Do you need threats of hell

[We Never Know]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

 

[lukethethird]

I would do anything to avoid going to heaven.

 

[danieldemol]

I dont need the empty threat of hell personally in my opinion

 

[DNB]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

Being made aware of the consequences of sin, should not be perceived as an idle threat, but as a fair and compassionate warning.
If God exists, do you think that it is a small matter to deny His efforts in creation, to disregard the ability to love and be loved that He gave all humans?
Do you believe that forgiveness is unconditional - let me see you do the same with a thief - he'll take you for everything that you have, if you don't punish him.

Showing contempt for your Maker is an egregious offense - try showing your parents the same defiance, and see if it doesn't prove to be consequential.

Only the wicked need to be warned of their behaviour, and there is a lot of them. So that any Biblical stipulations that define the ramifications of transgressing God's will, are, first of all, meant for the defiant and insolent, and two, should be considered as full disclosure and transparency.
In other words, you all should say thank you.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Showing contempt for your Maker is an egregious offense - try showing your parents the same defiance, and see if it doesn't prove to be consequential.

An absent heavenly father and an absent earthly father. Why do I care about either?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

If you have to be threatened before you'll behave you're probably not a good person to begin with.

 

[Ella S.]

In my experience, "good" is normally a euphemism for "obedient." People are praised as "good" when they obey a set of laws or principles, but which specific set they are measured by varies from person to person.

I wouldn't consider anyone, including myself, to be a "good person." I think that's too reductive to be meaningful. All "good people" are "bad people" to someone else.

I do adhere to a set of principles that I have chosen to affirm the meaning of, despite the fact that I believe in eternal oblivion. You could interpret that as me not needing threats of Hell to be a good person. You could also interpret it as me turning myself into a false idol and placing myself before God, an inherently wicked act.

Either way, it doesn't change the reality of how I think and behave. It only changes the lens you interpret my choices through.

 

[Ella S.]

Being made aware of the consequences of sin, should not be perceived as an idle threat, but as a fair and compassionate warning.
If God exists, do you think that it is a small matter to deny His efforts in creation, to disregard the ability to love and be loved that He gave all humans?
Do you believe that forgiveness is unconditional - let me see you do the same with a thief - he'll take you for everything that you have, if you don't punish him.

Showing contempt for your Maker is an egregious offense - try showing your parents the same defiance, and see if it doesn't prove to be consequential.

Only the wicked need to be warned of their behaviour, and there is a lot of them. So that any Biblical stipulations that define the ramifications of transgressing God's will, are, first of all, meant for the defiant and insolent, and two, should be considered as full disclosure and transparency.
In other words, you all should say thank you.

For what it's worth, I agree. Hellfire preachers are often giving their sermons out of fear and compassion for their fellow human beings. They don't want anyone to go to Hell, so they spend most of their free time warning people about it.

If I believed in Hell, I might do something similar. It could hypothetically justify a wide range of atrocities in an effort to save as many souls as possible from Hell, because suffering on earth is temporary but Hell is eternal. There is a kind of logic to that line of thought.

I'm probably not going to thank the majority of people who warn me about Hell, though, because I've already investigated the possibility. I came to the conclusion that Hell does not exist and that the people who believe in it are wrong. At this point, people who warn me about Hell are merely repeating claims that I believe have already been debunked.

For such warnings to have enough weight for me to be grateful that someone gave them to me, they would need to accompany sufficient evidence for me to be convinced of them. This has yet to happen, so I withhold my thanks.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Well, obviously.

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

Think Santa Claus and the threat of coal and the reward of toys for behavior.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

All it teaches is God is checking his list, checking it twice, gonna see if your naughty or nice.....

Oh, wait.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Think Santa Claus and the threat of coal and the reward of toys for behavior.

I've seen that used more as a means of coercion amd forcing obedience rather them teaching and enshrining good behavior.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I've seen that used more as a means of coercion amd forcing obedience rather them teaching and enshrining good behavior.

Do you see this as any different from the threat of Hell and the promise of Heaven? If so, how?

 

[ChristineM]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

Empty threats of heaven or hell are really quite funny.

 

[SomeRandom]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

In my personal opinion, if you legitimately need a threat in order to be a good person, you probably aren’t one deep down.

Although when I was growing up, my own religious understanding of Hell was starkly different to the Christian version, since I was raised Hindu.
In our tradition, our Hell equivalent is more akin to say purgatory, I guess. It’s seen as a cleansing force that “punishes sin” but wipes the soul clean, ready for the next life. Kind of like a time out and “do better next time” thing
So as a kid I would always shrug off any threats of hell that adults tried to preach to me, since I didn’t quite understand that Christians have a vastly different belief system
My reaction seemed to horrify quite a few of them lol

 

[Stevicus]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

No, I don't really believe in that. Besides, the people who are making the threats are precisely those who are in no position to carry it out. The bottom line in most religions is that "God decides," so who are these non-divine beings presuming to make threats and/or promises on someone else's behalf? On whose authority do they make threats and promises?

In any case, it doesn't appear to do that much good to encourage or promote good behavior in humans.

 

[Colt]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

Hell was invented by people who had no truth to teach.

I find the goodness of God compelling. On the next world nothing will be added accept the fact of survival. Survivors start over there where we left off here.

 

[Soandso]

Meh... People attach way too much importance to the illusion of their sense of selves contained within their egos. Afterlives feel like coping mechanisms for the fear that who we are just disappears once our bodies die. They also feel like coping mechanisms to make us feel better about things we see as unfair

Little Timmy died at the age of 5 due to a painfully drawn out death from bone cancer? He finally gets to live a happy, comfortable life in paradise. Kim Jong Un lives a life of exploitation as a dictator who causes suffering to millions? He'll finally get what's coming to him after he faces punishment when he dies

Ultimately, justice is a social construct that doesn't really exist independent of humanity. We made it up. Naturally, we want to try to extend what we see as fair and right beyond the human sphere and onto everything else around us to make ourselves feel more comfortable. We have no problem even making up scenarios beyond the real world to account for when things don't line up perfectly in the way we like

Maybe I'm wrong, but there's just been too many cases of cult leaders and certain religious institutions using these ideas to control and manipulate people with extreme efficacy. Preying on our fears and discomforts always seems to work

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

I’ve stopped expecting anything to come from doing the best that I can morality wise. The only thing I need is faith that it means something and being proud In myself to continue at it.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Do you see this as any different from the threat of Hell and the promise of Heaven? If so, how?

No, and I see it as bad parenting.

 

[Mock Turtle]

Do you need threats of hell and rewards/promises of heaven to be a good person?

Or are threats and rewards/promises what humans have always used to get others to see things their way.

Never had such - just good examples to follow and mostly as to my mother's life - and seemingly without religion interfering. So perhaps I was just born good (or neutral like most) and it was my general upbringing that played the larger role. Given that there is a spectrum as to what abilities we are born with, as to our personalities, and associated factors. Why expect us all to turn out the same?

It seems pretty plain to me as to those who would nurture and encourage children to develop so as to become the best they can be are the winners over those who would straight-jacket them in some fashion - and into their particular beliefs so often.