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Christians: is there a hell?

Is there a hell?

  • Yes

    Votes: 12 63.2%
  • No

    Votes: 7 36.8%

  • Total voters
    19

Glaurung

Denizen of Niflheim
Christian, do you suppose there is a hell?
Mainstream Christianity has always taught that those who die outside the grace of God will be condemned to an eternity of conscious punishment in Hell. Five minutes of research would tell you that.

According to some Christians if the Ripper accepted Jesus as lord and savior he would end up in heaven. It's the same loophole as Hitler ending up in heaven for the same repentance.
Catholicism teaches that an act of perfect contrition suffices to be forgiven of all sin, but the flipside is that the deeper into sin you fall the less capable of contrition you become. In practice a serial killer would be exceptionally unlikely to repent and would therefore almost certainly end up in Hell.

As an atheist do I think any of this literal heaven/hell dogma is true? Hell no. It is absurd and self-serving. Christians always claim to be heaven-bound, and hell is reserved for anyone they don't like. Forget the destination of souls being God's judgment, Christians think they can make this decision for God, as if they are God themselves.
Atheism as a sect of Protestantism is once again validated.

Non-Protestant Christianity rejects the notion that any given person can be totally assured of their salvation while still alive on Earth. To be assured of salvation you have to die in a state of grace. Far from self serving its actually quite scary to contemplate the possibility that one might end up in Hell.

To my mind heaven/hell makes vastly more sense as metahpors for how we live our lives. If we are kind, charitable, humble, share our resources to the needy, we would live in a heavenly state of mind. If we are greedy, selfish, mean, cruel, and uncharitable, then we live in a hellish state of mind. This is why there are the seven cardinal virtues and the seven deadly sins. Live by virtue, and you are heavenly. Live by vice and you are hellish.
I'm being pedantic but there are only four cardinal virtues. The seven virtues are the capital virtues.
 
Christian, do you suppose there is a hell?

Does hell exist? | GotQuestions.org

I see that the belief in hell isn’t that popular online as it is amongst the Christians I know in real life.

Yes,
It’s all through the Bible:
““But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘Their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’”
‭‭Mark‬ ‭9‬:‭42‬-‭48‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
 

F1fan

Veteran Member
Mainstream Christianity has always taught that those who die outside the grace of God will be condemned to an eternity of conscious punishment in Hell. Five minutes of research would tell you that.
The confusion seems to be what exactly gets a believer inside the "grace of God". Obviously the Lutherans and Catholics of the Third Reich were not concerned with their acts against the Jewish populations of Europe. Most Christians would consider genocide to likley fall OUTSIDE of the grace of God. Christians have been very good at believing whatever they want, and justifying it in whatever way serves their earthly purposes.

The odd thing is that it seems Christians over the millennia don't believe in God at all, as they don't seem fearful of hell as a consequence of their criminal behaviors. It's as if Christians, and even many Muslims, are atheists. If I was a believer I would bend over backwards following a moral code to make sure I lived and died in a state of Grace.


Catholicism teaches that an act of perfect contrition suffices to be forgiven of all sin, but the flipside is that the deeper into sin you fall the less capable of contrition you become. In practice a serial killer would be exceptionally unlikely to repent and would therefore almost certainly end up in Hell.
We have to wonder how often this perfect contrition happens. I would guess it is rare. Hell would seem more appropriate for extreme criminals, not your kid brother who is a good guy but isn't convinced that Christian doctrine is true.


Atheism as a sect of Protestantism is once again validated.
This makes no sense.

Non-Protestant Christianity rejects the notion that any given person can be totally assured of their salvation while still alive on Earth. To be assured of salvation you have to die in a state of grace. Far from self serving its actually quite scary to contemplate the possibility that one might end up in Hell.
That's Christianity for you, it is a religion of "anything goes". Whatever kind of person you are you can find a form of Christianity that fits you. If you are liberal and tolerant of gays, there are Universalist churches. If you are moderate there's a church like Methodists, and even Catholicism if you want the pagentry and ritual. And if you are right wing there's the Baptist and evangelical churches. Even if you are racist there's the KKK, which claims to be a Christian organization. There is no narrow truth in Christianity, it is a broad set of options that anyone can pick. One thing Christianity has done well is market the idea of hell to scare followers into submission and alliance. But as I noted, there is no set moral norms for Christians to follow, so it is "anything goes" including genocide and terrorizing minorities.


I'm being pedantic but there are only four cardinal virtues. The seven virtues are the capital virtues.
That's interesting. That would be a good thread to start, discussing the various virtues and vices.
 

Eddi

Christianity, Taoism, and Humanism
Premium Member
I believe that in the end everyone gets what they deserve

Some people clearly deserve Hell

Therfore there is a Hell
 

soulsurvivor

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Well...thinking that Jack the Ripper deserves Heaven as reward for his trophies...well..
is a bit twisted...isn't it?:)
Jack the Ripper will not go to any heaven. He will just go to a really bad purgatory and then be reborn back on Earth - this cycle will continue until he corrects his ways. But there is no eternal hell.
 

Sgt. Pepper

All you need is love.
Some Chriatians believe that atheists have the same chances to get to Heaven, but only if these atheists do what these Christians 'believe' they are supposed to do to get there.

You are aware of my personal beliefs about the afterlife, which is why I disregard the Christian doctrine of heaven and hell. Based on my experiences and knowledge of the afterlife, I believe that the spirit world will be very different from what a lot of Christians believe and expect it to be. However, I know a few Christians who are spiritualists, and their beliefs about the afterlife are similar to mine.
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
You don't? I knew something good would happen today! <sings and dances around> I'm going to heaven, hooray hooray hooray!

Not sure it's something i would rejoice about.

For one think it would be full of smug pious people saying "i told you so"
 

Alien826

No religious beliefs
People always talk about serial killers as if they were the epitome of evil. I tend to see them as mentally ill as much as anything, which is not to minimize the suffering they cause, but might go to mitigation of punishment. Come to think about it, lots of us have bad tendencies that we can only partially control. What about a sociopath? He or she has no conscience, no ability to relate to the feelings of others. Why punish such a person? They never had a chance to behave morally.

This may be a bit off topic, but to me a truly loving god would concentrate more on salvaging the lost, rather than punishing them. And if someone is beyond even god's ability to cure, then a quick and painless extinction, with regret. It's like a rabid dog. The poor thing isn't responsible for its condition but we can't currently cure it, so we kill it so it can do no more harm.

I'd worship that god. Maybe I will, there's always hope.
 

Alien826

No religious beliefs
Not sure it's something i would rejoice about.

For one think it would be full of smug pious people saying "i told you so"

You've missed the point. Non-believers can go too! There would be lots of us to associate with. And the smug pious crowd would be too busy mourning the loss of their superiority to bother with us.

<Resumes singing and dancing>
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
You are aware of my personal beliefs about the afterlife, which is why I disregard the Christian doctrine of heaven and hell. Based on my experiences and knowledge of the afterlife, I believe that the spirit world will be very different from what a lot of Christians believe and expect it to be.
As you know, I also disagree with the Christian doctrine of heaven and hell.
There is a really funny story a Baha'i once told me about the Christian expectations of heaven. If you want I can post it.
 

samtonga43

Well-Known Member
Not sure it's something i would rejoice about.

For one think it would be full of smug pious people saying "i told you so"

If there are smug pious people saying "i told you so", it is not Heaven.

"To enter heaven is to become more human than you ever succeeded in being on earth; to enter hell is to be banished from humanity. What is cast (or casts itself) into hell is not a man: it is 'remains.'"

C. S. Lewis
 

Kenny

Face to face with my Father
Premium Member
Christian, do you suppose there is a hell?

Does hell exist? | GotQuestions.org

I see that the belief in hell isn’t that popular online as it is amongst the Christians I know in real life.
It isn't whether "hell exists or not" that is the issue. Non-Christian usually makes it a big issue.

Jesus didn't go around preaching or telling us "preach 'Hello exists"".

what he told us to preach was "the Kingdom has come unto you" -

Most people don't know what exactly happens in Hell and how long it will exist.
 
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