odintim Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 I had a discussion last night with my sister, and my atheism came up again. We seem comfortable discussion our different beliefs, however, there is one thing that has me seriously troubled. I have long since affirmed that it no longer matters how my family thinks about my lack of belief, as long as they respect me. In the beginning, they did not do that, but now the dust has settled and it has become 'better'. My sister . . . where do I begin. She is unsure about the trustworthiness of the bible (a good start), and has major issues with most protestant churches, mainly those that harbor fundamentalism. However, she yet has a serious fear of hell, and still believes in God and the saving blood of Christ. She is worried that when we've all passed on, she will be in heaven, and I will be burning in hell. She's also been watching and reading the Left Behind series, which furthers the strength in her fears. I, of course, know how to handle this generally from a non-personal discussion or debate. I've also learned that when it comes to family, to stand clear of this subject the majority of the time. The fundamentalism from my xian days and early atheist days are fading (although they flare up when I see Jerry Fallwell). However, in my sister's case, I feel the need to say something. Not because so much that she thinks that I'm going to hell, but that she's going around with this fear much of the time, and it cannot be healthy. What can one say, though? She already has misgivings about me being an atheist, will anything I say matter? No material I give her to read will be read thoroughly, and at the moment, it feels too much like giving someone a tract on how to be saved. Anyone have suggestions? OT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Hey man, not to sure about how to help u man...jst read my post intitled 'Comment please, christians a non's'..should be under your post. It may help your sister settle down a bit if shes having serious mental difficulties....It may not be true, but the least it can do is help your sis emotionally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
All Gods Fail Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 That's a toughy, odintim. Fear of hell (and you theoretically burning in it ) probably isn't helping your sister enjoy life, but on the other hand it's really hard to get people to let go of their fears. You might try it from a few different angles - do a little research on OT/NT versions of the afterlife (hell not really an issue in the OT), and what the early xtians believed about it (a lot of them disagreed widely over it), and maybe mention even find a good, mainstream minister who's very soft on the hell doctrine and talk with him/her. A head-on, 'god/bible is bullshit' approach might push her in the opposite direction. It can really freak out believers when you criticize their silly little book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necrosmith Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Point out how logically ludicrous is the concept of hell. Ask her if God is an all good, all loving god. Ask her if torturing someone is a loving, good act. Point out that, by definition, an all loving, all good god could not commit an evil act such as torturing someone in hell. She'll either have to agree with you or admit her god is an asshole. Thus is her canundrum. She'll be forced to choose the lesser of two evils, so to speak. She'll have to give up one false doctrine in order to cling to the bigger picture. Either way, you nudge her closer to the truth and get her off your back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Hey man, not to sure about how to help u man...jst read my post intitled 'Comment please, christians a non's'..should be under your post. It may help your sister settle down a bit if shes having serious mental difficulties....It may not be true, but the least it can do is help your sis emotionally. not to be rude, but how does your post help? it's basically saying that you became a christian out of fear. how does that help odintim's sister? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odintim Posted December 22, 2005 Author Share Posted December 22, 2005 Thanks Necro. That is more or less what I'm doing, but it confirmed it for me. She's not on my back about it, though . . . I'm just attempting to nudge her towards rational thought so she doesn't need to go around with this constant fear for me, other family members and friends. What she thinks of my stance doesn't matter nor does it bother me - only her emotional state due to her thinking of it. Ebon Musings has been a great resource - heard of it? Again, thanks. OT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aynalhub Posted December 22, 2005 Share Posted December 22, 2005 Odintim, I puzzled over this myself for a while and then it finally hit me while talking to my mother: If your sister is in heaven, then she cannot feel "sorrow"...isn't that what heaven is about? Thus, if she feels bad about you being in hell, she won't be "in heaven", will she? Thus, God will either erase her memory, or do something else that will make up for it, because there can be no suffering in heaven. So reassuring her that she won't feel bad about it, that she can't feel bad about it, once she gets there will have the two-fold effect of pointing out a strange inconsistency and hopefully easing her anxiety. To me, this is the hugest inconsistency in the heaven/hell paradigm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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