I waited and thought and now there are over a dozen things to think about! My two cents worth: 1. I do remember reading that "hell" in Islam is not forever, and all will finally reach the goal the Creator intends for them- bliss. But I don't get that impression when the word is used by Moslems. Am I mistakenly conflating the usual Christian denotation of "hell" with a Moslem one which is not identical? Having said that, I do like the idea that, after death, we realise the evil we have done and feel shame, grief, pain or whatever because of it. It used to be called "purgatory" by Roman Catholics. Is that the "hell" of my previous point? 2. All (western) philosophy consists of footnotes to Plato. Not my quote, but I forget who said it. The Euthyphro is well worth mulling over. 3. The flip side of Aristopheles' comment is my biggest reason for "needing" heaven: there must be justice and joy somewhere for those who have neither while on this planet."Hell" for the perpetrators of evil does not help those who died in genocides, pogroms, or nasty urban confrontations, whether or not it helps the survivors deal with the horrible reality of their experiences. And I do recognise that the "must" I just used is in my head and not therefore necessarily in any reality outside human constructs. I think I choose to believe that it reflects reality. As C S Lewis once said, we would not have a thirst for water unless water existed. And, as Puddleglum said, he would hold on to his idea of the sun, and not cut his perceptions down to the pitiful light of the witch's lamp. Sorry my language is opaque even to me this time. Apologies to any non native english speaker who tries to get through it!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2007-03-05 09:32 pm (UTC)1. I do remember reading that "hell" in Islam is not forever, and all will finally reach the goal the Creator intends for them- bliss. But I don't get that impression when the word is used by Moslems. Am I mistakenly conflating the usual Christian denotation of "hell" with a Moslem one which is not identical?
Having said that, I do like the idea that, after death, we realise the evil we have done and feel shame, grief, pain or whatever because of it. It used to be called "purgatory" by Roman Catholics. Is that the "hell" of my previous point?
2. All (western) philosophy consists of footnotes to Plato. Not my quote, but I forget who said it. The Euthyphro is well worth mulling over.
3. The flip side of Aristopheles' comment is my biggest reason for "needing" heaven: there must be justice and joy somewhere for those who have neither while on this planet."Hell" for the perpetrators of evil does not help those who died in genocides, pogroms, or nasty urban confrontations, whether or not it helps the survivors deal with the horrible reality of their experiences. And I do recognise that the "must" I just used is in my head and not therefore necessarily in any reality outside human constructs. I think I choose to believe that it reflects reality. As C S Lewis once said, we would not have a thirst for water unless water existed. And, as Puddleglum said, he would hold on to his idea of the sun, and not cut his perceptions down to the pitiful light of the witch's lamp.
Sorry my language is opaque even to me this time. Apologies to any non native english speaker who tries to get through it!