how do you feel when threatened with Hell?

[JustGeorge]

what do you think happens to a person when he dies?

I suspect we move along into another realm; I hope we get to see loved ones, if they're still there. I believe strongly we reincarnate into our next life(of which the nature of is determined by how we lived the current one).

 

[vijeno]

How do you feel when people threaten you with Hell?

For me it brings about an enormous sense of superiority

I think it's supposed to scare me

It really doesn't

It makes me feel for them. I feel compassion. Having been there myself, albeit in the last millennium, I feel like I want to help them out of their delusion, which is the actual hell, because it really exists - only it exists inside of them.

 

[muhammad_isa]

Anyway thanks for the discussion..

Thanks..

 

[YoursTrue]

I suspect we move along into another realm; I hope we get to see loved ones, if they're still there. I believe strongly we reincarnate into our next life(of which the nature of is determined by how we lived the current one).

I like myself even though I am not perfect, make mistakes. I do not want to move on to another realm except that of a life on this earth without sickness, pain or sorrow. Or death. Now that you bring up what you did, I am more than satisfied that I realize the Bible says I can live forever as a human in wonderful conditions. I believe that is the best promise for me.

 

[TLK Valentine]

what do you think happens to a person when he dies?

I know the question wasn't directed to me specifically, but:

The same thing that was happening to them before they were born.

 

[TLK Valentine]

Especially when they say they are worried for you and will be sad to not be in Heaven with you..........

So your God would horribly torture your friends for all eternity?????

Lovely!

What I miss is when they say God'll punish me for my views on abortion, LGBTs, who to vote for, etc...

I miss reminding them that their God is already sending me to Hell because I'm not a Christian. "My dude, you just threatened to give a parking ticket to a man on Death Row."

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

An atheist sees such discourse as "a threat", whereas the believer sees it as "a warning".
It's all in the mind..

With some believers, I think "revenge fantasy" is more accurate: "you don't believe me now, but just you wait and see!"

 

[Kenny]

How do you feel when people threaten you with Hell?

For me it brings about an enormous sense of superiority

I think it's supposed to scare me

It really doesn't

It makes me feel somewhat like when a policemen threatens me with a fine or jail time. Then I feel real good when he then says “I’ll give you a free pass this time”.

 

[wellwisher]

How do you feel when people threaten you with Hell?

For me it brings about an enormous sense of superiority

I think it's supposed to scare me

It really doesn't

I see it less of a threat and more of a guideline. If someone says you should not drink and drive that is not a threat but a guideline to help you moderate and maintain self control and awareness when behind the wheel; balance.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

I see it less of a threat and more of a guideline. If someone says you should not drink and drive that is not a threat but a guideline to help you moderate and maintain self control and awareness when behind the wheel; balance.

"Don't drink and drive because you might hurt someone" - not a threat

"Don't drink and drive because my favourite dude has built a dungeon where he'll torture you if he catches you" - a threat

 

[JustGeorge]

I like myself even though I am not perfect, make mistakes. I do not want to move on to another realm except that of a life on this earth without sickness, pain or sorrow. Or death. Now that you bring up what you did, I am more than satisfied that I realize the Bible says I can live forever as a human in wonderful conditions. I believe that is the best promise for me.

I'm glad to hear you're satisfied with your beliefs.

 

[Ajax]

what do you think happens to a person when he dies?

Nobody has ever come back from being dead to explain what happens, so we don't know. Perhaps we could end up being like we were before conception, which again is unknown. However since we belong to the Kingdom Animalia and specifically in the Class - Mammalia, Order - Primates, Family - Hominidae, did you ever consider what happens to our other anchestors when they die? Why should they be different from us in this respect?

 

[muhammad_isa]

"Don't drink and drive because my favourite dude has built a dungeon where he'll torture you if he catches you" - a threat..

Yeah .. but that is not a fair comparison with hell, imo.
You only see it that way if you don't understand idiom, and only take a literal reading.
eg. that "bloke" called God will do this or that

..but I see it as being warned of consequences, as we can either nurture our souls or damage them.

 

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Yeah .. but that is not a fair comparison with hell, imo.

Depends on the sort of Hell being proposed.

You only see it that way if you don't understand idiom, and only take a literal reading.
eg. that "bloke" called God will do this or that

I respond to the beliefs and claims I'm given. Many theists argue for a literalist interpretation; many don't. Literal interpretations of scripture aren't universal, but they're certainly common.

..but I see it as being warned of consequences, as we can either nurture our souls or damage them.

Damage them... by a mechanism that God didn't specifically, deliberately create with full knowledge of what its effects would be?

 

[Ajax]

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.

 

[Soandso]

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.

Eh... I think "conditioned" might be more fitting sometimes. Think of a partner who who walks on egg shells around their significant other to avoid suffering their wrath. Sounds like an unhealthy situation to me

 

[Ajax]

Supposed to be Einstein's words, not mine.. but I agree with them..

 

[Trailblazer]

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.

In my religion, we are not supposed to worship God in order to get to heaven.

“Although when true worship is offered, the worshipper is delivered from the fire, and entereth the paradise of God’s good-pleasure, yet such should not be the motive of his act. However, God’s favour and grace ever flow in accordance with the exigencies of His inscrutable wisdom.”
Selections From the Writings of the Báb, p. 78

 

[Ajax]

In my religion, we are not supposed to worship God in order to get to heaven.

The text I quoted didn't mention worshiping, it just mentions people's hope for reward...

 

[Trailblazer]

The text I quoted didn't mention worshiping, it just mentions people's hope for reward...

Whether it is believing or worshiping or anything else, in my religion we are not supposed to do what we do for a reward.