Does the thought of Hell ever scare an atheist?

[tame_deuces]

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The concept of hell seriously [censored] me up as a kid. There's still some lingering episodic fear, but it's well under control now. I am a hypochondriac and I experience significant anxiety regarding my health - this may be the legacy of hell.

Thankfully, the power of religion to terrorize me gets weaker and weaker as I get older.

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That's a very good point. I'm glad my family (who were Christians) didn't believe in hell, nor did they 'teach' christianity to us kids before we were 15 (we picked up bits and piecesit ofcourse, but there was no 'indoctrination', rituals or christenings or stuff like that).

[Cumulonimbus]

lol no it doesn't scare me at all. does the thought of going to another religion's hell scare you?

[DougShrapnel]

No, The thought of going to heaven does tho. I'm pretty sure that if the xtain god is real. Once in heaven, I'd be all "I didn't sign up for this."

[tame_deuces]

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No, The thought of going to heaven does tho.

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Heaven is an appealing idea. As long as it is different than those green meadows and uncanny smiling people all over the place as often depicted in christian pamphlets.

I'd really prefer some temper, sex, occasional beer, lots of disagreement and debate, some porn and maybe even a brawl every 3 years just to keep life a little exciting.

[borisp]

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Naw, I worry about how to live my life instead

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eternity is a long time compared to one's life on Earth.

you may just cease to exist when u die...or u may live on for eternity...really could be either one...

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And if you don't potentially exist for eternity, then this attitude is a colossal waste. Seriously, this debate was played out like a century ago.

But good luck in your evangelism. I hear that convincing others of the righteousness of your actions makes you get more virgins in heaven. Someday everyone will act exactly as you want them to!!

[Drag]

Not in the slightest bit. Even if God existed, he should be more clever than intellegent humans. For intellegent humans bible and christanity is such a non-sense, so it should be the same for him/her.

[madnak]

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Heaven is an appealing idea. As long as it is different than those green meadows and uncanny smiling people all over the place as often depicted in christian pamphlets.

[/ QUOTE ]

But it beats clouds and harps.

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I'd really prefer some temper, sex, occasional beer, lots of disagreement and debate, some porn and maybe even a brawl every 3 years just to keep life a little exciting.

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You could always go Norse.

[drzen]

The thought of hell doesn't scare me half as much as the thought that there are people out there who claim their god loves us but wants to torture us for eternity. What a [censored]-up idea of love that is!

[drzen]

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Not in the slightest bit. Even if God existed, he should be more clever than intellegent humans. For intellegent humans bible and christanity is such a non-sense, so it should be the same for him/her.

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Do you not think it's possible that God can see meaning where you can't? That he can understand things you can't?

The concept of "being intelligent" is meaningless when it comes to God, by the way. It's incredible how little able some "intelligent" people are to conceive, even dimly, of what a transcendent being with infinite qualities would be like.

[MidGe]

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what a transcendent being with infinite qualities would be like.

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Whatever he would be like he would never be the author of the way the world is!