"Histroy of Hell"

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"Histroy of Hell"
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"History of Hell

“The Teutonic Goddess of the Dead and daughter of Loki was named Hel, a Pagan god of torture and punishment. Another "L" was added when the books of the Old Testament were formulated4. The prophets who wrote the Bible did not know the word "Hell"; they used the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades, which meant the grave; also the Greek Tartaros, which was the abode of fallen angels, the underworld (inside the earth), and Gehenna, which was a valley near Jerusalem where Moloch reigned and garbage was dumped and burned. It is from this that the Christian Church has evolved the idea of "fire and brimstone" in Hell.

The Protestant Hell and the Catholic Hell are places of eternal punishment; however, the Catholics also believe there is a "Purgatory" where all souls go for a time, and a "Limbo" where unbaptized souls go. The Buddhist Hell is divided into eight sections, the first seven of which can be expiated. The ecclesiastical description of Hell is that of a horrible place of fire and torment; in Dante's Inferno, and in northern climates, it was thought to be an icy cold region, a giant refrigerator.”

"The Satanic Bible", Book of Lucifer 4

“A word which appears to have come from the Old English hel meaning 'concealed' (and, some suggest, 'dark hole'). Hell as a place of everlasting torment appears to have been an invention of the early Christians, perhaps a misunderstanding of the esoteric ABYSS which figures in Qabalistic texts and in the ancient mystery wisdom. The near equivalent to Hell in classical times was HADES, which was more of a post-mortem shadow land (where there was no torment, though gnashing of teeth) than the place of torture visualized in the modern European concept of Hell. The Hebraic Sheol has been translated in biblical texts as meaning Hell, but this translation is inaccurate.”

"Dictionary of Demonology" by Fred Gettings, entry on "Hell"

Egyptian, 2400BCE

“The pyramid texts composed by the priests of Heliopolis for the tombs of the V Dynasty c.2400 BC show [were first historical record of an idea of heaven and hell] This invention of the hell/heaven sanction by the Egyptians has been of the highest significance in subsequent moral control, and in Egypt, as with most other societies, its function was to support the monarchy”
BTW,this predates the semitic/judaic move from polytheism to monotheism which has been dated to 800-500 BC.

"A History of Sin" by Oliver Thomson, p66

Sheol

Hebrew, Jewish, and therefore one of the primary sources of Christian mythology.

“Sheol" is a Hebrew word used for the abode of the dead. It is thought of as a place situated below the ground (e.g. Ezek. 31:15), a place of darkness, silence and forgetfulness (Job 10:21; Ps. 94:17, 88:12). Although the dead in sheol are apparently cut off from God (Ps. 88:3-5), he is not absent (Ps. 139:8), and is able to deliver souls from sheol (Ps. 16:10). It is sometimes translated as "hell"; however, it is not seen as a place of eternal punishment, and its use in the New Testament (e.g. Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:27) suggests a meaning relating simply to the power of death.”

"Bible Facts" by Jenny Roberts

Sheol is the place where the dead go. There has been very little or no usage of Sheol in Satanic imagery, but it forms part of the prehistory of Hell.
Valley of Gehenna
Hebrew.

“The word translated as "hell" in the New Testament comes from the Hebrew word "Gehenna". Gehenna meant "the valley of Hinnom", and was originally a particular valley outside Jerusalem, where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch (2 Kgs 23:10; 2 Chron. 28:3;Jer. 32:35). In later Jewish literature Gehenna came to be associated with a place of torment and unquenchable fire that was to be the punishment for sinners. It was thought by many that lesser sinners might eventually be delivered from the fires of Gehenna, but by New Testament times punishment for sinners was deemed to be eternal.”

"Bible Facts" by Jenny Roberts

Hades
Greek.

“When the world was divided between the three brothers, the underworld and hell fell to Hades, while Zeus took the heavens and Poseidon, the sea. [...] He was formidable in battle and took part in the fight against the Titans. Hades ruled the dead, assisted by demons over whom he had authority. He forbade his subjects to leave his domain and became enraged when anyone tried to steal his prey from him. Among mortals, he was the most hated of the gods, and gods themselves had an abhorrence of him (Iliad, XX, 61). [...] He was also known as Pluto.”

"The Wordsworth Dictionary of Mythology" by Fernand Comte

“Hades was the son of Cronos and Rhea, and the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. [...] The most characteristic feature of the god of the darkness that lay beneath the earth was his cynëe, a helmet given to him by the Cyclopes which made him invisible. And sure enough, Hades was enclosed for ever in an invisible, shadowy country beneath the ground. [...] Hades [is] closely associated with the concept of death, the souls of the departed descended into his dark, musty kingdom, which was a kind of perpetual house of imprisonment guarded ceaselessly by Cerberus, Hades' fierce, ruthless and loyal hound.”

"Greek Mythology and Religion" by Maria Mavromataki, p118

This is similar to Sheol in that all the dead go to Hades, not just sinners or saints. The afterlife is itself separated into areas, and delivery to some of these areas is dependent on actions during ones life.
Tartaros
Greek.

“Tartaros. In Greek mythology this was a place, supposed to be as far below HADES as Heaven was above Hell, in which the Titans who had rebelled against the gods were kept prisoners. By Roman times, however, the place was sometimes equated with Hades and even used as a name for the ruler of Hades, often called PLUTO.”

"Dictionary of Demons" by Fred Gettings



Origin of the Christian Hell [1]

Jesus Mysteries

[Of hell] "The more enlightened sages of the Mysteries viewed such horrors as merely stories to encourage better moral behavior. Plutarch calls the terrors of the Underworld an 'improving myth'. The Christian philosopher Origen likewise argued that the literal terrors of hell were false, but they ought to be publicized in order to scare simpler believers"
[...]
"Origen, however, was posthumously condemned by the Roman Catholic Church as a heretic for his compassionate belief that all souls would eventually be redeemed. The Roman Church required all Christians to believe that some souls would suffer in hell forever, while the faithful would enjoy eternal salvation. This is the one doctrine on the afterlife which Celsus regards as distinctively Christian. He writes:

'Now it will be wondered how men so desperate in their beliefs can persuade others to join their ranks. The Christians use sundry methods of persuasion, and invent a number of terrifying incentives. Above all, they have concocted an absolutely offensive doctrine of everlasting punishment and rewards, exceeding anything the philosophers (who have never denied the punishment of the unrighteous of the reward of the blessed) could have imagined' "

Jesus Mysteries [buy] | Info/Quotes, p90

"In the King James Version of the Bible, the Hebrew word sheol and Greek word hades (two very different concepts) are both generally translated as Hell."

http://www.religioustolerance.org

Plutarch (46-125CE) and the early Christians viewed hell as a symbolic place. It was only over time that Christianity became the literalistic belief system that it is now, initially all of its teachings were either Roman Mystery religion or Jewish in origin. The Valley of Hinnom (see above) was a place where sinners were actually burnt, the hell that the pagan religions believed in was a symbolic place (where those who died went) used to persuade people to behave better, and the Jews had little actual teachings on the concept of Hell. The result was that Christianity, a religion that was popular amongst the illiterate and undereducated in the Roman empire, lost its inner symbolic nature and became seen as an actual real place where sinners were punished forever, after death.
Hell in the Koran [3]


Why I am not a Muslim....


"The Koran refers to the seven heavens (17.46; 23.88; 41:11; 65:12), a notion also found in Chegiga 9.2. In the Koran, hell is said to have seven divisions or portals (15.44); in Zohar 2.150 we find the same description. These notions go back to old Indo-Iranian sources, because in both Hindu and Zoroastrian scriptures we find the seven creations and seven heavens. [...] In sura 43.76 we find reference to Malik as the keeper of hell who presides over the tortures of the damned; similarly the Jews talk of the Prince of Hell. Malik is obviously a corruption of the Fire God of the Ammonites, Molech, mentioned in Leviticus,1 Kings, and Jeremiah."

Satanism

"There is no heaven of glory bright, and no hell where sinners roast. Here and now is our day of torment! Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our opportunity! Choose ye this day, this hour, for no redeemer liveth!"

The Satanic Bible: The Book of Satan IV:2

Despite the lack of belief in a literal Hell, the imagery and symbolism of Hell is used a lot in Satanic writings and art. Satanism does not accept the later Christian mutations of the original concept of hell as a non-symbolic place. Therefore, Satanism accepts hell only in symbolism. The imagery is used to inspire and to create emotional responses.

In Anton LaVey's list of Infernal Names there are a few who are related to concepts of Hell.

* Bilé - Celtic god of Hell
* Emma-O - Japanese ruler of Hell
* Hecate - Greek goddess of the underworld and witchcraft
* Mania - Etruscan goddess of Hell
* Mantus - Etruscan god of Hell
* Nergal - Babylonian god of Hades
* Tezcatlipoca - Aztec god of Hell
* Yaotzin - Aztec god of Hell
* Yen-Lo-Wang - Chinese ruler of Hell

There is no consistent use of the concept of Hell in Satanism. The references to hell are varied and uncoordinated. In general, Satanism uses imagery of Hell derived from medieval times, of hordes of people being tormented by demons. A brief look at the graphics used on the Church Of Satan website reveals a few comments that imply that the masses who are being tortured are the unthinking sheep of Humanity...
Atheists lack a belief in satan too..

Heaven has an equally long history."

NOT my Words... But found this to be very interesting, and wanted to share it.
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