Mythra

The Roman Aeneas in Virgil's work (written to honor Caesar Augustus in the first century BCE) witnesses Hell's firey waters and the eternal torture of the damned by Hell's keepers:

"From his vantage point, Aeneas can see Phlegethon's rushing, fiery current, which churns the white-hot boulders in the moat. The Fiery Tisiphone, wearing a bloody mantle, guards the unyielding gate from atop an iron tower. The sounds of dragging chains, grating iron, and savage lashings do not drown out the groans and cries of the prisoners, beyond the fortress's three ring of walls." (p. 69. Alan E. Bernstein. The Formation of Hell, Death and Retribution in the Ancient and Early Christian Worlds. 1993. Cornell University Press. Ithaca & London)

From the online article "Hell's Pre-Christian Origins: Hell, Hell-Fire, Dragons, Serpents, and Resurrections"

here

Malachi151

Great, thanks. I have realized that Dante's Divine Comedy is really Greek mythology, as is most Christian art and literature from the 12th-17th centuries.

lpetrich

The burden of proof is on whomever makes the extraordinary claim. And your Aramaic-first hypothesis is such a claim.

It's the same burden that Jesus-mythers are willing to accept, so I don't see why your position is so special.

Except that the NT uses geenna (Gehenna; Strong 1067) several times, and the Septuagint always translates OT Sheol (Strong 07585) as Hades.

judge

But doesn't your position just become blind faith?
We are supposed to accept greek first just because evryone else believes it.

It seems, to me, the best way to conclude these matters is to have the evidence scrutinised by peer review.

I can understand why religious fundamentalists want to believe without any recourse to the evidence.
What baffles me is why infidels and skeptics insist on doing the same.
Shouldn't we form opinions on such things only after thouroughly examining the evidence?

Malachi151

This isn't blind faith, and Christians themselves know they they were written in Greek. There is tons, upon tons of evidence to support that they were written in Greek, and its never even suggested otherwise, with the exception of Matthew, which pretty much everyone now agrees was also written in Greek.

judge

Oh come on!
Something is correct because christians tell us it is. Please don't be ridiculous.




Really.... such as?

Malachi151

How about you do the research yourself, we aren't your personal librarians.