Hell, what an idea!

Many cultures on this wandering rock we call earth have an idea of hell.

We have the Christian idea of hell, the fire and the brimstone, very similar to the Islamic Jahannam, also we have Gehenna in Judaism, a place of purification. In the un-Abrahamic corner we have the Norse, Germanic and Celtic(1) for Europe(2), the Naraka for Hindus, Reincarnation kharma for Buddhists and the countless other religions(3).

What's interesting with the more 'pagan' beliefs I use here is that hell is not hell. There is a place of punishment and atonement, but it's temporary until purification happens and you live in a place a better person than before, similar to Gehenna in that respect, but even then places like hell or the greek underworld don't see it as a place of damnation, but just another place after the death of your mortal body. You have to make sure you pay the ferryman, as the gods were more fickle then.

That's what interests me is that so many different creeds don't need a 'Hell' as we know it, especially if you are one of the two major religions in the population. They need a place where bad people go to rectify their past mistakes, but those mistakes don't damn them for an enternity of torment. If anything, it is much more human.

Going to where we get Hell from, which is the Norse 'Hellheim', its just the other place that is separated to from the gods, Valhalla. Greece has something similiar in the elysium fields, but the many thing is that those not favoured by the gods go here, the other place.

And it's not a bad place, but if you've been worshiping Thor all your life, you might want to spend the rest of your afterlife in their presence. Your heaven is battle, and that's what he offers.

But if you're a farmer, an eternity with your family in endless fields that cater for your desires is heaven. You aren't favoured by the gods for any militaristic reason, but that's just how you lived your life, and that's still valid.

So why do we need an idea of an afterlife? Surely when we die, we just cease to exist, so why worry?

Imagine if you were a person in a village in the medieval period, maybe before that actually. You would be aware that people die, and some of them will be family members and friends. You will be full of questions like 'where are they' and 'where will i go?'. And the people around you will understand the question with the world around them.

Sometimes it's punishment for not meeting expectations or norms, the Abrahamic way. Sometimes it's cost and benefit, such as the dealbrokers of the ferryman. Others will be reincarnation, where the soil that feeds the plants is the body of the deceased, continuing the cycle of death and rebirth. All of which shows an understanding of the environment that they inhabit. All of them speak of a place where they will be looked after and continue to live.

I can't ignore the athiest point, which I must point out is different to the nihilist point(4), where there are no gods or other worlds, we have what we have and that's it. But you could also argue that the life you live before an afterlife is still important as it is a process of living. The atheist stance that we should look after the world as there is nothing after is echoed in the statements of polytheists where the earth is an important place in the order of things. We need to look after the earth as much as our place in the afterlife. Hell and Valhalla are separate places to Earth (Midgard) but is still an important place that needs to be treated correctly. The different worlds are like a desert and a forest, where there are different ecosystems but are still part of the whole.

So why are we so against the planet? If it is as important as the afterlife(5) why do we crave the place afterwards?

The rise of this could be brought on by the ideas of the conservative christians, the Puritans, who beleived that to get to heaven you must work hard. To work is to be a moral being, and we can't escape that fact that so much to do with capitalism is down to this ethical standard. If you are to save your eternal soul and join with your creator, that takes prescedence over the world around you, which could be seen more as a tool or a test. It is temporary, unlike what comes after.

But I can a parallel with places like Valhalla, where the chose of the gods go. Heaven gets conflated with work and worship to meet god whilst the other is seen as undeserving. Hellheim is not a place of torture, but a place where the souls go that didn't value the gods. This reminds me of Maori beleifs where the gods don't care about you, but you must treat them with respect (Tapu). But if you worship them, they would value you and respect your service. But the difference is that they are indifferent.

So Hell becomes undesirable from a point of prestige, but also corruptable if you're in power. A king for example could instill the fear of Hell (the debunked fire and brimstone) in their populace to make them be loyal to them and their rule. It's not a far stretch to say that this is what happens in companies, where productivity is a direct descendent of the royal and puritan thought. Hell is bad because it is not heaven, therefore you must do everything in your power to evade this.

I think my last point here though is that a lot of convertion and preaching is quite unsustainable. The Vikings for me show that. To die outside of battle is undesirable and you will go to Hell instead of Valhalla. So to counter this you must always show your commitment to the gods by constant acts of faith to gain favour. This leads to a need for conquest after conquest until you die, and I can't see that as a life.

So in conclusion, Hell is underrated, both in its history and its corruption to its evil counterpoint. Most cultures see two versions of the afterlife and hell is just the common one, and whats wrong with that? That's wonderful! You live, you die, there's no great judgement as you cannot live a life wrong(6). Even the Jewish hell is a place of cleansing and not torture. But it's been co-opted as a place to avoid as a form of control, where there is a right way to live and all others must be ignored. This has lead to a great robbery of a paradise we currently inhabit.

Maybe this is equally a paradise, lets not make it a parking lot.

(1) I'm taking liberties with Celtic as we know little about their ideas of afterlife, but there is evidence in an idea that we are somewhere afterwards. Also it might have been equally polytheistic.

(2) North western, I don't know much about the East, but I do want to know more in the future. I know siberia has animistic beliefs in the mountains. Also the Roman pantheon, but rule of three.

(3) I would include the many different beliefs, but I don't know enough to do any justice. So if you feel excluded, please don't and please let me know! I love to learn!

(4) Nihilism should be combated with everything. I don't understand how people can accept it. Absurdism just makes more sense than just saying nothing matters. Grow up.

(5) You could even say that it's even more important than the afterlife, as you need to exist before you de-exist.

(6) Unless you piss off the gods or spirits. Then you must atone.