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What of Hell? Why must there be one? Why must we suffer?

Mathematician

Mathematician

Reason, and reason again
Any concept of hell turns me off automatically. The first thing my brain thinks of is "scare tactic". However, putting that aside, I have a few questions.

Why would a God craft something like hell? In hell, I mean a place of eternal damnation for those who either sin or go against God.

I don't like generalizing, but most people I talk to who believe in hell (predominately Christian, since I am American) do not make a good case for it existing. Why does God need a hell? We are not perfect. There is nothing we can do about that. If one of my faults is not believing in God, how come I go to hell when I'm doing my best to feed God's other creations (namely my fellow man. Praise the universe for love within our species!), while someone else is passing through life with other failures and has no way to go to hell? In my eyes, even sending someone like Hitler to eternal damnation is unlogical. We are damned creations. A loving God shouldn't damn us further.
 
dawny0826

dawny0826

Mother Heathen
GeneCosta said:
Any concept of hell turns me off automatically. The first thing my brain thinks of is "scare tactic". However, putting that aside, I have a few questions.

Why would a God craft something like hell? In hell, I mean a place of eternal damnation for those who either sin or go against God.

I don't like generalizing, but most people I talk to who believe in hell (predominately Christian, since I am American) do not make a good case for it existing. Why does God need a hell? We are not perfect. There is nothing we can do about that. If one of my faults is not believing in God, how come I go to hell when I'm doing my best to feed God's other creations (namely my fellow man. Praise the universe for love within our species!), while someone else is passing through life with other failures and has no way to go to hell? In my eyes, even sending someone like Hitler to eternal damnation is unlogical. We are damned creations. A loving God shouldn't damn us further.
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God didn't damn us. We damn ourselves by our own disobedience. God LOVED us so much...instead of wiping us all off of the face of the earth and damning us all to hell...he gave us Christ...and through Christ we are redeemed. If you're a Christian who truly carries your own cross and follows Christ...hell isn't an issue...that's not your eternal future.

We have the freedom of choice. We CHOOSE what happens to us eternally. And God IS and ALWAYS HAS been pulling for us to follow Him. Man screws up. God doesn't make mistakes.

And if you don't believe the Bible...this is going to be pretty hard to accept.;)
 
Quiddity

Quiddity

UndertheInfluenceofGiants
GeneCosta, I'm sure you believe in our jail system correct? If you do, what's difference between the two?
 
Bangbang

Bangbang

Active Member
Don't worry.....there is no Hell other than the grave and when your dead you are not aware of anything.

Ecclesiastes 9:5
5 For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing
 
dawny0826

dawny0826

Mother Heathen
Bangbang said:
Don't worry.....there is no Hell other than the grave and when your dead you are not aware of anything.

Ecclesiastes 9:5
5 For the living know that they will die,
but the dead know nothing
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So what of biblical references of hell. Do you ignore those and cling to this one?
 
Bangbang

Bangbang

Active Member
dawny0826 said:
So what of biblical references of hell. Do you ignore those and cling to this one?
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Ok.......show me the biblical accounts of Hell....and we willgo from there. Knockout
 
jeffrey

jeffrey

†ßig Dog†
I really don't believe in hell except for the one we create for ourselves on earth. There very well might be something on the order of reincarnation, IMO, were you come back as something or someone else. But the burning and eternal torment... Nah... can't see it.
 
Bangbang

Bangbang

Active Member
jeffrey said:
I really don't believe in hell except for the one we create for ourselves on earth. There very well might be something on the order of reincarnation, IMO, were you come back as something or someone else. But the burning and eternal torment... Nah... can't see it.
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When something is burned with fire it is gone for eternity. It no longer exists.
 
dawny0826

dawny0826

Mother Heathen
jeffrey said:
So, how can a soul feel pain without a body?
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We'll have a spiritual body...but I believe the torment of hell will be every bit a spiritual torment...as it was your SOUL that was damned to hell.

I don't discount the fact that there will be a body in eternal pain but the heart of what is being tormented is the SOUL.

If you believe biblically, you know as I do that we don't live our lives trying to save and purify our physical bodies...we will eventually die and those bodies will be buried...it's our SOUL that lives on...whether in eternal damnation or otherwise.
 
jeffrey

jeffrey

†ßig Dog†
D, I respect your views, just don't believe in a hell. To me, the way I see God, it's just not him. The God I see is a loving God. If anything, you just fail to exist. I know my own son has done some pretty bad things, but never would I want to see harm come to him.
 
michel

michel

Administrator Emeritus
Staff member
dawny0826 said:
We'll have a spiritual body...but I believe the torment of hell will be every bit a spiritual torment...as it was your SOUL that was damned to hell.

I don't discount the fact that there will be a body in eternal pain but the heart of what is being tormented is the SOUL.

If you believe biblically, you know as I do that we don't live our lives trying to save and purify our physical bodies...we will eventually die and those bodies will be buried...it's our SOUL that lives on...whether in eternal damnation or otherwise.
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O.K, so I know I am 'unconventional'; I don't buy into the 'hell' thing either. As Jeffrey said, I think it is something we make for ourselves here on Earth.

Would a father (even if cross with his children, because they had been naughty) send them to an everlasting fire ?
 
dawny0826

dawny0826

Mother Heathen
jeffrey said:
D, I respect your views, just don't believe in a hell. To me, the way I see God, it's just not him. The God I see is a loving God. If anything, you just fail to exist. I know my own son has done some pretty bad things, but never would I want to see harm come to him.
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And I respect you as well.

I interpret the Bible literally. I believe we were given a choice and if we turn away from God...we forfeit eternity with Him.

To each his his/her own, I guess.
 
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