EdwardAbbey Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Why are Christians so afraid of hell ? Isn't that one of the main reasons for becoming a Christian ? If the fear of hell isn't what motivated you to become a Christian, then what was it about Christianity that appealed to you to the point where you just could not refuse making such a decision to become one ? My personal take on why the majority of people become Christians is because of emotion and nothing more than that. It is an appeal to human emotion and the fear of what might happen or not happen after death. It's my personal opinion yes. But it is also my own honest reasons why I became one many years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Great minds think alike! From my personal statement: Mankind's number one fear is death. Religion promises eternal life for "correct" behaivor. Man's second greatest fear, or avoidence, is pain. Religion promises eternal pain as punishment for incorrect behaivor. Devious minds have used these two facts for control for centuries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardAbbey Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share Posted July 14, 2008 Great minds think alike! From my personal statement: Mankind's number one fear is death. Religion promises eternal life for "correct" behaivor. Man's second greatest fear, or avoidence, is pain. Religion promises eternal pain as punishment for incorrect behaivor. Devious minds have used these two facts for control for centuries. I like the quote in your signature by Brian Worley: "If your Bible isn't literal, then it must be literature". I would change the last part of by saying, "then it must be fiction" I've been looking over his web site. Very good stuff. I like it. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Assuming for the moment that hell is real (yes, huge assumption) I can't quite understand why salvation from hell seems to be completely geared as to whether or not you happen to believe certain things about God, Jesus died for you, all the stuff in the Nicene Creed, etc. Why would the effectiveness of Christ's sacrifice (assuming it is effective) depend upon whether or not people believe in it or have the proper understanding of the significance of this event. Just think about how ludicrous this is. Why would an all powerful, all good and all knowing God even care? Also, since he is ultimately responsible for how our individual brains are wired and what circumstances we are raised in, isn't he also responsible for our beliefs or lack thereof? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponymic Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 My thing has always been. If the Devil supposedly turned away from God, and is essentially, his enemy- why on Earth would he choose to torture all those who turn away from God? It's completely counterproductive. It sounds like he's still working for God to me. Otherwise, he'd make hell one big house party and reward people for turning away from God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misterspock1 Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 It is precisely the fear of Hell that motivated me to become a Christian. The "Romans Road" tells me that I am a sinner (Romans 3:23) and am doomed for Hell (Romans 6:23) and that the only way to avoid this is to accept Jesus (Romans 10:9). God, in his "mercy," has provided a way out. We don't have to fear death because God loves us and wants us to come to Heaven. Christians spout all the time about how the message of their religion is all about love, but the underlying message is one of death. God, knowing that we would be "doomed" for Hell, created Hell anyway, and then decided to try to make himself good by giving us a "way out." That's the way I look at it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardAbbey Posted July 15, 2008 Author Share Posted July 15, 2008 Assuming for the moment that hell is real (yes, huge assumption) I can't quite understand why salvation from hell seems to be completely geared as to whether or not you happen to believe certain things about God, Jesus died for you, all the stuff in the Nicene Creed, etc. Why would the effectiveness of Christ's sacrifice (assuming it is effective) depend upon whether or not people believe in it or have the proper understanding of the significance of this event. Just think about how ludicrous this is. Why would an all powerful, all good and all knowing God even care? Also, since he is ultimately responsible for how our individual brains are wired and what circumstances we are raised in, isn't he also responsible for our beliefs or lack thereof? Yes it is quite amazing how biblegod is so easily disproved by it's contradictory characteristics alone. He seems to know everything but on the other hand is absolutely clueless about the big freakin mess he alone is totally repsponsible for. And as George Carlin once said about hell, "but God loves you" ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 My thing has always been. If the Devil supposedly turned away from God, and is essentially, his enemy- why on Earth would he choose to torture all those who turn away from God? It's completely counterproductive. It sounds like he's still working for God to me. Otherwise, he'd make hell one big house party and reward people for turning away from God. Wong concept. Satan isn't in charge of hell. Satan is in hell, just like me and you are going to be. According to the Revelation the pit of fire has been prepared for the devil and his angels, we just get thrown in as sort of an after thought. When Dante decendend to the lowest reaches of hell it wasn't hot but cold, and Satan was frozen in to a lake up to his nipples. When we had gone so far forward that it pleased my Master to show me the creature that had the fair semblance, from before me he took himself and made me stop, saying, "Behold Dis, and behold the place where it is needful that with fortitude thou arm thee." How I became then chilled and hoarse, ask it not, Reader, for I write it not, because all speech would be little. I did not die, and I did not remain alive. Think now for thyself, if thou hast grain of wit, what I became, deprived of one and the other. The emperor of the woeful realm from his midbreast issued forth from the ice; and I match better with a giant, than the giants do with his arms. See now how great must be that whole which corresponds to such parts. If he was as fair as he now is foul, and against his Maker lifted up his brow, surely may all tribulation proceed from him. Oh how great a marvel it seemed to me, when I saw three faces on his head! one in front, and that was red; the others were two that were joined to this above the very middle of each shoulder, and they were joined together at the place of the crest; and the right seemed between white and yellow, the left was such to sight as those who come from where the Nile flows valleyward. Beneath each came forth two great wings, of size befitting so huge a bird. Sails of the sea never saw I such. They had no feathers, but their fashion was of a bat; and he was flapping them so that three winds went forth from him, whereby Cocytus was all congealed. With six eyes he was weeping, and over three chins trickled the tears and bloody drivel. With each mouth he was crushing a sinner with his teeth, in manner of a brake, so that he thus was making three of them woeful. To the one in front the biting was nothing to the clawing, so that sometimes his spine remained all stripped of skin. "That soul up there which has the greatest punishment," said the Master, "is Judas Iscariot, who has his head within, and plies his legs outside. Of the other two who have their heads down, he who hangs from the black muzzle is Brutus; see how he writhes and says no word; and the other is Cassius, who seems so large-limbed. But the night is rising again, and now we must depart, for we have seen the whole." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I'm not worried about going to the christian hell but i am the Muslim's hell. After all, everyone knows that is the actual "real" one. Or maybe it's the other one, or the other one, or the other one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godlessgrrl Posted July 18, 2008 Share Posted July 18, 2008 I wonder how many people would convert to xianity if hell wasn't even in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misterspock1 Posted July 19, 2008 Share Posted July 19, 2008 I wonder how many people would convert to xianity if hell wasn't even in there. Lol. Christianity would have died out centuries ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnceConvinced Posted July 20, 2008 Share Posted July 20, 2008 Hell was never an issue for me. I never feared it because I always believed I was going to Heaven. I was brought up in a Christian home, so believed by defaul. I gave my life to the lord at the age of 7. I didn't even think too much about Hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Misterspock1 Posted July 21, 2008 Share Posted July 21, 2008 Hell was never an issue for me. I never feared it because I always believed I was going to Heaven. I was brought up in a Christian home, so believed by defaul. I gave my life to the lord at the age of 7. I didn't even think too much about Hell. I was also raised in a Christian home and gave my life to Jesus at 7. Yes, in some ways it was kind of "by default," but I fully knew what I was doing. Though I hadn't really lived long enough to really have a lot of sin accumulated, I understood that I was a sinner doomed for Hell. Maybe it was because my mom had me memorize John 3:14-18 when I was like 5 or so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardAbbey Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 I wonder how many people would convert to xianity if hell wasn't even in there. Lol. Christianity would have died out centuries ago! So true. Christianity needs hell in order to survive otherwise it wouldn't scare the gullible to believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MathGeek Posted August 8, 2008 Share Posted August 8, 2008 Hell is a fear tactic, plain and simple. Sadly, how many people actually fall for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardAbbey Posted August 25, 2008 Author Share Posted August 25, 2008 Hell is a fear tactic, plain and simple. Sadly, how many people actually fall for it? You'll be suprised at the many fundies who believe in such a thing. Ridiculous I know. Kind of stupid actually. But actually, I think without hell there really wouldn't be any need for Christianity, Jayzuz or the god in the bible at all. They need hell and the Devil both. Just how would they be able to build up their religion with out it ? They desperately need that blood thirsty tyrant in the sky that paralises them with the fear. Non-belief in their minds is a terrible sin. What a damn shame it is too eh? It's really a sad way to live if you ask me. So sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest YoungandBroken Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 What surprises me is how obvious it is that hell is man made. Man has feared pain for a very long time but Pain isn't a bad thing in a sense. Its a good thing, it tells our body when something is wrong, in order to keep us healthy it alerts our minds. If we never felt pain how would we know if we had some pain that could be life threatening if not examined. Just like fear, fear is there to help keep us safe by giving our bodies more energy to avoid something that might endanger our well being. On a side note I read about a girl who can't feel pain due to a birth defect and they described it as bad because she could be burning alive in hot water and still wouldn't know it. So Pain and Fear were meant to protect the body, however the ideal of hell has no body but a spirit, which makes no sense because pain is only there to give a message to the body. If you aren't in that body then what is the purpose of having pain. Pain is not there to hurt us, that's not it's purpose, it's prupose is to help us protect ourselves. That's why it's very obvious hell is a man made conecpt because people for the most part translate pain as bad and it's seen as a way to hurt other people more than a way of the body sending a message. People have been scaring people with pain for a very long time because of this. Bullies do the same thing as young children so it's nothing new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I thought the vast majority of people became Christian because their parents forced them to. Hell is too obviously the stick in the carrot and stick control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taphophilia Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I'm not worried about going to the christian hell but i am the Muslim's hell. After all, everyone knows that is the actual "real" one. Or maybe it's the other one, or the other one, or the other one... Don't you think the Muslim "hell" would be (for a man anyway) having all those virgins in their heaven and suffering an eternity of Erectile Dysfunction and no viagra? Yes, Christianity is an emotional ploy. It's not so much hell, yes that's a big factor, but the emotional manipulation into believing that you are worthless pond scum who deserves the punishment of hell. For those who have low self esteem to begin with, it's a big draw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realist Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Also, since he is ultimately responsible for how our individual brains are wired and what circumstances we are raised in, isn't he also responsible for our beliefs or lack thereof? ...... well put DevaLight!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JString Posted September 15, 2008 Share Posted September 15, 2008 I don't know about hell, and I suspect that it's more of a recent 'addition' to the original Christian faith. For one, in the Bible Jesus says that God destroys the soul in hell. Well if that's true then wouldn't the idea of eternal torment contradict this statement? Furthermore, wouldn't that also defeat the purpose of receiving eternal life (since if one is to be tormented eternally he must live eternally)? It totally doesn't make any sense. Not too long ago when I was beginning to take some steps in walking away from the church I was thinking about this and I realized something else that's sort of painfully obvious. I've read the Bible cover to cover and I don't recall that it explicitly states anywhere that people are tormented in hell for all eternity other than in the book of Revelation, and if you've read this book then you're probably familiar with the passage about being erased from the book of life if you 'take away from' Revelation. So of course, any good and faithful member of the flock should never dare question the validity of Revelation! But wait a minute, if you think about it for a second, being erased from the book of life must be a one way ticket to hell right? And if that's the case, it's an unforgiveable sin right? And what did Jesus say was the only unforgiveable sin? If you do your homework, you'll find out that the book of Revelation was added to the early canon with a bit of controversy. I wonder... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PandaPirate Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Why are Christians so afraid of hell ? Isn't that one of the main reasons for becoming a Christian ? If the fear of hell isn't what motivated you to become a Christian, then what was it about Christianity that appealed to you to the point where you just could not refuse making such a decision to become one ? My personal take on why the majority of people become Christians is because of emotion and nothing more than that. It is an appeal to human emotion and the fear of what might happen or not happen after death. It's my personal opinion yes. But it is also my own honest reasons why I became one many years ago. My question is this: Jesus referred to the Kingdom of Heaven as being "within." So why wouldn't Hell be in the opposite location? Without? Meaning, the physical universe we find ourselves in now. I think hell is here on earth. Again, it's like I always say, The bible isn't meant to be read literally. It's mythological symbolism and once people realize that and stop trying to force feed us this bullshit that it's the literal truth then all this non-sense will stop. (I would hope) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I think the threat of hell is what keeps many people in Christianity. That and peer pressure. They may not 100% believe in hell anymore as adults, but they don't want to admit it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShackledNoMore Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I wonder how many people would convert to xianity if hell wasn't even in there. Hell or no, I just can't wrap my head around converting to xianity except under duress, by being brainwashed as a child, or possibly motivated by convenience (if intending to maintain a sort of universalist, liberal theology), or something like that. If I had been raised outside of the influence of xianity and some missionary told me about hell and how I could avoid it by becoming a xian (I'm assuming in this case they are not holding a sword to my throat), I'd think he was as big a crackpot as the nichren shoshu dude who put so much effort into trying to convert me. Yeah, I know, I suppose there are some people from non-xian cultures who have simply been persuaded, but that doesn't mean I can wrap my head around it at all. Without brainwashing from birth, the whole thing, including the fear inducing hell yarn, just sounds so ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeradikle Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I think the threat of hell is what keeps many people in Christianity. That and peer pressure. They may not 100% believe in hell anymore as adults, but they don't want to admit it. Or even worse, they still believe in and fear hell as adults, but come to realize what a horrifying miscarriage of justice it is. Since admitting that hell is the ultimate evil would just get them condemned to hell by Gawd, they can't accept either belief or unbelief and so get stuck in a perfect catch-22. Staying in this mental limbo long enough, especially if immersed in a Christian environment all the time, is about the fastest road to mental illness I can think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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