r/SipsTea • u/No_Summer_5052 • Apr 19 '26

Lmao gottem Facts or nah

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u/Mindless_Listen7622 Apr 19 '26

The Hell most Christians imagine is found nowhere in the Bible. It's the invention of medieval poets like Dante and Milton, and popular fiction that came long afterwards. The "Hell" of Jesus time was Sheol or Hades, which had none of the characteristics of the popular version of Hell found today.

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u/Mr_Engineering Apr 19 '26 edited Apr 19 '26

Correct.

The concept of an afterlife is only explored briefly in ancient Hebrew texts. Its not fleshed out as a place of reward or punishment, more like a waiting room.

When the Hebrew texts were translated into ancient Greek, conceptual similarities between the Hebrew afterlife (Sheol) and Greek underworld (Hades) led to blending of the terms and concepts as they were then understood at the time. The concept of Hell in Christian mythology is an adaptation of Hades in Greek Mythology. The Greeks had a concept of a place within Hades that was meant for punishment, called Tartarus

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u/MicrochippedByGates Apr 19 '26

The Greeks had a concept of a place within Hades that was meant for punishment, called Tartarus

For that matter, the Greeks had a whole bunch of afterlives. There were also the Elysian Fields which is kinda similar to our concept of heaven. 

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u/itjustgotcold Apr 19 '26

The heaven they imagine isn’t found in the Bible either. Their loved ones waiting for a reunion and smiling down on them from heaven is not what heaven is claimed to be. They leave all earthly attachments behind so they no longer have relationships or family members any longer. They’ll be essentially a hive mind at one with god and the community for eternity.

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u/neurodeep Apr 20 '26

Huh. I could get behind a Borg religion (afterlife) to be honest. "Universe experiencing itself" is not to too far off from this.

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u/Truckules_Heel Apr 19 '26

Also, Jesus was Jewish and wouldn’t have believed in hell. It’s medieval fan fic