Hell and Its Afterlife: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives

283 Pages·2010·6.83 MB·English

by  Isabel Moreira

Hell and its Afterlife
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Edited by
Isabel Moreira and Margaret Toscano
Hell and its afterlife
the notion of an infernal place of punishment for “undesired” elements in human
culture and human nature has a long history both as religious idea and as cultural
metaphor. this book brings together a wide array of scholars who examine
hell as an idea within the Christian tradition and its “afterlife” in historical and
contemporary imagination. leading scholars grapple with the construction and
meaning of hell in the past and investigate its modern utility as a means to describe
what is perceived as horrific or undesirable in modern culture. While the idea of an
infernal region of punishment was largely developed in the context of early Jewish
and Christian religious culture, it remains a central belief for some Christians in the
modern world. Hell’s reception (its “afterlife”) in the modern world has extended
hell’s meaning beyond the religious realm; hell has become a pervasive image and
metaphor in political rhetoric, in popular culture, and in the media.
Bringing together scholars from a variety of fields to contribute to a wider
understanding of this fascinating and important cultural idea, this book will appeal
to readers from historical, religious, literary and cultural perspectives.
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Hell and its afterlife
Historical and Contemporary Perspectives
Edited by
isabel Moreira and Margaret tosCano
University of Utah, USA
© isabel Moreira, Margaret toscano and the contributors 2010
all rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
isabel Moreira and Margaret toscano have asserted their right under the Copyright, designs
and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the editors of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing limited ashgate Publishing Company
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Union road 101 Cherry street
farnham burlington
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Hell and its afterlife : historical and contemporary perspectives.
1. Hell–Christianity. 2. Hell–Christianity–History of doctrines. 3. Hell. 4. Hell in
literature.
i. Moreira, isabel. ii. toscano, Margaret Merrill
236.2’5–dc22
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Moreira, isabel.
Hell and its afterlife : historical and contemporary perspectives / isabel Moreira and
Margaret toscano.
p. cm.
includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-0-7546-6729-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-4094-1751-4
(ebook) 1. Hell—Christianity—History of doctrines. 2. Religion and the arts. 3. Hell.
i. toscano, Margaret Merrill, ii. title.
bt836.3.M65 2010
202’.3—dc22
2010028978

ISBN 9780754667292 (hbk)
ISBN 9781409417514 (ebk)
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Abbreviations ix
Notes on Contributors xi
Acknowledgments xv
introduction: Holding ajar the gates of Hell 1
Isabel Moreira and Margaret Toscano
PArT I THe TrADITIon of HeLL In THe oLD WorLD
1 love is Hell: torment, sex, and redemption in the
Cupid and Psyche Myth 9
Margaret Toscano
2 early Visions of Hell as a Place of education and Conversion 29
Jeffrey A. Trumbower
3 Plucking sinners out of Hell: saint Martin of tours’
resurrection Miracle 39
Isabel Moreira
4 named others and named Places: stigmatization in
the early Medieval afterlife 53
Alan E. Bernstein
5 a franciscan Kind of Hell 73
Megan C. Armstrong
6 Catholic and Protestant Hells in later reformation england 89
Peter Marshall
PArT II THe reCePTIon of HeLL In MoDern TIMes
AnD ConTeMPorAry DIALogue
7 devils Conquering and Conquered: Changing Visions of Hell
in spanish america 103
Fernando Cervantes
vi Hell and its Afterlife
8 Hell with Purgatory and two limbos: the geography and
theology of the Underworld 121
Henry Ansgar Kelly
9 Hell Yes! Hell no! evangelical debates on
eternal Punishment 137
John Sanders
10 turning the devils out of doors: Mormonism and the
Concept of Hell 153
Brian D. Birch
11 James Joyce and the (Modernist) Hellmouth 165
Vincent J. Cheng
12 sin City: Urban damnation in dante, blake, t.s. eliot,
and James thomson 175
Disa Gambera
13 What If It’s Just Good Business? Hell, Business Models,
and the dilution of Justice in Mike Carey’s Lucifer 191
Charles W. King
14 Guardian Demons in Hellboy: Hybridity in Contemporary
american Horror films 203
Sharon Lee Swenson
15 Hell in our Time: Dantean Descent and the Twenty-first Century
“War on Terror” 217
Rachel Falconer
Bibliography 237
Index 263
list of figures
1.1 endymion sarcophagus, roman, marble, c. 200–220 C.e.
(image © the Metropolitan Museum of art, nY) 15
1.2 Endymion Sarcophagus, close-up of lower left
(image © the Metropolitan Museum of art, nY) 17
1.3 roman sarcophagus, marble, c. 190–200 C.e.
(at the Metropolitan Museum of art, nY,
photographed by Corrinne lewis) 21
12.1 gustave doré illustration for Inferno i. 1–3. 1861 177
12.2 sandow birk illustration for Inferno i. 1–3. 2005 178
12.3 sandow birk illustration for Inferno iii. 9–11. 2005 190
13.1 Pain fields (Lucifer, #15, p. 15) © dC Comics.
all rights reserved 198
13.2 the Pain factory (Lucifer, #17, p. 9) © dC Comics.
all rights reserved 199
13.3 lucifer as Ceo with briefcase (Lucifer, #9, p. 22) © dC Comics.
all rights reserved 200
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list of abbreviations
CCCM Corpus Christianorum, continuatio Medievalis. (turnhout,
belgium: brepols)
CCsl Corpus Christianorum, series latina. (turnhout, belgium:
brepols)
Csel Corpus scriptorium ecclesiasticorum latinorum (Vienna)
DTC Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique
MgH Monumenta germaniae historica
MgH, aa Monumenta germaniae historica, auctores antiquissimi
MgH, srM Monumenta germaniae historica, scriptores rerum
Merovingicarum
Mln Modern language notes (baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press)
NPNF Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers (Edinburgh: Grand Rapids,
Michigan).
odCC Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, ed. f.l. Cross, ed. 3,
ed. e.a. livingstone (oxford: oxford University Press, 1997).
PL Patrologiae cursus completus: series latina, ed. J.-P. Migne. 221
vols, (Paris)
sC sources chrétiennes. (Paris: editions du cerf).