Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Humanities/2015 May 2

Humanities desk
< May 1	<< Apr | May | Jun >>	May 3 >

Welcome to the Wikipedia Humanities Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is an archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the current reference desk pages.

May 2

Hell and Punishment

Who punishes people in hell? Does God punish people in hell? Does the Devil punish people in hell?

Johngot (talk) 02:38, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

Under which belief system? If you really want to know (instead of merely trying to start a lively discussion, which is NOT what this place is for) read the article titled Hell and follow links from there to learn more. --Jayron32 02:40, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

Under the belief system to which I subscribe, Hell is not a place, but an event that is yet to occur on Earth. This event is a great cleansing, where the unsaved, including Satan are destroyed, by God. Plasmic Physics (talk) 04:49, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

You last edited the article Hell on the 22nd of April. Did you read it at the same time? Nanonic (talk) 02:43, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

If you're Bimbo, it's Betty Boop. If you're there for stealing chickens, the whole graveyard joins in. If you're Pluto (the dog, not the god), a jury of cats. If you're Pluto (the god, not the dog), it's up to you. InedibleHulk (talk) 08:47, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

What if you're a dyslexic god? -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 21:04, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

You win today's Antique Joke Revival award. :) ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:12, 2 May 2015 (UTC))

I guess I'd damn you all to EHLL. InedibleHulk (talk) 16:52, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

See Ecclesiastes 9:10.—Wavelength (talk) 18:46, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

In Buddhism and Hinduism (yes, there is a hell in those religions): Folks who were reincarnated for that purpose. These beings are roughly equal to equal to humanity in terms of Karma, slightly more or less depending on tradition.

I beg to differ. Buddhism has no hell - not original pure Buddhism. Hells and Heavens were all created later to please the little people in the suffering populace who were unable to let go of their original teachings of Gods and heaven in their former religions. Karma does NOT mean what you did in a past life. It means what you did immediately prior to your present action. There is no soul, no spirit, no reincarnation - except the fact that your body and mind is contantly reincarnating itself. When talking in a discussion about God, Devil, and Hell, don't bring Buddhism into it, as it is completely irrelevant. You've been reading too much Christmas Humphries. KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 11:58, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

In Christianity: Some popular medieval and renaissance commentaries liked the imagery of fallen angels inflicting relevant punishments, but hell in the Bible and in theology tends to be more of an environmental or existential hazard than a place where certain beings actively punish people. Meister Eckhart seemed to describe the warmth of God's love and the fires of hell as the same thing just perceived differently (burning away one's sins or burning away one's attachments). C. S. Lewis leaned toward self-inflicted (if not self-enforced) punishment. The verse in Ecclesiastes referenced by Wavelength calls back to an older tradition: that "hell" is mostly the realm of the dead, which is just full of suck rather than active punishment (although Sarte was an atheist, think of his quote "Hell is other people"). The fire and brimstone punishment place would be Gehenna, where only major dicks like Hitler would go, and that's still more of an environmental hazard than active torture by an outside agent.

In Gnosticism: We're already here, and are either being punished or tested by the archons (lion-headed serpents or worms that are the spirits of the seven classical planets).

In Islam: Angels appointed by God for the purpose of punishing evildoers. Mystical interpretations may vary.

In Judaism: No one, as far as I've found. Sheol and Gehenna may play a part, or "distance from God" may be the explanation, as can reincarnation.

In Scientology: Hell was a movie that Xenu brainwashed a bunch of dead aliens with billions of years ago, which now inhabit your body. Finding out that these aliens exist and how to get rid of them costs a ton of money. Ian.thomson (talk) 21:26, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

Maybe that's why I can't get "You Should Be Dancin'" out of my head. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:44, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

There are many religions, like neopagan revivals and (some think) early Judaism, hell wasn't and isn't a punishment, because everyone goes there. In most of the older forms of Christianity, the demons do the punishment. There is some question in some forms of Christianity exactly when the damned arrive at Hell. Some think it isn't until after the Last Judgment, pretty much the same time that the demons themselves are permanently sent to Hell, some think earlier. The basic idea about what happens after the Last Judgment in Christianity is that the damned humans and angels all are at least in Hell then, and the fallen angels, probably having more power, can make it more painful for the less powerful dead humans. But it is generally agreed that, at least in most forms of Christianity, God does not actively punish those in hell, although their being separated from his presence is a form of passive punishment. In the majority of the branches of Christianity, it is the demons of hell who both punish the humans and, to an extent, each other. In non-Christian religions, well, they vary a lot on this matter. John Carter (talk) 22:20, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

This depends on whatever particular work of fiction you're following. Also, this should be in Entertainment, as it's a (poorly specified) literature question. 82.21.7.184 (talk) 23:24, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

Literature is normally part of the Humanities topic. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:04, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

In Roman Catholisism in which I was brought up and have not subscribed to for a long time, Hell was quite clearly the place where the Devil and his demons poked you with pitch forks and fire brands for eternity. Vespine (talk) 04:22, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

And of course, after a few days or weeks of this treatment, you would soon get used to it. Like a heavy cold or a fungal infection - it just gets bad, and then just stays bad, not getting any worse, so you learn to live with it. Eternity is a long time. What I would like to know is how they make duplicates of the bodies that are just buried/cremated for all of this poking. And why is it considered taboo amongst S&M followers? KägeTorä - (^影_虎) (もしもし！) 11:44, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

versus symbol

Is there a symbol for versus? (I haven't posted this on the math desk but i hope someone will look at this.)96.52.0.249 (talk) 05:56, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

Your question is broad, though your parenthetical remark indicates that it has to do with mathematics. In law, the common abbreviation is "v." See Case citation. Cullen³²⁸ Let's discuss it 06:15, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

In sports, the common abbreviation is "vs." here is the word at Oxford dictionaries, and here is a nice explanation of how to use which abbreviation. --Jayron32 14:16, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

See wikt:versus.—Wavelength (talk) 15:50, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

The above answers relate to abbreviations, but the question asked for a symbol. If there was a symbol you would expect to find it in the gigantic Unicode character set. Here is the list of all characters in the current version of Unicode, including both their official Unicode names as well as alternate names they are known by (marked with "="). The only character with a name or alternate name using the word "versus" is character 1F19A. If your computer can display it, you'll see it here: 🆚. If not, you can see it on this code chart. It simply consists of the letters VS with a square around them, and in fact its official Unicode name is "SQUARED VS". --174.88.134.161 (talk) 19:03, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

That's a stylized "vs" but it's still a "vs". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 21:19, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

In German, there is a symbol "./." (w/o quotes) which means "versus" in legal writing (link, also [1]) Asmrulz (talk) 16:33, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

Partwork magazines

Hi all, do you know if there is a link on the internet where I can find a list of all or most partwork magazines released since 2000; I'm hoping to get some cheap on ebay. European magazines, please if possible --Andrew 18:13, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

(for potential answerers, see partwork. 184.147.117.34 (talk) 17:33, 3 May 2015 (UTC))