The Highway To Hell: Or The Loving Eternal BBQ
So what is "The Highway To Hell?" I would consider that it is the antithesis of "The Yellow Brick Road." Now some of us, freethinkers, sceptics, atheists, agnostics and the like, consider the idea of a place like hell to be part of interesting mythology, but mythology nonetheless. I guess the "Highway To Hell" is that road that so called unbelievers, nonbelievers or disbelievers are on. If that is so, I am on that highway and beetling along at breakneck speed. No doubt blasphemers top the list when it comes to a place on Hell's Highway and as a practiced blasphemer, I may actually be coming first. Obviously, threats of Hell, Hades and the devil are of no consequence to those who consider them to be all but primitive campfire stories. But I suppose they do keep the kiddies in line.
One of the problems of the concept of hell is one which is closely related to the problem of evil. As in, how can an omnipotent, omniscient and omni benevolent god consign some people to hell forever where they will be eternally punished? Is it love to create a heaven and a hell, then tell people they better do as you say and love you and get your name right or you're going to burn them for eternity? Does that pass for love?
And now for a little background about hell. Gehenna, (or gehenom or gehinom) has sometimes been described as a final punishment for the wicked and sometimes as a spiritual forge in which souls are purified after death. The name derived from a burning garbage dump near Jerusalem (the valley of Hinnom), sometimes identified as an entrance to the underworld. Gehenna also appears in the New Testament and in early Christian writing to represent the place where evil will be destroyed. It lends its name to Islam's hell, Jahannam.
The word is supposedly derived from the Greek meaning the Valley of Hinnom's son. The valley forms the southern border of ancient Jerusalem and stretches from the foot of Mt. Zion, eastward, to the Kidron Valley. It is first mentioned in Joshua 15:8. as a deep, narrow ravine at the foot of the walls of Jerusalem where refuse was burned. It is here that the bodies of executed criminals or others deemed unworthy of a proper burial were dumped. The association with hell derives from the tradition that the Canaanites sacrificed children to their god Moloch in this place.
Eventually this valley became Israel's "garbage dump". In it would be thrown refuse as well as dead animals and the dead bodies of criminals. This "dump" was perpetually on fire to rid the land of these unclean things. Jesus, who spoke more about hell than love, used this word 11 times to describe the suffering of those who do not trust in Him before death.
The Christian philosopher Origen also argued that the literal terrors of hell were false, but they ought to be publicized in order to scare simpler believers.
That having been said, watch the video, enjoy the music and find out why I am on "The Highway To Hell."
hell 
hades 
The HighwayTo Hell 
evil 
Gehenna 
Origen 
satire 
Moloch
posted by beepbeepitsme | 4:50 pm
15 Comments:
Thanks beep, this is a good one. I am going to send this to the fundie relative next time she speeches me out about my "blasphemous blog" and how she is worried about my "soul" being "lost".
That was a fantastic post Beep.
It appeals to the little boy in me who, when one of the other kids in primary school was telling us about Hell, thought it sounded a helluva lot more interesting than what he told us about Heaven.
Didn't somebody once say "hell is other people"?
Oh, hell; a post about Hell without mentioning Hel?
Ask any Director and he will tell you that you need a bad guy in a black hat to have a good story.
Personally I think that so many of the OT ideas were 'borrowed' from the Babylonians that it should only be read in a zigurrat.
I recently watched the BBC/HBO series ROME and the thing that struck me about that pre Constantine imposed cult of christianity (the little Mommy's Boy) was the absence of absolute good and evil. The Romans looked at the gods as being buggers out to get you.
Just say NO to Monotheism!
While watching Highway to Hell and seeing John (Are there any women here today?)Cleese, I have to laugh at the whole "you who are without sin" suggestion..
aren't all religious leaders automatically members of First Stone Ministries.
Anyway my favorite 'Satan' was Pacino in The Devil's Advocate, (remember the Absentee Landlord speech?)...stay small so they never see ya coming.
Yeah! We love Satan in the movies because he is so human, he is us.
The forsaken favorite son, bitter bob, discarded by daddy.
Thanks for that Beep. I'm with Dikkii. Hell always seemed to be so much more fun.
stardust:
I don't think it will matter much what you show her, to be frank. She is in the "I have the word of god mode" - which means that everyone else who disagrees is automatically wrong.
dikki:
Heaven and hell always sounded to me like no matter which one you went to, that you were going to be "damned if you do or damned if you don't."
lexcen:
Yes, they did. I think it was Oscar Wilde, but I am too lazy to look it up.
steelman:
I agree. There have probably mean hundreds of versions of hell, hades etc throughout history, each with a different cultural flavour.
I concentrated a little more on the concept of hell as arising from the abrahamic religions.
RE: homo
"aren't all religious leaders automatically members of First Stone Ministries"
Many of them can certainly act in this way. Especially the more fundamental amongst them.
plonka:
I have been lazy. I haven't been over to your blog for a little while. Daily life at the moment is taking time from my addiction to blogging in general.
It may have been Mark Twain that said something like: choose Heaven for climate, Hell for company.
At least we will be with a bunch of other heathens!
L>T here,
Mark Twain did say this about Christianity & hell;
"The first time the deity came down to earth he brought life & death, the second time he brought hell."
That was an informative post beep, hell isn't something I've looked into much.
When I was a christian, though I remember one of the other Primary sunday school teachers, telling the little kids that scientists drilled deep into the earth & heard people screaming.
Hell is other People was Sartre
discordian
You might be right. I like this one too:-
“Hell is a place where the motorists are French, the policemen are German, and the cooks are English” - Anonymous
Beep: Don't worry, you're not the only one. I think there's only one there that you haven't commented on and that's a rehash (the flood) from my old blog...
ted
Hopefully when I get a bit more time, I will be back annoying a variety of people on their blogs ;)
Post a Comment
<< Home