Hell
Many religions have some form of heaven or hell. Students may study hell from a religious studies perspective, a literary perspective or a philosophic line of inquiry. Paper Masters can custom write a research paper on hell from any perspective you need.
Hell is the theological realm of eternal torment, popularly mythologized as a place of endless fire and suffering, presided over by Satan, or Lucifer. While numerous world religions have an underworld inhabited by the dead, Christianity posits it as a place where sinners are sent in order to atone for all of eternity. One of the most famous depictions of Hell occurs in Dante's Divine Comedy.
Hell is referred to in many different contexts and languages. Some common names for hell are:
- Hades
- Tartarus
- Gehenna
- Valley of Hinon
Many forms of Hell
The idea of an underworld can be found in the mythology of ancient civilizations, including Egypt and Mesopotamia. The ancient Greeks wrote of a place called Tartarus, which was ruled by the god Hades. Cultures as diverse as Buddhism in Asia. Africa and Native Americans all have representations of hell-like places as well.
In the New Testament, numerous references are made to Hell, using either the Greek words Tartarus or Hades, or the Hebrew word Gehenna, which were often used to describe the Hebrew tradition of Sheol, the place of the dead. The word "Gehenna" referred to the Valley of Hinon, a dump outside of Jerusalem where people burned their garbage. Suicides were taken there to be burned as well, giving rise to the notion of eternal flames.
The Christian Hell
Many Christian traditions hold that Hell is the place without God's presence, and that being cut off from God's love for all eternity marks eternal punishment. Islam as well has a fiery place of torment that is the opposite of paradise. Christians try to convert others because there is a deep belief in the reality of heaven and hell, and that each person will spend eternity in one place or the other. Other religions, such as some Asian religions, believe more in concepts such as reincarnation that do not have eternal consequences. The end of the religious belief rests here on earth and in an effort to better oneself. There is not the sense of urgency to redeem people from hell.