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The concept of Heaven and Hell

The following is a summary of a presentation by Peter Brossy at the Free And Critical Thinkers meeting on October 27th 2000 in Johannesburg. The topic’s focus centers on the Judeo-Christianity perspective, although, many points probably represents, in structure, the views of other religions. Added to that, many present at the meeting had some (both lay and scholarly) knowledge of Biblical texts.

Copyright Peter Brossy

 

Most of this speech will revolve around Christianity. There are various people in the audience who are well experienced and qualified to point out errors in logic and fact, even though a number of other ‘Christians’ and priests were invited to join in, but declined.

1)             Historical origins and concept

·        The idea of Heavens and Hells have been around for a long time, and many other religions and sects had them before the Israelites – provable historically, e.g. the ancient Egyptians. Most, not all, religions claim exclusive claim to Heaven and afterlife.

·        They concept and references to Heaven and Hell have been modified as time has passed – and example is Christianity, where the new testament brings in Hell, and , ironically, more love and tolerance, (and Heaven) much more than the old testament, which refers more to war, dominance, killing, wars, etc..

·        Likewise, if one examines the roots of the words in ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the meanings on many words have been changed over the years to fit into a modern visual picture, and use the threat of Hell to get people to conform. The threat of everlasting damnation, especially to  ignorant, illiterate and superstitious people, is very frightening and effective.

·        Maybe one of the strengths of Christianity is it’s flexibility of fantasies – people are more at liberty to follow their own interpretations on both the rules and the afterlife idea, than, for example Islam, where things are more rigid and fundamentalist. Note that Christian fundamentalists are also gaining converts, so there is something comforting about not having to think, question and philosophize about life and gods, but rather to just mindlessly accept the rules and outcomes as they are presented to you.

·        Broadly speaking, Heaven is linked to good, to reward, to conformity, to loyalty to one specific God or Gods (various confusions over translations in the old testament), and Hell is linked to badness, non-conformity, bad prevailing morals, outcasts, punishments, etc.. Some religions state specifics, such as Islam with its 70 virgins, and other things, for martyrs.

·        The great thing about these concepts is that as the claims are based on magic (Gods), nobody is easily able or allowed to question them, nobody can prove they do not exist (even though there is absolutely zero evidence to support them, and a huge amount of errors and contradictions within the texts / claims themselves as to make them totally unlikely). In many instances, Christianity and Islam included, questioning them, and non-belief is punishable by death (great democracy, and free and open learning environment).

·        As usual, with most religions, it is extremely intolerant and presumptuous to assume that a particular religion is the only correct one, and only by following it will you get to Heaven. Of course priests have to do this to frighten the masses into following, and financially supporting, their own one belief or interpretation (denomination).

·        Originally, no one writer, head priest or translator owned the sacred texts. These were rather seen as public property, owned by all, and people were free to add their own bits and ideas, such were some of the cultures of the times. This is supported by the various changes in interpretations over that ages – provable by going back to the original texts, and cultural orientations and usages of words at those times.

·        Translations have so altered the meanings of the various words, to conform to the translators of the time (eg Angels only mean messenger, not person with wings, flying through the air), that many original meanings have been lost for the sake of romanticizing the bible, making more acceptable, identifiable and understandable for sale to the masses – remember, religion is by far the biggest (and most corrupt, self-righteous, violent, etc..) business in the world.

·        Other religions – Hinduism,  Paganism, and many smaller ones, patronizingly called superstitions or sects by followers of the more popular religions, vary in ideas and structure, content and qualifications, of after-lives.  Some claim we become gods ourselves, with various sub-structures within that, others in rebirth, repeated lives of learning

·        Eastern philosophies – somewhat different core concepts – rebirth, tolerance, acceptance, more principle orientated and more gentle/caring/giving, although all have a dogmatic approach, and do not encourage very open, free questioning.

·        Morality and Justice - How does God (or Gods – correct interpretation ?) reward Adam, Noah and others with extra long lives (up to 1000 years – although physically impossible from a physiological perspective – cells cannot last/live/duplicate for that long) for good behavior here if the alternative is perfect paradise ? – is Earth better than Heaven ? This illustrates the changes in interpretation over time, i.e. in the old Testament, there was little reference, at one point, to Heaven, as the reward for good behaviour was a long life, not paradise.

·        God knows who is saved, and who not – everlasting torment allowed by a loving, understanding, all-powerful God ???

·        Paradise – knowing the above – wars in heaven hardly sound inviting, and where do the people killed in the wars of heaven go to ??

·        Relative rewards – verses indicate your reward is in proportion to your life on earth (which part ? – see entry qualifications later).

 

2)           Emotional, Intellectual and Psychological Aspects

·        Emotional vs. intellectual flavour – denominations agree emotionally, disagree intellectually – there are over 1500 Christian denominations in the USA – how is that for greed and disagreement.

·        Heaven = Life - Love and protection, personal comfort, self righteousness, purpose and direction, meaning,  all now in life  - Priestly power in social context over masses – the opium of the masses – immortality for the ignorant individual, misdirected energies – on what basis are these claimed ?

·        Hell = Death – no-lose situation in belief, in death  – no proof, for (or against) since no-one has done the trip and lived to tell a consistent tale afterwards. Many persons have died and been resuscitated, but not all of them, including religious people, have had experiences, and the experiences of light and tunnels are explained physiologically and psychologically.  Ironically all religious people like to think they will definitely land up in Heaven, and others will not. And the non-believers do not believe in Hell (or Heaven) anyway, so apparently nobody is going to Hell (Hellish concept for the Devil - who was made by God ?).

3)           Physics and Common Sense

·        Everlasting – how long ????  After a trillion, trillion, trillion years in heaven, does one not get bored – what does one do, apart from the biblical claims of wars in Heaven, and singing praise to God(s) – is that really what an all powerful god would want from his/their creations – how pathetic. Image a father of a family wanting his children to treat him in such a way – he would be certified insane and  sick, definitely labeled a bad father in need of serious therapy.

·        Infinite vs. a continuum – how do we start in the middle, and when did God start, and who started him ??  And the continuum goes both ways, so there was never a starting time, so how can we be started in the middle, and who started God when ? etc., etc.. From a physics point of view it, of course, makes no sense.

·        Different dimensions after death  -  Where is Heaven  ? – JC, Elijah and others simply rose into the heavens/skies directly !  Original meanings and interpretations obviously, simply saw Heaven as a place up in the skies, and Hades / Hell was an under-the- ground concept (hence ‘underground’ usage and activities). JC simply went up into the sky/air, according to the Gospels (although they do not agree on the place from where he went – three different places!).

·        Life and Conscious mind vs. the Soul/Spirit – What are the differences - After death what’s left – certainly ones knowledge, brainpower, consciousness, personality, etc., is all linked to life, came into existence with life, etc., and thus when that life dies, that physical body, so does the consciousness and knowledge, along with the body. Thus, what is this claimed spirit and soul, how does it exist with no personality, knowledge and history, where does it go – a different dimension ? , how does it get there ? How is it recognizable, how can it sing praise to God, or fight wars with no physical presence, etc.. Although I have heard many different attempts to explain this thing called the spirit or soul,  I have personally yet to hear one single explanation and description that sounds remotely sensible and believable. One starts to suspect or realize just how much texts have been created or changed to fit into human words, descriptions and understandings, for sale to the masses.

·        Human Ego, bias in interpretation, indoctrination vs. Free thought. Human ego does not like the idea of death (quite naturally) and cannot easily handle such idea. Therefore, it is easier and more comforting to simply believe in some immortality and after life, than accept the idea of a final end.  Unfortunately that comforting idea usually ends up controlling the person, not allowing them to make rational and truthful decisions and conclusions, such is it’s power. One simple truth I often bring in to illustrate this is the question and answer, why do persons brought up in a Christian environment become Christians (usually), likewise Islamic children become Islamic – Answer – because they were indoctrinated that way, and never had the open-mindedness and courage to ask the appropriate questions, or were simply frightened off by the penalties to be imposed for doing so – namely death in both Christianity and Islam. People then usually become dependant on it, and many of the same criteria used to define a drug addict can be used to describe a religion-addict, or believer. They refuse to look at or accept facts that do not conform to their belief. They become dogmatic, stubborn and intolerant of other’s views, and obsessed with their beliefs, no matter how openly or guardedly it may be displayed. Families, marriages, friendships and relationships, not to mention many worse things, are destroyed and thrown out in support of the dogma, such followers always justifying such negative actions.  One does not have to look far to see many examples of such. It is also much easier to follow some set of ‘rules’, no matter how ridiculous and contradictory, violent, error prone, etc., than to accept ultimate responsibility for yourself, creating your own moral code and conduct, values and principles to judge yourself by  – best the same God judges us and forgives us no matter how we have behaved – what a copout of responsibility. No wonder the world continues to destroy itself in many different ways – society claims to live up to one set of principles, but seldom does, and always justifies with all sorts of flimsy excuses as reasons, the destructive actions it takes at all times, individually and collectively.

4)           Entry qualifications

The big five (± one) :-

·        Predestination – many verses that claim God already knows, and/or already decided, who would be saved, right from the beginning of time – thus the idea of the day of judgment becomes superfluous. (what kind of creature would happily sit back knowing most of humanity – those who do not believe, who got the wrong translation, who never heard, who were indoctrinated into another religion, etc., are going to not make it to Heaven – sick and sadistic to say the least !!! He would certainly have the power to change his mind/selection if he wished. – definitely not the sort of God I would want to be associated with at all. Also, if he know what will happen ahead of time, then we are all effectively mindless robots, with no free will, as we are simply acting out preset roles. Certainly many religious persons seem to fit that profile, but certainly not all humanity.

·        Actions and deeds – Many versus refer to doing good / specific deed and works in order to make it, and do not mention belief at all. This includes various claimed words of good old JC himself. This now seems to make for moral sense – be judged by your actions – problem is with so many thousands of errors and contradictions in the bible, what actions are actually going to do the trick ? something that has been debated by all people, especially religious people, with absolutely no consensus being reached 2000 years later, and many killings, murders, massacres, burnings at the stake, intolerance, etc., to show for it.

·        Belief and Faith – this is definitely required, given the total confusion with all the above mentioned problems and confusions. Problem is what is it really worth, especially when it sometimes categorically rules out the other entry methods – remembering the different people have faith in different Gods, ideas, entry qualifications, and so on. Gives some credence to the biblical verse about ‘many shall seek, few shall be received’ – Hitler was a catholic, and possibly a believer – probably no worse than many religious leaders through history, especially the Dark Ages, where religion really showed it colours, and controlled all things, so is Hitler accepted into Heaven, presuming that he was a believer, or at least looked to God in his last moments ??? – makes one think, doesn’t it ? (hopefully).

·        Grace - Gods whim – various versus refer to the fact that all is worthless, as God will decide who is to be saved, from time to time, as suites him (who is going to argue with that ??). And to boot, it sometimes excludes or negates the other entry criteria as well.

·        Universalism – A number of verses state that all shall be accepted into Heaven anyway, no matter what happens. This is certainly the only biblical verse on this topic that I can stomach – the superior father figure takes total responsibility for all he has created, and does not sit around watching the suffering and carnage of souls going to Hell. What about Earth and all the suffering ? – I do not know, and certainly still do not see anything that makes any sense at all.

·        PLUS -    Certain old Testament verses refer to the Chosen People of God being the ones – the Israelites – and He will protect and serve them only. So for the rest of us, too bad.

·        MINUS - Annihilationism – Various verses refer to that idea that we all die, period, no exceptions, -  man and beast are one breath, from dust to dust, man has no pre-imminence over beast. This is also supported by versus that have been changed, such as in the beginning of Genesis where the original Hebrew words refer to God creating all living things with the same wording of breath, not breath to animals and spirit to man – this is simply one of the many insertions by priests along the evolution of the biblical texts, to make it conform to what man wants to believe.

 

SUMMARY

I am totally unconvinced by the idea or concept of a Heaven and Hell – there is precious little in the Christian sacred texts that refer to it, none of it consistently, all with massive contradictions and hypocrisies, mutually exclusive criteria, changed translations and interpretations to fit the requirements and moralities of the time and culture of the manipulating priests.

Certainly one thing I can agree on – one sure needs a lot of faith in the sacred texts and the supernatural, alternatively lack of faith in oneself and own abilities, to swallow and follow the Bible’s Heaven and Hell.

 

All the above opinions are given as accurately as possible. I sincerely invite any reader to forward constructive criticism of the above presentation making use of supportive references and direct textual citations where possible. Our aim is to promote a more logical understanding of all aspects of life and to put truth above all dogma.

Email : peterbrossy@yahoo.com

Copyright – Peter Brossy