Hell is a scare tatic.

Originally posted by Cerebral_heaven
he went to hell and back for all of us so that we wouldnt have to go and actually find out.

Christian metaphor.

Didn't really happen.

Hell doesn't even exist right now.

No one is in Hell just like no one is in Heaven but God, the angels, and the prophets.

sounds like i'm worm food, again.

LOL you want to see some nutjobs website about hell used as a scare tactic...

www.av1611.org...

[Edited on 1-6-2004 by d1k]

Cerebral.... has anyone in your lifetime ever come back and said there is a hell or a heaven for that matter?

I think everyone is gonna be pleasantly suprised when they die... and so tickled about it that they will want to do it all over again.

TextYou know I have met quite a few Christian Fundamentalists and almost all of them have tried to convert me.

I used to have the same problem but I just answer (and you? how do you know you are not going to hell?) this brings me to the fact that not body is perfect, and that alone with fear is the bread and water of the church.

when your time is near. I bet when that time comes, you'll be asking God for forgiveness. BTW, you'll never find an atheist in a fox hole!

Not everyone is a Christian. It is interesting how many Americans take for granted their assumed majority. And of course, in this country, majority rules, right?

Textwhen your time is near. I bet when that time comes, you'll be asking God for forgiveness. BTW, you'll never find an atheist in a fox hole!

Forgiveness for what!!!!!

For being human?

The threat of hell, just like the promise of heaven, is a control mechanism. I've said it a million times before in various threads. The carrot and the stick, punishment and prase.

Hell is real I think.

Its documented from thousands of years ago, I really dont think its made up. Of course I think the whole idea is #....the idea that if you dont know God you end up in pain forever. But look at the evidence first for and against it. All major religions say that hell is basically seperatation from God. If Jesus was just a cult leader , some liar then I dont think he would be known still to this day. But he is, because the story of Jesus Christ is one of love, sacrifice, and if it is of God then it wouldnt fade away. He spke more about hell than anyone else. To the point where he said if a part of your body makes you sin, physically slice it off yourself, as its better than to go to heaven without it..than to have it in hell. Also dont fear man or those that can kill the body but not the soul. Fear him (God ALmighty) who can both kill the body and cast you into hell forever. But there is an escape from hell. Thats supposedly why Jesus died for mankind (so they would not perish those who believe in him) Its just to repent.

If people takes the part of the body that sin I guess we will be in little pieces and mens will be castrated

Originally posted by CommonSense
Like I said, will you bet eternity on it?

That's exactly what the original poster was talking about. What's you've just typed is a scare tactic.

There is not an escape from hell under Christian theology. You might want to re-read where they conveniently place the word "hell" in the Bible. Eternity is eternity. Lets put it this way, a simple analogy. I am human and do not love as great as God but I am my dog's master. No matter how many times my dog screws up I would never build a pit, set him on fire, and leave him there for ETERNITY ever if she attacked me. I cannot attack God so what in world could I do to deserve to but put in a boiling cauldron for ETERNITY.

No a darn thing and that is my point, ladies and gents hell is a myth and does not exits.

Originally posted by TruthStrgnrThanFiction
Hell is real I think.

Its documented from thousands of years ago, I really dont think its made up. Of course I think the whole idea is #....the idea that if you dont know God you end up in pain forever. But look at the evidence first for and against it. All major religions say that hell is basically seperatation from God. If Jesus was just a cult leader , some liar then I don�t think he would be known still to this day. But he is, because the story of Jesus Christ is one of love, sacrifice, and if it is of God then it wouldn't fade away. He spke more about hell than anyone else. To the point where he said if a part of your body makes you sin, physically slice it off yourself, as its better than to go to heaven without it..than to have it in hell. Also don�t fear man or those that can kill the body but not the soul. Fear him (God Almighty) who can both kill the body and cast you into hell forever. But there is an escape from hell. That's supposedly why Jesus died for mankind (so they would not perish those who believe in him) Its just to repent.

How can Hell, as in a place of eternal torment, possibly exist? Because the Bible says so? Where would it exist, if God is infinite? Nothing can exist outside of that which is infinite; therefore Hell must be Nothing if it is a place of separation from God, the Infinite.
If Hell exists within God, then it must be a part of God, and thus, can not be a place of separation from God.
How could an all-loving, all-knowing, and all-forgiving God, also be a God of damnation and vengeance? How could God condemn ANY of Its "children" to an eternity of agony, of feeling their flesh burning and melting off of their bones FOREVER, and still be considered all-loving or forgiving?
Could a God, that is all-knowing and all-powerful, NOT know from the beginning of the universe who would be damned to Hell at the end? If It didn't know the answer to all questions and the destinies of all men, then God would not really know ALL, would It?

Hell is the result of following the selfish, greedy desires of our temporary body, when we only follow our logical, anti-spiritual brain.
Judgement is the death and destruction of our flesh, which we all must experience, since we are all trapped in this world until our bodies die.
Our soul is the part of us which is the image of God, perfect and infallible. It acts as our intuition, our conscience, and our connection to everything else in the universe. It is what inspires our creativity and drives us to try and find love, even when we deny its existence.

Violence, hatred, deceit, envy, etc., all come from our inability or unwillingness to stop thinking and reacting long enough to listen to and understand the message that the Spirit of Truth, Universal Consciousness, Brahman, or whatever you want to call it, is trying to show you.

The Bible and other Holy Books are written in metaphors because what they are trying to convey cannot be expressed thru literal words or phrases. We use language to define and classify the world around us.
How do you describe a feeling or concept to another person, so that they KNOW what you feel and mean on the same level as you experience it?

What is a tree? Is it green? tall? rough? Is it rustling leaves? Is it shade from the sun? Those are attributes of trees, but they are not a tree.

Words may be able to describe what a tree looks, feels, and sounds like, but to a person who has never seen a tree, those words are meaningless. They could ask you a million questions, and read a million books but they still won't KNOW what a tree is really like. The only way they can fully understand what "tree" signifies, is to stop asking questions, and go find a tree to feel, smell, listen to, and sit under.

God did not speak to the authors, who wrote God's messages, in human words. God instilled in them spiritual understanding. It was up to them to convey this inspired wisdom and truth in a way that other people could comprehend. Unfortunately, since language is insufficient when it comes to expressing spiritual truths, they had to explain everything thru metaphors and allegories. This resulted in confusion and misinterpretations by people who were looking for God in the words, rather than behind them.

God does not condemn people to an eternity of Hell for something they did in their physical life (which in relation to FOREVER is barely a flash in the pan)! We don't need a punishment beyond death. The people who allow themselves to be consumed by hate, fear, and greed, suffer every day they are alive, no matter how hard they try to hide from it. Life is Hell for those who can't or won't accept that Love is Life.

This topic of Hell, be it real or not, be it a doctrine or not, be it a 'tool' to control or not, has been extensively covered within this particular forum.

My apologies for waiting to close this earlier, but I was hoping it would bring into play new ideas and thoughts...I was wrong.

Feel free to utilize the ATS 'search' feature to look up the past 'hell' discussions and revive them if you have any further comments to this subject.

Thread closed


seekerof