6 VERSIONS OF HELL
July 15, 2009 by Marge Floori
To Christians, Hell is a fiery place where sinners go to burn for eternity when they die.
But check out these wild ideas other religions have about what happens to bad folks:
HINDUISM
Souls get to be reincarnated but first must take a trip to one of 21 different versions of Hell to work off their bad karma.
Some of the possible tortures include getting cooked in a jar or having their eyes eaten by crows. After their punishment is complete, the souls are reborn on Earth as either a human or an animal.
ISLAM
Souls have to cross a narrow bridge to get to Paradise. If a Muslim soul is deemed unworthy it slips off the bridge and falls into a giant crater of fire.
But the good news is that Islam’s leaders aren’t sure whether the sould has to spend eternity down in the crater.
Unfaithful Muslims can eventually be forgiven, but those commit shirk, the sin of polytheism, are punished for eternity.
JAINISM
This religion is a Hindu spin-off that has a record for the most versions of Hell – 8.4 million of them.
BUDDHISM
This religion lists 15 kinds of Hell but only seven of them are hot. To make matters worse, the hot versions include elaborate torture pits. Sufferers are cut in half with saws, repeatedly crushed between large rocks or impaled on flaming spears.
JUDAISM
Orthodox Jews have had many different ideas over the years, including sinners getting boiled in human excrement or having their skins ripped off.
TAOISM
This religion believes Hell is a temple – but it’s filled with demons who are constantly jabbing their victims with sharp swords.
