Hell
Hell is, in many religious traditions, a place or state of punishment or separation after death. The idea has older roots in Hades, the abode of the dead.[1]
In Christianity
In Christian teaching, hell is the final state of the damned. It has traditionally been described as endless conscious suffering and separation from God.[1] Thomas Aquinas wrote that after the resurrection the bodies of the damned would be dark and heavy, in contrast to the glorified bodies of those in heaven.[1][2]
In Greek philosophy
Plato's dialogue the Phaedo offers a philosophical parallel. A soul tainted by its attachment to the body is dragged back, and may take on the bodily forms of animals.[1] This links ideas of punishment with reincarnation.
In Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism has one of the earliest worked-out ideas of hell. In the Gathas, those who choose deception receive the "house of deceit" or "worst existence".[3] Later texts describe the Chinvat bridge, which widens for the righteous and narrows to a razor's edge for the wicked.[4]
The Arda Wiraz Namag, which reached its final form around the 9th–10th centuries, describes a priest's tour of heaven and hell, and about four-fifths of the text is given over to hell. It has been suggested that aspects of it may have influenced Dante, but this is only a suggestion.[4]
Later texts also look beyond hell to the end of time, when the dead are raised and all pass through molten metal, which feels like warm milk to the righteous. The hostile spirit is driven out, and the kingdom of the Wise Lord lasts forever.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Hell". Philosophy of Religion A-Z. Palgrave Macmillan. 2016. pp. 90–91.
- ↑ "Heaven". Philosophy of Religion A-Z. Palgrave Macmillan. 2016. pp. 87–88.
- ↑ Rose, Jenny (2014). "Zoroastrians Present and Past". Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B. Tauris.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Rose, Jenny (2014). "Eranshahr: The Sasanian Center of the World". Zoroastrianism: An Introduction. I.B. Tauris.