themonkeyman Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Hey folks I was reading a post on another forum about hell and it brought back some fear please tell me u guys get it every so often. I know most of Christianity is b.s but my mind is overthinking stuff e.g various torments etc... And to think about eternity freaks me out a little. Need some encouragement Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator TrueFreedom Posted December 2, 2014 Moderator Share Posted December 2, 2014 The only hell any of us will ever face is the hell we experience in this life, and it's temporary. Read this article: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/excommunications/2014/11/why-im-not-afraid-of-hell/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overcame Faith Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 You are not alone in your recurring fear of hell. Many people suffer through it and will sometimes post about it here. For me, once I first denounced my belief in Christianity, my first thought was that I had to make sure I was correct because, according to the religion (at least the version in which I was raised), forsaking one's belief is a one-way ticket to the eternal flames. So I spent several months studying the Bible and the four Gospels in particular. But I studied them with a twist. The twist was to disregard the dogma taught in church and focus only on the actual words of the Bible. In other words, I read and studied it for the words that are actually there and not for how I and all Christians are taught to read by adding their dogma. You would be amazed what you see in those words (and what you don't see) when reading and studying the Bible minus the brainwashing. By the time I had finished that exercise, I was and remain totally convinced that there is no hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themonkeyman Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 What did you see without the dogma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted December 2, 2014 Super Moderator Share Posted December 2, 2014 Some interesting thoughts here: http://crystalstmarielewis.com/2010/06/18/god-didnt-invent-hell-we-did/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator TheRedneckProfessor Posted December 2, 2014 Super Moderator Share Posted December 2, 2014 Take a walk up the Knockagh and watch evening descend over Carrickfergus. Once the stars come out, it'll all make sense to you. Hang in there monkey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mymistake Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 What did you do during the 13+ billion years from the big bang until you were born? That must have seemed like an eternity. It didn't bother me at all since I didn't exist. I'm sure when my consciousness no longer exists my experience will be exactly the same as what it was like for me back then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdelsolray Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Hey folks I was reading a post on another forum about hell and it brought back some fear please tell me u guys get it every so often. I know most of Christianity is b.s but my mind is overthinking stuff e.g various torments etc... And to think about eternity freaks me out a little. Need some encouragement See the phrase above my avatar. Remembering that often works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RipVanWinkle Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 themonkeyman: Think about it this way. The concept of hell in which people are tortured for eternity is clearly the creation of a small, pitiful mind. The concept of hell in which the way to avoid it is for god's creatures to required to believe in a supernatural entity that we can not perceive with our five senses and without any proof has to be the creation of an even smaller, more pathetic mind. Creation of hell by a god with full knowledge that he would later throw the vast majority of us in eternal hell to be tortured forever had to be the from an evil and sadistic mind, like the devil himself, and I refuse to worship such a god, even in the unlikely event that he exists. I wish the bastard who did come up with these ideas could be put in the very hell he created in his mind, with him as its only tenant. Rip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Some interesting thoughts here: http://crystalstmarielewis.com/2010/06/18/god-didnt-invent-hell-we-did/ Ooooooooh! I see now! In order to get to the truth of the matter, we have to study the Scriptures in their HISTORICAL context, not the literal or symbolic context... That really helps clear things up! *end sarcasm* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
older Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 What did you do during the 13+ billion years from the big bang until you were born? That must have seemed like an eternity. It didn't bother me at all since I didn't exist. I'm sure when my consciousness no longer exists my experience will be exactly the same as what it was like for me back then. Mark Twain had a similar thought: "I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it.” Just think of it this way. (If you were a member of an indigenous tribe isolated in the Amazon jungle, you wouldn't have heard about hell, anyway.) And while you're doing that, take a piece of paper, make a line down the middle, and on the left side of the line write down all the provable, factual, measurable, verifiable bits of evidence for the existence of hell. Then on the right side of the line write down all the stuff that other people have told you about it and for which there is no tangible evidence. I can't imagine anything being listed on the left side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellinas Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Which of the various hells, according to which particular religion, do you fear? The Christian one? Is that because you just happened to be born into a society where that religious framework is dominant? If so, your belief is random chance, and your fear the result of that random chance. Therefore, whilst undoubtedly real, it is meaningless and you can discount it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Furball Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Some interesting thoughts here: http://crystalstmarielewis.com/2010/06/18/god-didnt-invent-hell-we-did/ Thank you for the link. -Much Appreciated =) Although it is written by a christian who from time to time defends god and puts the blame back on us the creation. It seems like she is more or less trying to convince herself satan/hell doesn't exist rather than just giving the facts. -whatever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AManWithOutAGod Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 I run into this problem myself sometimes... Growing up 23 years in a church, and all you ever heard was your going to hell for everything you do.... luckily Jesus loves you enough that if you devout your life to him, he will save ya..... Its hard to over come the years and years of fear mongering and brainwashing, but it seems this site has a very supportive group and I am glad to be here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Furball Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Were glad your here to bro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikey101 Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 Hey folks I was reading a post on another forum about hell and it brought back some fear please tell me u guys get it every so often. I know most of Christianity is b.s but my mind is overthinking stuff e.g various torments etc... And to think about eternity freaks me out a little. Need some encouragement I reject Christ with all my heart and accept that I will burn in Hell for it if the fundamentalist Evangelical belief system is true. The problem is, there are thousands of different belief systems. Do you really think one particular branch of one particular religion is true and all others are wrong? That's a huge gamble, your odds are about 1 in a million. I don't want to lose my peace of mind for those odds. If I really thought I was going to burn in hell for not believing one particular religion out of millions, I would gladly accept Christian beliefs and let myself be a retarded, miserable person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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