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Christian Theology: Is Hell A Place?

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Hell: Is it a Place?

There seems to be some confusion on the idea of hell in both the minds of devout religious people and people who merely acknowledge the idea of a divine power in the universe. Within different religions, such as Christianity and Hinduism, the definition of Hell, while similar in some aspects, is also very different. Despite different teachings, both religions would agree that Hell would be a place of torment for the wicked souls. With exposure into the teachings of Christianity and Hinduism, and the likeness and unlikeness of both, I will discuss my version of what Hell would be like in this paper.
In Christian Theology, the term “hell” is commonly understood as a place where wicked souls are tormented after the death …show more content…

Like Christianity, Hinduism believes the fate in the afterlife is dependent on the deeds done while living. These deeds are categorized into good karma and bad karma. These karma have a cause and effect relationship with each other and with the soul. A person’s actions, beliefs, words, and desires contribute to his or her own karma. At the death of the physical body, the soul undergoes judgement and if it is found that the bad karma overpowers the effect of good karma, the soul is sent to Narak. Within ‘hell’, there are many realms, similar to the idea of circles of hell, and the souls are sent to their designated realm based on the graveness of the sin committed. The key point in Hinduism’s version of hell is that once the soul has repented for its accumulated sins and bad karma, it is able to leave hell and be sent into the next cycle of reincarnation. Unlike Christianity, Hinduism believes that the soul is able to cycle through many lifetimes for a chance at moksha (nirvana). The addition, subtraction, and accumulation of positive and negative karma varies throughout these lifetimes, allowing the soul to experience many forms of life through animal, insect, plant, and human form before achieving ultimate salvation. The ultimate goal in Hinduism is to leave this cycle of death and reincarnation, and release from such cycle is achieved when the person and soul has purified itself and united with

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The “intellect” itself can be deduced as being God. This version of Hell, however, was born from Dante’s mind after being banished from Florence. Much of the Inferno is written as satire, but the morals it holds still present themselves within the larger Catholic ideology. In Thomas Thayer’s The Origin and History of the Doctrine of Endless Punishment, he conducts a detailed analysis of the Bible’s hell and it’s origins.

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However, Hinduism greatly differs from Buddhism in terms of suffering. Hindus, for example, believe that suffering is a natural part of life.   In other words, followers of this religion believe evil and suffering are part of God’s plan and is connected to the alignment of star constellation (Gachter, 1998).   Either way, evil, and suffering cannot be avoided.

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