How the hell did we come up with the idea of hell?

Rant of the week ---- 

The concept of hell has been around for a long time. Who first thought of it - god only knows.

The idea that in the bowls of the Earth is a fiery inferno filled with sinners suffering eternal damnation, is, in my opinion - rubbish.

Hell, if it exists at all, is well and truly up here on the planet's, over polluted war torn  surface. 

Ask the people enduring the war in Syria or Yemen or any of the myriad of countries plagued by conflict, where do they think hell is?

image courtesy of  newyorker.com

It walks alongside them.

War isn't the only hell humans have no choice but to try and survive.

Venezuela, an incredibly beautiful country, once had a sound oil based economy, has fallen into a bankrupt nation where it's people are now starving.

And what about Greece? The founder of democracy and the Olympics - today a third of it's 10 million population is facing poverty - this article by the New York Times is very revealing -   business/greece-bailout-financial-

The Greeks are being made to suffer financial austerity to such a stringent degree not only is the health system, and pension schemes, etc on the brink of collapse, but they are facing one of today's worst calamities - a refugee/economic migrant influx that is overwhelming.

And who's getting rich on the suffering of Greek people? Why the already rich and greedy bankers of course. They lend the loans to pay off the loans that cannot  ever be paid off - unless the country is given much needed debt relief. 

Why is Greece and many other European countries being flooded by migrants? War. Drought. Tyranny. Or to put it another way - Hell on Earth.

There are many different types of  hell. Not all as apocalyptic as the above. 

Mankind is capable of extreme cruelty, to children, men, women, animals - I admire the police forces that fight against human trafficking, child abuse, and all the other unspeakable forms of evil that inflicts it's brand of hell on this world.

 The Victorian church was particularly hot on hell (pun intended). Fire and damnation was a good way for the Victorian preachers to keep the impoverished classes under the yoke of their masters. 

Witchcraft - now you can't have witchcraft without having hell -

The belief in hell, gave Matthew Hopkins, the infamous, Witch Finder General a fantastic excuse to go on a 3 year killing spree across East Anglia, in England. 

It is said he was responsible for putting to death over 300 women. He wouldn't have got away with murdering so many innocent woman without the ecclesiastical hysteric belief that hell and the devil existed. This untruth fooled an already deeply superstitious populous. 

Do I believe in the traditional view of hell. No. No I do not. Like I've said - I believe hell is already doing quite well, thank you very much, right here on Earth. 

The last word on the matter - has to go to Rowan Atkinson - his short sketch about Toby the Devil, makes silly sense of it all --- 

I apologise in advance to the French, Germans, and Lawyers -- enjoy ---