hell

how did the idea of hell come about originally? and before the belief in hell, what was the belief?

Originally posted by EcstremeVenom
how did the idea of hell come about originally? and before the belief in hell, what was the belief?

It is not one single belief. There are and were many many beliefs about what happens to our conciousness after death, and the more undesirable ones would normally be classified as 'hell' by a modern English speaking person.

Originally posted by EcstremeVenom
how did the idea of hell come about originally? and before the belief in hell, what was the belief?

fear of punishment is one of the most effective ways of making the masses behave. most people need the threat of punishment to loom over their heads else they would indulge in activities that are antisocial(theft, murder, etc.).

though some people are starting to act correctly simply because it is the right thing to do, we are still a long way to civilization.

What I find interesting is that early depictions of the afterlife were in generally bleak and closer to the notion of hell than the notion of heaven. "Heaven" (i.e. something closer to that notion) was reserved for the Gods.

Originally posted by Palynka
What I find interesting is that early depictions of the afterlife were in generally bleak and closer to the notion of hell than the notion of heaven. "Heaven" (i.e. something closer to that notion) was reserved for the Gods.

valhalla was for mortals too
edit: the greeks also had the elysium fields. the funny thing is that the people who got there not necessarily righteous nor extraordinary. as far as i remember, they got there on god's whims. really extraordinary people were upgraded to half-god status.

Originally posted by Zahlanzi
valhalla was for mortals too
edit: the greeks also had the elysium fields. the funny thing is that the people who got there not necessarily righteous nor extraordinary. as far as i remember, they got there on god's whims. really extraordinary people were upgraded to half-god status.

I'm talking about earlier civilizations, like Sumer and other Mesopotamian ones.

what does christianity stem from? im most interested in the beliefs of before christianity

Originally posted by EcstremeVenom
[b]what does christianity stem from?

your kidding.. but just incase from the jewish faith who pleased god in thier devotion by way of abraham, mosses, etc.
as for hell the devil, was thrown out of heaven with his followers, into the abyss which became his .

Originally posted by EcstremeVenom
what does christianity stem from? im most interested in the beliefs of before christianity

Some elements of Genesis can be traced back to Sumerian religion and the text now called Eridu Genesis.

Originally posted by stoker
your kidding.. but just incase from the jewish faith who pleased god in thier devotion by way of abraham, mosses, etc.
as for hell the devil, was thrown out of heaven with his followers, into the abyss which became his .

A significant proportion of modern Christianity was absorbed after Christ and absorbed from other cultures / religions than the Jews.

Originally posted by Zahlanzi
though some people are starting to act correctly simply because it is the right thing to do, we are still a long way to civilization.

What an insult to all the nice people of the past. Do you have any data / references whatsoever to back up your claim that we (or some of us) are any better than those who have gone before us or that we are heading towards a better 'civilization'?

Originally posted by twhitehead
What an insult to all the nice people of the past. Do you have any data / references whatsoever to back up your claim that we (or some of us) are any better than those who have gone before us or that we are heading towards a better 'civilization'?

because we don't need the promise of a nice afterlife or the threat of oblivion or hell to behave nicely. are you denying that an ancient man would have smacked a fellow man over the head for some gain had it not been for either religion or the fear of punishment from the community?

Only theist people are afraid of hell. Others has nothing to fear.

Originally posted by twhitehead
A significant proportion of modern Christianity was absorbed after Christ and absorbed from other cultures / religions than the Jews.

no but my belief maybe they were similar as other religions have some knowledge of good and evil

Hell really is just the realm of the dead - the realm of the departed immaterial part of man. That would mean all people saved and unsaved.

Everyone who dies goes to Hades. And Hades is another word for hell.


Concerning eternal punishment the better designation is "the lake of fire". The most explicit warnings about eternal punishment come from the same mouth as spoke the most emphatically about forgiveness, love, reconciliation - that is Jesus.

That is what is important to remember. That SAME person, Jesus Christ, who spoke the most about love, forgiveness, God's care, God's willingness to forgive, God's eagerness to atone for sin, and God's desire to save, this same person spoke the most explicitly about eternal punishment.

It is as if God reserved this most solemn subject matter for the most responsible spokesman.

For the most part we have to blame JESUS for our concepts of eternal punishment. That is if you want to cast blame.