Happy Holidays! Here's a list of thing we learned about Hell.

Celebrating the First Year of Perdition City Station! 

Perdition City Station, a Podcast about Hell, is one season old! We dug into Hell, fell down the mine shaft, came out in the Devils bathroom, and discussed everything we found, from pop culture, to what happens when Satan eats spicy food, to theology and our own experiences.

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For instance, did you know people told Jarad he was going to Hell at least once a week throughout high school? As a teenager, I learned about all the things that would send a person to Hell from an unpadded pew seat. (There are going to be a lot of unpadded pews in Hell, I suspect. Ouch) *
Before we get to our very educational list, I will answer one question I know is on everyone’s minds. Why would we want to talk about Hell right now? Isn’t the racism and fascism and sheer stupidity enough Hell? Is there even any fresh Hell left? Isn’t most of this Hell pretty stale?
What can we say? Hell seems to be woven into this terrible timeline so we might as well learn about it.
So, without further ado, here’s what Jarad and I have discovered after yammering about Hell last year:
A Very Educational List About Hell
1. Hell is a yawning appetite that can never be filled. This seems to be our number one one finding. Hell is an expanding black hole of need that wants ingest beauty, energy, and goodness, but has nothing to offer in return.
2. Hell is used by those with this voracious hunger to gain power over the rest of us.Hell is used dehumanize people and scare them into giving up their time, labor, and autonomy.
3. Hell is the externalization of evil, fear, and horror. Once you’ve externalized evil, you can set it at a distance, see it in others and not in yourself.
4. Hell is about injustice. Justice seems to be a little hit and miss on this side of the great divide, so just as we hope for a happy afterlife, probably most of us kinda think there are a few people deserve the justice they didn’t receive on Earth. Hell is the result.
5. There are some people who would probably like everyone else but themselves to go to Hell and they won’t be happy if that’s not true. (Is this about John Piper? Maybe.)
6. Hell is kinda fun! At least if you consider the infernal influence on pop culture. If not fun, Hell is at least interesting. (Julie wrote a rather engaging book about it. Check it out at the end of the post.)
7. Hell is personal. You can create exactly the Hell you choose. (And you’ll more than likely complain about it after you do. Insert eye roll.)
8. Hell Sells! There seems to be a lot more excitement about Hellfire and Brimstone and avoiding a bad afterlife than there is in the kingdom of God here on earth (or even Heaven.) The Inferno is so much more exciting than The Paradiso.
9. Hell is changing. The tropes of Hell are breaking down as people leave fundamentalism, evangelical churches, and religion altogether.
10. Hell will trap you in a fear-of-the-future mindset so that you can’t be present in the here and now. As Americans, we have a tendency to live in the future that is both fed by and feeds Christian views of the afterlife. (This seems to tie in with rampant consumerism and capitalism as well and we want to explore that further.)
11. Hell will sneak up on you. Just because you think you’re the bestest Christian doesn’t mean you’re not participating in the purposes of Hell. In fact, sometimes the more better Christian you think you are, the easier time the devil has talking his way into your house and moving in the guest room.
So why not join us each week on the train to Hell? Bring some snacks, we’ll bring the sunscreen and maybe you can help us figure out what this Hell stuff is all about.
*That’s right. I’m bringing parentheses back. Singlehandedly. My brain works in fits and starts and I’m bringing that chaos right to the page.


If you haven’t listened yet, here’s a link you can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or iHeart.
Here’s a sample episode: Slewfoot: Getting the Devil You Choose
You can follow us in these ways:
Perdition City Station Instagram
Sacred Chickens Facebook
Sacred Chickens Blog
If you’ve had an experience with Hell let us know! Whether it’s church-related, a part of your dreamscape, your favorite movie, or your weird cousin Dan’s exorcism, we’d love to read your experience on air or post it on our Sacred Chickens blog—with your permission of course.


​Also don't forget Julie's new book:
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ALL ABOARD FOR THE LAST TRAIN OUT OF HELL!