My problem with hell.

It depends on the context?
It's kind of one of those either or things, either we have it or we don't, there is really no middle ground.

 

Sheol, Hades and Gehenna are all translated by the word Hell by some translators. Sheol and Hades both have the basic meaning of grave, where as Gehenna, which means the Valley of Hinnom, was in Jesus day a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem that was kept burning to get rid of the garbage. Bodies of criminals that were not considered worthy of burial were tossed there, no one alive was put there so the references that Jesus made to Gehenna were understood, by those who listened, to mean that if a person did certain things that they would not be worthy of burial, not that they would burn forever in Hellfire.

As for the concept of “Hell”, the fact that it arose late in Hebrew history, when the Jews had deviated from Bible teachings, as Jesus pointed out many times, kind of proves that it was not a Bible teaching.

You say it was a Persian concept but I would say a Babylonish concept but in any case the concept can be found in most other non-Christian religions.

As for the concept of resurrection being a late addition, the Hebrew scriptures speak of it several times and three cases of resurrection from the dead are recorded as taking place, so the concept of the resurrection was well established before the time the Jewish Maccabean rebellion and the time of Jesus.

 

not really. do you have free will to stop your heart with just a conscious mental decision?

 

Do you take your lunch to school or do you ride the bus?

 

both. and neither. depends on what day it is.

 

Jesus died for our sins, in his dying breath he said 'forgive them lord, for they know not what they do'.

That is why we are given a chance of redemption, because of the lord saviour, hes saved everyone on earth who ever was, and ever will be.

Imagine the lord to be like a medicine right, if you accept it, you will heal and you will get better and live happily.

But if you refuse the medicine, then your not going to get better and there is nobody that can force you. How can god bring somebody into heaven if they continue to turn their backs on him?

I think that if somebody tries to lead a good life, but gets corrupted by the evil, but still knows there is 'something' more powerful then us humans, and they are ashamed for the bad things they have done, that they will get into heaven.

I dont believe in hell, i believe if you are too proud to ask forgiveness for the things you have done wrong and instead just said 'oh well, my life is my life, i do what i want to do when i want to do it' then you will be punished for being so ignorant and not accepting that humans arent the most powerful beings in existence.

I believe that doing primarily good things just in the fear of 'going to hell' or whatever isnt gonna get you anywhere, but doing good things because you truelly believe those things are the right way to do things, then you will be blessed.

In closing, im not even christian, i am Rastafari.

 

No, mainly because free will has nothing to do with stopping one's heart. I suggest you Google free will and find out what it means then we can continue this discussion, if you wish.

 

The New Testament makes it clear that those who believe in basic Christian doctrines and who live good Christian lives will live forever in Heaven. It is less clear about everyone else. One can interpret New Testament passages in order to indicate that everyone else passes into oblivion. That may seem harsh, but atheists think they will pass into oblivion anyway. Revelation 20:14 refers to the fate of these souls as "the second death."

In the New Testament three different Greek words are translated as Hell in English translations. These are Tartaros, Hades, and Geenna. These have somewhat different meanings. Tartaros in Greek mythology is where the titans were exiled after they were defeated by the gods. Hades is the Greek god of death. Geenna was the name given for a trash disposal dump near Jerusalem. Trash was burned there.

In the Old Testament Shoel is translated as Hell in English translations. Sheol was a dreary, spooky place somewhat like a child's image of an old cemetary after dark, but all souls went there, and none were punished. The Jews did not really begin to believe in posthumous rewards and punishments until the Maccabe Uprising that happened from 167-142 BC.

The English word Hell comes from Hella, which was the name of the ancient Germanic goddess of the dead.

 

The rich dead guy in the Bible who asked the dead poor guy to please dip his finger in some water to quench his tung. Where the hell was he? He asked permision to go back to earth so he could warn his live relatives not to do bad stuff so they wouldnt have to go where he went. Where was he tryin to keep his live relatives from? Where did he want to warn them about?

 

According to Luke 16:19-31 he was in Hades. One can argue that he is in Hades waiting for the Final Judgment. Then he will pass into the second death.

 

If, as you say; those who believe in basic Christian doctrines and who live good Christian lives will live forever in Heaven, when do the meek inherit the earth?

 

my point is that some things are simply beyond our control. As I said before, you are part of God as you exist right now. All of his creation is a part of him. What choice is there to make?

 

Yes, some things are beyond our control, so? That has nothing to do with free will unless you feel that all things are beyond our control then you believe in fate or destiny not free will. But if we have free will that means we are free to be who and what we want and that would mean we are free to be separate from God. If we have to return to God no matter what, whether we want to or not, then we would not have free will.

 

but where do you hypothetically plan to go to be "seperate from God"? Where in all of existence is that even possible? God is the source of all.

 

www.tentmaker.org has many answers for the seeker...

 

Why does one have to go some where?

A married couple can be separated and or divorced and yet live in the same house and eat at the same table and not have to go anywhere. Yet they are still separated.

A person can likewise separate themself from God with out having to go anywhere.

 

I guess this is what they call taking the Bible literally.

But it fails to take into account other things the Bible says like that; Jesus spoke to the crowds by illustrations. Indeed, without an illustration he would not speak to them or that the Bible says that the dead are conscious of nothing so how are the dead now speaking or that no one can enter into heaven before Jesus so how did Lazarus get there ahead of Jesus or that being rich or poor is the only reason needed to be in either heaven or hell.

I could go on but that should be enough to show that this is an illustration with a different meaning than Jesus confessing that he now believes in the pagan concept of hellfire.

 

Consider this - What if your environment, from the very first sensory impulse received and interpreted in your brain, shapes your wants? Or similarly, internal chemistry? What if every single will that you have is the end product of the compound forces of your environment and the types and amounts of chemicals flowing through your body?

Would that be free will?

----And, to paraphrase,

"If we must return to god, we would not have free will."

We must do many things that have no influence on the freedom of our will. We must die, we must age, we must beat our hearts, we must have thoughts. If there is no option but a return to god (I.E. everyone dies and goes directly to heaven), then it is not a matter of free will.

 

Thanx, but yes, I have already considered it.

 

Hey Howdy OlderWaterBrother! Not everything the Lord said was an enigma. Somma what the Bible says was literal and some was figurative. I believe their was a soul in Hell who was being tormented who asked for a favor. A flesh and blood illustration of "regret" and how you shouldnt let things get this far before you grow some emphathy. It was an ilustration, but a flesh and blood ilustration. I think alot of the Bible was writen this way. Ilustrations made from real flesh and blood people, to be recorded in order to ilustrate something later. Blessins on Ya my Brudda!