June 26, 2006

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  A Topic Entry for the Socrates Cafe: “Is there really a Hell?”

  
  

  The short answer. Hell if I know. As with all philosophical questions, there is no readily ascertainable answer, or else the questions would have been answered and the book closed a long time ago. The concept of “Hell” is a Christian precept which has been modified over time. “Hell” is the place where there is no connection with the Godhead, and where souls who are not redeemed are “sent” for all eternity. It is usually thought about as a place where these godless souls “burn” forever, or else are assigned Sisyphean tasks that can never be accomplished. Hell is the opposite of Heaven, and is usually physically placed at the center of the Earth.

  
  

  Ancient humankind believed in an afterlife, but not necessarily a “heaven” and “hell” dichotomy, which was popularized during the dark ages by “fire and brimstone” sermons, and for which cultural significance was cemented with the publication of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem “Divine Comedy” in 1300. Early man has always believed that his soul passed into another plane following death.

  
  

  The Egyptian’s elaborate Book of the Dead told of a series of obstacles the soul has to traverse prior to his eventual place in the land of the Dead. The ancient Hebrews, from which  the eventual Christian sect separated, believed in Sheol, an afterlife, but not necessarily rift with a dvision between a “good place” and a “bad place”. The Greeks believed in Hades, a place, like Sheol, where everyone’s soul eventually ended their journey. All of ancient humankind constructed myths and legends about the eventual land of the dead, and certain sects and tribes of men believed that there might be “levels” of participation in the afterlife. It wasnt’ until Christianity was firmly cemented as a world religion that the concept of “hell” as a deterrent to “sinning” was visualized and preached, in order to keep the populace in line.

  
  

  Early Christian mention of a “hell” occurs in Matthew and in the Book of Revelation. Some instances are cited in Daniel and in the Old Testament, but the concept didn’t really take off until the Dark Ages, when leaders of the Church were also leaders of the land. With the publication of Dante’s poem, the popular visions of Hell and Satan began to stoke the fires of imagination. In the 15th Century, English poet John Milton further popularized the story of the Fall from Heaven of Lucifer, who became Satan, in his epic poem, “Paradise Lost”, the basic story of which can be found also in the Book of Revelation in the Holy Bible.

  
  

  In the late 20th Century, a “Church of Satan” was founded, whose members actually “worship” Satan and perform Satanic rituals. The concept of a “Hell” is quite ensconced in Christian Society. Some forms of Christianity, like the Seventh Day Adventists, do not believe in an actual “hell” consumed by fire. Catholics still believe in “levels of hell.” Eastern religions usually visualize “Paradise” as an afterlife where all eventually reach enlightenment. In the Hindu faith, a soul might be born again on Earth multiple times, until his Karma is judged sound enough that he might  be enlightened, but as a whole Eastern religions do not split the afterlife into a “good place” and a “bad place” where a soul will be placed “for eternity.”

  
  

  In the Theory of the Universal Mind, an epiphany which first visited me when I attended high school in the early 70s, I was shown that there is in fact no separate Heaven and Hell, as I had been taught in the Baptist Church. There might be “levels” of purgatory, and there might be reincarnation. I openly embrace the fact that there are more similarities among the differing religious beliefs than there are differences, and perhaps there are lots of circles of existence, prior to true enlightenment, or access to paradise, through which the soul has to pass. I firmly believe, however, that no matter how many of these circles of existence there are, eventually all souls, at some time after corporeal death, are granted the final realization, and combine with the Universal Mind. This is the destiny of humankind, and of all life everywhere. The combination and coalescing of the Universal Mind is the objective. Any different paths on which we have to tread in order to get there, including perhaps the existence of a momentary hell or purgatorio, might exist, but we will not truly know this until after we pass into the afterlife.

  
  

  In the Christian Faiths, one can stop his descent into Hell fairly easily. All he has to do is accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, and he is given the Keys to the Kingdom. If one does not aquiesce to the tenets of the Faith, and does not accept Jesus, then he is doomed. Certain sects within the Faiths have modified this belief, in order to account for “savages” who would not hear about the “Word” in their lifetimes, or to include the 144,000 Jews who will attain Salvation after the Tribulation. Because I believe that ultimately all souls will attain access to “The Universal Mind” I have been asked if Adolph Hitler, unanimously reviled as the epitome of the evil in mankind, would be joining the Universal. I concur that as some point Hitler was given the final realizaiton, and his “sins” were absolved. I believe all of humankind’s foibles and tests on earth will either be passed or failed initially, perhaps, but eventually, we will ALL attain what the Christians call “Salvation” or the Muslims call “Paradise”.

  
  

  But to return to the question, Hell if I know. And I probably won’t find out for sure until I die. Epiphanies and dreams are only limited to my existence here on Earth.

  
  

  
  

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  EDIT: Questions: 6/26/06 5:05 pm pdt:
  

  
  

  Emily (BoureeMusique) writes: “The Catholic idea of purgatory is actually one of the really forgiving things about it as a faith – it allows for the imperfect among us to be purified before going to Paradise.”

  
  

  Many belief systems impose a hell where one can go through various levels of righteousness until attaining nirvana. Religious movements want to make sure everybody knows he is always ready to be redeemed.

  
  

  JJ (Zeal4Living) asks: “If there was a hell, would that change your day to day behavior in any way?”

  
  

  There might be, and there might not be a physical or mental hell, but for me it really doesn’t matter. My “day to day” behavior would change not a whit. I personally believe that there might be and could be anything that has been postulated by mankind throughout the ages, in some form or another. Perhaps there is a hell, but eventually, that hell is superseded by the Universal awareness, the final realization, and combination with the Universal Mind.

  
  

  Eddie (eddiefromhb) asks two questions: #1 “Are you professing agnosticism about the existence of Hell, or the meaning of the label Hell as according to your epiphany of Universal Mind?”

  
  

  Firstly, I hope you know my “conclusion” (Hell if I know) is a blatant attempt at levity. But that’s basically the answer. I proclaim nobody knows, and that’s why the philosophical question is still being asked. I have a personal belief that even if a hell exists, it doesn’t matter in the long run, because it would only be a waystation on the way to final enlightenment. I tend to prefer to believe that the concept of “hell” as we know it is actually more cultural then religious, and that religions have sculpted a “hell” to insure their power over the masses. So I guess I’d say I have a healthy agnosticism about the created label of “hell” as it has been displayed culturally and religiously throughout history.

  
  

  #2 “Is it that it cannot be known to exist, or that you don’t know how to answer the question based on the terms of your beliefs?”

  
  

  It cannot be known to exist. And it cannot be known not to exist, either. That’s the greatest thing about the afterlife. Nobody has ever come back to tell us what it’s like. So we’re all left in the dark. Some people believe we only exist for the period of our own lives, and when we die, our “essence” is gone with our corporeal bodies.

  
  

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  A companion article entitled “Does It Bother You, as a Christian, to say you Believe there is no Heaven or Hell?” written in 2004, is part of the Universal Blog website.

  • 9:54 am
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