Religion and hell?

i was posing the original question about if anyone else belive that hell did not exist. sorry if i wasnt so clear on it. but there has been some realy good contribution and its realy clearing up my view on the topic.

Chris

i wouldnt describe that religion's background is purly for selfish needs. some of it is selfless which is one reason why religion is still encouraged and not denied.

No, it is familiar!!

A person stays in a harmful domestic situation not because they are stupid, but because it is familiar. It is very difficult to step outside the norm, or at least what is normal for you.

Man can have all the altruistic intentions and still fail. Religion becomes the God, and so they fail.

"I think it's about time we gave up religion and got back to God." - Lenny Bruce


Regarding your last post, does hell exist?

Really? No! It is a religious teaching by those who wanted to control the masses through fear.

[edit on 23-3-2009 by MatrixProphet]

Originally posted by chris3340
hello...

as has been argued on other fronts is the 'Religion Conspiracy'

i have been posed with a question from my RS (religious studies) teacher after i got into a huge debate. goes on for a rather long time so ill try to sum it up.

we was doing work on miricles and it seems that alot of the miracles were to drastic to be coincidence. so i posed him a question saying that if all of these "miracles" are generaly v they must have been performed by the infuencle of one God since he/she/it is the only one capable of performing miracles. but if we belive in the "one God" (from a catholasism point of view) then how come other religions still believe there religion is correct and how have they had miracles performed too?

another debate that made me think was the idea off hell. i have been thinking that if God wishes to save everyone then if people go to hell then God has failed. but in the bible it is written that to go to hell you have to be denied by God. but god wants to save us. WHATS HAPPENING?



[edit on 22/03/2009 by chris3340]

Keep in mind that through time every story is added to or tweaked in some way whether it is small or large. Also keep in mind that as being human, many like to twist stories for a more theatrical and exciting way of telling the story. What are the stories you remember the best? They usually are the ones that are fanciful and full of exciting things. I will remember details about a novel much easier than a technically documented book as association works with what seems to be exciting or ridiculous.

With there being over 40,000 religions on the planet it also seems to me rather illogical and ridiculous for one individual to assume their religion is the one that is true over all the rest without the means to explore every other religion in comparison.

Also something worth noting is that stories including the scriptures, bible or all else are usually shrouded in riddle and mysticism. Now logically assuming that those events from such extremely old books are recorded accurately I would assume that 90% of the miracles within the books are explained by a non-understanding mind. With the limited technology of the world at the time how else can a race like theirs describe something completely logical without including some kind of mystery and miracle?
There is also a huge problem with translation as it is open for many people to inject their personal opinions.

If we went back to their time with a microwave I am sure it would be considered a tool from the God's. And I also feel that the few who understood the reasoning behind such miracles used it to their advantage against those who didn't therefore creating a religion, following and such.

If you are willing to accept the truth which is not usually comforting, then keep questioning and you will find many contradictions in religion. Also hell is something that has been used in many religions as a fear tactic. It has with me at least. "If you leave your soul is lost to hell and such" is what they would say to me or "you will be a son of perdition to be lost as nothing more than a intelligence without form". Well I'm going to hell according to them because that fear tactic didn't work but at least I won't be alone!

It's funny because I had a friend that is mormon and had a pamphlet for the missionaries that are given out. It said verbatim "How to get around the individuals intellect" when teaching their religious beliefs. That sounds a little to much like brainwash to me.

Also with the Mormon church and having Mormon family members they talk so wonderfully of all the temples that have been erected then talk about humility. Yeah, look at our huge structures towering over the rest of the city since we are so humble. Sounds kind of like the divide and conquer approach to me.
I could go on forever about religion but won't. Keep digging and you will find the mass of flaws or you will be subdued by fear of social ostracism and hell and such.

One more thing is the what if factor. "What if this is the right church", "what if I will go to hell if I don't repent". I have had the what if problem but realized it only surfaced because I have been ingrained with a religion since I was 8 which naturally brings itself to focus. Any child that is taught to believe something from birth will usually know nothing else or have a very hard time completely forsaking that way of belief.

[edit on 23-3-2009 by N3krostatic]

reply to post by chris3340


Stumbled upon this and thought you might like it

I get together with a few buddies in our own little armchair philosophers existential roundtable discussions and bounce these kinds of questions around. I sometimes wonder if maybe God isn't this eternally transcendant and expanding energy and we are merely physical manifestations of "God's" imagination. I know other people have proposed similar theories. And maybe when we die the "Hell" that some people experience is their conscious and pure energy, unclouded by earthly baggage, going through a sort of purging and becoming aware of the good and the bad they have done. I hope that there is something after this life. And I hope that it is something beautiful and elevating for every one of us. I hope that whatever God is, he knows how screwed up we all are and has compassion for us. I also personally think that Heaven for me wouldn't be Heaven without the people that I love being there. And if I were to get to Heaven (though I am a miserable sinner so I can't see being high on the list) and say my friends or family members were burning for all eternity in the fires and brimstones of Hell suffering forever and ever, well than that wouldn't be very Heaven-ish to me. Maybe what will save us from hell won't be God so much, but the ones who love us. Will our love and compassion for each other somehow redeem us all in the end?
Or maybe we just ghost around trying to get some woman to say Sam Wheat.


[edit on 3/24/09 by Chillidog1]

[edit on 3/24/09 by Chillidog1]

[edit on 3/24/09 by Chillidog1]