And yet. . . not alive.

Still, dying wasn't what got him to hell. His animation status was unchanged.

I recall a lot of use of the words "hell dimension", I thought they were trying to shy away from the use of the christian "heaven" and "hell"

In a Christian universe, Anya goes to purgatory. That's the place for righteous unbelievers, right?

If it's binary -- heaven or hell -- I think it's hell because she never repented, which makes me sad.

Isn't purgatory only what Catholics believe?

Yep. No Purgatory in the Protestant 'verse. Not sure about the Eastern Orthodox churches, though.

If it's binary -- heaven or hell -- I think it's hell because she never repented, which makes me sad.

I love Anya, but I can't see her getting into heaven without some special intervention. There's no repenting/shriving/whatever, and there's no indication of any acceptance of JHC as her lord and saviour (or any mental disposition thereto). Needs a big wanky handwave, IMO.

She did repent, because theologically speaking, repenting means turning from your sins. How else could you describe her giving up her demonhood? She didn't do any sort of penance, but that's not a core doctrine.

and there's no indication of any acceptance of JHC as her lord and saviour (or any mental disposition thereto). Needs a big wanky handwave, IMO.

Asked and answered already. There's no evidence that she had been introduced to any concept of God as we understand him. We knew an awful lot about her personal life, even what sexual fantasy scenarios she preferred, and how how she tortured people, but nothing about any sort of religious understanding, which tends to indicate she didn't have any sort of religious understanding. That she died a martyr's death would indicate she was serving God to the extent He had revealed Himself to her.

But, the verse didn't have all this theology. So all that's really needed is that she died a hero's death. Remember, it is canon (and repeated canon) that there isn't some sort of cosmic checksheet whereby it is okay for Buffy to kill the occasional human, just because she's mostly saved them (cf "Dead Things" and whatever season 3 episode after Faith killed the Deputy Mayor).

But, the verse didn't have all this theology. So all that's really needed is that she died a hero's death.

I agree with the first sentence. I'm not sure about the second. I think that we don't know exactly why Buffy was in heaven. Darla was cursing God or denying God or something similar right before she was turned (the first time), tat could have doomed her to hell. Or being a vampire could have done it, I suppose. Do we think the spirit-Darla was evidence of her being in heaven after staking herself?

If it's binary -- heaven or hell -- I think it's hell because she never repented, which makes me sad.

I'd argue that back in "Selfless" she showed contrition for the blood that was freshest on her hands, and in fact was willing to give up not only her life but her soul to restore the victims and put things to right. There was no prayer to the Christian deity, but she was clearly buying into a system of right and wrong at that point and willing to pay the price for her sins.