I was thinking about the concept of 'heaven' the other day (its not something I believe in but bear with me) and I came across a rather troubling problem. If my interpretation of anything here is incorrect, by all means, correct me; religion (namely christianity) is not my forte.
Heaven, to my understanding, is a place you go after you die if you've been good.
This notion is popular, it is not true. No one is good, not one. Only lost ruined sinners who are shown salvation will see heaven.
Your reward for a righteous life is eternal bliss (which sounds good to me).
You have put the cart before the horse. Only lost wretches are saved, and as a result of that salvation, they lead a righteous life. The righteous life is a result, not a cause of the salvation.
However, what if you have some family members or friends, people you care deeply about, that are 'sinners' and are on a highway to hell? When you die and go to heaven, wouldn't it cause you to suffer knowing that these people you care about are in agony, burning in hell? I know it would cause me to suffer a great deal, but how can I suffer/feel sadness if I'm in heaven?
Those who are not saved only receive what they deserve, which is damnation. Christians rejoice in the fact that God is righteous and always has perfect judgment.
PS Those who assert that hell is not a place of eternal torment are twisting the scriptures. I would post verses but want to keep this post short.
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PS Those who assert that hell is not a place of eternal torment are twisting the scriptures.
Says who, your pastor? I haven't walked into a church in my life where the pastor didn't preach on a subject that he understood wrong. Having gone to bible college, and worked on a christian ranch I have pals, as well as school teachers, who've been to seminary. The "blind leading the blind" is a pretty relevent phrase to give to such institutions where off-base ideas are picked up by word of mouth in the christian crowd, or worse, thru catch-phrase emails and then end up in a sermon. I've witnessed all sorts of myths wind up in sermons to back up an idea. Of course the one preaching is unaware that his "facts" are fiction, but that's why they're blind. Most of them don't even know what Amen means, and thus repeatedly use it illogically as if they're doing something important, despite hebrew and greek language studies being part of the training they are supposed to go through.
http://www.what-the-hell-is-hell.com/ Please check it out, and if you still think that hell is an eternal place of torment then post your reference verses and we'll take a look at those specifically.
Based on understanding of the texts, and word analysis on the originals in their native languages, I can confidently say that such a place is superstition. Hell, in Jesus' day many of the religious teachers even taught that there was no afterlife whatsoever, and even more believed that heaven was to be enstated on earth, not in a spiritual realm. Hell, the version of hell you refer to didn't even exist back then, it's come through an evolution of fear. Hell, the word hell doesn't even appear in the bible, but it a subsitute word used to replace a variety of different expressions Jesus used, and always in a parable or figure of speech.
Edited by Disco Cat (03/07/06 08:31 PM)
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