Question for theists about hell

[Deeje]

The Baha'i believe that Bahaullah is the return of Christ. Bahaullah taught that hell and heaven are metaphors for ones nearness to God.

I have not had much contact with Baha'i believers, can you explain how Baha'ullah is the returned Christ and how you know that he is the genuine article?
What proof do you have of his claim to be Christ returned? And what did his return accomplish? Are you a Bible believer?

 

[tjgillies]

I have not had much contact with Baha'i believers, can you explain how Baha'ullah is the returned Christ and how you know that he is the genuine article?
What proof do you have of his claim to be Christ returned? And what did his return accomplish? Are you a Bible believer?

He is the returned Christ because he claims to be. I personally believe because my personal experiences with the faith are convincing. I'm not sure what bible believer means. It's a collection of books written by many people over thousands of years.

 

[Deeje]

He is the returned Christ because he claims to be. I personally believe because my personal experiences with the faith are convincing. I'm not sure what bible believer means. It's a collection of books written by many people over thousands of years.

This is interesting to me as a Christian.....do Baha'i's consider themselves to be "Christians"?

You obviously have no faith in our Bible, but does Baha'ullah have writings that you consider scripture?

Can I ask what it is that Baha'ullah accomplished as the returned Christ? The reason I ask is that when Christ returns, it was not be in human form again.
His first coming in human form was to offer his life (his flesh) for the sake of mankind. When he returned to heaven, he became an immortal spirit. As an immortal, he cannot die a second time.

What did Baha'ullah teach when he presented himself to the world? And why have most of us never heard of him?

Christ left instructions to his disciples to preach about him and his kingdom "in all the inhabited earth" until his return when he would judge the world and reward his servants who had remained faithful to God and to his teachings.

I am a little worried that you would believe his claims with no proof as to their authenticity. Do you believe everything people tell you because it sounds good? Is that trust, faith or just gullibility? Not judging....just asking.

I would love to hear about your personal experiences. Were you once a member of another faith? Have you always been Baha'i?

 

[Estro Felino]

Well, I'm new here, so I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this. But, here I go anyway.
One thing, that I never understood while trying to be Catholic, is heaven and hell. Basically, in most religions, God/s judge/s people's souls (assuming they exsist) and sends them to heaven or hell for eternity. These are called different things, in different religions, but the basic concept is the same. So, what, exactly, is the criteria? Do you have to believe in a certain religion? But what if you are not exposed to that religion or simply struggle with believing in it? Do you have to be a 'good person'? What if you were a terrible person, but you believed you were doing the right thing? And, if the criteria is simply being a good person, shouldn't you do it simply for the sake of being a good person, not for the sake of going to heaven?
I don't know; this is just something I've always wondered and never heard a good answer for.

In my religion, personal faith is absolutely irrelevant in the determination of our own afterlife.
Heaven and Hell can be considered as childish concepts to describe how beautiful (or how ugly) people's afterlife can be. And there are different perceptions of the afterlife, and as many as there are souls.
Just think of your own soul as a place, made up of feelings, emotions, deeds: that will be your afterlife.
As you can imagine, believing or not believing in a god doesn't determine your afterlife.

 

[wizanda]

In my religion, personal faith is absolutely irrelevant in the determination of our own afterlife.

Which religious belief doesn't matter, it is the faith from the heart that matters....

So lots of faith makes a strong character, and thus living a faithful life of Oneness, creates a good soul in the first place.

Heaven and Hell can be considered as childish concepts

The places exist, and could be described in scientific terms, which would be far more advanced...

The bit that is childish, is the silly made up ideologies we've ascribed to the places.

And there are different perceptions of the afterlife, and as many as there are souls.

People's perceptions paint their reality, so in a place where consciousness manifests what we see around us, people see what they expected to see....

Yet that doesn't mean, we couldn't take all these opinions, and also create a clearer universal understanding.

Just think of your own soul as a place, made up of feelings, emotions, deeds: that will be your afterlife.

We are what we eat... So choose wisely.

As you can imagine, believing or not believing in a god doesn't determine your afterlife.

Believing in a specific deity doesn't; yet believing in the Oneness of the source does....

As say you're not actually focused towards the light, and followed something off-key or partially dark, you'd be heading in the wrong direction.

 

[Davarr]

Hi, I am new here as well. Heaven and Hell are program states; they exist in terms of data storage. We are data; what we live in is just a storage device. Because we are spiritual data, we cannot be deleted. This means that when we transition out of this paradigm, we port over to one of two servers. Heaven is where Yahweh is; Hell is His recycle bin, which was made for Lucifer and his angels. Due to the trauma of this accident we call existence, Jesus wants to forget all this. He has a new reality prepared for those who will follow Him, Heaven, or 'life 2.0'. The Gospel shows us that faith in it is what saves us; ultimately, it is not about good deeds, but displacing our self worship with the obedience to Yahweh. This gives us a coding that admits us to the new server. Hell is for those who do not want to love Yahweh as God and Father. When judgment is concluded, He will remove this existence from His mind, and all who entered into it. He does not want the corrupted code of evil in the new paradigm, so it must be excised. This is not a standard exposition; the use of computer terms should not be taken to mean that people are valueless. That we are data makes us no less precious to Yeshua; we are the reason He made all this. This is the best way to explain the matter in terms of efficiency. I hope it is satisfactory to your needs.

 

[MJFlores]

Well, I'm new here, so I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this. But, here I go anyway.
One thing, that I never understood while trying to be Catholic, is heaven and hell. Basically, in most religions, God/s judge/s people's souls (assuming they exsist) and sends them to heaven or hell for eternity. These are called different things, in different religions, but the basic concept is the same. So, what, exactly, is the criteria? Do you have to believe in a certain religion? But what if you are not exposed to that religion or simply struggle with believing in it? Do you have to be a 'good person'? What if you were a terrible person, but you believed you were doing the right thing? And, if the criteria is simply being a good person, shouldn't you do it simply for the sake of being a good person, not for the sake of going to heaven?
I don't know; this is just something I've always wondered and never heard a good answer for.

Can't blame you if you did not learn from Catholicism. I didn't either. Born as one, educated as one and reared as one. Tried seminary life for a week - I did not like it - praying the rosary every night and cleaning toilets, playing football and showering with the boys like we were in prison.

Anyways, did they tell you what "Catholic" is? They did not did they - I did google it to know for myself. They did tell you about purgatory - I'm sure - it is one of the doctrines. When a man dies, they say his soul goes there for a probationary period - people say Mass for him, sell indulgences, light candles - it is a money making venture. If he is good, he goes straight to the pearly gates where he meets St. Peter with the rooster on his hand. If he is canonized by the pope he becomes a saint and people worships him as such. If he is bad, he goes to hell with Satan and his pitchfork ordering him around. Well that is Catholic story about heaven and hell.

What is in the bible? What happens when we die? I could point out a lot of verses but it would bore you out. So it would be better to show this in a video presentation. Chat down the verses, check it in your bible - which I hope is Catholic translated. Have fun!