Does the thought of Hell ever scare an atheist?

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why would you interpret this literally?

[/ QUOTE ]

I interpret it as fiction. But many Christians interpret it literally. And many Christians are gleeful at the notion of people being tortured forever.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think a lot of Christians truly believe in Hell and hate the thought of it...which is why there's some Christians who spend their lives trying to "save" others, because they are sickened by the punishment, but believe it to be true.

I hope Hell doesn't exist. I hope we are supposed to read the parts in the Bible describing Hell allegorically and not literally. And that there will be no literal place of eternal torment. I can't even fathom how Heaven would be so perfect if one had the knowledge of others suffering in Hell.

But again...God makes the rules. If God exists and is in control, than all we can do is pray for His mercy.

[/ QUOTE ]

What POSSIBLE allegorical meaning to burning in fire for eternity could there be? I'm genuinely interested. It seems like some Christians just shout "Allegory!" or "METAPHOR!!!" whenever there is some horrible part of the Bible that they really dont like. What is the allegory here? What POSSIBLE reality could be depicted by this metaphor? Eternal seems to pretty much mean eternal...its not exactly a metaphor or euphemism.

[Splendour]

I'm sorry I wasn't clear enough in my post. I went off on a tangent. I wasn't addressing the hell question the OP posted. I was simply expressing my amazement at the lack of respect for the number of diverse elements that the bible has to deal with. Not to mention its time, space and prophetic dimensions as well as the various levels of intellects it addresses, not just IQ levels, not just cultures, but from kids to the elderly.

Btw, if you really did study the bible as thorougly as you contend how come you never arrived at the conclusion that arrogance could get in the way of understanding?

Arrogance often gets in the way of any study whether its a biblical or completely non-biblical one.

The ironic thing is that intelligent people have the better intellects to wrestle with the bible, but it appears many of them don't want to. Maybe God is even more concerned with our emotions than our intellects. He is all about spirit after all.

Its hard to impress God with brains since he already cornered the market on it, but he just might have made us for worship and companionship. That requires a better emotional being not an intellectual being.

[twonine29]

[ QUOTE ]
Simple question:

Do you believe that the god you worship sends people to a place where they are to suffer for eternity, or not?

[/ QUOTE ]

I believe in God, and i pray that He doesn't send anyone to suffer for eternity. but who am i? a nobody.

eh. i just wanted to know if any atheists ever had the slight fear of eternal Hell. I was agnostic/atheist till I was 19. Now I'm 23 and a Christian.

Even so, i still contemplate other possibilities, like what if everyone who didn't give their soul away gets to be "free" for eternity while those who gave their souls away are slaves.

i think the fact that there's even something instead of nothing at all is mind-blowing.

[bluesbassman]

[ QUOTE ]
i know most atheists are confident in their belief that there is no God...especially the Christian God.

Does the thought of Hell ever worry you?



[/ QUOTE ]

Nowhere near the degree to which people who are worried about going to Hell, worry me.

[Sephus]

[ QUOTE ]
Btw, if you really did study the bible as thorougly as you contend how come you never arrived at the conclusion that arrogance could get in the way of understanding?

[/ QUOTE ]

arrogance is a much bigger obstacle to those of lower intelligence. while the more intelligent may "come off" with an air of superiority, they tend to have a much better understanding of their own competence.

[ QUOTE ]
The ironic thing is that intelligent people have the better intellects to wrestle with the bible, but it appears many of them don't want to.

[/ QUOTE ]

intelligent people have a better understanding of what sort of things are worth wrestling with.

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe God is even more concerned with our emotions than our intellects. He is all about spirit after all. Its hard to impress God with brains since he already cornered the market on it, but he just might have made us for worship and companionship. That requires a better emotional being not an intellectual being.

[/ QUOTE ]

if there weren't a corner for you to run to, we wouldn't be here.

[tame_deuces]

[ QUOTE ]


Btw, if you really did study the bible as thorougly as you contend how come you never arrived at the conclusion that arrogance could get in the way of understanding?

Arrogance often gets in the way of any study whether its a biblical or completely non-biblical one.


[/ QUOTE ]

I did, but that understanding went the other way. I understand and liked that good science is humble to the effect that it accepts alternate explanations and seeks to understand if they hold true.

Science doesn't claim the ultimate answer, so there isn't the calm security that religion offered - as many things will go unanswered. But the (good) bits of science are devoid of the religious arrogance of laying absolute claim to answers.

[Brad1970]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I am confused about this hell. I have a bible with me, direct me to the passage that describes hell. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]
Any help here? You all seem to have intimate knowledge of this hell place. There must be some interesting passages in the bible that go into depth about this place.

[/ QUOTE ]

You know how to use Google right??

Also, aside from quoting a bunch of scripture that may or may not help you, try reading Luke 16:19-31.

[Brad1970]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why would you interpret this literally?

[/ QUOTE ]

I interpret it as fiction. But many Christians interpret it literally. And many Christians are gleeful at the notion of people being tortured forever.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think a lot of Christians truly believe in Hell and hate the thought of it...which is why there's some Christians who spend their lives trying to "save" others, because they are sickened by the punishment, but believe it to be true.

I hope Hell doesn't exist. I hope we are supposed to read the parts in the Bible describing Hell allegorically and not literally. And that there will be no literal place of eternal torment. I can't even fathom how Heaven would be so perfect if one had the knowledge of others suffering in Hell.

But again...God makes the rules. If God exists and is in control, than all we can do is pray for His mercy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hell is a real place & you need to accept the fact that there will be people spending eternity there. Jesus taught more about hell than he did heaven.

Christians are not 'gleeful' about nonbelievers going there...why do you think we go through the effort of trying convert the rest of the world??

[Splendour]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i know most atheists are confident in their belief that there is no God...especially the Christian God.

Does the thought of Hell ever worry you?



[/ QUOTE ]

Nowhere near the degree to which people who are worried about going to Hell, worry me.

[/ QUOTE ]

The ironic thing is I never heard this worry about hell come up among Christians as much as it does with the atheists on this forum. I'm sure Christians are bound to consider it, but most that I know focus on the love and redemption. I know I noticed hell but in a passing sort of way. It seems like its something that either non-Christians or non-believers obsess over. I always knew God was good so I focus on respecting him.

Are people focusing on hell because they fear something in their own lives? I know there's a hell. I just focus more on pleasing God and trying to understand what pleases him is enough to do without obsessing over hell.

Fearing hell so much that you refuse to believe in it? That prevents you from doing whats pleasing to God. It must be a trick of the devil.

An excerpt:

Satan’s opening volley was not a blistering attack on God; it was a simply a question that he wanted Eve to think about. “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1). Actually, God had said that she could eat of every tree but one. But Satan twisted the facts to suit his purposes and to lead Eve’s mind to the conclusion that God was not the generous God she had known Him to be, but rather a stingy, restrictive, joy killer. Once she had let her heart drift to the wrong conclusion, it was easy for her to believe Satan’s lie that God just wanted to keep her from being as knowledgeable as He is and that the threat of them dying was just God’s way of scaring them into compliance with His stingy ways.

Satan still sets us adrift by planting doubt about God’s Word and spinning the facts to his own evil advantage.

Once we begin to suspect God instead of trusting Him, we inevitably drift away from Him. So, beware! Your life is full of scenarios where Satan can put his deceitful twist on your experiences. He is the spin-doctor of hell, and as Jesus said, “When [Satan] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” John 8:44

http://www.rbc.org/bible_study/stren...ily/57222.aspx

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i know most atheists are confident in their belief that there is no God...especially the Christian God.

Does the thought of Hell ever worry you?



[/ QUOTE ]

Nowhere near the degree to which people who are worried about going to Hell, worry me.

[/ QUOTE ]

The ironic thing is I never heard this worry about hell come up among Christians as much as it does with the atheists on this forum. I'm sure Christians are bound to consider it, but most that I know focus on the love and redemption. I know I noticed hell but in a passing sort of way. It seems like its something that either non-Christians or non-believers obsess over. I always knew God was good so I focus on respecting him.

Are people focusing on hell because they fear something in their own lives? I know there's a hell. I just focus more on pleasing God and trying to understand what pleases him is enough to do without obsessing over hell.

Fearing hell so much that you refuse to believe in it? That prevents you from doing whats pleasing to God. It must be a trick of the devil.

An excerpt:

Satan’s opening volley was not a blistering attack on God; it was a simply a question that he wanted Eve to think about. “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” (Genesis 3:1). Actually, God had said that she could eat of every tree but one. But Satan twisted the facts to suit his purposes and to lead Eve’s mind to the conclusion that God was not the generous God she had known Him to be, but rather a stingy, restrictive, joy killer. Once she had let her heart drift to the wrong conclusion, it was easy for her to believe Satan’s lie that God just wanted to keep her from being as knowledgeable as He is and that the threat of them dying was just God’s way of scaring them into compliance with His stingy ways.

Satan still sets us adrift by planting doubt about God’s Word and spinning the facts to his own evil advantage.

Once we begin to suspect God instead of trusting Him, we inevitably drift away from Him. So, beware! Your life is full of scenarios where Satan can put his deceitful twist on your experiences. He is the spin-doctor of hell, and as Jesus said, “When [Satan] lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” John 8:44

http://www.rbc.org/bible_study/stren...ily/57222.aspx

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, it is weird that a bunch of people who are obscenely sure they arent going to be the ones going to Hell dont worry so much about it, and the people who are constantly told that they WILL be going to Hell and burning there for eternity and that this is the most perfect, just, glorious thing imaginable, are more worried about it.

That is funny. Ha. Ha.