Poll: Would you rather rule in Hell, or serve in Heaven?

[The_Healer]

Er if you were the ruler of hell life wouldn't be all that bad.
You'd dish out the punishment, not the other way round.
Overall seems like a good deal to me.

 

[traceur_]

Hmmm... a ruler of a land of fire, torture and screaming? Or serve in the ultimate paradise, under the kindest being in existence and live in eternal happiness?

Decisions, decisions...

 

[Iron Mal]

Ah, you can refuse all you like but eventually someone will force you to serve them (Might makes right).

Given the choice I would rule in Hell, that way when it does come to someone trying to force their influence over me I'm in a better position to try and decline them.

Yeah, but what are they gonna do?
Kill me again?

I'll just keep trying until I take over.

My friend, there are worse things than death (especially when we are talking about a hypothetical situation such as this where death loses meaning), so to answer your question of what are they gonna do...there's always:

Torture
Repeated wounding
Inprisonment and isolation
Harmful consequences for friends, family and other loved ones
And many, many more

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Well if serving in heaven entitles the workers for employee benefits, then yeah I'd choose to serve in heaven.

Besides, why would I want to be stuck in hell anyway?. It's damnation without relief and I'd have to hang around lawyers and the French for the entire time.

 

[The Rockerfly]

I don't believe in either so what do I do?
I am upset there is not a poll option for this

 

[Venatio]

Oh crap, this old quote - Hellgate was a terrible game.

Anyways, I'd sooner serve in Heaven, serve the greater good.

 

[londelen]

You get Succubi in hell.

/thread

 

[Sassafrass]

Wibble. Reminds me of Blackadder...

OT: Rule in Hell. I mean, how often do you get the chance to rule over people and choose their punishment?

 

[AvsJoe]

I'll go with heaven any day of the week. Heaven is paradise. Why would you pass up paradise for any reason? Even the largest army ever amassed at your fingertips awaiting your command would not compare to heaven. Besides, no one here will ever rule hell. That job is taken.

 

[Riccan]

Rule in Hell, if only for my kid to have bragging rights.
"My dad's an accountant"
"Well mine's Satan, *****!"

 

[thenumberthirteen]

I'd rule in hell, and play Heavy Metal all day long. I mean if we're talking about Heaven/Hell in a Christian morality system then everyone in Heaven would be quite dull. I'd rule in Hell, and make it more fun than Heaven, but I'd still shove a Pineapple up Hitler's ass every day.

 

[Kevvers]

Basically I think the literal interpretation of the question (which is what most people have gone for) is stupid because I don't think its physically possible for either one to exist in any way so I put wibble. Just because something is supernatural I don't see why it shouldn't be bound by physical laws like entropy and common sense.

However, if you mean as a metaphor for being a servant in the first world or a tyrant in the third world, I would have to say serving in the first world. I do care about justice, fairness and all that and I wouldn't want to be one of those despots.

 

[Iron Mal]

Torture

You'd probably get used to it after a while.
And you'd be amazed what kind of tolerance a lifetime of constant pain gives a person.

Repeated wounding

That should probably fall under torture, come to think of it.

Inprisonment and isolation

I thought they were trying to do bad things to me?

Harmful consequences for friends, family and other loved ones

Actually, most of my friends and family are religious.
Unfortunately.

So they'd likely not be there.
And anyway it's not like it's happening to me, so I don't really care.

But still, what else am I supposed to do with my afterlife?
Sit around and get tortured or...sit around and get tortured while trying to usurp the throne?

You're assuming that all torture is physical (let's not forget the infamous 'Japanese water torture'), and while there is the theory that an eternity of torture would eventually become normality (the 'boiling water' analogy as a friend of mine once put it) but, like I said, an important part of the process of torture is more than likely the psychological effect of the fear somebody hurting you and relishing in it (psychological fears and the such aren't as simple to adapt to since futher exposure often makes the condition more severe rather than aiding in any form of adaptation).

It's all good for you to say that inprisonment and isolation would have no effect on you when you have the option to go and see other people when you choose but if that option is taken away it's not quite so pleasent (in the earliest prisons they often had cases of people going insane in isolation for this very reason).

Again, it's human nature and ingrained into our psychology to feel guilt (and even depression and anxiety in some cases) when our actions have negetive consquences on others (a famous study once found that monkeys who were required to deal electric shocks to other monkeys in exchange for food not only had increased levels of stress but also developed serious medical conditions as a result).

So I believe I have just proven psychologically and scientifically why if there is a Hell then it would actually be impossible to adapt to or otherwise tolerate...wait...I hate it when I'm right sometimes.

 

[cobra_ky]

Well, if God's the kind of douche who'd let people burn in hell for eternity for not following the right religion, then i'd definitely rule in hell since i'm not getting into heaven anyway.

If there is a God, though, i don't think he's like that, so I wouldn't mind serving in heaven.

 

[Naeo]

I'm jacking my answer directly out of your source material (Milton). Rule in hell.