I Am Very Worried Now Again. Fear Of Hell. (Rant)

[AzariaC7]

This fear of hell is triggering. I'm gonna faint or collapse in fear again. I can't seem to think right now. How can a loving god throw people into hell, no matter how good or bad they are? How can a loving god know that they are in agony forever and never does anything about it? A baby is born today and God knows about that. God knows what will happen in the future. A lot of years later, the baby is grown up, has died and is now in Hell. Doesn't God get sad about that? His beautiful creation is now being tortured for eternity. It's like playing a game. Your game is your life. When you die, you either go to Heaven or Hell. Getting to Heaven is your prize. Getting to Hell is when you lose. It doesn't make sense when people believe that Hell is eternal torment and punishment for sins. It's just so cruel and vicious. If Jesus died to save us from Hell, it doesn't make sense. If people had gone to Hell already, then Jesus's saving and dying on the cross thing failed from saving people. A lot of Christians believe that your first death is permanent because either you go to Heaven or Hell then you're staying either in two places for eternity. Other Christians say that death is not the end and you go nowhere after you die and that you will hear Jesus's voice after then that is when you get raised up, believer or not. The Bible talks of the Second Death. Which means after you die before Jesus's Second Coming, you will hear Jesus's voice from the grave and come out. If people died as wicked sinners, unbelievers, etc, they have their second death in the eternal Lake of Fire. If people died as faithful servants for Christ, they inherit eternal life and go to Heaven with Jesus then later come down in the New Jerusalem. I could be wrong on the events but that is what other Christians believe. If a fiery Hell exists, then John 5:28, Daniel 12:2, Acts 24:15, etc wouldn't exist or be in the Bible at all! What doesn't make sense to me is that the people in a fiery Hell are conscious of their suffering and never dying of their suffering. Wouldn't that make them have eternal life? To never die? The Bible talks of the sinners dying because of their sins, not suffering in Hell. It also talks about how only Christians get eternal life, not sinners. Those "other Christians" believe that Hell is the grave. They believe because it says so in the Bible. They say In Revelations, it talks how Hell (the grave, also hades) gets thrown into the Lake of Fire to be destroyed forever. They say how can a fiery Hell be thrown into a Lake of Fire, it wouldn't make sense. And it does also say that "Hell emptied the dead in it" If Hell is a fiery place for eternity, then Revelation 20:14, John 5:28, Daniel 12:2, Acts 24:15, Matthew 13:40, Revelations 21:4, 1 Corinthians 15:50-55 and other Bible verses, wouldn't exist! If God burns people forever for their sins, then 1 John 4:8 is not right. That makes him a bigger tyrant than any other murderer. I'm sorry, but I just can't see God burning people forever. It doesn't make him loving knowing that there are people suffering in Hell. When I hear from some others that dead people are actually dead in their graves, waiting for a resurrection from Jesus Christ, their fair judgment awaiting, it makes God more loving than any other human being. When I hear from others that people are suffering eternally in Hell, it makes God a cruel monster than any other human being. A lot of unbelievers hate God for this eternal suffering. I'm getting anxious a lot lately about this again. I'm sorry if this is too long. I just need to get this out of my head. :'( 

[Kris]

I know what it is like to be anxious-- and it is an awful feeling-- I am so sorry that you are feeling this way-- hell is not real. It was created by pagan religions and then adopted by the Jews and later the Christians. There is no devil to run the place-- nor a god to send you there.

[RipVanWinkle]

"How can a loving god throw people into hell, no matter how good or bad they are? How can a loving god know that they are in agony forever and never does anything about it? A baby is born today and God knows about that. God knows what will happen in the future. A lot of years later, the baby is grown up, has died and is now in Hell. Doesn't God get sad about that? His beautiful creation is now being tortured for eternity."

 

AzariaC7 You asked yourself the right questions. And those questions answer themselves, don't they. You

know the answers. Now, your job is to learn to trust your own reasoning better than those kooks who

want to enslave everyone that they can hoodwink into belief. How do you gain confidence in your own

reasoning? Do what you are doing. Read books by the likes of Thomas Paine (a founding father), Robert

Ingersoll, Sam Harris, John Loftus, and Christopher Hitchens, to name a few. Read the bible with a

critical approach which will ensure you that no god wrote that horrible book. These things, plus more

that you will learn on your journey will give you the confidence you need. And keep coming here. bill

[AzariaC7]

Kris @ Yeah, I've heard the fiery Hell teaching came from pagan religions/converts. A Christian I'm following on Y!A agrees with that. A lot of them agree with that, too. They say even Jesus himself didn't teach a fiery Hell. 

 

Willam @ Thank you! Yeah, I've heard about Robert Ingersoll and saw his quotes on a few threads on here. It does calm me down, I admit. I hope my fear will go away. I wonder how can people on here can get rid of their fears or whatsoever? I respect the ones who got over their fear of Hell so fast. I started to fear this Hell back in June and it's overwhelming. 

[centauri]

As you already suspect, it doesn't make any sense.

Don't be afraid of becoming disillusioned with what you've been taught or with what you thought was true.

Becoming dis-illusioned means that you are freeing yourself from an illusion, in this case, one that depends on fear to shape your mind and behavior.

You're being held captive by your acquired beliefs, the theological baggage given to you by others.

This religion is a form of cult, nothing more.

The Bible is not from "God", nor is it without error and contradiction.

There is no requirement to accept any Christian doctrine as "true".

[sdelsolray]

Why are you afraid of a silly mythology invented by humans?  

[AzariaC7]

sdelsolray @ I grew up believing that doctrine. When I was 5 to 7, I heard if you're been murdered by someone, you go to heaven. It doesn't matter if you were good or bad. But if you killed yourself, and doesn't matter if you're good or bad, you go to hell. I've been told by adults and mostly by my grandma. Now I feel like I can't get rid of this anxious feeling. 

[sdelsolray]

sdelsolray @ I grew up believing that doctrine. When I was 5 to 7, I heard if you're been murdered by someone, you go to heaven. It doesn't matter if you were good or bad. But if you killed yourself, and doesn't matter if you're good or bad, you go to hell. I've been told by adults and mostly by my grandma. Now I feel like I can't get rid of this anxious feeling. 

Thank you for explaining your feelings.  My question, however, remains unanswered.  Let me ask it again:

 

"Why are you afraid of a silly mythology invented by humans?"

[AzariaC7]

What do you mean about that? 

[sdelsolray]

The premise in my question is quite clear - the religion you were indoctrinated into by adults surrounding you while you were a child is silly mythology.

 

Let me ask the question again:

 

"Why are you afraid of a silly mythology invented by humans?"

[AzariaC7]

I thought you meant Hell. Sorry. Well, I grew up believing and it has taken a toll on me. With all the experiences, dreams, and visions I've heard from others make it worse. 

[RipVanWinkle]

It means that. because you (and all of us here) know that the stories in the bible are like fairy tales and are not real, why do they scare you? bill

[AzariaC7]

I grew up believing and it's hard not to believe anymore. I don't want to serve a God who is so cruel and tortures people for eternity. I can't see why someone deserves eternal suffering when they just lived a short life on this planet. My grandma tells me these scary things about God and Hell. I don't know why how she can still believe in that. I don't want anyone to be tortured for eternity, I don't wish that on anyone. I don't wish that on murderers or the people who I don't like. It hurts thinking about people suffering for eternity and God does nothing about it. It doesn't make sense. It's just triggering and fearful. 

[AzariaC7]

Another scary thing I heard... I heard Pokemon, Bakugan, Dora, and Dragon Ball Z are evil shows. Some say it has evil and satanism in it. According to Angelica Zambarno (I spelled her last name wrong), there's a 8 year old boy in Hell for watching those shows and there are demons that look like Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z characters torturing the boy. I cringe at that. My cousin's favorite show is Dragon Ball Z and I just fear for him. I know it sounds silly and many of you might laugh or scoff at this but it terrifies me so much. I'm terrorized a lot and my mind is so messed up. My head hurts a lot for it. 

[sdelsolray]

I grew up believing and it's hard not to believe anymore. I don't want to serve a God who is so cruel and tortures people for eternity. I can't see why someone deserves eternal suffering when they just lived a short life on this planet. My grandma tells me these scary things about God and Hell. I don't know why how she can still believe in that. I don't want anyone to be tortured for eternity, I don't wish that on anyone. I don't wish that on murderers or the people who I don't like. It hurts thinking about people suffering for eternity and God does nothing about it. It doesn't make sense. It's just triggering and fearful. 

Consider this:

 

Instead of saying "I grew up believing", try "I was indoctrinated with a particular sect of the Christian religion as a child.  I had no choice.  Adults indoctrinated me."

 

Now that you are a bit older, your rational thinking is beginning to assert itself by challenging the mythology that was forced on you.

[RaLeah]

Early humans were pretty superstitious, weren't they? 

 

Now, thanks to science, we know that when we die, our brain stops working and our bodies decompose. They don't come back or get regenerated for heaven or hell. Dead bodies are just dead. 

 

We also know that deep down in the earth below us, we have a crust and mantle then magma and a core, but no hell. Also, that the earth is a sphere, not flat. 

 

We know that above us is not "the heavens" but the sky, atmosphere, then outer space. No heaven up there in the clouds. 

 

So if our consciousness continues after death, it is not with physical form. (And I don't have any evidence to suggest it does continue at all in any way, shape, or form, so this is all conjecture.) So there is no physical suffering of any kind if consciousness does continue somehow. 

 

You know this too. You've had science class. You have access to information that the people who wrote the Bible didn't have. They had to make things up or believe other authority figures who made stuff up, and they believed it because they didn't have any information that proved otherwise. 

 

You, however, do have that information. You know it. Sure, you've been brainwashed, but now you know the truth. So when an irrational fear grips you, make it let go of you. Recognize the thought, that it isn't yours and it isn't true, and then replace it with facts. Repeat every time it pops up. Smash it right back down to smithereens with facts. Replace it with truth. Don't get worked up over it, just do it calmly and rationally. 

 

You are in charge of your brain, your thoughts and emotions. YOU control them, they don't control you. Let them know who's boss. You are. And you know the truth. Your irrational fears and leftover brainwashing can't hurt you anymore. You release them. If they return, you release them again until they stop returning. 

 

You can do it. 

 

What you're going through is normal. But you are going to win. Your rational, logical, scientifically-informed mind is going to win. Be patient with yourself meanwhile, but be firm with your own thoughts. You are in charge, and you are not going to let irrational fears over-rule your rational mind. 

 

What you have right now is a bad thought habit left over from when you were brainwashed. You are going to replace it with a good thought habit. And though it takes some time to get rid of a bad habit and cultivate a new habit, that's exactly what you're going to do, and it's just that simple. Replace your bad habit (thinking fearful irrational thoughts) with a good habit (reminding yourself of the truth, firmly, then putting it away and thinking about something else--it helps if you have something you enjoy thinking about, like a hobby or project you have in progress.)

 

Mental discipline is an important skill to have in life anyway, so consider this good practice for learning how to be in charge of your own mind and directing it to do what YOU want it to do instead of letting it get carried away and just randomly thinking crazy stuff you DON'T want it to do.

 

Seriously--you can do this. 

[AzariaC7]

Thanks Raleah, I know. The Bible also supports the idea of "sleeping" in death until Jesus Christ comes supposedly which means you are not conscious after death in some kind of place. It's just that people twist up the scriptures and claim something else and it honestly scares me a lot. 

[Guest Babylonian Dream]

You're asking the right questions. I was there. It's scary to deal with the fears of hell, but eventually you do see how rediculous those fears were in retrospect, and you'll be glad for your current path.

 

Also, consider this.... Wouldn't it be more just to send the souls of the evildoers to be gobbled up by a dog? That's the egyptian afterlife for evildoers, while the good guys go live an afterlife of bliss. Why would the Bible's afterlife story be any more credible than the myriad of other afterlife stories?

[mymistake]

. . .  doesn't make sense . . . 

 

 

 

Start with that.  The Bible doesn't make sense.  Christian theology doesn't make sense.  It's that simple.  You went through the passages and the doctrines and you know they are against each other in a way that can't work.  It's not true.

 

 

. . .  it wouldn't make sense.

 

Now try this.  "The whole thing is made up."  Say that out loud.  Christianity is made up.  The Bible is made up.  Does that make better sense?  

 

 

A lot of unbelievers hate God for this eternal suffering.

 

Actually becoming an unbeliever is the cure.  When you realize the whole thing is silly it loses it's power over you.  Oh you can still hate God the way you might hate Voldemort or Lex Luthor.  There have been lot's of villains who are worse than God. 

[Eugene39]

The man who was my pastor in my younger years had been a traveling evangelist before his health failed and he began pastoring. He had the mindset that seemingly every Sunday night service that he needed to preach on hell. As a very conscientious person, it messed with me horribly. Part of my deconversion process was a period of time when I dealt with the idea of hell and the idea of a retaliatory God, who wanted to send me there for my doubts, questions and eventual loss of belief. It was not pretty.

 

Over time, as the idea of a loving and also revengeful God died in my mind, so also did the idea of a devil and his place of eternal torment, where disobedient humans were also sent. Christianity is the religion that fully developed the idea of this cosmic battle between God and Satan and eternal places of abode after death. While it was definitely a process, when the "good" part of Christianity died for me, so did the "bad" part, when I came to realize that it was unreasonable to not let the whole thing go.

 

Hope this helps. It does get better.

[hereticzero]

 

AzariaC7: I can understand your worries about Hell. I grew up believing in Hell. It was one of the last obstacles I had in deconversion, overcoming the fear of Hell. I am not sure how I overcame those fears, perhaps mostly by not reinforcing those fears by listening to those who do believe in Hell. I broke from the church and do not communicate or follow Christians on line. Fears expressed in church doctrines are reinforced through peer pressure from other church members. It helps keep members in line following orders from the church and keeps members coming back to church week after week. Once I left the church I was not bombarded by Christian beliefs on a daily basis. Hell just doesn't exist. Rewards and punishments are for the living, not the dead.

 

[par4dcourse]

Brainwashing, pure and simple. The church starts early, with all the jesus loves you bullshit complete with treats and coloring books and cute puppies. Then they start with the "what happens if you DON'T love him back" crap. Clear choice to a young mind, puppies or hell.

Reinforce weekly and voila, brainwashed into believing the most ludicrous drivel.

[midniterider]

I grew up believing and it's hard not to believe anymore. I don't want to serve a God who is so cruel and tortures people for eternity. I can't see why someone deserves eternal suffering when they just lived a short life on this planet. My grandma tells me these scary things about God and Hell. I don't know why how she can still believe in that. I don't want anyone to be tortured for eternity, I don't wish that on anyone. I don't wish that on murderers or the people who I don't like. It hurts thinking about people suffering for eternity and God does nothing about it. It doesn't make sense. It's just triggering and fearful. 

 

You sound very reasonable and kind. Biblegod is unreasonable and narcissistic (sp) and violent. How can a kind loving person love such a cruel god? Why should a kind loving person love such a cruel god? What would you rather live by, your own principles of kindness or a violent jealous god?

 

What is god, anyway? What the bible says he is? What your Grandma says he is? What your parents say he is? What a group of people in a small town have always told you? How many churches do you have in town? Come up with 5 questions and ask someone at each of those churches your questions and see if they all come up with the same answer. If they speak for God, they should all have the same answer, right? God's answer. Why are there Mormons and Baptists and Lutherans and Catholics and many other denominations? Doesn't God have the same exact rules for everyone? Why are they different for each of these denominations? Is it because God is not an independent entity? Is it because God is at most just a deeply held imaginary creation which your family and church people helped you form in your mind since birth? Keep asking yourself and others questions and watch the falseness of Christianity dissolve. Let your mind out of the prison that the church has constructed for you.

[midniterider]

Another scary thing I heard... I heard Pokemon, Bakugan, Dora, and Dragon Ball Z are evil shows. Some say it has evil and satanism in it. According to Angelica Zambarno (I spelled her last name wrong), there's a 8 year old boy in Hell for watching those shows and there are demons that look like Pokemon and Dragon Ball Z characters torturing the boy. I cringe at that. My cousin's favorite show is Dragon Ball Z and I just fear for him. I know it sounds silly and many of you might laugh or scoff at this but it terrifies me so much. I'm terrorized a lot and my mind is so messed up. My head hurts a lot for it. 

 

Christians will denounce anything as satanic if someone finds an interest in anything that doesn't involve talking about Jesus every 5 minutes. Start talking a lot about Mountain Dew and how it's taste is so wonderful and refreshing. Get a Mountain Dew t-shirt and wear it all the time. Sooner or later someone will say, "The demon of Mountain Dew is deceiving you! Get thee behind me, evil spirit of Mountain Dew!!!!!"  - My Pentecostal church had a whole list of fun things, mostly mind pursuits like Astral Projection, Ouija boards, Astrology, Witchcraft, it was all deemed evil. Cuz if you get interested in those things, well, you might become less interested in putting money in collection plates...

[midniterider]

 Fears expressed in church doctrines are reinforced through peer pressure from other church members. It helps keep members in line following orders from the church and keeps members coming back to church week after week. Once I left the church I was not bombarded by Christian beliefs on a daily basis.

 

I stopped going to church and divorced a Christian simultaneously. My faith vanished within a year. Get away from the Christians and you'll feel better.