development. The leaders of the eighteenth century Great Awakening set the foundations for modern assumptions about Hell. Additionally, modernity allows limited opportunity for intellectual inquiry, challenging, and questioning of widely held seemingly sacred beliefs. RON WILL EXPAND OR LEAVE OUT People tend to have a very recent sense of history. Relatively recent expressions of Hell in contemporary religious theology and expression have become heavily authoritative to a deconstructive post-Christian culture, which places great value on tertiary, rather than primary, sources. In addition, confirmation bias, the tendency of people to choose information confirming their preexisting beliefs, dominates the modern cultural landscape. …show more content…
Most scholars seem to agree they are the same idea. Early Greek translations change the Hebrew sheol into the well-known, parallel Greek appellation of hades. Anyone with an understanding of Hebrew or Greek would recognize the lateral and interchangeable usage of the two terms. For instance, most translations from the Hebrew language of Psalm 87: 3, 4 state, “For my being is filled with troubles, and my life reflects Sheol. I have been reckoned with them that go down to the pit; I became as a man without help” (Kittel). The Greek-based Septuagint, however, asserts, “For my soul is filled with troubles, and my life has drawn nigh to Hades. 4 I have been reckoned with them that go down to the pit; I became as a man without help” (Rathmell). The Hebrew sheol and the Greek hades appear intact in the first 1600 years of Bible translation. Later translations, such as the King James Version, rendered these terms, and anything else involving the afterlife, into the English word “hell” (King James). The sheol-temporary origins of the idea of hell are evident in the earliest English adaptations in which the term “hell” is rarely capitalized. The personified place of Hell emerges much …show more content…
Additionally, the newer personifications of Hell began to reflect the newer expressions of punishment theology, rather than the foundational tones of the Scriptural sheol. Thus, the translations began to reflect the practice of personifying an eternally injurious Hell, rather than more nuanced, and authentically converse, Christian practice and idea following the message found in Christian Scripture. For instance, most translations of Psalm 86:13 from Hebrew state, “For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol” (Kittel), yet the English-based King James Version says, “For great is your mercy toward me: and you have delivered my soul from the lowest hell” (Psalm 86:13). Obviously, King James translators employed theological bias by describing hell as a place of depth of punishment apart from salvation in
Does hell have its own history? For Dante, the structural and thematic history of ‘hell’ in the Inferno begins with the Roman epic tradition and its champion poet, Virgil. By drawing heavily from the characteristics of hell in Book VI of The Aeneid, Dante carries the epic tradition into the medieval world and affirms his indebtedness to Virgil’s poetry. Moreover, Virgil becomes a central character in the Inferno as he guides Dante, the pilgrim, who has no knowledge of hell, through his own historical model. Similarly, the protagonist of The Aeneid, Aeneas, lacks the foresight necessary to make the journey through hell on his own and thus places his trust in the mythological prophet, the Sybil. Because the Sybil and Virgil already have knowledge of the underworld, their characters in The Aeneid and the Inferno are associated with history, both literally through Virgil’s poetry and metaphorically through their enduring wisdom in eyes of the pilgrim and Aeneas. For Aeneas and the pilgrim, however, religious history evolves from an ancient world of paganism to medieval Christianity and these values are transposed onto hell itself--showing that its history changes over time. Furthermore, the living realities that the pilgrim and Aeneas take into the underworld prove unstable when juxtaposed with hell’s slippery and ever-changing ambience. In Book VI of The Aeneid, Aeneas enters an underworld filled with triple-hybrid beasts, sinners, heroes, and a transparent physical reality that foils his warriorlike instincts for conflict and resolution. Likewise, in Dante’s Inferno, the journeying pilgrim witnesses a horrific blurring of life and death, which in this case nega...
Jonathan Edwards's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is moving and powerful. His effectiveness as an eighteenth century New England religious leader is rooted in his expansive knowledge of the Bible and human nature, as well as a genuine desire to "awaken" and save as many souls as possible. This sermon, delivered in 1741, exhibits Edwards's skillful use of these tools to persuade his congregation to join him in his Christian beliefs.
Himmelfarb, Martha. Tours of Hell: An Apocalyptic Form in Jewish and Christian Literature. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1983.
The Middle Ages was a time of instability and corruption, which was when Dante Alighieri lived. Dante wrote about the horrible era because he wanted to show his hatred towards the current leaders. In the Inferno, he illustrates the unethical community vividly by the use of influential figures that disobey the laws. Additionally, Dante uses imagery in Hell that shows the connection between the Earthly sins and gruesome punishments that portray a vivid image emotionally attached to the church. Furthermore, Dante’s orthodoxy expresses mockery because the church did not always have a clear interpretation for the placement of a multiple sinner, thus exposing the inconsistent church. Likewise, Dante’s character development shifts in a negative manner due to evil pressures around him and his exposure to the true earthly sins. In summation, Dante uses the Inferno to express his animosity toward the church and the corrupt environment to expound how people that follow the church would be contaminated, just like the pilgrim.
The primary focus of the world during the Great Awakening was religion, and the clergy were tasked to influence the thinking and transformation of people through the word of God. The preacher’s objective was to purify the thoughts and beliefs of the people in order to be saved from the wrath of God. Many people from different faiths, especially Christianity, have asked if hell is real, and have always wondered how a loving and merciful God, a God who is gracious to His followers and willing to forgive them of their sins, could judge and punish them with fire that burns eternally. Jonathan Edwards, the most famous preacher during the Great Awakening, answered this question about the reality of hell in an epic sermon he preached to a congregation in Enfield, Connecticut, on July 8th, 1741 (Edwards 1).
“Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here.”(Alighieri 18) this statement is viewed while entering through The Gates of Hell. The Inferno by Dante Alighieri is one perspective of Hell that has been written. According to the Cambridge University Library, Hell is set up like a funnel that extends from the surface of the Earth located near Jerusalem; it expands down to the center of the Earth (Cambridge 2006). In this cone-like structure, there are circles that divide sins by the severity of the sin committed. Each circle is on a different ledge or level that separates them from each other (Alighieri 25). Dante and his guide Virgil travel through all the circles of Hell during the Lent season. Through their travels they inspect and comment on the variations
In Dante’s Inferno hell is divided into nine “circles” of hell; the higher the number correlates to the grimmer the sin and the pain you will endure. However, I do not completely agree with Dante’s version of hell, perhaps due to the difference in time periods. In this essay I will be pointing out my concerns with Dante’s description of hell and how I would recreate hell if I were Dante.
Dante’s Inferno creates an imaginative comparison between a soul’s sin on Earth and the punishment he or she receives in Hell. Christian themes in Dante’s inferno would be wisdom and knowledge of the horrors of Hell, compassion and forgiveness, and the perfection of God’s justice.
“The devil is not as black as he is painted” (Alighieri), this statement especially holds to be true in Dante Alighieri’s Inferno. According to Dante, Hell exists to reprimand sin, and the appropriateness of Hell’s punishments affirms God’s divine perfection that sin violates. Looking at Hell from Dante’s point of view, allows the readers to visualize the devil as a sinner not from Earth, who oversees God’s divine punishment of other unrepentant sinners from Earth. A perfect description of the devil comes from SparkNotes, who states, “The prince of Hell, also referred to as Dis. Lucifer resides at the bottom of the Ninth (and final) Circle of Hell, beneath the Earth’s surface, with his body jutting through the planet’s center. An enormous giant, he has three faces but does not speak; his three mouths are busy chewing three of history’s greatest traitors: Judas, the betrayer of Christ, and Cassius and Brutus, the betrayers of Julius Caesar” (SparkNotes). Dante felt that unrepentant sins committed on Earth have a direct connection with God’s divine punishment in Hell.
Debunkingmadelaeffect.com states “The tendency to search for, interpret, or recall information in a way that confirms one’s beliefs or hypotheses.”
In Dante’s Inferno, we followed Dante as he narrates his decent and observations of hell. A wonderful part of that depiction is his descriptions of the creative yet cruel punishments that each of the different sinners receive. This story is an integral part of literary history, and even if I were to have the imagination and ability of Dante Alighieri, I don’t believe I would change this tried and true version known universally.
Thus, our predictions about others' beliefs or behaviors, based on casual observation, are very likely to err in the direction of our own beliefs or behavior. For example, college students who preferred brown bread estimated that over 50% of all other college students preferred brown bread, while white-bread eaters estimated more accurately that 37% showed brown bread preference (Ross, Greene, & House, 1977). This is known as the false consensus effect (Ross et al., 1977; Mullen, Atkins, Champion, Edwards, Hardy, Story, & Vanderlok, 1985). The false consensus effect provides the basis for the following demonstration, which emphasizes the need for systematic rather than casual observation. You can use the set of six questions, below, to investigate this.
Another cause of this conflict is the fact that Baker forgot about the position that Rennalls father occupied and acted as a foreign that only tries to prove that Barracanians are inferior.
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).
The Bible describes Hell as a place of darkness, a lake of fire and brimstone. Matthew 25:41, describes Hell as a pit of fire that is prepared for Satan the devil, his demonic cohorts, and the other souls that chose to serve him during the trials of life on earth. The citizens of Hell will be populated with the souls of those who died without accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. These souls will experience the nashing of teeth, endless pain from the tortureous fire, and ultimately eternal death. The citizens of Hell will not reunite with God`s presence. The Bible states in Luke 16:19-28, that souls cannot pass from Hell to Heaven or vice versa. Fire is not the only form of eternal punishment. Eternal thirst and great pain are other forms of punishment that will be experienced by the citizens of Hell. Christians believe that the souls in Hell will be able to see the souls that are in Heaven and vice versa. The souls in Hell simply chose a life of sin, non-repentance, and rebellion against God Word. Revelations 20:12-15, states the following: "And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for aeons of aeons."