Hell is dumb.
Do people still believe in Hell?
- Thread starter Jayson1
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Amaris
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I agree. That said, I don't really get upset with the people who think it's real. I was raised to believe it was real. It was driven into my brain, and it took years for me to dislodge it. Most of the time, when someone tells me they're worried about me going to hell, I know they mean it in the sense that they care about me and don't want to see me end up there. When I was a Christian, and in high school, I talked to my friends about hell, and my non-believing friends thought it was silly, but I didn't want them to die in eternal torment. It is something that truly stressed me out to no end.
Does it get annoying? Damn straight it can, but I can only hope the concept of an eternal torment for unbelievers fades out of modern religious doctrine, and becomes a curiosity of the past, like crossing the river Styx into the realm of the dead, and such.
I do have a problem with people who think it is real, because it is dumb, and dumb beliefs could lead to dumb decisions, and dumb decisions could lead to dumb voting and dumb voting leads to dumb policies, and the reinforcement and continued holding of dumb beliefs by a significant number of the population, which could lead to a bunch of cynically opportunistic people who play into those dumb beliefs being elected to office and an ever-building cycle of dumber and dumber decisions until we end up with a group of truly terrible people running the entire country and a narcissistic sociopath with spam for brains elected leader of the free world.
But maybe that won't happen.
But maybe that won't happen.
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Amaris
Guest
I'm not willing to condemn an entire group of people for something they were likely taught as children, especially something designed to scare the shit out of them for even questioning its existence. It takes a LOT of effort to overcome that inculcation.
It took me a long time to get over my fear of Hell, I've gotten to where I see some religious indoctrination, especially to children, as a form of abuse. I once bought a South Park CD and felt terrified that I would go to Hell for it. I have empathy for people who have that fear, they're victims. If God and Jesus are that great, you shouldn't have to use fear to motivate people into believing in them. It's like a mob protection racket, "nice soul you have there. It would be a shame if anything were to happen to it."
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Amaris
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For me it was "Warcraft." I felt terrified that if I played it with my friends at school (we had a neat little computer club there), I would burn in hell. That was as a teenager.
In my day it was Dungeons & Dragons. Now, certain Christians believe that Harry Potter is a gateway to devil worship.
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Amaris
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Most certainly. In each generation, there's a new satan, and a new doorway to his evil underground lair.
Mostly the evangelicals and pentecostals.
I'm more compassionate about these beliefs IRL. But on a message board when someone purports to be engaging in a discussion about Hell and whether it is true or not, and what the implications of being true are and all they can come up with is "I just believe it and you're wrong if you don't" then fuck 'em.
I have a hard time getting mad at some people who believe in hell because in their own way they are actually trying to help people. I mean if you believed their was a hell wouldn't you want to do anything possible to save people from it?
Granted their are some who are only want to save themselves and others who don't believe but are willing to exploit those who do so like any group your going to have some with good intentions and others with bad ones.
Plus their is always the issue for me in that it's hard to get mad at people who are really flawed because I know I am flawed and I also know that their is some really dark things in all of us that we repress simply because on some level we are all just animals.
Jason
Granted their are some who are only want to save themselves and others who don't believe but are willing to exploit those who do so like any group your going to have some with good intentions and others with bad ones.
Plus their is always the issue for me in that it's hard to get mad at people who are really flawed because I know I am flawed and I also know that their is some really dark things in all of us that we repress simply because on some level we are all just animals.
Jason
How 'bout we save people from the SHIT that is in life right now, like being hungry and poor and needing a hand.. instead of worrying about after they are dead.
I think it's worth always pointing eternal matters back to right now, today.
I think it's worth always pointing eternal matters back to right now, today.
If I was religious I guess my reason would be that life on earth is short. Life after death is forever. Whatever problems you have on earth can be erased in Heaven or by Jesus.
Best example I can think about is maybe someone worrying about a pimple instead of the plague they have. One problem is short term and the other which I would see as a metaphor for hell is long term.
Then of course you have people who just don't care because their life is good or they think their spot in heaven is secure or maybe their empathy has been damaged by all sorts of possible human issue's. We forget that these people can be victims from anything from mental illness to child abuse just to name a few which can impact their views.
Jason
Life on Earth IS short but there's no guarantee that there is any kind of life after that either. You either take that on faith which is the point of faith or not. We will never know, and no one's ever come back to show or tell us.
I believe that we should wherever possible try to help others around us if we can, and live the best lives we can because what we have on Earth is what matters.
I believe that we should wherever possible try to help others around us if we can, and live the best lives we can because what we have on Earth is what matters.
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I believe in hell and do believe in doing the most good on Earth now. Fear of hell has never, ever, been my religious experience and I'm sorry that it has been so many other people's. One of my best friends in high school was convinced that she was going to burn in hell for the longest time, and couldn't get over that anxiety until after high school. Yeah, it can be a difficult journey, but she definitely inspired me to be more compassionate.
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Besides--to steal a Dr. Who quote...fear is not consent.
That's a good one, really sums up the huge flaw from god's perspective in hell being a religious motivator
The concept of hell is a control mechanism that is useful to those who seek to wield power over others.
For some it is but what about those who believe in that have no power to control others? Then you got to factor in that I think many people tend to cheery pick the stuff they like in religion to believe in and discard the rest. That means I think hell also works as wish fulfillment for many in that it means evil and bad people will face judgment for their sins.
Jason
Even for the bad/evil people, all that is required for them to be saved is that they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
John 3:15-21 (KJV)
Judgement is based on faith not on deed.
John 3:15-21 (KJV)
Judgement is based on faith not on deed.
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