this idea actually comes after discovering about the abuse hurled by the Westboro Baptist Church at....well at this stage almost everybody.
the idea is simply this: what really is hell? why do should and shouldn't we go there? the ramifications and reasons are pretty intriguing to me at this point especially after discovering that the Westboro Baptist's own preacher can't really seem to give proper answers based on an interview by the BBC.
Hell in all its glory....
from a broad stroke based on what i've gathered in my limited amount on earth and of a time as a catholic church goer many, many years ago, hell is this fiery, cavernous, dark and completely misery and terror inducing sort of place you would have to be a complete masochist to go to in the first place. the words fire and brimstone are almost always associated with hell because of the fire. the islamic koran's version of hell seems to be not terribly different, as are the chinese, japanese and even jewish versions. hell it seems, visually is always on fire, in a cavern, inhabited by devilish little things, ruled by a king and has an army of demons.
however, it is the christian version of hell i am interested in this time around. the bible, as cited by most evangelical people and churches, indicates that one shall go to hell in a hand basket if they do not read it, adhere to its rules and live as a good christian should. in this world of neither black nor white, but color and grey shades, how would one determine what is good and what is bad? if there were really such fine, stringent rules set in place to begin with, why is there still so much hardship? that's really a question that begins to delve into sociology rather than biblical texts proper.
the point of this.
we all expire, eventually. some of us really don't want to go till we see the world burn proper, like me, but we would go anyway. the question then becomes what would become of us on judgement day? i think, we've all pretty much sinned at one point or another. Gandhi has been cited to have been something of a wife-beater prior to becoming India's national leader and hero and there really hasn't been what anyone would call an angel among men lately. so, heaven is definitely out of the question.
but then i postulate. is hell really all that bad? i mean really? some versions of the bible state there is a place called purgatory and its function is sort of like a prison correction facility. force everyone into it for an indeterminate amount of time to be punished and then what? you would get sorted into heaven or hell again? well, actually because we were all sorted to head to hell, purgatory then becomes a sort of second chance into heaven.
once you figure certain things out in life, you really do begin to question certain things that have been indoctrinated into us as children and perhaps teens. i don't think hell will be that terrible. for one, if the churches are all correct, and we are all indeed condemned to go to hell, this means we will all be reconnected again with the ones we've lost. friends and family joining you in the afterlife as one big, semi-happy group of souls. i don't think that's a bad thing then. you would also get all the lost musical stars and the greatest actors in the world down there because of their lifestyle that clashes with all that is good and supposedly holy. huzzah!
but wait, wait, wait. what about the tortures? what about them? i doubt your soul would carry a nervous system to feel pain with, what with it being a mortal and bodily thing the soul leaves behind, so you really can't feel pain anymore. Another writer, whom i paraphrase this idea and notion from is Terry Pratchett who brings up this truly small but significantly thoughtful idea. so, actually then demons and devils that torment us, really can't hurt us in hell, because we can no longer feel physical pain. this is truly a big thing in my opinion because hell then doesn't become anything much more than monotonous rituals that while are supposed to convey pain, mean nothing at all other than contract devils going through motions satan or god set in place.
ending thoughts...
i don't think that i would actually really enjoy heaven. i like the fanciful idea of being among the clouds, flying. that gives a certain amount of freedom i think. but then you realize that once you really do make it up there. there really isn't all that much to do. the modern miracles these days are small, little things that make our fucked up bad days, something less and brighter to look forward to. i doubt these are done by angels because quite frankly i don't think they really give a crap about what we do in our lives, much like god in a sense. god's another issue but my stance is that if god truly does exist, then we are pretty much like an experiment for him in some way, add a little chaos here, some anarchy there; mix with order and a bit of hormones and we'll pretty much get the human race.
anyway, back to the heavens. i like the idea of heaven as a vacation zone in the afterlife i think. its one of those places in the world that people would rather go for a holiday once in awhile than stay there for the rest of their lives. places like Bali or Tahiti, they're nice to look at and stay for a shortwhile but longterm it would probably eat at your brains. the thought of being an angel is something of a paradox for me. i mean sure, you get a pair of wings, good for mobility but must be a bother to clean what with all the feathers and you also get a nice halo which must be excellent for a night light or reading in the dark, but really nothing more. being an angel is a title, you really don't get any of the power associated with being an angel.
i am actually much more comfortable in the dark i realized as i got older and older. a comforting sort of blanket, this darkness. heavenly light cannot exist without inky darkness, but i like it in the dark. the dark used to make me scared of the uncertainty and that a monster or murderer can sneak in. however, what i then realized is that because it is the dark, you were also able to utilize it against monsters and murderers as it provides a somewhat even playing field, everyone is blind in the night, humans especially. the light is sometimes too blinding in its intensity, much like religion in general. the forced indoctrinations and the relentlessly near pointless rituals, sometimes it just makes you want to find a nice nook to ease yourself into and disappear from sight while you contemplate why humans invented religion and still use it despite its flaws, or wonder why humans in general seem to be so stupid as a race.
final point. hell is going to be generally warmer as opposed to being so cold higher up in the atmosphere. hell is going to have almost everyone i ever knew in it, so i really don't have to search all over the heavens for friends. lucifer is also probably a really cool guy at this point, because lets face it, he's been in hell receiving everyone who ever lived and then died, so he must have picked up some interesting things from people along the way. he must also be some host if he has to organize so many people and his own minions.
author's notes
------------
i'm not saying i have embraced christianity or its direct response, the church of satan or become an antichrist. no, i haven't. i'm just trying to think about why people seem to dread hell when if we think about it, it may actually not be such a terrible place as the heavens to people like us is plainly quite unreachable. humans are by nature, evil creatures, but then almost everything is justifiable when you look it the other way around. i'll probably do some more in depth research and reading if this line of thoughts continue to entertain me.
the idea is simply this: what really is hell? why do should and shouldn't we go there? the ramifications and reasons are pretty intriguing to me at this point especially after discovering that the Westboro Baptist's own preacher can't really seem to give proper answers based on an interview by the BBC.
Hell in all its glory....
from a broad stroke based on what i've gathered in my limited amount on earth and of a time as a catholic church goer many, many years ago, hell is this fiery, cavernous, dark and completely misery and terror inducing sort of place you would have to be a complete masochist to go to in the first place. the words fire and brimstone are almost always associated with hell because of the fire. the islamic koran's version of hell seems to be not terribly different, as are the chinese, japanese and even jewish versions. hell it seems, visually is always on fire, in a cavern, inhabited by devilish little things, ruled by a king and has an army of demons.
however, it is the christian version of hell i am interested in this time around. the bible, as cited by most evangelical people and churches, indicates that one shall go to hell in a hand basket if they do not read it, adhere to its rules and live as a good christian should. in this world of neither black nor white, but color and grey shades, how would one determine what is good and what is bad? if there were really such fine, stringent rules set in place to begin with, why is there still so much hardship? that's really a question that begins to delve into sociology rather than biblical texts proper.
the point of this.
we all expire, eventually. some of us really don't want to go till we see the world burn proper, like me, but we would go anyway. the question then becomes what would become of us on judgement day? i think, we've all pretty much sinned at one point or another. Gandhi has been cited to have been something of a wife-beater prior to becoming India's national leader and hero and there really hasn't been what anyone would call an angel among men lately. so, heaven is definitely out of the question.
but then i postulate. is hell really all that bad? i mean really? some versions of the bible state there is a place called purgatory and its function is sort of like a prison correction facility. force everyone into it for an indeterminate amount of time to be punished and then what? you would get sorted into heaven or hell again? well, actually because we were all sorted to head to hell, purgatory then becomes a sort of second chance into heaven.
once you figure certain things out in life, you really do begin to question certain things that have been indoctrinated into us as children and perhaps teens. i don't think hell will be that terrible. for one, if the churches are all correct, and we are all indeed condemned to go to hell, this means we will all be reconnected again with the ones we've lost. friends and family joining you in the afterlife as one big, semi-happy group of souls. i don't think that's a bad thing then. you would also get all the lost musical stars and the greatest actors in the world down there because of their lifestyle that clashes with all that is good and supposedly holy. huzzah!
but wait, wait, wait. what about the tortures? what about them? i doubt your soul would carry a nervous system to feel pain with, what with it being a mortal and bodily thing the soul leaves behind, so you really can't feel pain anymore. Another writer, whom i paraphrase this idea and notion from is Terry Pratchett who brings up this truly small but significantly thoughtful idea. so, actually then demons and devils that torment us, really can't hurt us in hell, because we can no longer feel physical pain. this is truly a big thing in my opinion because hell then doesn't become anything much more than monotonous rituals that while are supposed to convey pain, mean nothing at all other than contract devils going through motions satan or god set in place.
ending thoughts...
i don't think that i would actually really enjoy heaven. i like the fanciful idea of being among the clouds, flying. that gives a certain amount of freedom i think. but then you realize that once you really do make it up there. there really isn't all that much to do. the modern miracles these days are small, little things that make our fucked up bad days, something less and brighter to look forward to. i doubt these are done by angels because quite frankly i don't think they really give a crap about what we do in our lives, much like god in a sense. god's another issue but my stance is that if god truly does exist, then we are pretty much like an experiment for him in some way, add a little chaos here, some anarchy there; mix with order and a bit of hormones and we'll pretty much get the human race.
anyway, back to the heavens. i like the idea of heaven as a vacation zone in the afterlife i think. its one of those places in the world that people would rather go for a holiday once in awhile than stay there for the rest of their lives. places like Bali or Tahiti, they're nice to look at and stay for a shortwhile but longterm it would probably eat at your brains. the thought of being an angel is something of a paradox for me. i mean sure, you get a pair of wings, good for mobility but must be a bother to clean what with all the feathers and you also get a nice halo which must be excellent for a night light or reading in the dark, but really nothing more. being an angel is a title, you really don't get any of the power associated with being an angel.
i am actually much more comfortable in the dark i realized as i got older and older. a comforting sort of blanket, this darkness. heavenly light cannot exist without inky darkness, but i like it in the dark. the dark used to make me scared of the uncertainty and that a monster or murderer can sneak in. however, what i then realized is that because it is the dark, you were also able to utilize it against monsters and murderers as it provides a somewhat even playing field, everyone is blind in the night, humans especially. the light is sometimes too blinding in its intensity, much like religion in general. the forced indoctrinations and the relentlessly near pointless rituals, sometimes it just makes you want to find a nice nook to ease yourself into and disappear from sight while you contemplate why humans invented religion and still use it despite its flaws, or wonder why humans in general seem to be so stupid as a race.
final point. hell is going to be generally warmer as opposed to being so cold higher up in the atmosphere. hell is going to have almost everyone i ever knew in it, so i really don't have to search all over the heavens for friends. lucifer is also probably a really cool guy at this point, because lets face it, he's been in hell receiving everyone who ever lived and then died, so he must have picked up some interesting things from people along the way. he must also be some host if he has to organize so many people and his own minions.
author's notes
------------
i'm not saying i have embraced christianity or its direct response, the church of satan or become an antichrist. no, i haven't. i'm just trying to think about why people seem to dread hell when if we think about it, it may actually not be such a terrible place as the heavens to people like us is plainly quite unreachable. humans are by nature, evil creatures, but then almost everything is justifiable when you look it the other way around. i'll probably do some more in depth research and reading if this line of thoughts continue to entertain me.
