Problem Of Hell The problem of Hell is an ethical problem in religion in which the existence of Hell for the punishment of souls is regarded as inconsistent with the notion of a just, moral, and omnibenevolent God. It derives from four key propositions: that Hell exists; that it is...
Underworld The underworld is the world of the dead in various religious traditions, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. The concept of an underworld is found in almost every civilization, and “may be as old as humanity itself”. Common...
Naraka In Jainism This article covers Naraka in Jainism. Naraka (नरक) is the realm of existence in Jain cosmology characterized by great suffering. Naraka is usually translated into English as “hell” or “purgatory“. However, Naraka differs from the hells of Abrahamic religions as souls are not sent to Naraka as...
What Is Diyu? Diyu ( 地獄) is the realm of the dead or “hell” in Chinese mythology. It is loosely based on a combination of the concept of Naraka, traditional Chinese beliefs about the afterlife and a variety of popular expansions and reinterpretations of these two traditions. Diyu is typically depicted as a subterranean...
Heaven In Judaism This article covers Heaven in Judaism. Shamayim (שָׁמַיִם), the Hebrew word for “heaven” (literally heavens, plural), denotes one component of the three-part biblical cosmology, the other elements being erets (the earth) and sheol (the underworld). Shamayim is the dwelling place of God and other heavenly beings, erets is the home of the living, and sheol is the realm of the dead, including, in post-Hebrew Bible literature...
Christian Views On Hades This article covers Christian Views on Hades. Hades, according to various Christian denominations, is “the place or state of departed spirits“, also known as Hell, borrowing the name of the Greek god of the underworld. In New Testament Greek, the Hebrew phrase “לא־תעזב נפשׁי לשׁאול” (you will not abandon my soul...
Sheol She’ol (שְׁאוֹל Šəʾōl), in the Hebrew Bible, is a place of darkness to which all the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of the moral choices made in life, a place of stillness and darkness cut off from life and from God. The inhabitants of Sheol are the...