I have recently been hearing this expression, which is cute and catchy. Unfortunately, for you, it got me thinking.
About Hell. I did a little research and the simplest definition of Hell is a place of punishment and torment in the afterlife. When the religion is cyclical, like those with reincarnation, it can be the place in between lives.
Shockingly, I shall not go into this more. Those of you are want to know more can look it up. There is a wealth of material no doubt.
For me, the question really is, if Hell exists, which one will I be sent to? That of course pre-supposes I will have done something Hell worthy and not had a chance at redemption, but I figure it's my most likely scenario.
According to David Barret , & the editors of the "World Christian Encyclopedia", there are estimated to be 19 major world religions, subdivided into a total of 270 large religious groups and many smaller ones.
According to Wikipedia, there are roughly 4200 religions in the world. I think perhaps they may have a different notion on what constitutes a religion, hence the incredibly ridiculous variance in the numbers.
Wiki (we are on a first name basis) refers to religion as a belief or faith based system of a group, and can be different from private beliefs. Again, if you want to define religion, feel free to take a whirl on Google or Bing or whatever your favorite search engine might be.
I am striving to not digress (too much).
I did look up Hell for some of the major religions, and there too, I found few simple answers.
Hell in Islam is a place prepared by God for those who do not believe in him. (short version). When I asked Google if all non-Islam believers go to Hell, there were two basic kinds of responses. The first is the one we hear most often; that anyone who is not a believer goes to Hell. The better reply, suggests that we are not judges and the only one who can answer that question is God aka Allah.
Trying to find an answer as to who in Christianity goes to Hell, was harder than getting through the maze in The Shining. If you want to know about that, I suggest you find a Christian rulebook. Maybe there is a Hell for Dummies somewhere out there. Again, you're on your own.
Early Judaism had no concept of either Heaven or Hell. Until the influence of the Hellenistic period at which time they added the concept of Gehenna. A sort of Hell. Digressive thought: Do the words Hell and Hellenistic have a relationship? I'll have to check that later.
It turns out that Gehenna was an actual garbage dump outside Jerusalem in the olden days. At some point in time, when certain people died, I'm not sure who, they weren't specific, these people, were dumped in Gehenna and burned. So maybe Hell is a garbage dump in the Holy Land, or just living next to one.
TIME TO GET BACK TO MY QUESTION:
WHICH HELL WILL I BE SENT TO?
The reason I ask, is that belonging to and practicing a particular religion doesn't seem to insure going to their Hell. If I were a Catholic, I would assume that I'd go to Catholic Hell. Notwithstanding, as so many of the doctrines seem to contradict one another I am no longer sure that belonging to a specific religion ensures my place in either Heaven or Hell. If I'm an unrepentant Christian sinner, I should go to a Christian Hell, but Islam says that they don't care if I'm good or bad, I'm going to their Hell. Just because. Ha Ha. Jokes on us. If I believe in Reincarnation, which I do, will I go to Christian Hell, Islam Hell or Jewish Hell while I'm waiting?
And what about the other 270 offshoots or the few thousand Wiki mentions? What kind of Hells do they offer and what are the qualifications for admission? And is Hell always forever? I did read one funny thing where in one religion you got out and it wasn't so bad, cause it was only a few billion years. But, hey, what's that against eternity?
I believe that since I am the one who lived my life, I should have some say in the matter.
I'm just having trouble deciding on how. So far I have three options. Wait, while I was writing I thought of a fourth.
1) Multiple Choice.
There should be a list of options and you get to choose one. However the traditional four choices is too narrow, given the gravity of your answer. Maybe 20 options would do. However, who would score it to see if you chose the "right" answer? Does that leave it up to someone else.
2) Essay questions.
Choose two out of three and write your damndest on the topic. There could be choices like " why I would like to go the Gehenna" or "why there is no way in Hell I think Islam Hell is for me "could be potential selections. Again, it gets back to who is going to read them and make the decision? Me? I like that answer. Maybe.
3) Trial by jury.
This is obviously more complicated and reminds me of one of my favorite movies, "Defending Your Life". If you haven't seen it, it's hilarious. AD*
Some questions on procedure. Do I get to do it before I die or after? Only isn't after too late since I've probably been slated me in already? Or, where do I get my judge and jury. At least I should be able to choose them. You know, get a little edge. Still, I have a lot more queries.
4) Lottery.
That sounds good. Everyone gets a ticket at birth, and it's kept where no one can see it. Then when your number is up, you go. And it's already pre-scribed (written) so there's no fuss, no muss, you just get whisked off into your eternity.
I am finding that I like number 4 best. Although some people seem to have better luck with things related to gambling. Like, how can several people win big, really big jackpots twice? Also, I have friends who usually get the good scratch off. I'm not one of them. The last time I won was the first time I played with my God Daughter, Michelle and we split $36. And that was in the 80's. Last century. It's fun to say that. Also horrific. And yes, I have played the lottery, although not regularly. One year while I was still in NY, I sent in money a year subscription for my numbers to be played weekly. See, I gave it a year. I won $1. Okay. I lied. The first time I played wasn't the last win. Sue me. On rethinking this, with my luck, maybe I'd be better off with one of the other methods.
Theory of the morning.
Hell may or may not exist. I don't know. I do know that we can create our own Hell on earth if we choose to. And that's really dumb. I mean, if there is a possibility that there is something worse after this, why would we want to screw this up?
At least we know life exists. Maybe it once did, even on Mars. But definitely here. So what are you waiting for? Go, enjoy. It's a beautiful day.
Multiple Choice Test
1) Gehenna
2) Fire & Brimstone
3) Rolling a large rock up a hill and when it gets to the top, it rolls
over you and you end up at the bottom and start all over again.
Eternally.
4) Being in school naked, taking a test and having everyone
laugh at you. Every day. New students and teachers.
5) Satin has you tied to a stake in keeps thrusting his pitchfork into
you. And it hurts.
6) Watchin the worst movie ever made, over and over for eternity.
Okay. Some are worse than others. Isn't that what choice is about?
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