Fear of Hell – Written By: Wendy C
Not only do you not know when you are going to die, but you also don’t know where you will go after you die. Will it be Heaven or Hell? (For simplicity sake, I am going to omit Purgatory.) Let’s face it, all of us would like to go to that blissful paradise in the clouds, but unfortunately only a select few will actually gain entrance into the pearly gates of Heaven. The rest of us? We get a one-way ticket in the opposite direction. We go to Hell. Which is why we fear Hell.
So what is Hell exactly? A Google search of the word brings up countless references to Hell as a place of suffering and punishment. In case you needed more evidence, a Google image search of Hell shows people (souls) being tortured in a place filled with fire and what appears to be lava. At least there’s consistency. The Bible also describes Hell as a, “lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14).
Clearly then, Hell is a place where the temperature is ridiculously hot. If you just had your hair and makeup done ladies, a second spent in this place will ruin it all! If this wasn’t bad enough, you also have to deal with a creature in red, with horns, a pointy tail and a pitchfork (a.k.a. the Devil), who is eagerly expecting your arrival so that he can put you through unspeakable and unimaginable things! The most annoying part about Hell though? It’s a place where you will be not for a day, not for a week, not for a month and not even for a year. You will be in Hell for E-T-E-R-N-I-T-Y. That’s a long time! That’s forever! This means you will have an eternity to think about why you never made it into Heaven. You will have an eternity to ponder over what you did in your lifetime that made you the perfect candidate for this place. Yes, Hell is a place that not only tortures you physically, but also mentally! It’s like a bad relationship you can just never get out of!
Now of course, not everyone believes in Hell. Different religions have different beliefs for what occurs in the afterlife. For instance, both Hindus and Buddhists believe in karma and reincarnation after death. Modern, new-age spiritualists (they get very offended if you associate them with a religion), believe that Heaven and Hell aren’t actual places, but rather states of mind. According to them, we are already living in Hell! (Now that I think about it, there may be some truth to this…) But for those of you who belong to a religion that frequently reminds you of Hell, or are fortunate enough to encounter people who belong to such religions at your front door, you may develop what is known as Hadephobia, Stygiophobia or Stigiophobia. Three confusing words that essentially mean the same thing: a persistent fear of Hell.
So what can you do to overcome your fear of Hell? Well for starters, you could do everything that it says you should do in order to avoid the place. That’s a no-brainer and there are tons of religious groups out there that are more than willing to help you out in that department! But there’s another thing you could also do to get over a fear of Hell. You could remind yourself that no one really knows (a) whether Hell actually exists and, (b) if it does exist, what Hell is like. (I realize that this may cause a few people to condemn my demise into Hell at this point, but what else is new!) Now, there will always be people who claim to have been there and back, and then write best-selling books on the topic that scare the daylights out of you. Then there will be others who can convince you of Hell’s existence so well, it makes you wonder if they were secretly lawyers in another lifetime. However, ultimately no one really and truly knows about Hell. It all boils down to faith, and the beauty is that you can’t question faith. Faith is a belief in the unknown and Hell is part of that belief. So… stop freaking out about where you’re going to end up after you die, and start focusing on what you are doing while you are still alive. The more time you spend focusing on the now, the less time you will spend worrying about meeting that creature with the horns, the pointy tail and the pitch fork. Personally, I only like to get together with him on Halloween!
