Forum: Story Ideas

When I say escape, it is because exiting Hell is not an easy task. There is a "wall" , so to speak, separating Heaven, hell, and earth (according to biblical teaching). and there are those who are "bound" not able or allowed to escape, i.e Satan and those sentenced to Hell by God. So yes, there are Guards, walls and I am sure, pursuers.

So yes, there are Guards, walls and I am sure, pursuers.

If that is the case, as I asked earlier, who are those guards and persuers? I've never read or heard of a heavenly recruiter seeking volunteers to walk the walls of hell.

Then again whilst hell might be well populated, at present heaven is almost empty (according to biblical teaching), so it would seem unlikely a recruiter would have much success.

According to theology, Angels are the guards of Hell. That has taken a bit more research than anticipated due to finding which of the different types of angels have that duty. Each type of heavenly being has a distinct purpose. It was something I was thinking of for a storyline.

That has taken a bit more research than anticipated due to finding which of the different types of angels have that duty.

Perhaps your research has revealed why hell needs guarding? If god is all knowing, all seeing and omnipotent, as well as being the only one to cast anyone into hell, (which he created) why is escape considered possible? It should not need to be guarded.

Actually God didn't create Hell (or I can find nothing to say it. He created Heaven and Earth.) He USES Hell as a prison for the doomed souls. It needs guarding to prevent DEMONS from escaping. God DOES NOT have rule over Hell. Satan does and ONLY Satan is bound there.

Actually God didn't create Hell (or I can find nothing to say it. He created Heaven and Earth.)

Try google... Lots of result, widely varying opinions between churches, of course.

However, almost all agree that, "in the beginning there was nothing". So, either god created hell, or to pre-existed, which would mean there wasn't 'nothing' to begin with.

Next is might be worth your reading a bible, it seems that hell was created by god to punish the devil when he was cast from heaven. So it seems the devil isn't the prison governor, more prisoner #1.

Please note these are not my options, they are taken from the bible and church teaching. Not that I care about the history of anyone's imaginary friend.

He USES Hell as a prison for the doomed souls.

What/whose doomed souls..??

Next is might be worth your reading a bible, it seems that hell was created by god to punish the devil when he was cast from heaven. So it seems the devil isn't the prison governor, more prisoner #1.

Where is that found in the Bible, please?

Where is that found in the Bible, please?

It seems that;

There is a common misconception that Satan is in charge of hell and that he and his demons live there and use their pitchforks to torment souls for eternity. This concept has no basis in Scripture whatsoever. In fact, Satan will be one of the tormented in the lake of fire, not the tormentor (Revelation 20:10).

It quotes Rev 20:10 as;

and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Source (Just one of many)

So, either god created hell, or to pre-existed, which would mean there wasn't 'nothing' to begin with.

Or Lucifer(AKA Satan), the most powerful of the archangels, created it as a base of operations for his revolt against god that got him imprisoned there in the first place.

She said there were no (other) supernatural beings,

Ok, so in that case, why waste a commandment ordering your followers with "You shall have no other gods before Me." ?? If none existed, that commandment would be pointless.

ps

Have you given Marvel Comics the good news?

What???? You mean Marvel's superheros aren't real?

Relax..!! They are as real Santa Claus... :)

Not if I wasn't one of the super heroes.

Ok.

Good news..!! You are a Superhero in your multiverse.

Bad news.. Your character was deemed 'offensive' by the PC brigade.

Why is that any different than this universe?

Was it meant to be?

My own brief foray into religious stories has elicited two principal types of feedback - hilarity at my lack of religious knowledge and requests for more stories involving Satan.

Mine attracted a devout catholic intent on saving my soul via vitriolic feedback, used to brighten my mornings reading the latest rant. Gave up eventually, seems I'm beyond redemption. (Or just ask too many awkward questions).

:)

My favourite SOL complaint so far - I write a explicitly religious story with clear identification, and I'm told that I should remove the religious parts because the reader doesn't like them.

Somebody needs to start a thread where authors can post 'comments' received. To be fair, without mentioning who made them.

Somebody needs to start a thread where authors can post 'comments' received.

Oooh, that's a big can of worms. I like the idea :D

Oooh, that's a big can of worms. I like the idea :D

Ever had a day when you can't see a can of worms without opening it..? I have a lot of those days...

I actually think it would be a good idea, not because it would hold the commenter up to ridicule because they should NOT be identified. What it would do, apart from providing a few wry grins, is demonstrate to other, perhaps newer or more sensitive authors, that they are not alone in receiving unwelcome, visceral, or just plain weird comments.

What it would do, apart from providing a few wry grins, is demonstrate to other, perhaps newer or more sensitive authors, that they are not alone in receiving unwelcome, visceral, or just plain weird comments.

I just can't imagine what kind of person it is that sprouts profanities at authors that provide stories for free and warn before about the possible squicks so they can avoid them. Must be people with IQ's the same as their shoe size;)

Must be people with IQ's the same as their shoe size;)

I doubt it, it's unlikely they could manage any great feats...

How's that for political incorrectness? :)

It's a good start, but I'm sure you can do better.. :)

If true, that would mean the commandments are a purely human invention.

Weird. The commandments are the only 'words of god' in the entire bible that are said to be written by him. So you'd think the commandments would be taken as commands, to be followed exactly, without 'interpretation', apparently not.

I'm not a scholar of the Abrahamic religions

Makes two of us.

wording of the commandments, their intentions, and even how many there are.

I like the story there were 15 but Moses dropped one of the 3 tablets and it broke, so he only had 10 to announce.

I like the story there were 15 but Moses dropped one of the 3 tablets and it broke, so he only had 10 to announce.

Not to mention that he came back down the mountain on a Triumph, not a Harley... :)

You should see an argument between 2nd Amendment scholars for religious splitting of hairs and dancing upon heads of pins about the meaning of Iota.
Even SCOTUS had to play at it with the Heller case, with the right wing of the permanent ruling party claiming it was an individual right, but only as much of a right as they would personally approve of and not a bit more, while the left wing of the permanent ruling party claimed it was an individual right in regards to service to the permanent ruling party and therefore was infringeable in every way.
They all had potential careers as Talmudic scholars.

I've tried to read the Talmud. The one thing I took away from it is it sets out the immutable laws of God, then creates layers of interpretation that reverse those rules, which means a follower can do anything, as long as he pays a Talmudic Scholar to approve it.

Henry VI, Part 2, Act IV, Scene 2

They are commands. Failure to follow them is what led to the Jews wandering the desert for a generation.

Demons wish to escape from hell for the same reason immagrants want to come to the US, to get a better life. In fact I guess you could say they are the FIRST illegal immagrant

According to some mythology, the Gates of Heaven are guarded by United States Marines, so Hell probably has something similar. I would have fun with that. Heaven is guarded by the souls of soldiers and military guys who died fighting for righteous causes, or believed their cause was just, while Hell get's mercenaries and adventures, who were not necessarily bad people, but they went to war for the wrong reasons, and thus guard hell, but are not entirely in hell, while they redeem their souls and prove their worthiness to go to heaven. Actual Nazis SS and War Criminals, rather they believed their cause right or were just in it to fight, or for money, go to hell regardless.

You could also argue that cops fit into this role as guards. Maybe a mid 20th century cop who looked away when the weak were being persecuted by society, or someone who mostly did his job right, but participated in shake downs back when those were still common police practice.

According to some mythology, the Gates of Heaven are guarded

If god exists, is omniscient and all powerful, WHY would heaven need guards..?

To keep out the riff raff, of course.
Also to condition the earthly believers to blind acceptance of heirachical social control.

Meet with a senior politician or civil servant.
If he wants to suppress you you are met by armed security and escorted to the presence.
If he wants to impress you you are met by a senior flunky and escorted to the presence.
If you are there to negotiate as a near equal then you pick up a pass at reception and go straight in.

Politicians would love to be God. They could skip options 2 & 3.

To keep out the riff raff, of course.

What riff raff..?

Supposedly only those judged worthy can ascend to heaven. There is NO mention of any other access, secret passages, hidden staircases etc etc. So again, what riff raff...?

There is a claim that if you put one crab in a bucket you need to put a lid on it to keep the crab from escaping, but if you put a bunch of crabs in the bucket you don't need a lid since if one tries to get out the rest pull it back in.

Demons could easily be imagined to act that way.

So all it would take is a distraction and...

There is a claim

A claim is enough...?

According to the scientific community a theory becomes proven fact if an experiment is designed that can be repeated by others and achieve the same results...

So, you might have a theory that spiders hear through their legs. Experiment: Place spider on desk, shout Boo..!! Spider runs away... Now Remove spiders legs, shout Boo..!! Spider does NOT run away. Therefore spiders hear through their legs.

It might work for crabs, but you'd need to define the type of crab, the dimensions of the bucket and the amount of water it contains. Not to mention the mental state of the crab and quantify its desire to escape.

Then again, basing the actions of demons on the suicidal tendencies of a bunch of crabs... hardly conclusive.

Personally I think you should have chosen lobsters, I LIKE lobsters but have always avoided catching crabs...

Wow. This discussion turned from the topic just a bit, huh.

You're surprised? I thought it was a requirement here on the forum ;)

Man was given free will from God for a purpose after all.

Theist and sexist.

Unless you are acknowledging that women already had free will...?? :)

Thanks for the link. I've added it to my reading list on the basis that he approves of Heinlein and Zelaszney. I read Zelasney's Doorways in the Sand in Analog back in the 70s. A great story.

There are no free wills.

There are many free wills, albeit their given name is often William.

You are assuming they aren't the lawyers.

I'm going to put in a plug for Volentrin's The Fallen.
An excellent story of angels and demons on earth.
https://storiesonline.net/s/47844/the-fallen

There may be something to that.

The word Satan is not a name, it is a job title meaning prosecuting attorney.