I don’t know why everyoneis still trying to find out whether heaven and hell exist.Why do we need more evidence?They exist here on this very Earth.Heaven is standing atop Mount Qasiounoverlooking the Damascene sightswith the wind carrying Qabbani’sdulcet words all around you.And hell is only four hours away in Aleppo where children’s cries drown out the explosions of mortar bombsuntil they lose their voice,their families, and their limbs.Yes, hell certainly does existright now, at this moment,as I pen this poem. And all we’re doingto extinguish this hellfireis sighing, shrugging, liking, and sharing.Tell me: what exactly does that makeus? Are we any better than the gatekeepers of hell?

~ Kamand Kojouri

Kamand Kojouri Aid Aleppo Assist Awareness Bomb Bombing Change Children Community Conflict Damascene Damascus Duty Earth Evidence Exist Existence Explosion Families Family Gatekeepers Harmony Heaven Hell Hellfire Help Helping Hope Hopefulness Humanity Humanity Poem Judge Judgement Judgment Kamand Kamand Kojouri Kojouri Light Limbs Love Moment Mortar Nizar Qabbani One Love One World Paradise Peace Poem Qabbani Relief Society Sorrow Suffer Suffering Support Syria Syrian Together Unity Voice War Working Together

I left that church with rich and royal hatred of the priest as a person, and a loathing for the church as an institution, and I vowed that I would never go inside a church again.[Eugene V. Debs, describing his teenage reaction to a hellfire lecture by a priest]

~ Eugene V. Debs

Eugene V. Debs Church Hatred Hell Hellfire Institution Loathing Priest

The American people spend thousands of dollars to propagate the doctrines of the fall of man, the creation of the world out of nothing in six days by a personal God, vicarious atonement, absolution from sin by the shedding of innocent blood. This is the Christianity offered to the poor and illiterate of India...Christianity has percolated through the layers of dogmatism and bigotry, of intolerance and superstition, of damnation and hell fire. It takes on itself the quality of these layers and imparts them to those that are received within its folds.

~ Virchand Gandhi

Virchand Gandhi American Bigotry Christianity Creation Damnation Dogmatism Fall Of Man Genesis Hellfire Illiterate India Innocent Blood Intolerance Jainism Personal God Poor Six Day Creation Superstition The Fall Vicarious Atonement