These are two places we might end up after we die. Hell is supposedly for all the bad people, and heaven is for all the good people. My question is, just how bad and how good do you have to be to get in the door? Where's the line between too bad and good enough? If you repent is all forgiven? Should it be? Maybe there's some dude somewhere whose job is to figure out where you're going. He's been given the criteria by the higher ups and when you arrive, he tallies everything up. All those rotten things you said, every unkind act, but also the nice things you did which hopefully far outweigh the bad. Because let's face it, who wants to go to Hell?
Excerpt from Mort, by Terry Pratchett, in which DEATH takes on an apprentice...
Mort(wretchedly): Wait. It's not fair. Can't you stop it?
DEATH: FAIR? WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT FAIR?
I think (I hope) that we find both heaven and hell here on earth while we are alive...
ReplyDeleteI don't believe any of us are good enough on our own, but have hope and rely on the one who is. And I think I agree with Mort and DEATH about it being fair, or rather not fair.
ReplyDelete~tinbugs at Travelling Spoons
What Tinbugs said. We can't be good enough, but there was One who was good enough for all of us and paid the price of our entrance into Heaven.
ReplyDeleteI think so choose to make their lives here on Earth, hell.
ReplyDeleteI love how Death speaks in all caps. Who said anything about fair, indeed.
ReplyDeleteLove the theme and the excerpt. I kind of liked the view of death that was in the movie: "Defending Your Life" (Meryl Streep, Albert Brooks). I thought those were dandelion fluffs in your header pic, but then realized they must be some kind of thistle/nettle. Ouch! Have a lovely weekend, Marcy! :)
ReplyDeleteI try to lead a good life and be the best person I can possibly be. But none of us are perfect, just human. Heaven is one place I'd like to visit when my days here are up. Thought provoking post. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteA set of scales for both sides, if you believe in that sort of thing?
ReplyDeleteKarma might get you in the wrong door, the one to that hot place, or the gatekeepers might just park you in Purgatory while they debate your good deeds (hopefully there are some) Neither Life nor Death is fair. It just is.
ReplyDeleteI can't help wondering about this sometimes. Good post!
ReplyDeleteAwakening Dreams and Conquering Nightmares with a Pen
Best wishes!
And the other thing I was taught about heaven and hell is that if your repent your sins on your deathbed you go to heaven. So... live life and make everyone else's life hell, then repent on your deathbed.
ReplyDeleteNow who wants to go to heaven if it's full of people like that?
Jemima Pett
I don't think the Bible mentions Hell at all. People jut love to imagine punishment for people who went unpunished for heinous crimes in life... I have to admit, it is an attractive thought, but as a religious person, I am not sure that is how God would work.
ReplyDelete@TarkabarkaHolgy from
The Multicolored Diary
MopDog
Much has been written on this topic, and I don't think we'll find anything definitive on the subject here in the comments. My thoughts are this: God works in ways that we don't really understand (as in, at all). I think maybe that's why the Bible talks more about faith than anything else. The challenge is to believe in things unseen. If there were definitive proof, faith wouldn't be necessary.
ReplyDeleteI was watching a Nova episode about the Vikings, and I wondered if the dark ages was hell. I mean, it kind of was...
ReplyDeleteJ here, of the #atozchallenge Arlee Bird's A to Z Ambassador Team.
ReplyDeleteHow has the first week of the challenge been for you so far? Are you meeting your goals of posting and hopping to other blogs? Looking forward to Sunday off?
My blog's giveaways are still going! I'm encouraging everyone to visit more stops.
http://jlennidornerblog.what-are-they.com
Terry has some really deep thoughts hidden in those words.
There are so many current TV shows using hell or Purgatory as a setting. Supernatural has many times. Once Upon a Time, Sleep Hollow and Lucifer. Humanity is definitely thinking about it.
ReplyDeleteSusan Says
I too have wondered where the line is drawn as to who goes to Heaven or Hell.
ReplyDeleteSomeone much wiser than I (not difficult!) suggested that, depending on your destination, this life is either the closest thing to heaven or the closest thing to hell you will ever experience. That is potentially either reassuring or terrifying, depending on what you believe.
ReplyDeleteKeith Channing A-Zing from http://keithkreates.com