What the Hell?

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern.” 
― William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

The biggest obstacle I overcame in order to arrive at my now happy spiritual beliefs, was the concept of Hell.  Prior to now, I very much resented Religion insisting that people who didn’t follow a set of arbitrary and exclusive seeming rules would suffer excruciating pain for all eternity.  It didn’t make sense to me that a loving God would allow such a thing.  Instead of drawing me nearer to God, all talk about Hell drove me further away. 

I literally had to go to Hell, before realizing that Heaven was also a real place.  For me, doing drugs and living in an abusive relationship was Hell.  My ex however, told me that he wished he was a vampire.  While I found the drug culture to be scary and pathetic, he thought it was exhilarating and hip.  My personal Hell, was his choice of an ideal lifestyle.  I chose to leave and found happiness in a vastly different set of circumstances.  If my idea of Hell is somebody else’s preferred way of life, then it boils down to a question of perception.  Whereas getting up everyday at 5 am to prepare for a 9-5 day of work and parenting two young children could very well be somebody else’s version of Hell, to me its fulfilling and rewarding.  William Blake wrote about Heaven and Hell to illustrate exactly this point.  According to him, Hell is a state of mind, rather than an actual place.  For him, Heaven was a stuffy place that stifled creativity and Hell was the place where artist’s and freethinkers went to get away from the rule makers. 

The idea of Hell as a tangible burning lake of fire can be traced back to BC Jerusalem and the Valley of Hinnom. It was the town dump that had to be set on fire regularly for public health reasons. What’s more, the bodies of executed criminals were also burned and then set on the dump.  The Jewish oral tradition attributed this place as a figurative version of Hell.  This then carried over to the Greek bible, where the name changed to “Gehenna” and next was eventually translated as Hell in the New Testament. The images of fire and flames were further developed by the witch burnings in the middle ages.   The collective consciousness was infused with the images of heretics and blasphemers burning on public display.  

Modern Day Valley of HInnom

   There are only a few actual passages that mention or describe Hell in the Bible and they are all very vague.  Pope John Paull II clarified, saying that Hell is a state of being.   According to him, Hell was total and complete separation from God.  While taking drugs, I have experienced something that I imagine to feel like that and it was excruciating.  However, other people I was with on the same drugs were experiencing euphoria.  To make it through, I instinctively prayed and meditated, while others enjoyed the ride. 
I now pray and meditate to make it through my daily life sober.  Yet many people live their lives seemingly fine without a relationship with God.  Would they go to Hell?  The Bible actually does say yes, but what exactly is Hell?  That is the Question.