I am curious about this, hell has been thought of as being hot and below ground. What I'm wondering is what society or culture first came up with this and if possible, I'm curious as to why they thought so.
Logically, it makes sense that if you think hell is below ground, it would be hot, if you assume that the core of the earth is a big bunch of molten rock. I'm wondering if the idea that hell was hot and below ground came around before or after it was first theorized that the earth was filled with something hot.
Many myths come around based on things that were actually seen (dragons eating the moon = eclipse, thunder = thor's hammer, etc). So which came first, hell is below us and hot, or the middle of the earth is hot, thus, hell is hot. And which civilization is responsible for that kind of thinking? Thanks!
2007-07-09 13:07:52 · 5 answers · asked by uncreative_name_man 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
To my knowledge is first appeared in Christianity. If you look at religions, eastern religions focus more on reincarnation. Judaism does not mention a heaven or hell. Islam was founded after Christianity so that can be ruled out.
2007-07-09 13:11:56 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
WHEN did professed Christians adopt the belief in hellfire? Well after the time of Jesus Christ and his apostles. "The Apocalypse of Peter (2nd century C.E.) was the first [apocryphal] Christian work to describe the punishment and tortures of sinners in hell," states the French Encyclopædia Universalis.
Among the early Church Fathers, however, there was disagreement over hell. Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Cyprian believed that hell was a fiery place. Origen and theologian Gregory of Nyssa thought of hell as a place of separation from God—of spiritual suffering. Augustine of Hippo, on the other hand, held that suffering in hell was both spiritual and sensory—a view that gained acceptance. "By the fifth century the stern doctrine that sinners will have no second chance after this life and that the fire which will devour them will never be extinguished was everywhere paramount," wrote Professor J.N.D. Kelly.
Augustine of Hippo taught that suffering in hell was spiritual and physical
In the 16th century, such Protestant reformers as Martin Luther and John Calvin understood the fiery torment of hell to be figurative of spending eternity separated from God. However, the idea of hell as a place of torment returned in the following two centuries. Protestant preacher Jonathan Edwards used to strike fear in the hearts of 18th-century Colonial Americans with graphic portrayals of hell.
Shortly thereafter, though, the flames of hell began to flicker and fade. "The 20th century was nearly the death of hell," states U.S.News & World Report
2007-07-09 20:11:58 · answer #2 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe we are in hell and the next world is what you get to if you survive the evils here.
2007-07-13 10:51:30 · answer #3 · answered by Getreal 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There were groups that for a long time burned to bodies of their deceased.... And how they did it was to dig a hole in the ground and fill it with flammable material then put the body in that hole and burned it...... The viking did it with ships and and other means so it had to start with and one of those groups that practice that way of getting rid of their deceased........................................................................................
2007-07-09 21:36:38 · answer #4 · answered by kilroymaster 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read your religious books smart one.
2007-07-10 21:20:57 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋