhorrent and consequently deserve minimal punishment in comparison to what he believes are the more serious offenses. These sinners, the carnal, the gluttonous, the hoarders and wasters, along with the wrathful and sullen fall just below the virtuous pagans in Dante's hell. In some way, they represent a loss of self control, of reason gone amiss, as each plunges into a personal world of self indulgence. To Dante, those that succumb to the pleasures of the 'will' deserve an eternity less painful than those who fall into emotional or psychological despair. Yet, like the sins that constitute placement deeper in the bowels of Hell, all represent a punishment equal to or reflective of the sin as it existed in life. For example, the carnal are banished to an eternity of being whirled about by the wind (Dante) forever lusting after what they sought in life. They reach for shadows that were once the bodies they desired. However, in Hell the only thing they feel is the passion they lost.
In my mind I see hell as this place of immense torment bestowed on sinners. My faith has taught me that those who sin go to hell to be punished. Dante's adventure clearly shows that the souls of hell are punished, as I thought. Punishments range from living in filth to painful tortures.
Do you have an identity without this society? Hell is not about suffering or punishment. Hell is the society that we live in. People who surround us make our life in hell or heaven for us. People around us make our lives miserable by judging our actions.
These ‘sins,’ as we refer to them, are actually complex “psychological states,” that turn out to be largely functional in our modern times. Calling them sins merely stigmatizes them, breeds disdain, and is an overall simplistic label. Although many people in western society may no longer see the cardinal sins as ‘deadly,’ many still live strictly by these religious doctrines.
What is hell? Is it fire and brimstone? Is it one’s worst fears come to life? Is it an endless nightmare? Is it an eternity of demon torturing? Is it reliving the same horrible day over and over again for forever? What is hell? Jean-Paul Sartre wrote the play “No Exit.” It is an existentialist play. Sartre uses his characters to describe the setting saying, “Yes we have lots of time in hand. All time,” (43) and “... yet we’re in hell.” (17) Garcin, a character in the one act play, thinks that hell is simply other people. This is a running theme in the play as even another character, Inez, says, “I mean that each of us will act as a torturer of the two others.” (17) While many religions have their own versions of hell (like
Inferno, the first part of Divina Commedia, or the Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, is the story of a man's journey through Hell and the observance of punishments incurred as a result of the committance of sin. In all cases the severity of the punishment, and the punishment itself, has a direct correlation to the sin committed. The punishments are fitting in that they are symbolic of the actual sin; in other words, "They got what they wanted." (Literature of the Western World, p.1409) According to Dante, Hell has two divisions: Upper Hell, devoted to those who perpetrated sins of incontinence, and Lower Hell, devoted to those who perpetrated sins of malice. The divisions of Hell are likewise split into levels corresponding to sin. Each of the levels and the divisions within levels 7,8, and 9 have an analogous historical or mythological figure used to illustrate and exemplify the sin.
Christianity has many beliefs, although, not all of them exactly fit together like puzzle pieces. Most people know Hell as being a fiery chamber of torture, but that is not how everyone sees it. Some people, such as Dante, the author of Dantes Inferno, believe Hell is actually an icy tomb for all sinners who dwell there. Dantes’ version is very eccentric, but makes complete sense when the theory is considered.
Everyone is held up by God’s hand over an abyss that falls straight into hell; they all deserve to fall in. God is furious at the people that have done wrong, but God made a promise to Mankind that he would hold them up. Hell is waiting for God to give up on Mankind and drop them in, so Hell can devour Mankind in a fiery hellhole. God is becoming more and more enraged at Mankind and is now considering if he should give up on Mankind and just let them fall into the darkness that is about to consume them. The evil within a person is what is bringing him/her down towards hell, until he/she sinks to the point of no return. Similar to a boat that has a leak, the small leak is slowly weighing the boat down. As more water leaks into the boat the
Suffering plays a key role in many religions, but it is especially prevalent in Christianity. Modern-day critics of Christianity are fond of asking something along the lines of “If there is a god, why does he not end suffering?” And they are perfectly justified in asking. It is a large question–absolutely appropriate for a grand level of consideration. Timothy Keller uses three main points in The Reason for God to show how he sees the issue. These three points can be summarized in three simple phrases: justice and injustice, godly suffering, and cleansing fire.
Writing my paper over twang was giving me so much hell that I changed the subject to hell. The word hell is a word that is frequently used by people upon certain occasions. The definition of hell is the place or state of punishment of the wicked after death; the abode of evil and condemned spirits; any place or state of torment or misery; something that causes torment or misery. From the above it can be seen that hell has a negative connotation. An examination of the place of punishment, the state of misery or which bring suffering or misery will help define the full meaning of the negative implications for the word hell.
One way in which death can be viewed comes across the Catholic religion. The Catholic believers look life after death in a prospective of three different worlds, such as Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise according to the deeds committed during life. If a person during his or her lifetime committed any sins, this person’s next world will be the Hell. The traditional view in which people refer to hell can be found in the book written by Dante Alighieri, “La Divina Commedia”. The book states that the formation of Hell was given by the crash of Lucifer (the angel that wanted to be better than God) from the sky onto the earth. Crashing on the Earth in Jerusalem, his head formed an upside down cone inside the Earth. This is where is located the Hell. In the Hell, people pay for their sins with different penitences (12-13). For instance, a person that committed homicide will freeze in a lake frozen by the breath of Satan (XXXIV canto). If a person during his or her life commits any sins but asks for forgiveness, then he or she will go to the Purgatory. The purgatory is represented by an island with a mountain (23). One source states that “Purgatory is very similar to Hell; the main difference is that one will eventually be released from torture. The souls that go in the Purgatory are tortured with fire. These souls remain in purgatory until they become sufficiently purified to enter heaven”(2). For example, if a soul in the purgatory asks for forgiveness and pays the punition with some tests, the soul will be released and moved immediately to Heaven (2).