The Fires of Hell

Aug 27th, 2009, in News, by

The Fires of HellHow hot are the fires in hell and how they are full of women.

Rosnida, a teacher of religion at Pasundan 7 junior high school in Bandung, West Java on 25th August gave a lesson to her third grade class on heaven and hell, and explained that those who performed sholat – the daily prayers that a Muslim is supposed to do – would likely go to heaven, while those who did not pray regularly would go to hell.

She asked for a show of hands of students who often forgot to pray and upon noticing that most of those who admitted to not praying were girls said that hell was full of women who did not pray. She then lit a match, put it out, and went around the class touching the burnt match head against the girls’ hands, explaining that the fires of hell were much hotter than the match.

One girl, Tantri Agustriani (14), attempted to avoid having the match touched against her and suffered a mild burn on her left cheek when the match, accidentally it seems, touched her face. Tantri said detik

A lot of the girls didn’t want their hands touched with the match but the teacher forced it on them.

School principal Eriek Sudeni said it was likely that teacher Rosnida would be punished, however the girl’s parents do not wish Rosnida to be dismissed, but only that in future lessons be more well thought out. banjarmasinpost


63 Comments on “The Fires of Hell”

  1. Oigal says:

    Ah yes…shades of good ol grandma grabbing my little sister twisting her ear and forcing her to stare at one of those twisted paintings of Christ bleeding and crying on the cross..

    “You made Jesus cry because you are naughty”

    Yup..You can’t go past Religion for the very best justifications for child abuse..

  2. timdog says:

    Oigal – my father always used bitterly to tell me about the graphic depictions of hell he and his brother would be subjected to by a doddering Irish priest in Sunday School of a morning.
    He would also tell me how, a few years later, still compelled by a fear of that same hell, he would have to go confession and tell a drooling old man in a wooden box about all the masturbation he’d done that week, before riding his bike home, absolved from sin.
    While he told me this I would squirm in my own adolescent embarresment, but I think the point was to demonstrate how lucky I was not to have to make such admissions myself, and the whole thing therefore could be viewed as merely another kind of [non]religious indoctrination… Still, better than being burnt with a match or having my ear twisted I suppose… What kind of a religious upbringing is the “young family” getting? πŸ˜‰

  3. Ross says:

    Fundamentalists both Christian and Muslim believe that non-believers won’t make it past the Pearly Gates.
    But lots of Christians, and I think Mulsims too, can’t see how good guys and gals of any persuasion would be consigned to Hell.
    We don’t know for sure what awaits us, and if Hell deters folks from doing harm to others, then it’s doing a good job – I certainly hope it is there, toasting Amrozi and his pals, and waiting for the likes of Castro to join Hitler, Stalin and Mao.

  4. sputjam says:

    prophet mohamed was in mecca to abolish a pagan religion embraced by the arabs.
    The arabs ignored him and turned the messages in the koran into their religion, by introducing the hadith and sunnahs.
    600 million muslim think they are following the messages relayed by mohamed whereas in fact, they are followers of the ancient arab religion centred around a stone embeded in the Kaabah(black cubicle). That stone could be remnant of a meteorite that dropped into the dessert. And muslims believe if you kiss the stone, your sin will be erased.

  5. Pena Budaya says:

    he-eh..is it only me who think that freezin’ cold winter must be a hell??

  6. Odinius says:

    If heaven is full of fundamentalists (of any religion), I think I’ll take my chances on the other side!

  7. Pena Budaya says:

    @ Odinius, I will join you.. πŸ˜‰

  8. joao says:

    My ex-minister once warned me solemnly about the hell and eternal damnation that await me as I was leaving his chirch. When I tried to reason with him that it just didn’t feel right for me to stay in the chirch while I can hardly believe in, let alone love god as I did before, his answer was plain & simple: ‘stay because of the terror of hell. It’s completely okay.’

    Perhaps his god is a deranged, cosmic, Robespierresque, sadistic despot in a lamb skin…

  9. The Micra says:

    Indonesians know so much about God. Impressive.
    That probably explains why Indonesia is such a wonderful country and why the Indonesians are such models for the rest of humankind.

  10. mingo says:

    to know what heaven and hell are ,just get married

  11. Oigal says:

    Timdog,

    Lucky the significant other has already been “burnt” by the fundies so the YF is purely secular. Although we do play lets spot the shuttlecock first to call gets 10000Rp. Kinda funny when 1/2 doz people all point and yell at a shuttlecock…”there’s one!! there’s one!”

  12. DumadiSatrio says:

    It is sad, to terrify children with such things. the scars inflicted on the blank canvas of a child’s mind are never fully erased.

    I could never imagine a sadistic god that would create such a thing. When the wicked die, they are dead, and no more, and that is punishment enough, anything beyond that is sadism. Let the evil that men do go to oblivion, why suffer the universe by keeping it alive and wrapping it in more evil.

  13. parvita says:

    Yeah, the more I think about it, sometimes religion is like terrorism by itself. It is like terrorizing children with it’s teaching. If you don’t do this, you go to hell. I think it is terrorism. And why would God be concerned if we do this or that, he is The Almighty anyways, he’ll live anyways. Silly way of teaching religions.

    To know what heaven and hell are, just get married

    I so LOVE this quote.

  14. octa says:

    Hi I also agreed with parvita, let the people think wisely not by force the world is almost end, all we got to do is be good, love to each other not forcing one to another looking/seaching who is the Best- God Almighty is the Best out of all of us. No matter in what religion your believe in as long that you have faith and be good God always guide us to right path, and he is the one who made the judgement not us. Just think can we do Good think in our life….???????? You cannot force other people to do the way the teacher wants, we are free to choose our own right religion WHAT IS PANCASILA means to you all ??????? Think about it.

  15. Juhna says:

    Hello, I’m Johna I also agree with Parvita and Octa. I belive they should give time to them to think and hopefully they will be happy and think that there choice they have mad is wise. All we have to do is treate each other with respect, curtiousy, loveing and not force each other to choose the one we have chosen. God Almight is the one that I belive that we could take on this roel and chooes what we want to chooes.

    OCTA,

    PANCASILA means;

    oh haha Im not sure what it means either.
    Comment me OCTA. πŸ™‚

  16. Brother Mouzone says:

    Is the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster covered by Pancasila?

    Flying Spaghetti Monster

    Ramen

  17. Kite says:

    It so should. The church of the flying spaghetti monster is the only one I know that doesn’t teach fear πŸ˜‰
    I think one’s relationship with god is a very personal one, people should be able to form their own opinion- not be indoctrinated into one at an early age through fear- which I would think would actually drive people away from religon rather than towards.

  18. dragonwall says:

    Is there really a God? If there is, then who is God?
    Is there really a Hell? If there isn then what does it looks like?

    To me a religious than is just like text book. Perhaps it is the philosophy of teaching human beings how to be good and what must he do to be good in order to be accepted as a person who share his/her feelings towards one another. The only difference is that it teaches human how to behaves.

    The funny part is that there are over zealous people who call themselves clerics and religious leaders who use such teachings to provoke one another because they feel it should be done his/her (religious leaders) way. These are not teachings but indoctrinations. filling up the brains of innocent and ignorant followers to do things they want them to do in order to prove that he is a somebody or servant of God.

    Indians call Hinduism their religion, Muslim call Islam ther religion, Christians call Christianity their religion, Chinese called Buddhism their religion.

    They are in fact like what I consider to be a certain text book on the teaching of philosophy nothing else. The only difference is that it depicts a certain story of their so called God, their life style, their followings, their followers and adaptation of their the way one should live.

    If you say there is God then how come he is no where to be found? But many say he is omnipresent and no one knows where he is. And can one be with him, if so how to.
    If there is Hell then how does Hell looks like? A place where nice or bad people go to in their after life?

    All these none of us can be certain of but hearsays and make belief.

    Like Yoga. It is a form of teaching a person to live their lifestyle.

    I am a religious person, but say consider me to be one that practice certain lifestyle to achieve what I want in life.

    Once a friend/colleague who is a staunch Christian and wanted me to join him in their sermon. Before he continue to do so i told him not to convince me because I am not easily convince to take up something that I am not acquainted. Although I grew in a community where I attend Christian School I sought to be a free thinker.

    I asked him, “Do you have a certain encounter that is special to you? If so can you tell me what was the most precious moment in your life that makes it unforgettable to you”. His reply was that he can’t tell me.

    then I said, “Why not I tell you my encounter then you tell me yours later is that alright and he asked to relate that”

    As a human, curiousity kills a cat. I told him someone wants me to take up Yoga so that one can free their personal thinking and be flexible in adapting life.

    I took the challenge and sat down practicing Yoga during midnight. The first night my goose pimple all stood up and i stopped. Then second night still the same with hairs standing up. Ther third night all my hair on my head stood up electrified as though was just all fried up. That gives me the chill and I stopped practicing it. The next day when I sleep I can see myself lying sleeping. I left the house through the door without using a key. But suddenly when I was about to step out of the house, someone wielding a large knife strucked me and I myself using a large knife to shield myself from being struck by it. then I bounce back into the house. Then for the next one week I could smell the scent of flowers in my room. Imagine we don’t have any flowers in our house and we live on the 11 storey high building. How does the smell of flower reach m room! That was one moment I treasure most in my life.

    He who want to profess God to me and yet was unable to answer a simple question. I wonder how is he able to be a church minister.

    The bottom line is that those who called themselves religious leaders, are they aware of what they are doing and know what they are doing. My answer is that they con’t know anything and perhaps not a bit of what they profess.

  19. BrotherMouzone says:

    @Kite

    I think one’s relationship with god is a very personal one, people should be able to form their own opinion- not be indoctrinated into one at an early age through fear- which I would think would actually drive people away from religon rather than towards.

    This is very true. It always makes me laugh when a parent says that their five-year-old child is Christian or Muslim. Makes me want to ask them; so what is your child’s considered opinion on the Holy trinity? Eternal life? Judgement Day? Fasting? Communion?

    Kids are not religious (spiritual, but not religious). They might follow their parents to church or Salat. They might even repeat some of the religious dogma they learn. But until they have had chance to seriously evaluate their faith as an informed adult, they do not have a religion.

    “Down with this sort of thing!” (Father Ted, RIP)

  20. Odinius says:

    I think religion is great as long as it’s a personal belief system and code of conduct individuals follow of their own free will. As soon as people start enforcing those beliefs and codes of conduct on others through the law or through coercion or intimidation, I get off the bus.

  21. joao says:

    @brother mouzone & kite

    Arrr! Ahoy there me hearties! We be pirates an’ we abhor those mangy landlubbers who like t’think they’re better then us pirates. Soon, we gunna be pillaging ther coastal cities an’ take ther buxom saucy wenches fer ourselfs! Har! Har Har! Ye be warned!

    Ramen t’that!

  22. Andy says:

    Good point Odinius and as we know it is enforced from the top. For those who don’t know Indonesian law makes everyone choose a religion from one of the five main ones-Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hiduism and Catholicism (still don’t now why catholics and chiristians are deemed to be different)..Even foreigners with a KITAS must state their religion. Major religions like Judeoism are not allowed by law.

    As long as this is official government policy, we will continue to have schools and society in general ramming it down people’s throats. We may think people hold politicians in contempt and ignore them but when a nation’s leader takes charge on a particular issue , usually people follow. Time for an uprising of the nation’s atheists. I’m sure deep down there must be a few who are afraid to come out.

  23. PrimaryDrive says:

    She is trying to free her mind. But she can only show her the door. She’s the one that has to walk through it. Sooner or later she’s going to realize just as I did that there’s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path….

  24. dragonwall says:

    That’s right the difference is in knowing the path or walking the path.

    The former being a person with intellectual thinking and the latter to be ikut ikutan.

    So Indonesians should be taught to be the former or be the latter.

    In history it told us what Indonesians had done were the sort belonging to the latter. It is about time that Indonesians break the ice and be the former to return to her former glory.

  25. Brother Mouzone says:

    @Andy

    Major religions like Judeoism are not allowed by law.

    That’s not strictly true; I’ve lived in Indonesia for years and I have a black belt in Judeoism.

  26. Andy says:

    Brother, i’m chuckling to myself as you are funnier than a Seinfeld marathon NOT!
    Yes, my spelling can use a bit of work, I meant Judaism.

    But let’s get back to my point…Why can’t Indonesians accept that there are people in the world, millions in fact who have Judaism as their religion? I have Jewish friends in Jakarta who basically have to lie on their forms when there because their religion is not recognised and most probably if they declared it they would be persecuted or possibly deported. Can anyone shed light on that?

  27. Odinius says:

    FYI there is a (very) small community of Jews in Surabaya…there’s even a Synogogue.

    But for official purposes, yes, you have to associate with one of the 6 recognized religions. If you’re outside those bounds–whether Jewish, Mormon, Bahai, Druze, Scientologist, Wiccan, etc.–you’re going to have to officially associate with one of those religions, and won’t get zoning permits for your house of worship. That’s because freedom of religion in Indonesia is only on the private level. Publicly, it’s plural.

    Not how I’d design things, but it was a strategic move by Sukarno and Hatta to pull the rug out from under the people who wanted Indonesia to officially be an Islamic state. Back in the Orde Lama, it was much looser. Suharto is the one who made it all coercive and institutional.

  28. PrimaryDrive says:

    Hiya Odinus,

    Indonesian’s constition actually guarantees freedom of religion. It only states that Indonesian state is based on “ketuhanan yang mahaesa”. The strict meaning of this is “godhood which is only single”. Whatever that may mean (sadly Sukarno, he invented this, is dead so we cant ask him), it does not necessarily mean the same as “the state is based on a belief in a single god”. Even then, it does not obligate a citizen to be religious.

    However, of course the majority of Indonesians would insist that it should be interpreted as the current interpretation. This translates to lower level regulations, like the one about zoning permit. But that is actually more politics! If Indonesians minority is unhappy with that interpretation, they should stand up and put an intelligent fight for it. As it is now, those minority only grumbles in the background … like what we do now πŸ™‚

  29. Odinius says:

    Yes, it does protect freedom of religion, but it’s really only on the private and abstract level. Publicly and practically, religion is not free in Indonesia, but plural. Only 6 religions (used to be 5) get any sort of zoning permits, state support, etc. And obviously you have to list one of them on your KTP.

    It should be more free than it is. Perhaps one day it will be.

    I hate to praise Malaysia on this site (and actually I’m not really…but I might be soon). But if Anwar Ibrahim’s grand coalition of liberals, ethnic minorities and Islamists manages to dislodge UMNO, and overturn Malaysia’s racist preferential laws, it will be a fantastic example of people turning grumbles into action. Of course, I’m still waiting for the inevitable trumped-up charges and/or vote rigging to ensure that doesn’t happen…

  30. matahari says:

    been there…
    and to tell you the truth… it was traumatizing… even after you reach maturity, the fear lies underneath you, deep down inside you, sometimes you think whoever created hell is …. beyond ruthless, is it really what they (the preachers or religions) need to accomplish?

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