The stories and legends about the eternally burning hell that torments souls must obviously be kept warm. A list of “blessed” and “saints” show the “evidence” of such a place of never-ending horror.
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Hell on the church warming plate
The churches still teach about hell as a place of eternal mental torment. A brew of burning sulfur in an environment of constantly blazing fire. This horror image must have been brought into the world at some point, somewhere, by someone. At least the Bible does not provide any information about such a place with such characteristics.
The Roman Catholic Church is traditionally the pioneer of these horror visions. Their so-called church fathers were also the pioneers of the traditions that have been retained to this day and are completely alien to the gospel. The Catholic magazine “Catholic News Agency” (CNA) describes many of the authors and advocates of this depiction of hell, which is still maintained today.
A view from Teresa of Avila
Accordingly, some representatives in the Roman Church were of the opinion that Hell looked as it was regularly portrayed. These include “saints” and “blesseds”, such as “Saint” Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582), a Carmelite and mystic. She was a so-called Doctor of the Church and a contemporary of the recently started Reformation. In her autobiography, Teresa described how it seemed to her that she was in a very long alley and that this represented an entrance. The Lord wanted to show her hell, a “very low, dark and narrow furnace” with a mud-covered, foul-smelling floor.
Views of Francisca of Rome
According to the stories, “Saint” Francis of Rome (1384-1440), a founder of an order and mystic, had a similar vision. However, her story does not come from first hand, but from her confessor Juan Mattiotti. According to his stories, Frazinska saw an “extremely large and terrible abyss.” A sign was also visible that read: “This is hell, where there is no rest, comfort or hope.”
An illustration by Emmerick
In the history of the Roman Church there was another woman with visions. The “blessed” Anna Katharina Emmerick (1774-1824). She sang in the Augustinian choir and was a mystic. According to Katharina’s descriptions, hell consists of a “huge, dark building illuminated by metallic light.” There is an entrance with “huge black doors with locks and bolts.”
The Kowalska’s view of hell
With “Saint” Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), nun and mystic, hell was expanded. There are “caves and torture pits” for all kinds of torment. “The Torments for God the Father”.
According to CNA, God the Father himself spoke directly to some “saints.” This was the case with “Saint” Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), a doctor of the church, “consecrated virgin” and mystic. God the Father told her that there were four main torments in hell, each with its own characteristic pain. One of these “torment types” is based on the inedible, immaterial soul. In his “divine justice,” God the Father allows these souls to burn with suffering, to be tormented and not consumed. This suffering comes in different forms, depending on the variety of sins and the severity of the guilt.
The Visions of Vorágine
According to the CNA list, the “blessed” Santiago de la Vorágine (1230-1298), Dominican and Bishop of Genoa, is the first man. Santiago tells in his work “Golden Legend”(!) about a “holy” abbot Macarius. He was a great “demon fighter”. It is not clear whether this abbot fought against demons or was one himself. According to legend, he found a skull. After this discovery, Santiago prayed to God and asked for clarification as to who this skull belonged to and where his soul was now. It was not God who answered, but the skull itself. It belonged to a pagan and his soul was now burning in hell. “Bad Christians” were also present, all of whom treated the “blood of Christ with which they were redeemed” with disrespect. Prayers, penance and sacrifices would have helped these sinners avoid hell during their lifetime.
The “Great Vision” of Fátima
Supporting this call for sacrifices was the “Apparition of Our Lady” (Mary) to the three children of Fátima on July 13, 1917. Two of the children, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, were canonized by the church. The third child, Lucia dos Santos, is considered “venerable.” Accordingly, “Our Lady” asked the children “to make sacrifices for sinners and to say often, especially when sacrificing: O Jesus, this is done out of love for you, for the conversion of sinners and as reparation for the insults that committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”
According to the Fátima legend, a vision of hell followed for the children. Lucia told this story:
“Rays of light seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw as if it were a sea of fire. In this fire were immersed demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished of bronze, which floated about in the conflagration and were now lifted into the air by the flames that rose from within them, together with great clouds of smoke , which now fell back on all sides like sparks in huge fires, without weight or balance, amid screams and groans of pain and despair that horrified us and made us tremble in fear. (It must have been this sight that made me scream as people say they heard me). The demons were distinguished by their frightening and repulsive resemblance to terrible and unknown animals, black and transparent as burning coals.“
According to the Fátima legend, the children were frightened and asked the reason for this vision. Mary replied:
“To save them, God wants to establish the worship of my Immaculate Heart in the world. If what I tell you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.“
Mary then asked us to pray the Rosary according to each mystery: “O my Jesus, forgive us, save us from the fire of hell”.
Many things from mysticism
It might seem as if the vision of hell taught by the Roman Catholic Church comes from a “female domain.” In addition, the “field” of mysticism seems to be a prerequisite for such inspirations. What could still be understood in the deepest darkness of the Dark Middle Ages caused by the Roman Catholic Church, to frighten the gullibility of people who are kept away from the truth with such horror stories, would seem almost impossible today, even ridiculous.
Each story depicts hell in a different looking form. The oven according to “Saint” Teresa of Avila was reminiscent of the Brothers Grimm’s retelling of “Hensel and Gretel”. The motive for such fear-mongering on the part of the church is obvious and this also explains the story of Fátima. Accepting the erroneous dogmas of the Church of Rome. Righteousness by works (Info), Salvation through pagan babble (Rosary – Info) and the fundamental belief in an immortal soul (Info).
An ancient fairy tale of paganism
Hell, as retold by the Roman Catholic and also the former Protestant churches, is a fantasy product of mystics. The ancient Egyptians already developed such an underworld and experienced a climax under Pharaoh Tutmosis III. Part (around a third) of the obelisk he erected is now located in Lateran Square in Rome, in front of the main church of the Roman Catholic institution. This hellish drama received further development in the Hellenistic period between Homer and Plato.
The Roman Catholic Church accepted these visions of hell into their teachings with open hearts and also brought them into harmony with the teachings of the biblical serpent in the Garden of Eden (Info). An almost fraternal closeness can be seen in the parallel between the Roman Catholic hell and the Islamic version. As if the identical author only intended differences in a few nuances.
The Bible actually says something about “hell”. It is merely a term, but it describes something completely different than what is glorified by the Church of Rome. Behind the word “hell” in the Bible are the Hebrew (OT) or Greek (NT) meanings for a grave or a place in Israel that still exists today (Info).
