Memes, Faith, and Hell

Why do some concepts survive? Culture is social - people learn from people Religion is the result of shared ideas Religious ideas that survive offer meaning It is more important to study how an idea survives or evolves than to study how it began in the first place

The Religion and Mortality Not all religions offer salvation Religion offers people a way to rationalize mortality (death) Religious concepts that offer a sense of mystery and hope around the concept of death often outlast others

Morality and Threat The promise of salvation and damnation often play the role of memetic “bait” and “threat” Missionaries during the era of colonization Fundamentalism in the modern era

Punishment - Different Views EASTERN religions and philosophies Buddhism Hinduism Taoism Zoroastrianism

Evil must be outgrown on the road to Nirvana Greed, hatred, and ignorance lead to more suffering. Overcoming these “evils” leads the way to more wisdom and Nirvana Buddhism and evil

Cyclical birth, death, rebirth Different levels of rebirth, different extremes of pleasure and agony Lowest level of rebirth is Nakara People are reborn in Nakara based on previous actions or karma Rebirth into Nakara is not permenant Nakara can be thought of a physical place of various levels Buddhism and hell

Hinduism and evil “Error, evil, and ugliness are not ultimate. Evil has reference to the distance which good has to traverse. [It] has to be outgrown…No man is so utterly evil as to deserve complete castigation….In a continuing evolving universe evil and error are inevitable.” (Radhakrishnan, The Hindu View of Life) Lust, greed, delusion, pride, malice are to be avoided.

Hinduism and hell Birth-death cycle (samsara) influenced by karma and moksha Variety of concepts (Hinduism is more “cultural” than dogmatic) Hell can be metaphorical (a lower spiritual plane) or a physical place of punishment for past sins Rebirth/punishment in hell is not permanent

Taoism and hell No concept of “hell” because there is no immaterial soul and no deity The Tao is everything at all times, including human beings Death brought transcendence (transmigration) to the larger whole, a becoming one with the universe (the Tao)

Zoroastrianism and hell Dualistic approach to good and evil – opposing forces (equal and opposite) The souls of wicked people are punished according to sacred writings Some writings proclaim punishment in hell ends with the coming of three saviors (every 1000 years) One Zoroastrian text describes hell as having various punishments befitting the sin

Punishment - Different Views WESTERN (Abrahamic) religions Islam Judaism Christianity

Islam and sin Humans are born pure and leaning towards goodness Inclination towards evil is seen as going against human nature First order sins concern the honor of God Second order sins are acts such as murder, theft, and sexual impropriety

Islam and hell The Qur’an has concrete descriptions of a garden paradise and a fiery hell Paradise and hell are subdivided according to virtue and sin (how well the word of Allah is obeyed or disobeyed) Worst sin (worst plane of hell) reserved for hypocrites of Allah in word and spirit

Judaism and sin One must overcome sin in life More emphasis is put on the deed instead of the thought One is judged after death based on how well one has lived his/her life

Judaism and hell Closest approximation to hell is Gehenna - a type of purgatory where all souls are cleansed Hell is less physical than a state of mind - extreme shame or deviating from God’s way Deviating/adhering to moral living is neither permanent nor irreversible

Christianity, sin, and hell This is where you take over...