Jump to content
Goodbye Jesus

Why Are Christians Afraid Of Burning In Hell?


DarthOkkata

Recommended Posts

If there's one thing we can agree on, its that we leave our bodies behind when we die.

 

Regardless of whether you believe you pass on to another world, or just stop existing at all. Either way, you don't take your body with you. You leave your atoms behind.

 

So, how exactly do we 'burn' in hell?

 

All fire is pretty much the same. Fire is a chemical reaction.

 

Fire is the naturally occurring energy release in the form of heat and light when oxygen combines with a combustible, or burnable, material at a suitably high temperature.

 

Heat, Oxygen, and fuel. All three of those components are needed for fire. These three things are called the "fire triangle." A triangle must have all three sides. Take away one of the sides, and it stops being a triangle, and is incomplete.

 

Take away any of the three components of fire: fuel, heat, or oxygen, and the fire collapses, meaning that it can’t burn.

 

This is how Firefighters do their jobs, they take away one or more of the three components.

 

For example, when they set small fires in the path of a larger one, fuel is removed. When water is applied to a fire, it reduces the heat. Introducing foam or non flammable gasses deprives it of oxygen. Fighting fire is literally the act of removing one or more elements of the fire triangle.

 

Understanding this concept, it should be easy to understand that 'burning in hell' is a completely illogical threat and argument. It's not something -anyone- should be afraid of.

 

Let's take things a bit further and explain exactly what a fire is.

 

Fire is superheated gas emitted by the combustion of fuel.

 

When the fuel reaches the appropriate temperature, the heat decomposes some of the cellulose material that makes up the fuel source.

 

Some of the decomposed material is released as volatile gasses.

 

Smoke is compounds of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. The rest of the fuel forms char, which is nearly pure carbon, and ash, which is all of the unburnable minerals in the fuel source.

 

When the volatile gases are hot enough, the compound molecules break apart, and the atoms recombine with the oxygen to form water, carbon dioxide and other waste.

 

The carbon in the char combines with oxygen as well, this is a much slower reaction which eventually results in smoldering.

 

A side effect of these chemical reactions is a lot of heat. The fact that the chemical reactions in a fire generate a lot of new heat is what sustains the fire.

 

As they heat up, the rising carbon atoms emit light. This heat produces light effect is called incandescence. It is what causes the visible flame.

 

The fuel itself is not actually what is on 'fire'. It's the gasses emitted from the chemical reaction of the fuel being consumed and oxidized that actually cause the fire to appear above it. This is why fire appears to float above the fuel source. The heat emitted from the flame is what keeps the reaction of the combustion in the fuel going. The two are related, but the fuel itself is not actually what is on fire, but rather the gasses above it emitted by the reaction.

 

Flame color varies depending on what you're burning and how hot it is. Color of the flame is caused by uneven temperature. Typically, the hottest part of a flame glows blue, and the cooler parts at the top glow orange or yellow. The hottest part of the flame is at the base, closest to the fuel source.

 

Heat providing the necessary energy, excited atoms in the heated gas break their bonds with each other and recombine with available oxygen atoms in the air to form simpler more stable compounds plus lots more heat. The excited electrons emit photons, which creates the light we see in the actual flame.

 

The most flammable compounds contain carbon and hydrogen, which recombine with oxygen to form carbon dioxide, water and other gases.

 

Now that we have an understanding of what fire is, I ask again.

 

What exactly is there to burn when if I die and go to hell?

 

Why should I be afraid of burning there?

 

Burning is what would happen when the heat energy emitted from fire causes the air to vibrate rapidly, which then causes the atoms in my body to vibrate as well. When a person is burned, it is because the molecules in the area that is burned vibrated too much because of the vibration of the molecules in the air around them.

 

We leave our bodies behind when we die. With no atoms to serve as a fuel source, what exactly will be burning? How will it get burned?

 

I won't have nerves to feel pain with. No atoms to serve as a fuel. Even if there is oxygen and heat, how exactly will 'I' burn even if I am in Hell?

 

What have I got to be afraid of without atoms? The complete absence of at least one 'wall' of the fire triangle gives me no reason to believe that I should worry at all about such a thing even if it is true.

 

This argument, or threat rather, is completely illogical.

 

Why worry about burning in Hell at all?

 

Clearly there won't be anything to burn. It's doubtful that even two of the necessary elements for fire will be present. Oxygen and fuel. So, what exactly is there to be afraid of to begin with?

 

Having an understanding of fire makes it difficult to take this threat seriously.

 

Why should I worry even in the slightest about 'burning for eternity'? I won't have anything to burn anyway. So, what exactly do I have to fear about the 'flames of hell' when it's doubtful that there can be any flames to begin with?

 

This is one of the biggest tools of fear the Church has, but it's also one of the most ignorant and stupid. It makes no sense at all to even consider it as a possibility.

 

There's just no way for it to work that way. I won't have anything to burn to begin with. Why is that something I should consider with even the slightest bit of worry for even a moment?

 

There's just no possible way for it to work. It's just not even worth considering that I might 'burn' after I'm dead. My atoms will still be here, I won't even have subatomic particles to worry about. I'll be dead.

 

There doesn't appear to be anything to fear from this threat. It's just not worth considering, or being afraid of, mildly worried about, or even worth considering for a moment of thought to begin with.

 

Why should the flames of hell worry me any more than 'drowning', or 'being crushed, or 'getting impaled' when I'm dead? It's a shallow empty threat, because I'll be dead, I won't have nerves, need to breathe, or have a body to be harmed by these things. What exactly is there for me to be afraid of here?

 

Why is Hell, even as a place of 'eternal flame' worth considering as something that might hurt me as a 'spirit' at all?

 

No atoms, no fuel, no burning. It's that simple.

 

It doesn't even sound slightly scary when you think about the facts of what fire is, and how it works.

 

Why should I think differently? What is there really to fear from fire after I'm dead?

 

It's just silly from my perspective. What exactly are you afraid of fire after death for anyway?

 

Not that Heaven doesn't sound better and all, but Hell doesn't sound like the sort of place that should worry anyone either. Not in the biblical sense anyway.

 

What harm is tossing something that has no atoms into a 'lake of fire' anyway? It's not like they can burn to begin with.

 

It's just one of those things that sounds awful and horrible until you really think about it.

 

How is it any different than threatening to freeze my spirit, or shoot it, or blow it up, or drown it. None of those things would bother something as immaterial as a spirit either. So, why is 'fire' so scary?

 

I seriously don't get it. What's the deal Christians? Why is this so scary? What are you so worried about here?

 

There's nothing to burn. Your argument is illogical.

 

Why do you think this is even a little bit scary? You might as well be worried about getting run over by a truck or falling off a cliff after you're dead.

 

What harm would it do you if it did happen? How would it hurt at all? What's the threat here?

 

You won't have nerves, you won't have atoms or subatomic particles, you won't have anything to get hurt or feel pain with. How is it that you're so worried about something that would only be dangerous, painful, or even slightly annoying if you did?

 

Why so nervous? Why so scared? Why should I be? What exactly is the threat here to begin with?

 

It's just not a very convincing argument, and not something I find that I should be worried about. Seriously. I've heard people threaten me with 'eternity in the flames of hell' so many times before. It's just as stupid now as it was then.

 

So what if hell is on fire? Why would 'I' burn? What is there to burn? Why would I feel it? Why would it even be slightly annoying, much less eternal torture?

 

It's not scary, it's not rational, and it's doesn't make any sense to threaten people this way.

 

Why bother? What's the 'scare' here? Where is the torture in it? Why would it be even annoying, much less 'suffering'?

 

Explain how this works. I'm confused. Why is this such a scary idea?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was Xian I thought it was all a metaphor for being cast out and alone. Now I'm not sure even jesus meant people to believe in a firey hell. Maybe "fire and worms" is just describing what happens to corpses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

See, your problem is that you're being all "scientific" and stuff. Just as fire (as you know it) has no place in the afterlife, neither does "logic" or the "laws of nature."

 

Silly athiest. Let me set you straight. See, when your soul goes to hell (cuz it will, trust me) there are two possibilities.

 

1) Your soul/conscious will simply experience the sensation of painful agonizing burning in fire for all eternity.

 

OR

 

2) It's magic.

 

So there. :woohoo:

 

ps. I think I just saw a youtube video about this recently. I think it's a physicist (or something) explaining all the molecular processes involved in burning a fire, and how that would be impossible in hell. I can't remember what it's called, :Doh: but I'm sure you'd be interested!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When I was Xian I thought it was all a metaphor for being cast out and alone. Now I'm not sure even jesus meant people to believe in a firey hell. Maybe "fire and worms" is just describing what happens to corpses.

 

 

That's what I was taught too. Hell was simply "separation from God," but once we were dead and knew how truly AWESOME God really is, that seperation would be unbearable torture.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 'away from God' thing?

 

I've heard that argument before.

 

However, it's ruled out by God being Omnipresent, as well as the fact that most souls will be going to Hell. It also shoots the 'God is Omnipotent' thing in the foot. If he's not present in Hell, how does he know what's going on there?

 

Only God's chosen get to go to Heaven, and that rules out most of us. Implying that there will be plenty of company in Hell.

 

I don't see how it would be any worse than here if that's the case.

 

Still not something to be worried about.

 

Still, a majority of Christians believe in the Fire and Brimstone version of Hell, and fear it.

 

They really worry about being tossed into a pit of fire, despite having no atoms to burn, or nerves to feel pain with.

 

It's silly to the point of stupid. It's just ignorance of natural law, and how fire works to begin with. There's no reason to be afraid of any such thing.

 

The 'away and cast out' thing doesn't stand up either. If it's true, God isn't omnipresent. It's just as irrational as 'fire hell' to be honest.

 

Just piss poor reasoning, and a lack of a way of rationalizing the Bible and what it says away.

 

It's a lame excuse for an obvious problem in their afterlife theory.

 

It's kind of funny really, any part they can't explain is 'just metaphorical'. They can't tell you which parts are, and which parts aren't though. It's just a matter of the individual, and what they think they can rationally explain, and what parts they clearly can't.

 

Another case of 'God's Word' being remarkably similar to one's personal opinion.

 

Most Christians are on the Fire Hell side of the fence though. They actually really believe that stuff, and consider it a legitimate threat to their future in the afterlife.

 

It's completely illogical and irrational.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Christianity got the whole idea of "fire" completely wrong.

 

It is possible that the idea came from the Zoroastrians, where fire is the means of cleansing. You purify metals through fire, and water. Baptism is one form of cleansing, and fire is the other. So more likely the Hell with Fire idea is about, going there because of impure souls, burning away those things, become holy and righteous, and be accepted into Heaven. And not an eternal punishment. In other words, the fire had a good purpose and only temporary. At least that's my understanding of it. It would mean Christians got it wrong.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's completely illogical and irrational.

 

So.....you're saying there's a chance?

 

 

:wicked:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The 'away and cast out' thing doesn't stand up either. If it's true, God isn't omnipresent. It's just as irrational as 'fire hell' to be honest.

 

Just piss poor reasoning, and a lack of a way of rationalizing the Bible and what it says away.

 

It's a lame excuse for an obvious problem in their afterlife theory.

 

 

Maybe it's more like a "he's there, but we just can't reach him" sort of thing. Like looking into the window of a party we weren't invited to... :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was taught that upon entering hell, you are given a new body to be tortured in. Once the body is burned off, a new one regenerates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that we have an understanding of what fire is, I ask again.

 

What exactly is there to burn when if I die and go to hell?

 

Why should I be afraid of burning there?

 

Burning is what would happen when the heat energy emitted from fire causes the air to vibrate rapidly, which then causes the atoms in my body to vibrate as well. When a person is burned, it is because the molecules in the area that is burned vibrated too much because of the vibration of the molecules in the air around them.

 

We leave our bodies behind when we die. With no atoms to serve as a fuel source, what exactly will be burning? How will it get burned?

 

I won't have nerves to feel pain with. No atoms to serve as a fuel. Even if there is oxygen and heat, how exactly will 'I' burn even if I am in Hell?

 

What have I got to be afraid of without atoms? The complete absence of at least one 'wall' of the fire triangle gives me no reason to believe that I should worry at all about such a thing even if it is true.

 

This argument, or threat rather, is completely illogical.

 

Why worry about burning in Hell at all?

 

Yep. Exactly. People get all freaked out about it without stopping to think about what it actually means. I can't say I blame them, though. Fear is a powerful emotion, and it has the power to suck the rationality out of practically anything. It also doesn't help matters when a person has been brainwashed for years to believe in the shit AND is too afraid to question it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was taught that upon entering hell, you are given a new body to be tortured in. Once the body is burned off, a new one regenerates.

 

Holy freaking shit! I just about re-deconverted in my pants.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you want an idea of how extreme some of the teachings can get, read this to get an idea.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was taught that the fire burned your body but never actually consumed it...whther it was a physical or spiritual body didn't matter, you would feel like you were on fire for eternity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was taught that upon entering hell, you are given a new body to be tortured in. Once the body is burned off, a new one regenerates.

How long does it take? 5 minutes? 10?

 

Imagine the pile of ash and dead bodies everywhere. 10 billion bodies every, lets say 15 minutes, for eternity. Just in the first billion years the pile will be high enough to reach Heaven... then you just take a step, and you're in paradise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was taught that the fire burned your body but never actually consumed it...whther it was a physical or spiritual body didn't matter, you would feel like you were on fire for eternity.

 

Yes I always thought of it like that. You have a different type of body. Its made of something like an asbestos fireproof type material so you would always suffer but never be consumed by the fire. It isn't at all like your physical body now, of course. You would live for eternity whether you liked it or not.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Argh! Red on Black makes my eyes bleed.

 

Still, rather Childish, and blatantly arrogant and rather not humble at all.

 

The self pity involved is kind of irritating. 'I had to get sick to write this'.

 

Well, I agree this person had to be sick to write it. I don't think they and I mean the same kind of illness.

 

I especially like the line about Jesus saying. "As long as they get there is all that matters".

 

The parts about 'not being able to give you all of it' for unexplained reasons as well. As if it's just to sick and graphic, despite the fact that they're trying to 'scare' you.

 

Blatantly made up stupidity. Though, I did find it amusing they bothered to copyright it. Heh.

 

Can't have anyone stealing it, and using it to scare and convert others into loving Jesus. Lord knows Jesus wouldn't want you taking this person's copyrighted material to use to save the souls of your friends and family after all. Heh.

 

I mean, if the only reason you're not doing bad things is to not go to hell, you're a douche to begin with. There's no helping you anyway.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your body is made of non combustible material, then how does it burn?

 

Seriously, non combustibles aren't fuel. You're still denying part of the fire triangle there. It's just as illogical as not having any atoms to burn, yet burning anyway.

 

The same with the bodies burning to ash. Eventually, you'd end up smothering the flames. Might take a real long time, but sooner or later, you'd end up with a perfectly safe and relatively cool place to hang out on the ash pile. Also doesn't make much sense.

 

There's always a hole in these theories. A big one. It's always something obvious that anyone should think of given a moment of actual thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was taught that upon entering hell, you are given a new body to be tortured in. Once the body is burned off, a new one regenerates.

 

288.gif

 

There's not much more that can be said in response to that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thinking on it some more, there's also the problem of fuel source.

 

Sooner or later, all fire runs out of fuel. The more intense the flame, the faster fuel is consumed.

 

Even something like the biggest star in the Universe will eventually run out of fuel and collapse.

 

So, logically eventually, Hell will run out of fuel and burn out.

 

Then what?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Buuuuuuuut......wait! Friend, if you send in a small donation I will personally bless you and pray for your soul. Hold your hand up to the computer screen. Do it now...Do it now....Do it now.... I want you to take out your credit cards and dial that number on the screen. I'm going to pray for you while you do. Gaaaaaaaaawd will bless this giver and spare them from the eternal fires of hellllllllllllll.

 

See...there's a way out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Buuuuuuuut......wait! Friend, if you send in a small donation I will personally bless you and pray for your soul. Hold your hand up to the computer screen. Do it now...Do it now....Do it now.... I want you to take out your credit cards and dial that number on the screen. I'm going to pray for you while you do. Gaaaaaaaaawd will bless this giver and spare them from the eternal fires of hellllllllllllll.

 

See...there's a way out.

 

However, your damned to hell for eternity if you've maxed out your credit card.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, logically eventually, Hell will run out of fuel and burn out.

 

Then what?

But you're forgetting that God and Satan lie outside the universe, so laws of logic don't apply to them. Glory!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, logically eventually, Hell will run out of fuel and burn out.

 

Then what?

But you're forgetting that God and Satan lie outside the universe, so laws of logic don't apply to them. Glory!

 

 

Yeah and God can do whatever he wants to and ours is not to question why. He can do everything, that is, except be in the presence of sinners!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, logically eventually, Hell will run out of fuel and burn out.

 

Then what?

But you're forgetting that God and Satan lie outside the universe, so laws of logic don't apply to them. Glory!

 

 

Yeah and God can do whatever he wants to and ours is not to question why. He can do everything, that is, except be in the presence of sinners!

 

And win a battle against people with iron chariots. Judges 1:19 "And the LORD was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron." LMAO. How pathetic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, imagine you are an african tribesman or woman in the middle of Africa. The life you have lived has literally been hell on this earth. You have faced the scorching African heat every day of your life. You have had to live in the harshest conditions to search for water, food and shelter. You have seen 3 or 4 of your children die from malnutrition and hunger. You yourself have horrible health problems. You one day have an affair with someone out of ignorance and don't use a condom and you catch HIV which is fast becoming one of the most prevalent things overtaking Africa today. You are barely educated yourself.

 

Now, you die. Silly you! You didn't believe in Jesus before you died. Oh noes...guess where you end up going??? to hell. You lived in the middle of nowhere nearly and have never even heard of the bloke before. Now you end up in a fiery place for all eternity. Where is the justice and fairness of that?

This poor person literally spent hell on earth for all their lives. They have never known one ounce of any comfort at all. Just pain, starvation, struggle, and in the end a horrific death due to one small fatal mistake. Now they get to go to another hell. Flamin' nice. NOT!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Guidelines.