Does Hell exist?

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Dichotomies are not my favourite thing, most of them are false when they are thought out or thought about, often it is a case of and/or instead of either/or. At least that's my experience.

Really. I find the opposite to be true; I see a yin/yang quality, a balance, to almost everything that exists in our world, be it physical or meta-physical, which becomes more apparent to me as I go through life.

.....And I decry new age religiosity.

 

[tinker683]

Really. I find the opposite to be true; I see a yin/yang quality, a balance, to almost everything that exists in our world, be it physical or meta-physical, which becomes more apparent to me as I go through life.

.....And I decry new age religiosity.

I've actually noticed the same myself. I don't know what to make of it, but it's very fascinating for me to witness.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

Its hard to add any coherence to anything that can't be proven wrong... such as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and magical frogs with funny little hats (amongst other things)

HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THOSE

 

[Xyk]

This is another one of those things that sounds just silly to those of us not raised to believe stupid shit.

 

[Spurgeon]

Also, it's silly to think that a God would punish creatures whose entire purpose and means of survival depended upon questioning things. Humans wouldn't have gotten out of the mud if they didn't have that.

What's the point of a God who wants this? Taking some people's ideas to their conclusion, it would mean that God indulges in getting his jollies off by burning them for the very things he made them for. Like I said, that God is worse than a toddler. It's on a Cosmic Jeffrey Dahmer level of behavior.. like some kid mad at his dog for something a dog simply does, and cutting his heart out, and burning his entrails for it. All for being a dog and nothing else. Real cool god you got there.

Anyways, I'm done.

The Bible is full of answers to your questions.

Here is just a small sample:

Romans 1:18-25
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

 

[Edgar]

HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THOSE

I was riding a unicorn on my way to visit your mom in the gingerbread house, but got thrown off and hit my head.

I woke up to one of them singing Hello My Baby

 

[Lark]

Really. I find the opposite to be true; I see a yin/yang quality, a balance, to almost everything that exists in our world, be it physical or meta-physical, which becomes more apparent to me as I go through life.

.....And I decry new age religiosity.

My reason for believing this to be the case can be traced back to an individualism vs. socialism dichotomy which some lecturers at university clung to with tenacity, one a cold war marxist, the other a fanatic for herbert spencers politics and social policy, I didnt think their particular "game of tennis" made much sense to me, I dont think there is a dichotomy between those things. There are many other examples of false dichotomies too. Are yin and yang dichotomous? In the traditional two halves to a whole circle symbol they each contain one another in the form of a spot within the "tear".

 

[Totenkindly]

Here is just a small sample:

Romans 1:18-25
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

...And if Paul's infamous Romans clobber passage says it's so, then it must be.

 

[Lark]

This is another one of those things that sounds just silly to those of us not raised to believe stupid shit.

Love the double standards this post exemplifies right here.

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Are yin and yang dichotomous? In the traditional two halves to a whole circle symbol they each contain one another in the form of a spot within the "tear".

I'm glad you asked. This is my model for free will versus determinism. God gives us free will, yet there is an underlying determinism to everything. And sometimes there is a bit of each completely encompassed within the other...represented by the "spot."

 

[Beargryllz]

A wise man once said

"Hell is other people"

I think he is full of shit. There are so many worse things than other people.

 

[Lark]

I'm glad you asked. This is my model for free will versus determinism. God gives us free will, yet there is an underlying determinism to everything. And sometimes there is a bit of each completely encompassed within the other...represented by the "spot."

I think God gives free will but has a plan, people can deviate from it if they want, although they will be happier if they dont and will know themselves when they are living according to it or not.

 

[wildflower]

giggly, what do you think? do you believe in hell or demons?

 

[Xyk]

Love the double standards this post exemplifies right here.

I'm actually not seeing any double standards here. I was raised to believe nothing unless it follows a logical progression. The existence of a place where bad people go after they die to be tortured forever does not follow a logical progression. The belief in it is derived from people a long time ago with a whole lot of problems in their society. They thought "if the murderers, rapists, thieves and other ne'er do wells believe that they will suffer endlessly for doing these bad things, they will not do them". It may have worked reasonably well, but it's still "stupid shit" because it's literal existence does not follow a logical progression.

What you're probably referencing is the idea that logic is a belief. Logic is not a belief because it does not require faith. If you have one apple and are given a second, you have two apple,s regardless of how many you believe you have.

 

[Lark]

I'm actually not seeing any double standards here...

I know. You're not the only one.

 

[Noon]

A wise man once said

"Hell is other people"

I think he is full of shit. There are so many worse things than other people.

lol I can't believe I laughed as much as I did at this.

 

[Xyk]

I know. You're not the only one.

You'll notice I expanded on that statement. Common courtesy dictates you do the same.

 

[Magic Poriferan]

If god created the world in which suffering is possible, he created suffering. If he is omnipotent, no excuses can be made for him letting it in. It's not an accident, it must be his choice. That being said, if you want to split hairs, I don't think a benevolent God would permit suffering anymore than create it. For a person like me there's a relevant difference between permission and creation regarding practicality. For an omnipotent being, there is no such distinction.

And how do I have free will if God is omnipotent? Free will implies to me that he does not control my decisions, does not have power over them. That means something less than omnipotence. And if God potentially control those things but chooses not to, then he's choosing to allow us to stumble into sin and suffering when he could prevent it, therefore, not benevolent.

And I strongly believe that it's not just the so-called west, and not just the past 500 years, but that for all times and places that there has been scientific and technological development there has been a move away from spirituality. Animist foragers didn't even have a concept of the super natural because they thought that they were simply describing that which was natural. As civilization advanced we had solved more and more mysteries and every one of those mysteries revealed things came down to forces of physics attainable to man. Each time this happened, spirituality has withdrawn a bit.

 

[The Outsider]

I voted "No", because I don't think the fantastical places described in fairy tales actually exist. However in some less literal sense of the word, I'd say that it does exist.

 

[KDude]

I voted "No", because I don't think the fantastical places described in fairy tales actually exist. However in some less literal sense of the word, I'd say that it does exist.

I'm not sure Hell is my idea of a fairytale. lol