Hell Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Abrahamic religions== Hell is conceived of in most Abrahamic religions as a place of, or a form of, [[punishment]].<ref>''Heart of Buddha, Heart of China: James Carter'' – 2010, p 75</ref> ===Judaism=== {{See also|Gehenna|Qlippoth|Sheol}} [[Judaism]] does not have a specific doctrine about the afterlife, but it does have a mystical/Orthodox tradition of describing [[Gehinnom]]. Gehinnom is not hell, but originally a grave and in later times a sort of Purgatory where one is judged based on one's life's deeds, or rather, where one becomes fully aware of one's own shortcomings and negative actions during one's life. The [[Kabbalah]] explains it as a "waiting room" (commonly translated as an "entry way") for all souls (not just the wicked). The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are not in Gehinnom forever; the longest that one can be there is said to be 12 months, however, there has been the occasional noted exception. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to [[Jewish eschatology#World to come|Olam Habah]] (''heb.'' עולם הבא; ''lit.'' "The world to come", often viewed as analogous to heaven). This is also mentioned in the Kabbalah, where the soul is described as breaking, like the flame of a candle lighting another: the part of the soul that ascends being pure and the "unfinished" piece being reborn. According to Jewish teachings, hell is not entirely physical; rather, it can be compared to a very intense feeling of shame. People are ashamed of their misdeeds and this constitutes suffering which makes up for the bad deeds. When one has so deviated from the will of [[God in Judaism|God]], one is said to be in Gehinnom. This is not meant to refer to some point in the future, but to the very present moment. The gates of [[teshuva]] (return) are said to be always open, and so one can align his will with that of God at any moment. Being out of alignment with God's will is itself a punishment according to the [[Torah]]. Many scholars of Jewish mysticism, particularly of the [[Kabbalah]], describe seven "compartments" or "habitations" of hell, just as they describe seven divisions of heaven. These divisions go by many different names, and the most frequently mentioned are as follows:<ref>(edit.) Boustan, Ra'anan S. Reed, Annette Yoshiko. ''Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions''. Cambridge University Press, 2004.</ref> *'''[[Sheol]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: שְׁאוֹל – "[[underworld]]", "[[Hades]]"; "grave") *'''[[Abaddon]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: אֲבַדּוֹן – "doom", "perdition") *'''Be'er Shachat''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: בְּאֵר שַׁחַת, ''Be'er Shachath'' – "pit of corruption") *'''Tit ha-Yaven''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: טִיט הַיָוֵן – "clinging mud") *'''Sha'are Mavet''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: שַׁעֲרֵי מָוֶת, ''Sha'arei Maveth'' – "gates of death") *'''[[Shade (mythology)|Tzalmavet]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: צַלמָוֶת, ''Tsalmaveth'' – "shadow of death") *'''[[Gehenna|Gehinnom]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: גֵיהִנוֹם, ''Gehinnom'' – "valley of [[Hinnom]]"; "[[Tartarus]]", "[[Purgatory]]") Besides those mentioned above, there also exist additional terms that have been often used to either refer to hell in general or to some region of the underworld: *'''[[Azazel]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: עֲזָאזֵל, compd. of ''ez'' עֵז: "goat" + ''azal'' אָזַל: "to go away" – "goat of departure", "scapegoat"; "entire removal", "damnation") *'''[[Dudael]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: דּוּדָאֵל – lit. "cauldron of God") *'''[[Tehom]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: תְהוֹם – "[[Abyss (religion)|abyss]]"; "sea", "deep ocean")<ref>Palmer, Abram Smythe. ''Studies on Biblical Studies, No. I.'' "Babylonian Influence on the Bible and Popular Beliefs: "Tĕhôm and Tiâmat", "Hades and Satan" – A Comparative Study of Genesis I. 2" London, 1897; pg. 53.</ref> *'''[[Tophet]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: תֹּפֶת or תוֹפֶת, ''Topheth'' – "fire-place", "place of burning", "place to be spit upon"; "inferno")<ref>Rev. Clarence Larkin. ''The Spirit World''. "Chapter VI: The Underworld". Philadelphia, PA. 1921. Moyer & Lotter</ref><ref>Wright, Charles Henry Hamilton. ''The Fatherhood of God: And Its Relation to the Person and Work of Christ, and the Operations of the Holy Spirit''. Edinburgh, Scotland. 1867. T. and T. Clark; pg. 88.</ref> *'''[[Tzoah Rotachat]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: צוֹאָה רוֹתֵחַת, ''Tsoah Rothachath'' – "boiling excrement")<ref>Rev. Edward Bouverie Pusey. ''What is of Faith as to Everlasting Punishment: In Reply to Dr. Farrar's Challenge in His ʻEternal Hope,' 1879''. James Parker & Co., 1881; pg. 102, spelled "zoa rothachath".</ref> *'''[[Destroying angel (Bible)|Mashchit]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: מַשְׁחִית, ''Mashchith'' – "destruction", "ruin") *'''[[Dumah (angel)|Dumah]]''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: דוּמָה – "silence") *'''Neshiyyah''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: נְשִׁיָּה – "oblivion", "[[Limbo]]") *'''Bor Shaon''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: בּוֹר שָׁאוֹן – "cistern of sound") *'''Eretz Tachtit''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: אֶרֶץ תַּחְתִּית, ''Erets Tachtith'' – "lowest earth").<ref>Mew, James. ''Traditional Aspects of Hell: (Ancient and Modern)''. S. Sonnenschein & Company Lim., 1903.</ref><ref>Rev. A. Lowy. ''Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology, Volume 10'', "Old Jewish Legends of Biblical Topics: Legendary Description of Hell". 1888. pg. 339</ref> *'''Masak Mavdil''' ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]: מָסָך מַבְדִּ֔יל, ''Masak Mabdil'' – "dividing curtain") *'''Haguel''' ([[Ge'ez language|Ethiopic]]: ሀጉለ – "(place of) destruction", "loss", "waste")<ref>Charles, Robert Henry. ''The Ascension of Isaiah''. London. A. & C. Black, 1900. pg. 70.; synonymous with Abaddon, Sheol and Gehinnom in the sense of being the final abode of the damned.</ref> *'''[[Ikisat]]''' ([[Ge'ez language|Ethiopic]]: አክይስት – "serpents", "[[dragon]]s"; "place of future punishment")<ref>Sola, David Aaron. ''Signification of the Proper Names, Etc., Occurring in the Book of Enoch: From the Hebrew and Chaldee Languages'' London, 1852.</ref><ref>Rev. X.Y.Z. ''Merry England, Volume 22'', "The Story of a Conversion" 1894. pg. 151</ref> [[Maimonides]] declares in [[Jewish principles of faith#Maimonides' 13 principles of faith|his 13 principles of faith]] that the hells of the rabbinic literature were pedagogically motivated inventions to encourage respect of the [[Torah]] commandments by mankind, which had been regarded as immature.<ref name="perek-helek-d">Maimonides' Introduction to Perek Helek, ed. and transl. by [[Maimonides Heritage Center]], p. 3–4.</ref> Instead of being sent to hell, the souls of the wicked would actually get annihilated.<ref name="perek-helek-c">Maimonides' Introduction to Perek Helek, ed. and transl. by [[Maimonides Heritage Center]], p. 22-23.</ref> ===Christianity=== {{Main|Hell in Christianity|Christian views on Hades}} [[File:Valley of Hinom PA180090.JPG|thumb|"Gehenna", [[Valley of Hinnom]], 2007]] [[File:Brooklyn Museum - The Bad Rich Man in Hell (Le mauvais riche dans l'Enfer) - James Tissot - overall.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Parables of Jesus|parable]] of the [[Rich man and Lazarus]] depicting the rich man in hell asking for help to Abraham and Lazarus in [[Heaven (Christianity)|heaven]] by James Tissot]] [[File:Harrowing of hell Christ leads Adam by the hand. On scroll in border, the motto 'Entre tenir Dieu le viuelle' (f. 125) Cropped.jpg|thumb|''[[Harrowing of Hell]]''. Christ leads Adam by the hand, c.1504]] [[File:Fra Angelico 010.jpg|thumb|''The Last Judgment, Hell'', c.1431, by [[Fra Angelico]]]] The Christian doctrine of hell derives from passages in the [[New Testament]]. The English word ''hell'' does not appear in the Greek New Testament; instead one of three words is used: the Greek words ''Tartarus'' or ''Hades'', or the Hebrew word ''Gehinnom''. In the [[Septuagint]] and New Testament, the authors used the Greek term Hades for the Hebrew Sheol, but often with Jewish rather than Greek concepts in mind. In the Jewish concept of Sheol, such as expressed in Ecclesiastes,<ref>Ecclesiastes 9:10 πάντα ὅσα ἂν εὕρῃ ἡ χείρ σου τοῦ ποιῆσαι ὡς ἡ δύναμίς σου ποίησον ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ποίημα καὶ λογισμὸς καὶ γνῶσις καὶ σοφία ἐν ᾅδῃ ὅπου σὺ πορεύῃ ἐκεῖ</ref> Sheol or Hades is a place where there is no activity. However, since [[Augustine]], some {{which|date=July 2019}} Christians have believed that the souls of those who die either rest peacefully, in the case of Christians, or are afflicted, in the case of the damned, after death until the [[resurrection]].<ref name="Hoekema">{{cite book|last=Hoekema|first=Anthony A|title=The Bible and the Future|year=1994|location=Grand Rapids|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans|page=92}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Hebrew OT ! [[Septuagint]] ! Greek NT ! times in NT ! [[Vulgate]] ! [[KJV]] ! [[NIV]] |- |שְׁאוֹל (''Sheol'')<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7585&t=KJV|title= Lexicon :: H7585 – shĕ'owl|author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|website= Blue Letter Bible|publisher= BLB Institute|access-date= 26 February 2017|quote= 1Mos 37:35, 42:38, 44:29, 44:31|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151105180247/https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7585|archive-date= 5 November 2015|df= dmy-all}}</ref> |Ἅιδης (''Haïdēs'')<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G86&t=KJV |title= Lexicon :: Strong's G86 – hadēs |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website= Blue Letter Bible |publisher= BLB Institute |access-date= 28 January 2017 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120415063409/http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=G86 |archive-date= 15 April 2012 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> |ᾌδης (''Ádēs'')<ref>{{LSJ|*(/aidhs|Ἅιδης|longref}}</ref> |x10<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G86&t=KJV |title= Lexicon :: Strong's G86 – hadēs |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website= Blue Letter Bible |publisher= BLB Institute |access-date= 28 January 2017 |quote= [[Mat.11:23]] 16:18 Luk.10:15. Ap.2:27,31. 1Kor 15:55.Upp.1:18 6:8 20:13,14 |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170130145825/https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G86&t=KJV |archive-date= 30 January 2017 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> |infernus<ref>{{L&S|infernus|infernus|ref}}</ref> |Hell |Hades |- |גֵיא בֶן־הִנֹּם (''Ge Hinom'')<ref>גֵיא בֶן־הִנֹּם [http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2011&t=KJV Hinnom] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606172603/http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H2011&t=KJV |date=6 June 2011 }}: Jer.19:6</ref> |Εννομ (''Ennom'')<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H8612&t=lxx |title= Lexicon :: Strong's H8612 – Topheth |author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |website= Blue Letter Bible |publisher= BLB Institute |access-date= 28 January 2017 |quote= καὶ ἐμίανεν τὸν Ταφεθ τὸν ἐν φάραγγι υἱοῦ '''Εννομ''' τοῦ διάγειν ἄνδρα τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἄνδρα τὴν θυγατέρα αὐτοῦ τῷ Μολοχ ἐν πυρί |url-status= live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170202120213/https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H8612&t=lxx |archive-date= 2 February 2017 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> |γέεννα (''géenna'')<ref>{{LSJ|ge/enna|γέεννα|longref}}</ref> |x11<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1067&t=KJV|title= Lexicon :: Strong's G1067 – geenna|author= <!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|website= Blue Letter Bible|publisher= BLB Institute|access-date= 28 January 2017|quote= Mat.5:22,29,30, 10:28, 18:09, 23:15,33. Mar. 9:43,45,47, Luk.12:05, Jak.3:6|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170130210048/https://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1067&t=KJV|archive-date= 30 January 2017|df= dmy-all}}</ref> |gehennae<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=gehennae&t=VUL#s=s_primary_0_1|title= Blue Letter Bible: VUL Search Results for "gehennae"}}</ref>/gehennam<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=gehennam&t=VUL#s=s_primary_0_1|title= Blue Letter Bible: VUL Search Results for "gehennam"}}</ref> |Hell |Hell |- |(Not applicable) |(Not applicable) |Ταρταρόω (''Tartaróō'')<ref>{{LSJ|tartaro/w|Ταρταρόω|longref}}</ref> |x1 |tartarum<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?Criteria=tartarum&t=VUL#s=s_primary_0_1|title= Blue Letter Bible: VUL Search Results for "tartarum"}}</ref> |Hell |Hell |} While these three terms are translated in the KJV as "hell" they have three very different meanings. * Hades has similarities to the Old Testament term, [[Sheol]] as "the place of the dead" or "grave". Thus, it is used in reference to both the righteous and the wicked, since both wind up there eventually.<ref>{{cite book |last=Unger |first=Merrill F.|author-link=Merrill Unger |year=1981 |title='''Unger's Bible Dictionary''' |publisher=Moody Bible Institute, The |location=Chicago|page=467}}</ref> * [[Gehenna]] refers to the "Valley of Hinnom", which was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem. It was a place where people burned their garbage and thus there was always a fire burning there.{{contradict inline|article=Gehenna|section=Rabbinical Judaism|date=July 2019}} Bodies of those deemed to have died in sin without hope of salvation (such as people who committed suicide) were thrown there to be destroyed.<ref>''The New Schaf-Herzog Encyclopedia of religious Knowledge'', p. 415</ref> Gehenna is used in the New Testament as a metaphor for the final place of punishment for the wicked after the resurrection.<ref>The New Schaf-Herzog Encyclopedia of religious Knowledge pgs. 414–415</ref> * ''Tartaróō'' (the verb "throw to [[Tartarus]]", used of the fall of the Titans in a [[scholia|scholium]] on [[The Illiad|Illiad]] 14.296) occurs only once in the New Testament in II Peter 2:4, where it is parallel to the use of the noun form in [[1 Enoch]] as the place of incarceration of the fallen angels. It mentions nothing about human souls being sent there in the afterlife. According to the Roman Catholic Church, the [[Council of Trent]] taught, in the 5th canon of its 14th session, that damnation is eternal: "...the loss of eternal blessedness, and the eternal damnation which he has incurred..."<ref>[http://www.thecounciloftrent.com/ch14.htm Council of Trent, Session 14, Canon 5]</ref> The [[Catholic Church]] defines hell as "a state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed". One finds oneself in hell as the result of dying in [[mortal sin]] without repenting and accepting God's merciful love, becoming eternally separated from him by one's own free choice<ref>''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', Article 1033</ref> immediately after death.<ref>''Catechism of the Catholic Church'', Article 1035</ref> In the Roman Catholic Church, many other Christian churches, such as the [[Methodism|Methodists]], [[Baptists]] and [[Episcopalians]], and some [[Greek Orthodox]] churches,<ref>See Kallistos Ware, "Dare we hope for the salvation of all?" in ''The Inner Kingdom: Volume 1 of the Collected Works''</ref> hell is taught as the final destiny of those who have not been found worthy after the [[general resurrection]] and [[last judgment]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+20:11-15|title=Revelation 20:11–15|website=Bible Gateway|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071203142225/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+20:11-15|archive-date=3 December 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans+6:23|title=Romans 6:23|website=Bible Gateway|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602120139/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+6:23|archive-date=2 June 2008}}</ref><ref>Mt 25:31, 32, 46</ref> where they will be eternally punished for [[sin]] and permanently separated from God.<ref name="EMCC2017">{{cite book |title=Evangelical Methodist Church Discipline |date=15 July 2017 |publisher=[[Evangelical Methodist Church Conference]] |language=English|page=17}}</ref> The nature of this judgment is inconsistent with many [[Protestant]] churches teaching the saving comes from accepting Jesus Christ as their savior, while the Greek Orthodox and Catholic Churches teach that the judgment hinges on both faith and works. However, many [[Liberal Christian]]s throughout [[Mainline Protestant]] churches believe in [[universal reconciliation]] (see below), even though it contradicts the traditional doctrines that are usually held by the evangelicals within their denominations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/699929.stm |publisher=BBC |title=Hell – it's about to get hotter |date=4 April 2000 |access-date=30 April 2012 |first1=Joe |last1=Gooden |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031013436/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/699929.stm |archive-date=31 October 2012 }}</ref> Regarding the belief in hell, the interpretation of [[Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus]] is also relevant.<ref>Heinrich Döring: ''Der universale Anspruch der Kirche und die nichtchristlichen Religionen'', in: Münchener Theologische Zeitschrift 41 (1990), p. 78 et sqq.</ref> Some modern Christian theologians subscribe to the doctrines of [[Christian conditionalism|conditional immortality]]. Conditional immortality is the belief that the soul dies with the body and does not live again until the resurrection. As with other Jewish writings of the [[Second Temple]] period, the New Testament text distinguishes two words, both translated "hell" in older English Bibles: ''Hades'', "the grave", and ''Gehenna'' where God "can destroy both body and soul".<ref>{{cite web|title=4.9 Hell|url=http://www.christadelphians.com/biblebasics/0409hell.html|publisher=The Christadelphians|access-date=6 August 2015}}</ref> A minority of Christians read this to mean that neither Hades nor Gehenna are eternal but refer to the ultimate destruction of the wicked in the Lake of Fire in a consuming fire after resurrection. However, because of the Greek words used in translating from the Hebrew text, the Hebrew ideas have become confused with Greek myths and ideas. In the Hebrew text when people died they went to [[Sheol]], the grave<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hirsch|first1=Emil G|title=SHEOL|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13563-sheol|publisher=JewishEncyclopedia.com|access-date=10 August 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150918204814/http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13563-sheol|archive-date=18 September 2015}}</ref> and the wicked ultimately went to Gehenna and were consumed by fire. The Hebrew words for "the grave" or "death" or "eventual destruction of the wicked", were translated using Greek words and later texts became a mix of mistranslation, pagan influence, and Greek myth.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bedore, Th.D.|first1=W. Edward|title=Hell, Sheol, Hades, Paradise, and the Grave|date=September 2007|url=https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/hell-sheol-hades-paradise-and-the-grave/|publisher=Berean Bible Society|access-date=10 August 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711233406/https://www.bereanbiblesociety.org/hell-sheol-hades-paradise-and-the-grave/|archive-date=11 July 2015}}</ref> [[Christian mortalism]] is the doctrine that all men and women, including Christians, must die, and do not continue and are not conscious after death. Therefore, [[annihilationism]] includes the doctrine that "the wicked" are also destroyed rather than [[tortured|tormented]] [[eternity|forever]] in traditional "hell" or the [[lake of fire]]. Christian mortalism and annihilationism are directly related to the doctrine of conditional immortality, the idea that a human [[soul]] is not immortal unless it is given eternal life at the [[second coming of Christ]] and [[resurrection of the dead]]. Biblical scholars looking at the issue through the Hebrew text have denied the teaching of innate immortality.<ref>{{Citation | quote = Many biblical scholars down throughout history, looking at the issue through Hebrew rather than Greek eyes, have denied the teaching of innate immortality. | last = Knight | title = A brief history of Seventh-Day Adventists | page = 42 | year = 1999}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Pool |year=1998 |title=Against returning to Egypt: Exposing and Resisting Credalism in the Southern Baptist Convention |page=133 |quote='Various concepts of conditional immortality or annihilationism have appeared earlier in Baptist history as well. Several examples illustrate this claim. General as well as particular Baptists developed versions of annihilationism or conditional immortality.'}}</ref> Rejection of the [[immortality of the soul]], and advocacy of Christian mortalism, was a feature of Protestantism since the early days of the [[Reformation]] with [[Martin Luther]] himself rejecting the traditional idea, though his mortalism did not carry into orthodox [[Lutheranism]]. One of the most notable English opponents of the immortality of the soul was [[Thomas Hobbes]] who describes the idea as a Greek "contagion" in Christian doctrine.<ref>Stephen A. State ''Thomas Hobbes and the Debate Over Natural Law and Religion'' 2013 "The natural immortality of the soul is in fact a pagan presumption: "For men being generally possessed before the time of our Saviour, by contagion of the Daemonology of the Greeks, of an opinion, that the Souls of men were substances distinct from their Bodies, and therefore that when the Body was dead"</ref> Modern proponents of conditional immortality include some in the [[Anglican church]] such as [[N. T. Wright]]<ref>N. T. Wright ''For All the Saints?: Remembering the Christian Departed'' 2004 "many readers will get the impression that I believe that every human being comes already equipped with an immortal soul. I don't believe that. Immortality is a gift of God in Christ, not an innate human capacity (see 1 Timothy 6.16)."</ref> and as denominations the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]], [[Bible Student movement|Bible Students]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], [[Christadelphians]], Living Church of God, The Church of God International, and some other [[Protestant]] [[Christians]]. The Catholic Catechism states "The souls of sinners descend into hell, where they suffer 'eternal fire{{' "}}. However, [[Cardinal Vincent Nichols]], the most senior Catholic in England and Wales, said "there's nowhere in Catholic teaching that actually says any one person is in hell".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43596919|title=Vatican: Pope did not say there is no hell|date=2018-03-30|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-03-30|language=en-GB|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331001451/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43596919|archive-date=31 March 2018}}</ref> The 1993 ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]'' states: "This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called 'hell{{' "}}<ref>1033</ref> and "they suffer the punishments of hell, 'eternal fire{{' "}}.<ref>1035</ref> The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God" (CCC 1035). During an Audience in 1999, [[Pope John Paul II]] commented: "images of hell that Sacred Scripture presents to us must be correctly interpreted. They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God. Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy."<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_28071999.html|title=GENERAL AUDIENCE 28 July 1999|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161113172530/http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_28071999.html|archive-date=13 November 2016}}</ref> ====Other denominations==== The [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]]'s [[28 Fundamental Beliefs|official beliefs]] support [[annihilationism]].<ref>"[http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html Fundamental Beliefs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060310104717/http://www.adventist.org/beliefs/fundamental/index.html |date=10 March 2006 }}" (1980) webpage from the official church website. See "25. Second Coming of Christ", "26. Death and Resurrection", "27. Millennium and the End of Sin", and "28. New Earth". The earlier 1872 and 1931 statements also support conditionalism</ref><ref>Samuele Bacchiocchi, "[http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/immortality_resurrection/6.htm Hell: Eternal Torment or Annihilation?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150216040008/http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/immortality_resurrection/6.htm |date=16 February 2015 }}" chapter 6 in ''Immortality Or Resurrection?''. [[Biblical Perspectives]], 1997; {{ISBN|1-930987-12-9}}, {{ISBN|978-1-930987-12-8}}{{page needed|date=January 2014}}</ref> They deny the Catholic purgatory and teach that the dead lie in the grave until they are [[Last judgment|raised for a last judgment]], both the righteous and wicked await the resurrection at the [[Second Coming]]. Seventh-day Adventists believe that [[death]] is a state of [[Soul sleep|unconscious sleep]] until the resurrection. They base this belief on biblical texts such as {{Bibleverse||Ecclesiastes|9:5|NIV}} which states "the dead know nothing", and {{Bibleverse|1|Thessalonians|4:13–18|NIV}} which contains a description of the dead being raised from the [[Grave (burial)|grave]] at the second coming. These verses, it is argued, indicate that death is only a period or form of slumber. Adventists teach that the resurrection of the righteous will take place shortly after the second coming of [[Jesus]], as described in Revelation 20:4–6 that follows Revelation 19:11–16, whereas the resurrection of the wicked will occur after the [[millennialism|millennium]], as described in Revelation 20:5 and 20:12–13 that follow Revelation 20:4 and 6–7, though Revelation 20:12–13 and 15 actually describe a ''mixture'' of saved and condemned people being raised from the dead and judged. Adventists reject the traditional doctrine of hell as a state of everlasting conscious torment, believing instead that the wicked will be permanently destroyed after the millennium by the [[lake of fire]], which is called 'the [[second death]]' in Revelation 20:14. Those Adventist doctrines about death and hell reflect an underlying belief in: (a) conditional immortality (or conditionalism), as opposed to the [[immortality]] of the [[soul]]; and (b) the [[Christian anthropology|monistic nature]] of [[human beings]], in which the soul is not separable from the body, as opposed to [[bipartite (theology)|bipartite]] or [[tripartite (theology)|tripartite]] conceptions, in which the soul is separable. [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] hold that the soul ceases to exist when the person dies<ref name="bibleteach">"What Does the Bible Really Teach?", 2005, Published by Jehovah's Witnesses</ref> and therefore that hell (Sheol or Hades) is a state of non-existence.<ref name="bibleteach" /> In their theology, Gehenna differs from Sheol or Hades in that it holds no hope of a resurrection.<ref name="bibleteach" /> Tartarus is held to be the metaphorical state of debasement of the fallen angels between the time of their moral fall (Genesis chapter 6) until their post-millennial destruction along with Satan (Revelation chapter 20).<ref>"Insight on the scriptures, Volume 2", 1988, Published by Jehovah's Witnesses.</ref> [[Bible Student movement|Bible Students]] and [[Christadelphians]] also believe in annihilationism. [[Christian Universalism|Christian Universalists]] believe in [[universal reconciliation]], the belief that all human souls will be eventually reconciled with God and admitted to heaven.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/chr-univ.html |title=What is Christian Universalism? |access-date=17 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171122135418/http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/chr-univ.html |archive-date=22 November 2017 }} What is Christian Universalism by Ken Allen Th.D</ref> This belief is held by some [[Unitarian Universalism|Unitarian-Universalists]].<ref>''New Bible Dictionary'', "Hell", InterVarsity Press, 1996.</ref><ref>''New Dictionary of Biblical Theology'', "Hell", InterVarsity Press, 2000.</ref><ref>[[Evangelical Alliance]] Commission on Truth and Unity Among Evangelicals, ''The Nature of Hell'', Paternoster, 2000.</ref> According to [[Emanuel Swedenborg]]'s [[Second Coming]] [[Christianity|Christian]] revelation, hell exists because evil people want it.<ref>Swedenborg, E. [http://swedenborgdigitallibrary.org/contets/HH.html Heaven and its Wonders and Hell From Things Heard and Seen(Swedenborg Foundation, 1946 #545ff.)]</ref> They, not God, introduced evil to the human race.<ref>Swedenborg, E. [http://www.swedenborgdigitallibrary.org/contets/tcrtc.html The True Christian Religion Containing the Universal Theology of The New Church Foretold by the Lord in Daniel 7; 13, 14; and in Revelation 21; 1, 2] (Swedenborg Foundation, 1946, #489ff.).</ref> In [[The New Church (Swedenborgian)|Swedenborgianism]], every soul joins the like-minded group after death in which it feels the most comfortable. Hell is therefore believed to be a place of happiness for the souls which delight in evilness.<ref>offTheLeftEye: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpCWOpiTVds&t=2507s The Good Thing About Hell - Swedenborg and Life], YouTube, 14 March 2016.</ref> Members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) teach that hell is a state between death and resurrection, in which those spirits who did not repent while on earth must suffer for their own sins (Doctrine and Covenants 19:15–17<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/19?lang=eng|title=Doctrine and Covenants 19}}</ref>). After that, only the [[Son of perdition (Mormonism)|Sons of perdition]], who committed the [[Eternal sin]], would be cast into [[Outer darkness]]. However, according to Mormon faith, committing the Eternal sin requires so much knowledge that most persons cannot do this.<ref>[[Spencer W. Kimball]]: The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 123.</ref> [[Satan]] and [[Cain]] are counted as examples of Sons of perdition. ===Islam=== {{Main|Jahannam}} [[File:Muhammad and "shameless women" in Hell.jpg|thumb|[[Muhammad]], along with [[Buraq]] and [[Holy Spirit (Islam)|Gabriel]], visit [[Jahannam]]. Persian, 15th century.]] [[File:The tree of Zaqqum (2012).jpg|thumb|The Tree of [[Zaqqum]] that grows in Jahannam (Hell), whose dwellers are compelled to eat the bitter fruit for eternity.]] In Islam, ''[[Jahannam]]'' (in [[Arabic Language|Arabic]]: جهنم) (related to the Hebrew word ''gehinnom'') is the counterpart to heaven and likewise divided into seven layers, both co-existing with the temporal world,<ref name="Lange 2016 Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies">{{cite book |last1=Lange |first1=Christian |chapter=Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies |pages=1–28 |jstor=10.1163/j.ctt1w8h1w3.7 |doi=10.1163/9789004301368_002 |editor1-last=Lange |editor1-first=Christian |title=Locating Hell in Islamic Traditions |date=2016 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-30121-4 }}</ref> filled with blazing fire, boiling water, and a variety of other torments for those who have been condemned to it in the hereafter. In the Quran, God declares that the fire of Jahannam is prepared for both mankind and [[jinn]].<ref>[[Qur'an 7:179]] [https://en.quranacademy.org/quran/7:179 Qur'an 7:179] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317232420/https://en.quranacademy.org/quran/7:179 |date=17 March 2018 }}</ref><ref>Varza, Bahram. 2016. ''Thought-Provoking Scientific Reflections on Religion''. New York: BOD Publisher</ref> After the Day of Judgment, it is to be occupied by those who do not believe in God, those who have disobeyed [[Sharia|his laws]], or rejected his [[Prophets in Islam#Prophets and messengers in Islam|messengers]].<ref>{{cite web|title=A Description of Hellfire (part 1 of 5): An Introduction|url=http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/344/|website=Religion of Islam|access-date=23 December 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223233105/http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/344/|archive-date=23 December 2014}}</ref> "Enemies of Islam" are sent to hell immediately upon their deaths.<ref name=RFIBA>{{cite web|title=Islamic Beliefs about the Afterlife|url=http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/beliefs/afterlife.htm|website=Religion Facts|access-date=23 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223230705/http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/beliefs/afterlife.htm|archive-date=23 December 2014}}</ref> [[Islamic Modernism|Muslim modernists]] downplay the vivid descriptions of hell common during Classical period, on one hand reaffirming that the afterlife must not be denied, but simultaneously asserting its exact nature remains unknown. Other modern Muslims continue the line of [[Sufism]] as an interiorized hell, combining the eschatological thoughts of [[Ibn Arabi]] and [[Rumi]] with Western philosophy.<ref name="Lange 2016 Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies"/> Although disputed by some scholars, most scholars consider jahannam to be eternal.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Thomassen |first1=Einar |title=Islamic Hell |journal=Numen |date=2009 |volume=56 |issue=2/3 |pages=401–416 |doi=10.1163/156852709X405062 |jstor=27793798 }}</ref><ref name="Lange 2016 Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies"/> There is belief that the fire which represents the own bad deeds can already be seen during the [[Punishment of the Grave]], and that the spiritual pain caused by this can lead to purification of the soul.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eslam.de/begriffe/f/feuer.htm|title = Feuer}}</ref> Not all Muslims and scholars agree whether hell is an eternal destination or whether some or all of the condemned will eventually be forgiven and allowed to enter paradise.<ref name=RFIBA/><ref name="idiot"/><ref name=religion>{{cite web|title=A Description of Hellfire (part 1 of 5): An Introduction|url=http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/344/|website=Religion of Islam|access-date=23 December 2014|quote=No one will come out of Hell except sinful believers who believed in the Oneness of God in this life and believed in the specific prophet sent to them (before the coming of Muhammad).|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223233105/http://www.islamreligion.com/articles/344/|archive-date=23 December 2014}}</ref><ref>''Muslim Scholarly Discussions on Salvation and the Fate of 'Others' '', Mohammad Hassan Khalil, p.223 ''"The Fitnah of Wealth",'' Abû Ammâr Yasir al-Qadhî</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=September 2021}} Over hell, a narrow bridge called [[As-Sirāt]] is spanned. On [[Judgment Day]] one must pass over it to reach paradise, but those destined for hell will find too narrow and fall into their new abode.<ref name=EWR-421>{{cite book|title=Encyclopedia of World Religions|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Store|page=421|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dbibAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA421|isbn=978-1-59339-491-2|date=2008}}</ref> [[Iblis]], the temporary ruler of hell,<ref>Gordon Newby ''A Concise Encyclopedia of Islam'' Oneworld Publications 2013 {{ISBN|978-1-780-74477-3}}</ref> is thought of residing in the bottom of hell, from where he commands his hosts of infernal demons.<ref>Robert Lebling Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar I.B.Tauris 2010 {{ISBN|978-0-857-73063-3}} page 30</ref><ref>ANTON M. HEINEN ''ISLAMIC COSMOLOGY A STUDY OF AS-SUYUTI'S al-Hay'a as-samya fi l-hay'a as-sunmya with critical edition, translation, and commentary'' ANTON M. HEINEN BEIRUT 1982 p. 143</ref> But contrary to Christian traditions, Iblis and his infernal hosts do not wage war against God,<ref name="idiot">{{cite book|last1=Emerick|first1=Yahiya|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Islam|date=2011|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-1-101-55881-2|edition=3rd|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6LQJWalzQkC&q=hell+in+islam&pg=PT97}}</ref> his enmity applies against humanity only. Further, his dominion in hell is also his punishment. Executioners of punishment are the 19 [[zabaniyya]], who have been created from the fires of hell.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Surat Al-Alaq Verse 18. |url=https://quran.com/96:18 |website=quran.com |quote="96:18 {سَنَدْعُ ٱلزَّبَانِيَةَ} {١٨ } We will call the angels of Hell. CITATION NOTE: (ٱلزَّبَانِيَةَ, transliterated to Az-Zabaniya, refers to the keeper angels of Jahannam/Hell.)"}}</ref> Muhammad said that the fire of Jahannam is 70 times hotter than ordinary fire, and is much more painful than ordinary fire.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sahih Muslim 2843a |url=https://sunnah.com/muslim:2843a |website=sunnah.com |quote="The fire which sons of Adam burn is only one-seventieth part of the Fire of Hell. His Companions said: By Allah, even ordinary fire would have been enough (to burn people). Thereupon he said: It is sixty-nine parts in excess of (the heat of) fire in this world each of them being equivalent to their heat."}}</ref> ==== Seven stages of punishment ==== The seven gates of ''jahannam'', mentioned in the Quran, inspired [[Tafsir|Muslim exegetes]] (''tafsir'') to develop a system of seven stages of hell, analogue to the seven doors of paradise. The stages of hell get their names by seven different terms used for hell throughout the Quran. Each is assigned for a different type of sinners. The concept later accepted by Sunni authorities list the levels of hell as follows, although some stages may vary:<ref>Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam (2 Vols.): Volume 1: Foundations and Formation of a Tradition. Reflections on the Hereafter in the Quran and Islamic Religious Thought / Volume 2: Continuity and Change. The Plurality of Eschatological Representations in the Islamicate World. (2017). Niederlande: Brill. p. 174</ref><ref>A F Klein Religion Of Islam Routledge 2013 ISBN 978-1-136-09954-0 page 92</ref> #'''[[Gehenna|Jahannam]]''' (جهنم Gehenna) #'''Laza''' (لظى fierce blaze) #'''Hutama''' (حُطَمَة crushing fire) #'''Sa'ir''' (سعير raging fire) #'''Saqar''' (سقر scorching fire) #'''Jahim''' (جحيم furnace) #'''[[Abyss (religion)|Hawiya]]''' (هاوية infernal abyss) The highest level (''jahannam'') is traditionally thought of as a type of [[purgatory]] reserved for Muslims. Polytheism ([[shirk (Islam)|''shirk'']]) is regarded as a particularly grievous sin; therefore entering Paradise is forbidden to a polytheist ''([[Shirk (Islam)|mushrik]])'' because his place is hell;<ref>see [[Quran 5:72]]: [https://quran.com/5:72 5:72] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160720070539/http://quran.com/5:72 |date=20 July 2016 }}</ref> and the second lowest level (''jahim'') only after the bottomless pit for the hypocrites (''hawiyah''), who claimed aloud to believe in [[God in Islam|God]] and his messenger but in their [[Qalb|hearts]] did not.<ref name=lazarus-287>{{cite book|last1=Lazarus|first1=William P.|title=Comparative Religion For Dummies|publisher=Wiley|page=287|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oTtcFiGbW2kC&pg=PA287|isbn=978-1-118-05227-3|date=2011}}</ref> =====Gatekeepers===== *'''Sukha'il''' (صوخائيل) of Jahannam *'''Tufa'il''' (طوفائيل) of Laza *'''Tafta'il''' (طفطائيل) of Sa'ir *'''Susbabil''' (صوصَابيل) of Saqar *'''Tarfatil''' (طرفاطيل) of Jahim *'''Istafatabil''' (اصطافاطابيل) of Hawiya <ref>Christiane Gruber ''The Ilkhanid Book of Ascension: A Persian-Sunni Devotional Tale'' I.B.Tauris 2010 {{ISBN|978-0-857-71809-9}} page 54</ref> ==== In the heavens ==== [[File:Maalik opens the gates of hell.jpg|thumb|Muhammad requests Malik to show him Hell during his heavenly journey. Miniature from [[The David Collection]].]] Although the earliest reports about [[Muhammad]]'s [[Isra and Mi'raj|journey through the heavens]], do not locate hell in the heavens,<ref name="Colby 2016 Fire in the Upper Heavens">{{cite book |last1=Colby |first1=Frederick |chapter=Fire in the Upper Heavens: Locating Hell in Middle Period Narratives of Muḥammad's Ascension |pages=124–143 |jstor=10.1163/j.ctt1w8h1w3.12 |doi=10.1163/9789004301368_007 |editor1-last=Lange |editor1-first=Christian |title=Locating Hell in Islamic Traditions |date=2016 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-30121-4 }}</ref> only brief references about visiting hell during the journey appears. But extensive accounts about Muhammad's night journey, in the non-canonical but popular Miraj-Literature, tell about encountering the angels of hell. [[Malik]], the keeper to the gates of hell, namely appears in [[Ibn Abbas|Ibn Abbas']] [[Isra and Mi'raj]].<ref name="Lange 2016 Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies"/> The doors to hell are either in the third<ref name="Colby 2016 Fire in the Upper Heavens"/> or fifth heaven,<ref>Colby, F. S. (2008). Narrating Muhammad's Night Journey: Tracing the Development of the Ibn 'Abbas Ascension Discourse. US: State University of New York Press. p. 137</ref><ref name="Lange 2016 Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies"/> or (although only implicitly) in a heaven close [[Throne of God|God's throne]],<ref name="Colby 2016 Fire in the Upper Heavens"/> or directly after entering heaven,<ref>Colby, F. S. (2008). Narrating Muhammad's Night Journey: Tracing the Development of the Ibn 'Abbas Ascension Discourse. US: State University of New York Press. p. 138</ref> whereupon Muhammad requests a glaze at hell. [[Ibn Hisham]] gives extensive details about Muhammad visiting hell and its inhabitants punished wherein, but can only endure watching the punishments of the first layer of hell.<ref>Lange, C. (2016). Paradise and Hell in Islamic Traditions. Vereinigtes Königreich: Cambridge University Press.</ref> Muhammad meeting Malik, the Dajjal and hell, was used as a proof for Muhammad's Night Journey.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vuckovic |first1=Brooke Olson |title=Heavenly Journeys, Earthly Concerns: The Legacy of the Mi'raj in the Formation of Islam |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-88524-3 }}{{page needed|date=February 2022}}</ref> ==== Beneath the earth ==== Medieval sources often identified hell with the seven earths mentioned in [[Quran 65:12]], inhabited by [[Shaitan|devils]], [[Zabaniyya|harsh angels]], scorpions and serpents, who torment the sinners. They described thorny shrubs, seas filled with blood and fire and darkness only illuminated by the flames of hell.<ref name="Lange 2016 Introducing Hell in Islamic Studies"/> One popular concept arrange the earths as follows:<ref>Miguel Asin Palacios Islam and the Divine Comedy Routledge 2013 ISBN 978-1-134-53650-4 page 88-89</ref><ref>Patrick Hughes, Thomas Patrick Hughes ''Dictionary of Islam'' Asian Educational Services 1995 {{ISBN|978-81-206-0672-2}} p. 102</ref> #'''Adim''' or '''Ramaka''' (رمکا) - the surface, on which humans, animals and [[jinn]] live on. #'''Basit''' or '''Khawfa''' (خوفا) #'''Thaqil''' or ''''Arafa''' (عرفه) - anthechamber #'''Batih''' or '''Hadna''' (حدنه) - a valley with stream of boiling sulphur. #'''Hayn''' or '''Dama''' (دمَا) #'''[[Sijjin]]''', (سجىن dungeon or prison) or '''Masika''' (sometimes, Sijjin is at the bottom) - [[Quran 83:7]] #'''[[Nar as-samum|Nar as-Samum]]''', '''[[Zamhareer]]''' or '''As-Saqar''' / '''Athara''',<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tottoli |first1=Roberto |last2=توتولي |first2=روبرتو |title=The Qur'an, Qur'anic Exegesis and Muslim Traditions: The Case of zamharīr (Q. 76:13) Among Hell's Punishments / القرآن والتفاسير والروايات الاسلامية: سورة الانسان آية رقم 13: الزمهرير من ألوان العقوبة في جهنم |journal=Journal of Qur'anic Studies |date=2008 |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=142–152 |doi=10.3366/E1465359109000291 |jstor=25728276 }}</ref> or '''Hanina''' (حنينا) - venomous wind of fire and a cold wind of ice. ===Baháʼí Faith=== In the [[Baháʼí Faith]], the conventional descriptions of hell and heaven are considered to be symbolic representations of spiritual conditions. The [[Baháʼí literature|Baháʼí writings]] describe closeness to God to be heaven, and conversely, remoteness from God as hell.<ref name="lafd">{{cite book | title = Life After Death: A study of the afterlife in world religions | last = Masumian | first = Farnaz | publisher = Oneworld Publications | location = Oxford | year = 1995 | isbn = 978-1-85168-074-0}}</ref> The Baháʼí writings state that the soul is immortal and after death it will continue to progress until it finally attains [[God in the Baháʼí Faith|God's presence]].<ref>[[Baháʼu'lláh]], [[Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼu'lláh]], ed. by US Baháʼí Publishing Trust, 1990, pp. 155-156.</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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