9 Types of Hell: A Short Survey
Be careful which afterlife you bet on
In the 1600s, a French mathematician and philosopher (Blaise Pascal) presented a method to help people lead better lives and avoid going to hell. He suggested that no matter what your opinion on religion, a person should try to believe in God and live as though that deity existed. That way, he reasoned, if God exists you’ll avoid eternal hellfire, and if God doesn’t exist, you haven’t lost much.
At first glance that makes sense, assuming that the God doesn’t care if you’re faking it to save your soul. However, we should be skeptical of this approach because it assumes there’s only one hell to worry about. That’s not true. Below are a variety of hell beliefs, both ancient and current.
These are all based on my education at internet university, so if I’ve mischaracterized anyone’s version of hell, I apologize in advance. It’s complicated because there are many different sects with varying beliefs within the same religion.
Nine hells to avoid
- Seven-layered pot of boiling tar. In ancient Mongolia, some shaman traditions believed that if you did more bad deeds than good in life, you would be dragged into a boiling pot. Each layer is a level of hell. You may gradually rise to the top of the pot, but beware of the…
