Christians: is there a hell?

[ChristineM]

"...the quote was made as and can ne read as a statement of fact which is total bull". ChristineM

So you would not place "I believe" before your quote above?

Fact... Not belief.

 

[samtonga43]

Fact... Not belief.

Well, no actually. You read it as a fact. Why? Because there was no "I believe" accompanying the statement.

I believe that you are being extremely naive, ChristineM.
You also say that this
"...the quote was made as and can ne read as a statement of fact which is total bull", is a fact.

I have come to the conclusion that you are using a different definition of the word 'fact' than most people.

 

[YoursTrue]

"No one is putting anything on you, ChristineM.
Here is your quote:
"...the quote was made as and can ne read as a statement of fact which is total bull".
Tell me, is the above a statement of fact?

Here is the quote from Lewis.
"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.'"
Is the above a statement of fact?

That quote from Lewis just showed me he doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

[YoursTrue]

I call it Right Reason. It's a derived faith from multiple sources. Omnism.

Faith means that you're relying on those teachings as -- true?

 

[dannerz]

Faith means that you're relying on those teachings as -- true?

Yes i believe it is the truth.

 

[samtonga43]

That quote from Lewis just showed me he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Lol! That says more about you than it does about Lewis.

 

[YoursTrue]

Lol! That says more about you than it does about Lewis.

If Lewis thinks there is a literal hell where people are tortured forever, thanks for mentioning his quotes so I'll never really bother with his ideas, anyway, he's dead so out of my reach. Now if you think he doesn't believe there is a place called hell where the wicked unsaved are tortured forever, please do say so. Thanks so much for your response.

 

[samtonga43]

If Lewis thinks there is a literal hell where people are tortured forever, thanks for mentioning his quotes so I'll never really bother with his ideas, anyway, he's dead so out of my reach.

Now if you think he doesn't believe there is a place called hell where the wicked unsaved are tortured forever, please do say so.

Thanks so much for your response.

I don’t think Lewis believes in a literal hell where people are tortured forever.

To me, and I suspect to Lewis, hell is being without God. Not one of us, believer or unbeliever, knows what this would be like. It may be far worse than being tortured forever.

I am intrigued by your “He's dead so out of my reach”. I think we can all learn a lot from the written testimony of those who have died. But perhaps you meant something else...?

 

[YoursTrue]

I don’t think Lewis believes in a literal hell where people are tortured forever.

To me, and I suspect to Lewis, hell is being without God. Not one of us, believer or unbeliever, knows what this would be like. It may be far worse than being tortured forever.

I am intrigued by your “He's dead so out of my reach”. I think we can all learn a lot from the written testimony of those who have died. But perhaps you meant something else...?

However you want to define it, I don't believe the dead can hear the living. So if a person goes to a grave and talks to the person in the grave, I am convinced from my intense study of the Bible, that the dead do not hear or respond to anything or anyone, except in one case: when they may be resurrected, or -- brought back to life. Therefore, if a person were to show me scriptures that seem to say the dead are alive, I know they are metaphors -- not reality as if anything like that happening except as symbolic -- or a parable.

 

[samtonga43]

However you want to define it, I don't believe the dead can hear the living. So if a person goes to a grave and talks to the person in the grave, I am convinced from my intense study of the Bible, that the dead do not hear or respond to anything or anyone, except in one case: when they may be resurrected, or -- brought back to life. Therefore, if a person were to show me scriptures that seem to say the dead are alive, I know they are metaphors -- not reality as if anything like that happening except as symbolic -- or a parable.

I'm confused. What has the above to do with what I said? Did you understand what I said?

So you don’t believe we can learn anything from the words of those who are no longer with us? How sad! Have you never read well-written poetry, interesting books by people like Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Charles Dickens? If you have, are you saying you learned nothing? [/QUOTE]

 

[YoursTrue]

I'm confused. What has the above to do with what I said? Did you understand what I said?

So you don’t believe we can learn anything from the words of those who are no longer with us? How sad! Have you never read well-written poetry, interesting books by people like Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Charles Dickens? If you have, are you saying you learned nothing?

[/QUOTE]
I'm sorry, what do you mean that I don't believe we can learn anything from the words of those who are no longer with us? Yes, I like to read some things by people who have died. Including the words written by those in the Bible who also have died.

 

[samtonga43]

I'm sorry, what do you mean that I don't believe we can learn anything from the words of those who are no longer with us? Yes, I like to read some things by people who have died. Including the words written by those in the Bible who also have died.

Right. So we agree that we can all learn a lot from the written testimony of those who have died. But I still don't understand what this has to do with the following...

"However you want to define it, I don't believe the dead can hear the living. So if a person goes to a grave and talks to the person in the grave, I am convinced from my intense study of the Bible, that the dead do not hear or respond to anything or anyone, except in one case: when they may be resurrected, or -- brought back to life. Therefore, if a person were to show me scriptures that seem to say the dead are alive, I know they are metaphors -- not reality as if anything like that happening except as symbolic -- or a parable".

You seem to have gone off at a tangent here. I have never suggested that the dead hear or respond to anything or anyone; or that the dead are alive.
?

 

[YoursTrue]

Right. So we agree that we can all learn a lot from the written testimony of those who have died. But I still don't understand what this has to do with the following...

"However you want to define it, I don't believe the dead can hear the living. So if a person goes to a grave and talks to the person in the grave, I am convinced from my intense study of the Bible, that the dead do not hear or respond to anything or anyone, except in one case: when they may be resurrected, or -- brought back to life. Therefore, if a person were to show me scriptures that seem to say the dead are alive, I know they are metaphors -- not reality as if anything like that happening except as symbolic -- or a parable".

You seem to have gone off at a tangent here. I have never suggested that the dead hear or respond to anything or anyone; or that the dead are alive.
?

OK.

 

[YoursTrue]

I don’t think Lewis believes in a literal hell where people are tortured forever.

To me, and I suspect to Lewis, hell is being without God. Not one of us, believer or unbeliever, knows what this would be like. It may be far worse than being tortured forever.

I am intrigued by your “He's dead so out of my reach”. I think we can all learn a lot from the written testimony of those who have died. But perhaps you meant something else...?

By the way (and thank you for your response), hell is properly considered scripturally as the grave. Not eternal torment or torture. If you would like to see substantiation for that I will be glad to go over some scriptures with you about this.

 

[samtonga43]

By the way (and thank you for your response), hell is properly considered scripturally as the grave. Not eternal torment or torture. If you would like to see substantiation for that I will be glad to go over some scriptures with you about this.

Is hell a 'place' where God is not, in your opinion?

 

[YoursTrue]

Is hell a 'place' where God is not, in your opinion?

That is an interesting question, and I'd like to address it, but in order to do so properly we would need to understand more about the word hell, and how it is translated. So first I'd like to mention that Psalm 139 verse 8 does say this: (KJ Version) - "f I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there." and many other translations say something similar. So in order to understand this, we would need to go over some information about hell and what it really means. It does not mean eternal torture in a hot place. This is a psalm of David. Many loving sentiments towards God are expressed. Would you agree that the psalm (not long to read) is a loving statement of David towards God?

 

[samtonga43]

That is an interesting question, and I'd like to address it, but in order to do so properly we would need to understand more about the word hell, and how it is translated. So first I'd like to mention that Psalm 139 verse 8 does say this: (KJ Version) - "f I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there." and many other translations say something similar. So in order to understand this, we would need to go over some information about hell and what it really means. It does not mean eternal torture in a hot place. This is a psalm of David. Many loving sentiments towards God are expressed. Would you agree that the psalm (not long to read) is a loving statement of David towards God?

Can you answer my question first, YT? Thanks!

 

[YoursTrue]

Can you answer my question first, YT? Thanks!

I did. Please read Ps 139:8 and tell me what you make of it. Thank you.

 

[cataway]

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.

pagon dogma invented a place you call hell to scare people into subjection

 

[Witches_Element]

Well when I died, I didn't see any evidence of hell so I am sorry I can't answer your question clearly. I did see 2 places in my journey though, I briefly saw purgatory where Earth bound spirits reside and can have contact with the living, and then I passed to an area of no return I believe was Heaven, where in this area it's impossible to have contact with Earth. However, there were 12 beautiful entities that greeted me with such overwhelming love and kindness it moved me to tears of joy. A king figure I believe was Jesus was so kind and loving too. He said it wasn't my time to be here and He had to bring me back to Earth. I wasn't judged, I received unconditional love and it was beautiful! I didn't want to leave that place but now that I'm back on Earth I'm glad I'm here for a spell . In regards to hell, perhaps it doesn't exist yet until final judgement occurs from God, I just didn't see any evidence for it now so from my experience, I couldn't find any trace for it. I know you didn't ask this but I'd thought I'd let you know that time does not exist in the supernatural world either. A blink of an eye can take a fraction of a second or billions of years to complete so you never know the concept of time unless you are obsessed looking at the living from the purgatory realm. There are millions of entities I refer to as dearly departed looking at Earth and I understand why. Some feel they have unfinished business before they can move on, some deny they died and pretend they are still alive. Others want to wait for their loved ones to join them before they move on to the light and others are angry, because they felt their life was taken away too quickly. Finally there are some that are afraid of the light, of judgement. They know the people that move to the light never come back and they are afraid of that fact. What if the light is the 2nd death and not heaven? They feel that as long as they concentrate on the living and be obsessed with life, they can exist in that condition, but in all reality. Heaven is so much better than purgatory! If you find yourself in that place, don't stay in purgatory for long, since that realm is not going to exist forever. I'm sorry for answering more than you asked for but I hope my reply helps comfort you in your religious journey! Blessings friend!