I am of the perspective that there is no Hell. Why? Well, the concept of eternal, unending torture is a little hard for me to swallow along with the idea that God loves us. For instance, if a troubled teen takes their own life and literally had nobody to reach out to...they would end up being tortured for all eternity. If somebody picks the wrong sect of Christianity? Eternal hellfire. If somebody isn't even Christian? Burning in hell for all time. This differs depending on religious beliefs but it all amounts to the same old thing: if you are found wanting, you receive no second chance. If you pick the wrong religion, if you pick the wrong god, if you make the wrong choices, you are damned forever.

Let that concept sink in for a bit. Eternal torture. It is beyond the realm of our understanding. Time is a human concept, because the shortness of our lives makes us consider such things. Eternity is timeless, and so is hell. The torture would be, most likely, far beyond the realms of human endurance for pain and suffering, whether they are physical, psychological, or both. Imagine this, for all time.
That is the single cruelest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. It's not just scary, it's terrifying. Yet we're told to believe that God loves us and wants the best for us. We're told that God is good and just. Yet how is hell good? How is it just? The thought is unbearable to me, and to my relationship with God. My belief system is dependent on believing that God is loving, but that idea directly contradicts what a loving God would do in my mind.

Some try to justify Hell by comparing God to a father who is punishing us when we are bad. Last I checked, my dad never tortured me when I screwed up. My stepfather abused me, even, but I'm sure that was better than what I'd be facing in hell. Others compare God to a judge. Even the worst judge can't condemn you to suffer for all eternity. At the worst, they can throw you in jail for the rest of your life or have you killed. Either way, there is an end to it. The suffering, whether warranted or not, is finite. Not so with hell. There is no rest, no reprieve, no redemption.
The thought of it is too terrible for words to me. It makes me very, very afraid of God, and not in a good way. On the other side, what of heaven? Let's say you go to heaven. When you get there, you will see many of the people you knew in life. However, you will not see everybody. You wonder...where is Mom? Where's my wife? Where's my son? Where's my best friend? You find out that they are in Hell.
You now know that somebody you loved very, very much is burning in the fires of hell for all of eternity. You realize that not only will you never see them again, but they will suffer for all time while you enjoy paradise.
 
How am I supposed to enjoy heaven if I know the people I was closest to will not be there? Is it quite simply that heaven is so great that it won't matter to us? We'll instantly forget about the people who are suffering? If that's the case, then what's the point? What's the point in loving somebody? What's the point in having a family, if they'll be ripped from you and shoved into hell and you won't even care about it? Will those in hell remember? Will it only add to the torment?
 
The cruelty of it is so absurd I can't wrap my head around it. If you believe in Hell, please try and explain to me how all of this equates to a benevolent and loving God? Cause from where I stand right now, all of that sounds horrible, like a cruel and spiteful God who is more interested in punishing and inflicting pain than forgiveness and understanding.

I am terrified of hell, how could I not be? But I can't believe in it...I can't find a reason for it to exist that isn't unbearably awful. The more I think about it, the worse it makes me feel.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlton_Pearson
Here's one guy who doesn't believe in hell. I felt so lost until I learned about him. I'm not the only Christian that feels this way.


Unfortunately, then maybe Christianity is the wrong religion for me if that is the case. I cannot accept hell.


Convert to Christianity so as to avoid hell? Or convert from Christianity in order to get away from the dogma?
 


Yet in the end you can't control the actions of your friends and family, so if they fall short you still don't get to be with them. They still go to hell for all eternity. And if the only reason heaven is so great is that it isn't hell, then that makes it all seem pointless. 'Man, I wish my wife were here. I miss her so much.' 'Shut up, you. Just be grateful you're not burning in eternal hellfire like she is.'

one thing that seems like a contradiction to me is this: apparently, our conduct on earth hasn't nearly so much bearing on our afterlife (if any), yet our conduct on earth is what determines where we go when we die.

as long as we accept jesus christ as our saviour, we're good to go...
unless we........[insert any number of feelings/actions that have no correllation to whether we believe in jesus]

my little sub-argument makes me think that jesus simply can't be the one-way ticket, because even if one believes him to be their saviour, there are a lot of other HUMAN variables that completely negate that 'ticket.'


digressions aside, i can't understand why a 'loving' god would force such unbearable, unfathomable punishment on a human soul for their human behaviour when humans are, by nature, imperfect.  i don't think i could ever be happy in heaven knowing those i love are suffering in hell; conversely, i think anyone that'd be able to overlook it and accept it so easily perhaps shouldn't be the one in heaven.

Actually, the only 'unless' is 'unless you deny the holy ghost.'


Again, the Bible essentially says that Christ is the white sheet that God puts over our ugly sins, and this allows us into heaven, given that we accept it.


Although I agree, just because we can't understand it doesn't make it false.

You're missing the point.

How can we enjoy heaven knowing our loved ones are suffering in hell for all of eternity?

Or does heaven make us forget that they're there?

Do we feel guilt or shame for not trying harder to get them to go to heaven?


Call me crazy but it sounds like you're just saying that like I could say "Once you study this astrology guide, you will know the secrets of the universe."


You're telling me you could enjoy heaven knowing people you knew and loved on earth were being eternally tortured maniacally without relent?


Purest gold streets? Who gives a fuck about golden streets when people you love are screaming out for mercy at the top of their lungs with no one there to help them? You've got to be kidding me.


Please don't just spout this stuff off without some kind of reference. Otherwise, you're just evangelizing and around here, that's spam.

Believer:
the point is to respond to what was written, not proselytise.

The first purpose of this site is religious discussion/debate. You aren't doing either of those things -- you're preaching. Any religious group could come on and say what you're saying about their God, including the mormons and it would have the same effect.

What is it that you don't get?

if this is the case, then what is the point of living?
it sort of trivialises being alive, it seems.  if people are that disposable, why form relationships at all?  further, if we don't recognise the attachments we had to those that don't join us in heaven, why should we recognise those of the people that do?

how could a person enjoy perfection knowing that others are suffering eternal damnation?  if, upon entering heaven, a person's soul no longer recalls that of the condemned, then it proves that ignorance is bliss - and isn't that a bad thing?

likewise, say Paradise follows the principle set forth by the story of adam & eve: not having knowledge of good vs evil is, in fact, a divine thing; in this case, how would our souls begin to comprehend perfection - or even be able to appreciate it?  and if perfection (therefore Heaven) = ignorance, then why were we given free will and the ability to rationalise?