Do Heaven and Hell exist?

[Starsurfer93]

Having been raised in a christian household, the concepts of Heaven and Hell have always puzzled me. More so in regards to the concept of Hell than Heaven.

From what I have been taught about God, he is supposed to be infinitely compassionate. So much so that he sent his only son Jesus to die so that we may be freed from the curse of our sins and become closer to him.

Yet this being of infinite compassion, should the person decide not to accept Jesus as his savior, would allow the people whom he loves so much to fall into a realm of eternal suffering and immense pain? :sarcastic That just doesn't make sense to me. If God were truly infinitely compassionate, the possibility of anyone going to Hell would be nonexistent, wouldn't it?

This brings us to the debate topic: Do Heaven and Hell exist?

Me? I personally feel that Heaven and Hell don't exist in the literal sense commonly accepted by a good deal of the world. I feel that they are metaphorical realms used to describe our world. This world is ours to do with as we will, and it has the potential to be either a Heaven or a Hell. It is our thoughts and actions that determine which of these realms our world becomes.

What about you guys? Do Heaven and Hell actually exist? Are they completely fictitious? Or maybe This world is both Heaven and Hell? What do you think?

Namaste :namaste

 

[Alceste]

I agree with you.

 

[Renji]

According to the teachings of my Faith, those things do exist (but it can also be a state which describes a condition, state of mind of a person as stated before by Pope John Paul II- but yeah, not exactly the terms I used here. I just coined them based on what I can remember. ). But if you're looking for a "physical evidence or proof" of it's existence (that is, if you take those "places" in a "literal" sense) then you can't find any- for it is a "spiritual reality" as they say.

 

[Pegg]

hell is an old english word for a hole. 'Helling potatoes' was the practice of putting the potatoes into a hole in the ground as a place to store them.

And the hebrew word which is commonly translated 'hell' in the bible is 'sheol'...it means the grave.

So really, hell is the burial place...nothing more.

 

[Cassiopia]

Yet this being of infinite compassion, should the person decide not to accept Jesus as his savior, would allow the people whom he loves so much to fall into a realm of eternal suffering and immense pain? :sarcastic That just doesn't make sense to me. If God were truly infinitely compassionate, the possibility of anyone going to Hell would be nonexistent, wouldn't it?

You are right, it doesn't make sense.

This brings us to the debate topic: Do Heaven and Hell exist?

Me? I personally feel that Heaven and Hell don't exist in the literal sense commonly accepted by a good deal of the world. I feel that they are metaphorical realms used to describe our world. This world is ours to do with as we will, and it has the potential to be either a Heaven or a Hell. It is our thoughts and actions that determine which of these realms our world becomes.

I agree with your definition of heaven and hell.

 

[Twig pentagram]

I don't know.

 

[Shuddhasattva]

When I take over the world, anyone who believes in hell will be tortured for the rest of their lives which will be artificially extended as long and painful as possible.

A subtle shift in emphasis.

 

[Josh Waldecker]

There is very little scriptual support for Hell as we understand it today. Jesus did not come to judge - but to save. (John 3:17, John 12:47) The question then becomes: saved from what?


"All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial]no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son[/FONT][FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial], and the one to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him"[/FONT]


"But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ."

Christ revealed the true Father to us, to which no one before him knew - "All who ever came before me are theives and robbers" (ALL - not some, or most, or just the "false prophets" - for Yahweh says - "'And if a prophet is deceived [false prophet] into giving a message, it is because I, Yahweh, have deceived that prophet." Ezekial 14:9)


In conclusion, we are being saved from the law - from the evil one of this world - who sent fourth ALL the prophets - who Jesus confirms were ALL liars and theives.


We are blessed in knowing the difference between good and evil, and we should use this knowledge to know what is good and what is evil, to decifer what is truth and what is not - For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. Luke 6:43-44)


In short - Starsurfer93 - I agree with you

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Like you said, metaphorical for in our world depending on our actions.

 

[MissAlice]

Having been raised in a christian household, the concepts of Heaven and Hell have always puzzled me. More so in regards to the concept of Hell than Heaven.

From what I have been taught about God, he is supposed to be infinitely compassionate. So much so that he sent his only son Jesus to die so that we may be freed from the curse of our sins and become closer to him.

Yet this being of infinite compassion, should the person decide not to accept Jesus as his savior, would allow the people whom he loves so much to fall into a realm of eternal suffering and immense pain? :sarcastic That just doesn't make sense to me. If God were truly infinitely compassionate, the possibility of anyone going to Hell would be nonexistent, wouldn't it?

I think your issues are what made me steer away from Christian dogma and eventually Christianity among other factors. I went into many stages wanting to believe there was a loving god because the church my grandparents would take us in, they didn't preach about hell so much as forgiveness and Jesus dying for our sins. So I was sort of brought up with a different concept of hell than your average hell, fire and brimstone Christian. I think when I got older and studied the bible I felt not only did it contradict the "forgive sins" and "loving god" but was a place held in the same regard as another religion that didn't put Jesus on a pedestal. At this point I despised religious dogma all together. Considering the fact that we're all going to go to hell for not following the "right" faith, I look at hell as nothing more than a fear tactic good for selling a brand of religion. For some like my grandmother, she views hell as a place on earth hence the consequences of our actions.

 

[Orias]

"Hell must be a pretty swell place, because they've tried so hard to keep everyone out" - Al Capone (It goes something like that)

Heaven and Hell are dimensions of existence, parallel to ours yet not necessarily interacting with ours, fully. However, one doesn't consist of fire and brimstone and the other doesn't consist of clouds and light, they are a union between fabrics. A stockade, per se, for a battle that will never actually be fought.