this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2026
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One interpretation is that the denizens of hell actually punish themselves. They know their actions were evil and sent them there, and that they deserve the punishment, so they receive the punishment they think they deserve.
Jason Lee's character in Dogma brings this up. He said that initially Hell was just the absence of God (which in itself is said to be painful), but once humans got there they were so unable to forgive themselves and live without the divine presence that they turned it into a place of unimaginable pain and suffering.
I don't think that's supported by the Bible and I'm not sure if that's a position that was even put forth by later Christian thinkers, but it's all mythology to me anyway and I find the different interpretations interesting.
I'm fairly sure it's the interpretation Dante runs with in Inferno. I have no clue if it was the popular belief at the time, but it does show the idea has been around for at least 700 years or so.
So psychopaths get off scot-free