Introduction

The host introduces the show and the guests.

• The show is called "Hell Challenge".

• Two guests, Emad Mcjinxed and Lotfy Mcdepressed, are introduced.

• Emad and Lotfy will answer torturing questions to win the game.

Torturing Questions

Emad and Lotfy answer torturing questions to win the game.

First Question

• Mention a Ramadan drink that tortures you when you drink it!

• Liquorice!

• Bingo!

Second Question

• Mention a text message that tortures you on the inside when you read it!

• When you send a meme to your friend and he says he already saw it.

• Bravo! A point to Emad because he said something we all relate to with our friends.

Third Question

• Mention a situation that tortures you when you talk to your girlfriend.

• I don't know, I never talked to a girl before.

• The button segment was cancelled for technical issues.

Tie-Breaking Question

• How many ear-bleeding sounds can you mention in 10 seconds?

• One.

• Two.

• Three.

• Four.

• Five. You win. Now Emad will tell us five ear-bleeding sounds in 10 seconds. Go!

• A kid crying in a cinema.

• A kid crying on a plane.

• A rapper without auto-tune.

• A 7am alarm.

• This man's crying!

Dante's Inferno

The host talks about Dante's Inferno and describes the circles of hell.

• Dante's Inferno is an epic poem divided into three chapters: "Hell", "Purgatory", and "Heaven".

• The most famous chapter is "Hell".

• Hell is described as a deep abyss, shaped like an inverted cone in the core of the earth.

• Hell is divided into 9 rings or circles, each circle separated by fire walls.

• Each circle represents man's sins, from limbo to treachery.

• The punishment for sinners differs from a circle to another, from stings of vermins and hornets to vicious monsters that tear bodies apart.

• Lucifer, the devil, is located at the core of hell.

The History of Hell

In this section, Abo Hmeed discusses the history of hell and how it has been imagined throughout different cultures and time periods.

Imagining Hell in Ancient Times

• Dante's Inferno was influenced by Roman and Greek myths as well as ancient epics. Virgil's epic Aeneid served as Dante's guide in hell.

• Homer described the underworld in The Iliad and The Odyssey, which included devils, hell rivers, and Ulysses' visit to the underworld.

• Abu al-Alaa al-Maarri's "The Epistle of Forgiveness" also attempted to describe hell before Dante.

• The idea of hell existed in man's mind since prehistoric times when they imagined death wasn't the end but rather a break where man would rest for a while then get back to his life in the same world.

Early Conceptions of Hell

• Primitive peoples believed that after death, everyone would go to a gloomy place called hell regardless of whether they were good or evil.

• Man imagined he'd be a ghost where everything around him would be a phantom or negative image of his past life.

• Some tribes believed that the dead formed their active parallel society where they could hunt, travel, watch the living, help them remember important information through dreams or even harm them.

Gradual Development of Hell

• Over time, disobedience started to appear but not sinners. Disobedient people were those who didn't fit into their tribe or threatened its social coherence.

• Siberian and Middle Asian tribes made primitive attempts to imagine hell through Shamans who had special powers allowing their souls to leave their bodies. They accompanied the dead on their way to hell.

The Underworld in Different Cultures

In this section, the speaker talks about different cultures' beliefs about the underworld and how it was perceived.

Beliefs of Different Cultures

• The Mongolian people believed that the underworld was ruled by Erlik Khan, who was equivalent to the devil.

• In Europe, Scandinavian and Germanic peoples believed in a place called "Hel," which was a dark, cold, and frozen pit underground. It had fog everywhere, but living people could visit that place and return if something expensive was lost or something.

• To reach Hel, one would need to pass through dark and deep valleys in a 9-night travel until they'd reach a golden bridge. At the end of it lied the glorious walls of Hel.

• Some Central American cultures like the Inca and Maya reached the idea of judgment day but still didn't have people living happier than others living in misery.

• At that time, individualism was strange. People had to be incorporated within the group to adapt and live well.

Passing Through Hell

This section describes what happens when someone passes through hell.

Journey Through Hell

• To enter hell, one must go beneath a mountain down a hole leading to the underworld.

• The most dangerous part is passing on a very narrow bridge with the width of hair under which there is a bottomless abyss.

• Hell is for the ignorant, idiots, and naive.

• The underworld master, Erlik Khan, welcomed humans with anger but could be calmed down through songs, drinking, and offerings.

• The idea of eternal torture was not brought up yet.

Valhalla

This section talks about the Viking's belief in Valhalla.

Beliefs About Valhalla

• For the Vikings (Norse mythology heroes), there was a special place called Valhalla where only VIP warriors went. It was a fancy mansion filled with parties and feasts.

• Warriors who entered had to come out with their weapons every day to fight in wars under Odin's leadership. They could fight each other or even kill each other.

• If you were lucky and your life was smooth, then you'd continue that way in the afterlife. But if you were unlucky and miserable, then you'd be the same after death.

Conclusion

In this section, the speaker concludes by summarizing what has been discussed.

Final Thoughts

• At that time, there was no place for individualism; it was a package trip.

• People's fate in the underworld wasn't determined according to good or evil deeds but according to their status on earth.

• Most of the underworld trips were based on tests where those failing are who didn't respect the concept of a group nor practiced its traditions.

The Evolution of Belief in Gods and the Emergence of Moral Codes

In this section, the speaker discusses the evolution of belief in gods and how it was marked by scientists. He explains that there were two phases: Polytheism and Henotheism. He also talks about how civilizations established moral codes as they evolved.

Phases of Belief in Gods

• Scientists marked two phases of belief in gods: Polytheism and Henotheism.

• In Polytheism, every head of a big family would choose whatever god he liked to worship, resulting in tribes containing tens or hundreds of gods.

• In Henotheism, among these hundreds of gods, one god would have more likelihood than others due to a power dynamic. This god would be mostly the greater god of the biggest tribe whom all tribes submit to it.

Emergence of Moral Codes

• As civilizations flourished and started establishing concepts like statehood, moral codes were formed along the way.

• With larger amounts of people such as army workers and farmers needing to cope with each other, trust became important leading to laws and moral standards being set up.

• With the emergence of states came the idea of judgment day where there would be dead resurrection for hell to turn into a place ruled by a superpower aiming to retribute from whoever broke moral laws.

Evolution Of Hell

• The concept of hell evolved parallelly with civilization. According to George Benoit's History Of Hell writer, with the emergence of states came new ideas on hell where individuals had more importance.

• Ancient Egyptian mythology provided richer concepts on hell where the fate of the dead depended on their actions throughout life, whether good or evil.

• Evil was focused on a society that considered good deeds as respecting the rules of farming, like irrigation, land borders, and the rights of farmers working. The good deeds were not cheating in scales, not being careless of your work, not having a dirty-work hand.

Judgment Day

• In the new hell, individuals would be judged twice: once by the state's ruler and another by the gods after death because they broke the ruler's laws.

• Here, gods' justice matches kings' justice and completes it. When you mess with social systems you mess with universe systems causing chaos which is evil incarnate.

• The dead testifies this when he's resurrected in front of 42 judges of Osiris's court.

Hell in Different Religions

In this section, the speaker discusses different concepts of hell in various religions.

Ancient Egyptian Concept of Hell

• The ancient Egyptians imagined a mythical creature called Ammit, who had the body of a lion and the head of a crocodile.

• The torment in ancient Egyptian hell was not only physical but also affected the soul and shadow.

• The aim of torment in ancient Egyptian hell was to vanish people who spread chaos in society.

Hinduism Concept of Hell

• In Hinduism, evil is represented by selfish people who prioritize personal glory over the good of others.

• Hinduism's concept of hell includes 16 layers, with eight layers each of fire and ice.

• Those condemned to cold hell pass through frozen plains and mountains until their bodies freeze to the point where they crack. Then they move on to hot hell, which is like a huge metal furnace with immensely high temperatures where they suffer from a series of horrible torments.

Buddhism Concept of Hell

• No specific information provided about Buddhism's concept of hell.

Zoroastrianism Concept of Hell

• Zoroastrianism believed that there were two opposite souls branched off from one god: one chose good while the other chose evil.

• According to Zoroastrian belief, after death, the soul leaves the body to be judged by Mithra, an afterlife judge.

Comparison Across Religions

• Despite presenting harsh forms of torment for sinners, Hinduism offers hope that souls get a second chance to return to earth and fix their mistakes.

• The type of new life and status in Hinduism is determined by Karma, which can result in being reincarnated as a lower status human or creature.

• Zoroastrianism highlights the clear difference between good and bad, with the war between gods of good and evil remaining until the end of the world.

The Concept of Hell in Different Cultures

In this section, the speaker discusses the concept of hell in different cultures and religions. He talks about Zoroastrianism's belief that people who neither went to heaven nor hell enter a neutral place, Dante's Divine Comedy, and Greek epics and myths.

The Concept of Hell in Zoroastrianism

• According to Zoroastrianism, people who neither went to heaven nor hell enter a neutral place between heaven and hell as faint ghost shadows.

• These people are not wanted by either heaven or hell because they didn't have the courage to choose between good and evil.

The Abyss of Hell

• The soul passes on a bridge as thin as a sword's edge that seems vast for the good soul but small for the evil soul.

• The abyss reaches down to the center of the earth with several layers where sinners are placed according to the severity of their evil.

• Unfortunately, there aren't many descriptions left from Zoroastrian texts about the types of hell in their belief except that it's extremely dark and cold and lasts for a long time. They eat there blood, puss, and puke, and devils torture them while impersonating their sins. A day in these torments is equal to 3000 human years until judgment day or the end of the world when an alive savior comes along who will enter a final battle with evil and purge the world with fire vanishing evils and doomed ones at the bottom of hell.

The Concept of Hell in Greek Epics and Myths

• Greek epics and myths saw hell as a place that can be visited by heroes and gods.

• Hell was also the place where Zeus sent the ones who disobeyed him for eternal torment.

• Torture in hell is for a small amount of people, the ones who committed things beyond what normal people do, where the motive behind these actions wasn't absolute evil but sometimes good behavior like Prometheus' attempt to steal fire from the gods and give it to people. He was punished by being tied to a rock with an eagle eating his liver, which grows daily for the torture to restart. Not just that, even the desire for heroism and glory like Sisyphus who was condemned to lift up a huge rock to the mountain top and every time he almost reached the top, the rock slides down to the bottom.

Alternative Concepts of Hell

• Lucretius wrote in his book "Nature of things" that hell isn't in the underground but life itself and your mere existence is hell. Living with anxiety, scared of everything from death, pain, punishments, loss, disease; this existential anxiety that you live is hell that you can't escape except by death. The philosophy embraced by Lucretius led him to lose all hope in life and suicide at 45 years old.

• Plato thought there had to be life after death so he created philosopher's hell as political and social legislation.

Plato's Utopia and the Concept of Hell

This section discusses Plato's idea of achieving a perfect and just world, as well as the concept of hell in literature and art.

Plato's Idea of a Perfect World

• Plato believed that achieving a perfect and just world was important.

• He believed that politics was one area where sins could not be fixed.

• The focus was on creating a perfect world rather than individual sins.

The Concept of Hell in Literature and Art

• Virgil, an ancient poet, wrote about the third hell which was inspired by man's imagination before religions.

• In his epic poem, Aeneid, he described punishment for crimes of mundane nature according to Roman law.

• Rodin, a French sculptor, created "Gates of Hell" based on Dante's Divine Comedy.

• The sculpture features people facing their torture in hell.

• Modern philosophers believe that man can create heaven or hell on earth through his actions.

Auguste Rodin's "Gates of Hell"

This section focuses on Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture "Gates of Hell" and its significance.

The Creation of "Gates of Hell"

• Rodin was commissioned to create the design for the main gate to the Museum of Visual Arts in Paris.

• He drew inspiration from Dante's Divine Comedy and created "Gates of Hell".

• The sculpture features people facing their torture in hell.

Significance

• "Gates of Hell" symbolizes the strength of man because it represents his mind and creativity.

• It highlights the concept of hell on earth that man created himself through his actions.

The Concept of Hell in Literature and Philosophy

This section discusses how literature and philosophy have explored the concept of hell on earth.

Literature

• Baudelaire's "Flowers of Evil" describes the ugliness of an abnormal world and everyday life that looks like hell.

• Balzac's "Human Comedy" presents a world that is not less harsh than Dante's imagined hell.

• Tolstoy and Dostoevsky uncover the hell created by poverty in Russia.

Philosophy

• Sartre wrote, "Hell is other people".

• Modern philosophy believes that man can only live in hell, which is caused by human suffering.

• Man can create heaven or hell on earth through his actions.

Conclusion

This section concludes the video and summarizes its main points.

• Every attempt to defeat disease, poverty, or famine, replace war with peace, and injustice with justice is an attempt to defeat hell.

• Man can create heaven or hell on earth through his actions.

• Western thinkers believe that heaven remains humanity's hope for a better world.