quotations about Hell
A dungeon horrible, on all sides round,
As one great furnace flamed; yet from those flames
No light; but rather darkness visible
Served only to discover sights of woe,
Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace
And rest can never dwell, hope never comes
That comes to all, but torture without end
Still urges, and a fiery deluge, fed
With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed.
Such place Eternal Justice has prepared
For those rebellious; here their prison ordained
In utter darkness, and their portion set,
As far removed from God and light of Heaven
As from the centre thrice to th' utmost pole.
JOHN MILTON
Paradise Lost
When I die I don't want no part of heaven.
I would not do heaven's work well.
I pray the devil comes and takes me
To stand in the fiery furnaces of hell.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
"Youngstown", The Ghost of Tom Joad
I told him I believed in hell, and that certain people, like me, had to live in hell before they died, to make up for missing out on it after death, since they didn't believe in life after death, and what each person believed happened to him when he died.
SYLVIA PLATH
The Bell Jar
Hell is the incapacity to be other than the creature one finds oneself ordinarily behaving as.
ALDOUS HUXLEY
Stories
The person who disbelieves in Hell doesn't really believe in Heaven either. He believes in oblivion. He desperately hopes that he'll cease to exist after death. He hopes he'll get away with it after all.
DWIGHT LONGENECKER
Adventures in Orthodoxy
Hell is very likely to be modernization infinitely extended.
TOM STOPPARD
The Invention of Love
Who believes in Hell? Is it a terrible place to which we sinners are condemned? Or is it a place of the imagination, fueled by fears that have built upon the superstitions and religious relics of our society?
S. KAYE SAUNDERS
Hell Exposed
Hell was not part of the original creation. Hell is God's fall-back position. Hell is something God was forced to make because people chose to rebel against him and turn against what was best for them and the purpose for which they were created.
LEE STROBEL
The Case for Faith
One smell of brimstone makes the whole world kin.
GEORGE ADE
"The Fable of How the Canny Commercial Salesman Guessed the Combination", True Bills
Hell will not be a blot on the universe, but an eternal testimony to the ugliness of evil that will prompt wondrous appreciation of a good God's magnificence. That sounds like nonsense to Hell-hating moderns, but it makes perfect sense when we recognize and hate evil for what it is. We each have our preferred ways of sinning, whether as prostitutes, porn addicts, materialists, gossips, or the self-righteous. We all are sinners who deserve Hell.
RANDY ALCORN
If God Is Good
I fear no farther hell than that I feel.
EDWARD YOUNG
Busiris, King of Egypt: A Tragedy
In hell, sinners shall forever lay all the blame on their own wills. Hell is a rational torment by conscience.
RICHARD BAXTER
"The People Who Receive the Saints' Rest", The Saints' Everlasting Rest
The greatest misconception about hell is that it doesn't exist. Just as we believe scientists when they tell us there is such a thing as gravity, so should we believe God when he tells us there is such a place as hell. Many people wonder how a merciful and caring God could send people to such a terrible place. The truth is that God doesn't send anyone to hell; people choose to go there by their own rebellion, and God honors their choice.
RONALD A. BEERS & V. GILBERT BEERS
The Complete Book of Life's Questions
Hell. It's one of those topics you don't bring up in polite conversation. Yet, according to a 2004 Gallup poll, 70 percent of Americans believe in hell. What exactly they believe about hell is not spelled out, but you can be sure that lots of colorful ideas are out there. Unfortunately many of them originate from urban legends, spittle-spewing "fire and brimstone" preachers, and B-grade horror films (or some unfortunate combination of the three).
SEAN MCDOWELL & JONATHAN MORROW
Is God Just a Human Invention?
Hell doesn't come looking for humanity since it's a dead energy field, so it is humanity that is looking for hell.
CHANTHA TAN
Humanity Under Siege in the 21st Century and Why?
Hell doesn't exactly take people to heaven, but the eternal place apart from God sure makes people wonder about heaven. If they're pondering hell, odds are heaven will get some of their attention as well. In that respect, at least the topic of hell could coincide with Judgment Day and serve as a path to heaven.
MICHAEL M. MURRAY
52 Paths to Heaven
My mother once told me she thought hell would be nothing more than being given a glimpse of God--then having it taken away, forever.
GLEN DUNCAN
Talulla Rising
Hell is wanting to be somewhere different from where you are.
GENEEN ROTH
Women
We do not believe in heaven or hell, yet no statistic will ever find that without these blandishments and threats we commit more crimes of greed or violence than the faithful.
CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
God Is Not Great
For then will be the incorruptible Judge,
the terrible judgment-seat,
the answer without excuses,
the inevitable charges,
the stern punishment,
the endless Gehenna,
the pitiless Angels,
the yawning hell,
the roaring stream of fire,
the unquenchable flame,
the dark prison,
the rayless darkness,
the bed of live coals,
the sleepless worm,
the indissoluble chains,
the bottomless chaos,
the impassable wall,
the inconsolable cry,
none to stand by me,
none to plead for me,
none to snatch me out.
LANCELOT ANDREWES
The Private Devotions of Lancelot Andrewes