Spiritual Warfare
Hell appears in several mythologies and religions.
It is commonly inhabited
by
demons and the souls of dead people.
Hell is often depicted in art and literature.
Polytheism
Ancient Egypt
With the
rise of the cult
of
Osiris
during
the
Middle Kingdom
the
“democratization of religion” offered to even his humblest followers
the
prospect of eternal life,
with
moral fitness
becoming the dominant factor
in
determining a persons suitability.
At death a person faced judgment by a tribunal of forty-two divine judges.
If they led a life in conformance with the precepts of the
Goddess Maat,
who represented truth and right living, the person was welcomed into the Two Fields.
If found guilty the person was thrown to a
“devourer”and didn't share in eternal life.
The person who is taken by the devourer is subject first to terrifying punishment and then annihilated.
These depictions of punishment may have influenced medieval perceptions of the
inferno in hell
via
early
Christian and Coptic texts.
Purification for those who
are
considered justified
may be found in the descriptions of“Flame Island”,
where they experience the triumph over evil and rebirth.
For the dammed complete destruction into a state of non being awaits but there is no suggestion of eternal torture;
the weighing of the heart in Egyptian Mythology can lead to annihilation.
Divine pardon at judgement was always a central concern for the Ancient Egyptians.
Hell appears in several mythologies and religions.
It is commonly inhabited
by
demons and the souls of dead people.
Hell is often depicted in art and literature.
Polytheism
Ancient Egypt
With the
rise of the cult
of
Osiris
during
the
Middle Kingdom
the
“democratization of religion” offered to even his humblest followers
the
prospect of eternal life,
with
moral fitness
becoming the dominant factor
in
determining a persons suitability.
At death a person faced judgment by a tribunal of forty-two divine judges.
If they led a life in conformance with the precepts of the
Goddess Maat,
who represented truth and right living, the person was welcomed into the Two Fields.
If found guilty the person was thrown to a
“devourer”and didn't share in eternal life.
The person who is taken by the devourer is subject first to terrifying punishment and then annihilated.
These depictions of punishment may have influenced medieval perceptions of the
inferno in hell
via
early
Christian and Coptic texts.
Purification for those who
are
considered justified
may be found in the descriptions of“Flame Island”,
where they experience the triumph over evil and rebirth.
For the dammed complete destruction into a state of non being awaits but there is no suggestion of eternal torture;
the weighing of the heart in Egyptian Mythology can lead to annihilation.
Divine pardon at judgement was always a central concern for the Ancient Egyptians.
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