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jarrodh

Do you believe in HELL?

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Well do you?

I think the idea of Hell is a horrible thing. Just because one doesnt believe in Jesus Christ/Allah/whomever, even if they live a good decent life means they will go to hell, and I just cant be apart of something which would send so many good people to burn eternally in a lake of fire.

If you do believe in it I would like to hear your opinions on hell and why people get sent there. Proceed.

>:(I consider myself an Agnostic by the way.>:(
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In a literal sense? Absolutely not, no.

I interpret any description of an afterlife as simply a metaphor. Everyone's remembrance will outlive them for some finite duration. If you've been a generally positive contribution to this little adventure we're all on, your memory will carry on in a positive light. If you've conducted yourself exceptionally poorly, that remembrance will reflect negatively on your existence for quite sometime.

The knowledge of the latter as your consciousness fades to black when you die is the very definition of hell.

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The knowledge of the latter as your consciousness fades to black when you die is the very definition of hell.

So if I were an asshat in this life, my hell is that one or two generations remembers that I was an asshat?

Oh, the pain!

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If it's real, I doubt if you get to opt out.



Highly unfair. Us mortal souls should form a union.
My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

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Do I believe in hell? Yes, if Hell is defined as separation from God whom I rejected on earth.

If I didn't want Him into my earthly existance why would I want to spend eternity with Him?

For clarification: I do desire a relationship with God and I have not rejected His influence on my life. Therefore, while I believe in Hell, I do not fear it personally.

steveOrino

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I am no great religious scholar but I want to know where the idea of Hell comes from.

My understanding is that Hell is not mentioned in the Bible. If that is so, then where did Hell come from?
"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

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I am no great religious scholar but I want to know where the idea of Hell comes from.

My understanding is that Hell is not mentioned in the Bible. If that is so, then where did Hell come from?



Check out this link: http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=hell&qs_version=31

Look at the links at the bottom as well -- they show other words that signify the essence of hell.

steveOrino

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I am no great religious scholar but I want to know where the idea of Hell comes from.

My understanding is that Hell is not mentioned in the Bible. If that is so, then where did Hell come from?



Check out this link: http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=hell&qs_version=31

Look at the links at the bottom as well -- they show other words that signify the essence of hell.



I didn't check all the references but the wording of these references seem to be inconsistent with what I recognize in the King James Version and would therefore come from more recent interpretations. As such the introduction of the word Hell could be bringing in a modern concept that was not there before.
"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

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Maybe I misunderstood you. The word hell is a more modern translation of "sheol" "hades" "gehenna"

the concept is as old as the Bible, but the word "hell" is more recent, perhaps Nordic?

As I said before, most Christian concepts of hell come from extra-biblical sources. :(

steveOrino

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So you define hell as a separation from Christ/God in the afterlife?

In other words, if you dont believe in Christ as the savior then you are not able to go to heaven, but you dont necessarily end up going to a lake of fire?

What if you are an overall bad person, say one who is a conman or thief, but you wholeheartedly believe in God/Christ, do you still get to go to heaven?
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My maternal grandmother, who is a Methodist, tried her best to drill the Bible into my head when I was a child. When I was 19, I asked myself the following question:

If what she says is true, and God knows all, sees all, and apparently forgives all, why would he intentionally create any soul that He knows will end up in a place beyond any hope of redemption?

Free will is not an adequate or logical answer, nor is luck, fate, or anything we might call "destiny." I refuse to live an unhappy life in the hope of some post mortem state of spiritual bliss. I refuse to live in fear of punishment after I've gone from this life.

One reason I think the concept of hell became popular is because it's a great way to justify "Godly Acts" like the crusades or the nazi genocide during World War II. It's easy to think, "Well God punishes the wicked, and so can we," or "We will seek out the evil-doers and bring them to justice." But it is not our responsiblity to punish people whom we consider "evil." True, they may have to be removed from society for a time, but then EVERYONE deserves a shot at redemption. To proclaim otherwise is to say that you know better than God, that vengeance is yours.

I have since come to believe that hell is a state of mind and body, and it occurs in our waking lives. Depression, fear, hopelessness, and pain can keep us locked in cycles we can't recognize to see through or break free of. It might also be a metaphor for the cycle of reincarnation.

Likewise, Heaven is a state I think we all experience at some point in our lives. Parents and lovers (everybody) can all identify a moment when they were more happy than they ever believed possible, literally feeling "full" of joy to the point of bursting.

Here is a quote from Neal Donald Walsh: "There is no blackboard in the sky, on which God has written your purpose. Your life will be the one you create it as; your mission is the one you give yourself, and no one will stand in judgement of it now or later."
T.I.N.S.

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I think the idea of Hell is a horrible thing. Just because one doesnt believe in Jesus Christ/Allah/whomever, even if they live a good decent life means they will go to hell, and I just cant be apart of something which would send so many good people to burn eternally in a lake of fire.



One will not go to hell because he/she’s not heard of Jesus. One goes to hell because they’ve lied, stolen, blasphemed, committed adultery, murdered, coveted, created false idols, not kept God first in their lives, etc. (e.g. broken God’s moral law which is imprinted on everyone’s heart). Sin is not failing to hear the Gospel. Rather, “sin is the transgression of the Law.” (1 John 3:4).

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So you define hell as a separation from Christ/God in the afterlife?

In other words, if you dont believe in Christ as the savior then you are not able to go to heaven, but you dont necessarily end up going to a lake of fire?

What if you are an overall bad person, say one who is a conman or thief, but you wholeheartedly believe in God/Christ, do you still get to go to heaven?



If Hell is defines as dark and a lake of fire there is an indescrepency if taken in literal terms. Therefore, it should be taken as metaphors. Christ describes hell as gehenna which was a garbage dump outside Jerusalem. There trash and decayed bodies resided. From their religious culture it was unclean. It burned all the time. I remember old garbage dumps like that as a boy. They were set on fire and then covered with dirt. They had enough Oxygen to burn though. You'd see the smoke rising from the ground. It was good visual image to speak of the place that those who were apart from God.

He also speaks of torment. Some believe this speaks of their regrets for rejecting God. God has offered proof, but many deny it. They rather live apart from Him on earth so they get that wish fulfilled in the afterlife. That is how I understand hell from JC's point of view.

steveOrino

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>One will not go to hell because he/she’s not heard of Jesus.

John 14:6 - I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

I believe you've used that precise line before.



there are many interpretaions of that passage. While I believe Paj believes it means one must have a personal relationship with Christ that comes from asking for forgiveness of sins, it is incorrect to believe all Christians see it that exact same way.

Some see that the sacrifice of Christ paid the price for all mankind to be reconciled to God through him.

steveOrino

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