#hell mention

[ledesaid]

Whatcha got there, kid?

—What are you reading, kid?

—Nothing! —Billy clutched the large, old book to his chest.

Constantine's eyes widened, and he took the cigarette out of his mouth. Something smelled off. That book?

—Bah, what a scam! For a second, I thought you were hiding a magazine of dubious reputation...

—I don't read that stuff! —the young apprentice mage hid his face in the large compendium.

—You're twelve years old, kid. I'm more worried that you don't have one.

—It's my history book. I have an exam tomorrow.

—You kids and your school exams...

Constantine took a couple of steps back and, with a simple attraction spell, snatched a booklet from Billy's knees, leaving the boy surprised. It was almost completely invisible thanks to a spell, but not enough to fool Constantine's trained eyes.

—Aha! —he took it without blinking— And it's black magic! —anger spread across John's face as he took the opportunity to roll up the booklet and give Billy a firm tap on the head.

—Ouch! —Billy rubbed his head.

—No practicing that magic under this roof, kid!

—I wasn't practicing it... Just reading it —he said in a lower voice.

—You teenagers and your white lies...

Lighting a new cigarette, the Englishman carefully examined each page... They were basics, nothing lethal or permanent, but there can never be enough caution with these matters.

—And just to be sure, you need to bathe in holy water.

—No! Come on, Mr. Constantine, it smells bad. It must be stagnant by now.

—You don't want to end up deformed or cursed, do you, cap?

With a reprimanding look, Billy shook his head. He had already gone through that before in his first months as captain, nothing pleasant, and although one of his cases had led him to meet the Englishman, he didn't want to repeat it.

—I wasn't going to practice it...

—Yes, and I, Constantine, swear that I will never invoke an arcane circle...

Sarcasm hung in the air; Billy had been caught.

[anti-terf-posts]

Following up my last ask (ex radfem lol)

They also LOVEEE to claim they're so "punk" and have battle jackets while being absolutely fucking ignorant as to what punk actually is. Like you can't just have an anti trans flag on your battle jacket are you an idiot.

Radfems as we know them today are so disgusting and contradictory it acc hurts

really though I do hate when radfems claim to be punk :( no the fuck you are not !!!! go to hell !!!!

[gallusrostromegalus]

Something that you might have discussed that I just missed for AEIWAM - if Hell is basically Soul Rehab for souls that aren't Contributing Properly, then why does having high spiritual energy mean that you're more likely to go to Hell? Are they basically bleeding off excess energy from those souls, or?

Yes and no?

1. Hell is rehab for Souls that would damage the cycle of reincarnation*specifically*. People only go to hell for two* reasons: they do a lot of harm to others (aka Bad Karma), or when reincarnating them would throw the balance between worlds off (High power)

Basically, there needs to be... Approximately the same amount of spiritual energy in the living world, spirit world and Hell. So when an exceptionally powerful spirit like say, a Captain, dies and moves onto the next plane, there sort of needs to be 'room' for the incoming powerful soul. There usually isn't, and also the Life Machine that generates reality needs to eat, so Hell solves both problems by having really powerful souls come to hell and vent power for a while until they are only about as strong as a regular soul, and then send them back to the living world.

2. So, yes, the more powerful a soul, the more likely they are to go to Hell, no matter how they behave in the living or spirit world.

For people on the level of Gotei-13 captains, it's pretty much guaranteed, unless they manage to do something bizarre like drain all of their spiritual energy into a magical barrier or leave it stored in the Family Cursed Artifact (looking at you, Tsunyashiro clan). Lieutenants stand an estimated 50/50 chance (unless they learn Bankai in which case, again, guaranteed), and all seated officers are at some increased risk.

3. How they behave while alive still makes a difference though.

See, Hell in AEIWAM isn't *necessarily" The Bad Place. Souls cause harm to other souls for TONS of reasons that aren't evil: mental illness, getting caught in terrible circumstances, genuinely trying to make the world a better place and severely fucking up, and sometimes it's just bad luck. Hell isn't there to punish, it's there to figure out what went wrong that this soul hurt so many people, and try to fix it.

Sometimes that's things like "magically removing the ego and putting a different sized one in", sometimes it's "cognitive behavioral therapy" sometimes it's "you're not a bad person but you did fuck up so you gotta do a really boring and gross task that helps restore the ambient vibes of the universe for 400 years to balance out the damage" sometimes it's "actually, we can trust you to do good deeds, here's a visa to the living world to dole out minor miracles to anyone who needs it".

In AEIWAM, the only difference between a devil and an angel is that the angel does field work and the devil does back office.

So sure, all the captains are going to Hell at some point. But if they did their best while alive, they more or less get to skip rehab and have Free Time until they're weak enough to leave. It fun, actually! Captains and the like get assigned a Demonic Personal Assistant and told to go have fun, don't break anything, and are turned lose to go adventuring, get married, take up farming and/or stamp collecting or whatever they desire.

*note from above: there is a third "legitimate" way to enter Hell: Superlative Karma.

It's RARE, but once in a while a soul so vastly improves life for everyone else they end up with such extremely good karma that they run the risk of unbalancing the planes just by sheer vibes clash. Superlatives are plucked out of the cycle of reincarnation by Hell to help the spend some of that karma having a very literal HELL OF A GOOD TIME.

4. And so, all the planes of the wheel lived in harmony, UNTIL THE BOURGEOISIE ATTACKED.

Problem is, about... 1500ish years ago, a bunch of the noble houses got together, tricked The Monk Who Speaks The Name into letting them into the house of the guy that maintains The Life Machine, they very literally butchered The Divine Tech Support, and used parts of his body to jam up the wheel of life, because they thought they could be God better than God.

Dumbasses.

One of the things they jammed was the Exit from Hell, so now only a few people can leave at a time and the backup is threatening to unbalance the entire wheel now, so Hell is also being VERY VERY CAREFUL to not let any of the Captains die until they've gotten enough souls out that there is effectively 'room' for the Captain.

So yes. Higher spiritual power means a soul is guaranteed to go to Hell, at least for a while-but it also means they won't be going there for a long, LONG time.

[joyfulapostate]

The idea of Hell erodes empathy.

I remember the deep despair I used to feel about nonbelievers going to Hell. It caused me cognitive dissonance because it was an awful thing for my god to do but I could not believe that anything my god did was awful. I had to refer to it like a sad, inevitable situation that was ultimately blamed on the one who would deny the god I believed in. I had to wrap this despair in layers and layers of numbness and confusion to live with it.

I tried not to think about people going to Hell. It felt like the only option. Learning that there were other options, like admitting that it was an awful, unfair thing to do to billions of people was both dizzying and freeing. An infinite punishment for a finite life is wrong no matter what apologetics are thrown at it.

[littlethingsmart]

(source)

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Sorry if this is a heavy question but I don't know where else to go. Is it true that you will go to hell if you commit suicide? And if not, how can I be sure? Completely sure?

I don't ask for bad reasons, just that I have a degenerative disease and there will eventually come a point when i'm still alive but can no longer live at all. Hopefully that's still a long ways away but I want to have a choice when that time comes, rather than existing for potentially years with severe pain and no joy. But can I do that without condemning myself to an eternity of the same?

CW: suicide, hell, degenerative disease, euthanasia

Hi there, anon. I fully believe that a just and loving God would never condemn anyone who is going through the kind of internal and external struggle that leads to suicide.

I have a long article on Medium where I explore instances of suicide ideation in scripture that I recommend to you. Overall, I conclude that condemnation of suicide is not present in the Bible: the few instances of completed suicide are presented pretty neutrally; and the many instances of suicide ideation elicit God's compassion, not condemnation.

Throughout scripture, God’s response to depressed and suicidal people is not condemnation, but

validation of their experience;

removal of the factors that make them depressed/suicidal; and

helping them access a more abundant life.

When it comes to your degenerative disease, that second point might sound absurd or even offensive. I do not tout cureism; I'm absolutely not telling you to put on rose-colored lenses and pretend your disease will magically go away. While it's possible that medicine may advance in your lifetime to help prolong your life or ease your pain, it sounds like you're very aware of the realities of your disease and the more likely path it will take.

But while I don't believe in a magical genie God who vanishes away all pain and illness in our lives, I do believe in a God who enters into our suffering. A God who, when removal of pain is not possible, endures that pain with us; and who guides us into community that will support us in all that we go through. And who, yes, ultimately brings us into abundant life — partially in this life, fully in the next.

___

Along with biblical support for God's compassion for suicidal persons, Christian denominations that used to promote the idea that suicide leads to damnation have since revised those views.

As our collective understandings of mental health have developed over the last century or so, it's become more obvious even to the most traditional groups (e.g. the Catholic Church) that claiming that people who die by suicide go straight to hell is an extremely callous and unjust view and frankly, a grievous form of victim-blaming.

Instead, while emphasizing the seriousness of suicide and urging suicidal persons to seek professional assistance, most churches now assure the loved ones of those who have died by suicide that God's mercy and love cover all things. And those churches with a solid social justice mindset invest their resources in removing the societal factors that lead someone to suicide, rather than blaming the suicidal.

___

I hope this helps ease your fears somewhat, anon. You may also find encouragement in my #hell tag, where I frequently talk about how I don't believe in hell at all. God's will for all of us is relationship and thriving; and when I believe anything at all I do believe the words Jesus taught us: "thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." Suffering and death will not have the last word; punitive "justice" will not have the last word; God's restorative justice and all-embracing love will.

Wishing you as slow a progression in your degenerative disease as possible. And no matter where this life takes you, I pray that you find your people, who will support you and advocate for you, laugh and weep with you, learn and live and love with you; and that you feel God's deep, abiding love, holding you close through all things.

[inkshine]

Was listening to MCR's "Mama" while eating dinner and immediately burned my mouth and hands while touching and eating the hot food and I have to say it was a very immersive experience, really made me feel like I was burning in hell

[simply-ask-games]

guys please I need to know :(

[page-2-ids]

ID: A flag with seven horizontal stripes, all the same size. The colors are, from top to bottom, black, dark gray, gray, very light gray, faded red, dusty dark red, and very dark maroon. END ID

Hellfestlexic: A gender related to the word Hellfest

The colors come from my associations with the word

[dreamsofalife]

"You know, it's always the most powerful beings who end up trapped. Have you noticed that? How the folks who desire power are almost always imprisoned in some way, whether metaphorically or literally; even in Dante's Divine Comedy, the lord of Hell rules over a prison of his own creation where he's as trapped as the rest of them."

[multiplicity-positivity]

I dunno if it's too specific. I was wonderin' if you'd do a post for headmates/alters from hell. We've got a couple of Hazbin Hotel and a demon from no source here and we're sure there are other sources that reference hell too. If not, I understand. Thanks

hey, this isn’t too specific for us :)

we wrote this post and have queued it up for tomorrow night at 8pm est. it’s been tagged extensively so if anyone feels uncomfortable with seeing posts regarding hell or religion in general, they can avoid it.

[ledesaid]

Get away from me

Billy wants to leave, Constantine wants him to leave, but Billy can't...

—Mr. Constantine, stop pushing me through the door, it doesn't work!

Billy falls flat on the ground, rubbing his aching nose. They've been trying to separate beyond two rooms for twenty minutes, but it's proving physically impossible.

—This is what happens when you touch everything you see, Cap —Constantine says, taking a drag from his cigarette as he sits in his chair.

Billy is upset, with both of them... It wasn't entirely his fault. He thinks it's halfway a consequence...

—You told me "Choose something you like" —Billy sits in the adjacent chair.

—Alright kid, rule number one, don't believe everything you're told —Constantine points his cigarette at the younger one.

—Smoking can kill you.

—I know, kid, why do you think I smoke?

Billy raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms.

—Mr. Constantine, I have a meeting at the Watchtower tomorrow.

That doesn't get the older man's attention. Billy summons a small lightning bolt and reduces the cigarette to ashes.

Profoundly indignant, Constantine turns his attention to the boy.

—Look, kid, I've got a couple of ideas about banishing you to hell or... Well yes, I'll throw you through a portal door. It's quicker.

—I won't go to hell... Again —Billy added the last part while moving away from John.

—Be brave, kid, Luci is my friend, well, acquaintance, well, he somewhat tolerates me...

Billy gives him his most indignant look possible.

—You definitely give a new meaning to "go to hell"...

—I'll write you a note for the principal, don't play around or the demons will eat you... —Jon had ignored the younger one while furiously scribbling in his notebook.

There's not much to do,

Billy has been cursed to not separate from John Constantine, and when he calls the lightning, he can't transform.

Constantine is fast when he wants to be, he managed to make a quick portal and successfully throw the kid through it this time.

Confident in his success, he lit another cigarette and opened a whiskey. But his failure was clear when the bottle disappeared and the boy reappeared through a door.

—They send their regards —is all Billy says as he hands the note back to John.

~And although I find it amusing, it's not my problem John Constantine~

—Damn.

Billy has to attend his meeting along with John. Zatanna didn't stop looking at them the whole time... Maybe John's glamour spell couldn't fully deceive the sorceress.

[the-jesus-pill]

i just woke up so sorry if it doesn’t makes a lit of sense.

majority of Christians know more about fan fictions (books other than the bible) than the actual source itself (the bible) the bible just say Hell is hot, they really went nah. but when Dante's Inferno was written, they just act like it’s the word of their god. same when it comes with the image of Satan/Lucifer himself and other things i can’t remember from the top of my head.

Interestingly enough, I've never heard much comparison from Dante Inferno's from my own parents, they usually talked about "people gnashing their teeth" and "thrown into the pits of fire". (And how hell was terrible because god isn't there - I dunno, it sounds perfect to me /j)

But with other subjects regarding the more political side of things (i.e. homosexuality, feminism, abortion, trans people, so on) they suddenly have a lot of "sources" that aren't strictly discussed in the bible.

There are a lot of books written by religious celebrities that are pointed to during arguments, "proof" that usually stems from cherry picking the bible itself or misinterpreting (and ignoring) what actual historians and scientists say.

After all, if the bible alone was good enough proof of god's existence, then why isn't everyone on earth converted already?

[digenerate-trash]

Friendly reminder, never take the stair way to heaven as most stairways are designed to mimic the actual stairs and lead to a more uncomfortable experience of capitalism and normality for better stairs please avoid anyone named Keith for worse stairs trust someone named Keith

Listen. If I die. Highway to hell is the way I'm headed. I wanna get to my afterlife fast and efficiently. If God asks my ghost ass to climb stairs he's got another thing coming.

[joyfulapostate]

Cognitive Dissonance: Love

I was told that God WAS love and our love paled in comparison.

Our love is vibrant and not based in fear, his is scary and vague.

Fundies twist words like they are trying to make taffy.

The concept of love in Christianity was twisted beyond recognition which caused me a lot of cognitive dissonance. I was raised to believe that the Christian god had the purest kind of love and that if I couldn’t see it that way, my human perception must be at fault. 

But how could a loving god allow Hell to exist? Why put people through an ineffective, finite test and then give them eternal punishment?

If his love was highest, how could he allow evil to infect everything? Even if there was evil in the world from direct actions of someone’s free will, why would he allow it to spill out and indirectly cause mass suffering? 

Love is much simpler than the Bible makes it out to be. Returning to safe, sensical, and tangible love of humanity was a great relief after leaving Christianity. Our love belongs to us and that is powerful. It is our responsibility to understand it and to use it well in our own lives as well as for improving the world for people who come after us.

I've learned a lot about love after getting some distance from the twisted fundie definition. Love is patient: it does not have an expiration date after which people get sent to Hell. Love is kind: it can be seen in the everyday kindness we do for each other. Love does not enviously condemn people for loving their family and friends. It does not demean others, reduce their self worth, or deny difficult emotions. Love holds abusers accountable. Love does not delight in suffering but rejoices in healing. Love helps us protect, trust, hope, and persevere for ourselves and each other, beyond what any god wants. Love can sometimes fail but it can be rekindled again.

[thecouncilofidiots]

I am my own personal Hell /negative

-Ace

((Not Sin's version/perspective of Hell, Sin's Hell is home for it #justdemonthings, I mean the generalized Christian version))

(((Speaking of, be careful/mindful of religious things around Sin please and thank you <3)))