Hell

How hell was invented  

By Roland Fakler

Priests or rulers probably invented hell in the Near East, a few millennia before our era. People should be encouraged to “act righteously” and worship the “right gods.” It was recognized that things were not always fair in this world. Often things went badly for the good and evil triumphed over good. In this way compensatory justice should be created after death. Judgment after death was invented (e.g. in Egypt), heaven for the good guys and hell for the bad guys. The wicked included above all those, who did not want to submit to the rules of the priests, the godless and unbelieving. This gave the priests and prophets a lot of power. They were often even able to remove or install kings (In Judaism and the Christian West). Since hell is just an idea, it has also undergone a variety of developments. Hell has only existed in Judaism since the first century before our time. The Jews probably brought this idea with them from the Persian Zoroastrians, from their exile in Babylon. They knew a strong dualism of good and evil. The good and evil gods are equally strong. The Christians took over hell from the Jews and the church fathers drastically expanded it. They often express the joy of being able to watch the torture of the damned. The helpers of the church were the artists. Poets like Dante and many painters helped bring real pictures of hell to the people. The Catholic Church has also capitalized heavily on people’s fear of hell. She taught the doctrine that one could buy oneself and one’s relatives free from hellish punishments by paying money. This is how the indulgence trade came into being. Islam has taken over hell from Judaism and Christianity and uses it, above all, to force believers and non-believers to follow the „true“ Islamic faith. Now you realize that these are all human machinations! If you put me in your hell, then I will put you in mine!  It could not be more childish! Certain views about hell have emerged that show that they are the fantasies of ignorant people. In hell the body would burn forever: That’s not possible because the bodies are burned to ashes at some point. In addition, people have probably forgotten that it are not the bodies, but only disembodied souls, that are sent to hell. The soul supposedly separates from the body at death. Also a mistake in thinking! A soul, whatever it may be, without a body can no longer feel pain, because it lacks nerves. Summary: Hell is a place of Bronze Age fantasy that is incompatible with a modern, scientific explanation of the world!

Wie die Hölle entstand