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I'm sure this has been posted about a lot. I'm an agnostic, leaning towards atheist. But recently I realized how sick the concept of Hell actually is. I was raised a Christian. We are taught about it in Sunday school, and think almost nothing of it. We are desensitized to it.
Anyway, how do you guys get around the thought of your coworkers, friends, etc., burning in Hell for all eternity in endless agony?
Here is the bottom line.
Anyone's interpretation of hell and who goes there, is going to be motivated by what suits them personally.
I'm sure this has been posted about a lot. I'm an agnostic, leaning towards atheist. But recently I realized how sick the concept of Hell actually is. I was raised a Christian. We are taught about it in Sunday school, and think almost nothing of it. We are desensitized to it.
Anyway, how do you guys get around the thought of your coworkers, friends, etc., burning in Hell for all eternity in endless agony?
This is one of the things that scares me about religion: the things you can justify to yourself when you believe that anyone who doesn't act the way you think they should will be sentenced to eternal agony.Further, a belief in a god that would ever do that certainly explains the behavior of some of christianity in history.
This is one of the things that scares me about religion: the things you can justify to yourself when you believe that anyone who doesn't act the way you think they should will be sentenced to eternal agony.
Hello to all.
I am speaking from the Islamic perspective.
In Islam, Hell exists. It is the abode of those who incurred the Divine's displeasure. The lowest punishment in Hell will be that of one who will wear shoes of fire, on account of which his brain will boil.
On Judgment Day Hell will roar. When it will be filled to its full capacity, it will be asked if it is satisfied. Hell will reply asking if there is more.
The concept of Hell is perfectly logical. God Almighty does not tolerate an insult to His majesty. When a servant steps out of his boundaries, the king takes vengeance. What do you think of the Lord of Majesty, God the Almighty ? And how evil do you think it is to speak a lie against God Almighty ? You have to know that most things you do in your day-to-day life are lies against God the Almighty, who owns you, created you, feeds you and gives you drink, bestows on you endless favours, and sees you and looks at you. When you realise how evil such things are, you will come to understand why there is a Hell.
In Islam, Hell exists. It is the abode of those who incurred the Divine's displeasure. The lowest punishment in Hell will be that of one who will wear shoes of fire, on account of which his brain will boil.
On Judgment Day Hell will roar. When it will be filled to its full capacity, it will be asked if it is satisfied. Hell will reply asking if there is more.
The concept of Hell is perfectly logical. God Almighty does not tolerate an insult to His majesty.
Gross.When a servant steps out of his boundaries, the king takes vengeance.
Not much after your post.What do you think of the Lord of Majesty, God the Almighty?
I would one day like to hear a theist explain how being 'perfect' (and I'm not saying God is mind you) makes it okay to destroy somebody who offends you.When you realise how evil such things are, you will come to understand why there is a Hell.
I'm sure this has been posted about a lot. I'm an agnostic, leaning towards atheist. But recently I realized how sick the concept of Hell actually is. I was raised a Christian. We are taught about it in Sunday school, and think almost nothing of it. We are desensitized to it.
Anyway, how do you guys get around the thought of your coworkers, friends, etc., burning in Hell for all eternity in endless agony?
Hell is commensurate to one's sins, so if you aim for less agony, do less evil. If you want more agony, do more evil.
You get what you deserve, as that is the righteous judgement of the Lord. The fires of Hell are probably just rhetoric and allegory to have you understand the consequence of being wicked.
How do you reconcile all the people who end up there on the basis of belief?
Well, God doesn't see unbelievers as righteous. Because an unbeliever denies Him, they inevitably conclude that all is permissible.
The rest of what an atheist thinks or feels is just good imagery to hide what is inevitably the true conclusion in their standing. That's just the reality of it. It's why, for example, atheists can condemn a killer of an infant to an electric chair and yet make abortion a free right by which the refusal of is oppressive- it's all relative. That's what the 'relative morals' argument ultimately is about.
The problem is that, with having a perfect God, He cannot reward those with that position the same as those who accept His.
If you don't believe in a god, then you don't have to worry about hell...so there is no suffering when you die because you just cease to exist. Why would you be worried what anyone else thinks? Christians are not okay with people going to hell...they are really very concerned about the souls they believe will be lost. Hence, the purpose of evangelizing.
Nope, why would I conclude all is permissible? Since when does a god have to be telling me what to do in order for me or anyone else to develop a basic sense of morality? We are a social group species, interacting in ways that benefit everyone and avoiding behaviors that hurts others is generally necessary for group survival, hence punishing infractions on that system is natural.
Atheists are a group as varied as theists. We hold no consistency in political views whatsoever, I know very conservative and very liberal atheists, and all inbetween. Your generalization is incorrect. Also, not all Christians agree on the same morals, not even ones who attend the same church, so all of humanity experiences a rather subjective perspective on morality.
A god can do whatever it wants, it is god. What is relevant to my question is why you are ok with decent people suffering on the basis of belief alone.
I'm not worried about hell, I'm worried about the people who are cool with people like Ghandi suffering for all of eternity just because they didn't worship the right deity.
That sort of complacency in the face of moral bankruptcy is terrifying
If you don't believe in a god, then you don't have to worry about hell...so there is no suffering when you die because you just cease to exist. Why would you be worried what anyone else thinks? Christians are not okay with people going to hell...they are really very concerned about the souls they believe will be lost. Hence, the purpose of evangelizing.
I doubt that any Christian is "cool" with Ghandi suffering for eternity...but that doesn't mean he isn't. He was an intelligent man and made his own choices in life. Sometimes "intent" isn't good enough...that is just life...it works in all aspects of life.
I am puzzled why you would be concerned about what any Christian thinks ... if their thoughts don't change reality. If hell doesn't exist...why does it matter if what we think?
When scripture speaks of something being 'of the world', they are revealing in contrast what is part of all existence.
What you are basing your notions of morality off of is not of an underlying, universal principle, but of the world. What 'generally' is necessary is not always what is necessary, and every era has a different moral palette.
The scriptures speak of a perfect eternal kingdom, which ultimately must be consistent and therefore be absolute. There can be no relativity.
Most people tend to concentrate on the fact that it's perfection is what makes it different then Earth, which is true, but also a wrong way of looking at it- it is different then the Earth because the Earth is temporary, imperfect, and has no consistency.
The exact opposite of a world with absolute morals.
Christians are torn on morals because a lot of them try to tailor biblical perception to that of their worldly values.
There's more them then those who choose to follow God's wisdom in full.
The one's who stand by the totality of that wisdom, they stand alone against not only atheists but the rest of the world.
You see, that's where it's at- that's the light and salt of the world. The other Christians are somewhere in the twilight of that and the rest, still unable to let go of worldly bias.
Actually, there are many things God cannot do. For example, He cannot contradict Himself. Another would be that He cannot change His mind because He would know beforehand His choice.
These are consequences of omnipotence.
Interestingly enough though, He could still however make a rock too heavy to lift, then change His mind and lift it.
Anyway, a person's salvation is between them and God. The hard truth is that people aren't as decent as they think they are, they aren't as skeptical as they try to believe or tell others, and they do in fact have a genuine option to see the totality of God's wisdom as it truly is.
Well, put it this way: if you don't accept Christ's invitation, that means you don't want to be with Him. If you don't want to be with Him, He gives you what you want. Hell is that separation in afterlife from God, outside of peace that is in Heaven. Harsh, but fair.
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