regarding hell

[Squishy Cheeks]

I always viewed hell as being a two step process. First you experience heaven, and for some reason you reject it, mostly out of regret for your "sins" and instead you go to hell. Which I view as a very isolated dark cold place. Essentaily a formless void, where it is you, and only you. Alone in the dark for eternity. I formed this oppinion from the only real description of hell in the bible. A place where god does not exist. Personally I doubt the physical pain of burning for all eternity could be worse than to live alone in the absolute darkness for eternity.

[Skyshot]

Unless I'm mistaken, the conservative Presbyterian view of hell involves more of an emotional torture than a physical one. We believe God pours out his wrath on those in hell. After a brief period of wondering why the heck the damned would care about his wrath, I realized it was basically like being rebuked for eternity. That would hurt.

Regarding why you go there? Calvinism teaches that man is inherently corrupt,* therefore all who are not saved go straight to hell. Even if you're Ghandi, or however you spell that guy's name.

*A guy I know justified this a bit further. If someone smaller than you smacks you upside the head without provocation, what would your inherent reaction be? What would a corrupt person's be?

Did you notice how similar those two answers were?

[Lycanthrope]

krylo, an even more potent example of this form of afterlife was that of the early celts/britons. Essentially the afterlife was exactly like their life.

[Robot Jesus]

Another interesting afterlife is the one the ancient Greeks believed in. for the heroes, read exceptionally good, there was the Aleshan(sp?) fields. Where they get to spend eternity hanging out in the warm sun hunting. For the exceptionally unpious Hades beckons where they would spend all of eternity working as punishment. And for everyone else they just diminished into shadows and hung out in Tartaras(sp?). A bleak but not all together unpleasant place somewhat akin to Utah.

[ronny]

Originally Posted by Jack of Spades

Hell is also usually pictured as being underground..... All of them went underground into a firey place of torture.

My guess is that people reasoning lead them to think something like this:
Good things-->Up (sky,heaven)
Bad things-->Down.
Remember that thousands years ago, earth was flat for them. So humans were in the middle. If they were good, they go to an upper place. If they were bad, they went to a place underground.

This makes me think, it's interesting that they figured out the inner places of earth as a fire place; and that actually, they were sort of right.......
coincidence?......
instinct?..........

[Archbio]

the Aleshan(sp?) fields

I think you are thinking of the Elysian Fields... which are like those in Paris, only with less shops.

This makes me think, it's interesting that they figured out the inner places of earth as a fire place; and that actually, they were sort of right.......

Thanks to volcanic activity, most of the things they would have seen coming out of the earth would have been fiery. But it's possible it's mostly just coincidence, fire being the most terrible/painful thing (which is still easy to imagine) you could imagine a place filled with.

[Sithdarth]

I was struck with an interesting thought today in my compostion class. Everyone "knows" that Santa doesn't exsist as a real person. Yet through his legend and the cultural structures built around him he continues to exert an influence. So basically the entire idea of a hell is all that is really needed. It doesn't matter if you believe in it or not, nor does it matter what you expect to find. The simple fact of hearing of such a place, and being exposed to the myths surronding it, as a lasting effect on people. In short "hell" may be only an idea and the less then pious may simply vanish at the end of their lifes or they may get another chance at life. There need not actually be a hell to have the mental effect of there actually being one.

[Packman]

Gospel of Peter. Yes, you read that right. Also another book about Daniel have a lotta questionable things about hell so they were left outta the bible. Milton is my favorite for descriptions. Dante also gives a full walkthrough.

Does anyone else know of anchient books (scriptures) left out of the bible? I think some of them would be interesting rare reads.

Interesting input. I can see that clearly some of you are afraid, but may not know why. And, clearly, some of you are religious. All fine by me.

Me, personally: I believe in no such things. Hell, to me, is something akin to the word "nothing," such that it, to me, does not truly exist. It can not exist. Thusly, it doesn't. I guess that could be some form of crazy logic, but, beyond that, it's something beyond basic understanding. Some of us find the answers from others (but realize we have been misguided...those that don't are blind fools), yet others find them from within ourselves. (Pardon if my rant makes no sense)

Those that find them within ourselves may take seconds, minutes, or even days, weeks, and months. Even years. This is something I have come to learn through experience and the endeavor to discover more of what exists beyond basic logic and thought. (Which is why I have, at least to most of you, such a peculiar view on this)

The end at which I arrived I have described already, but why do I say so? Look at things closely. Those of us who commit good deeds are not rewarded by the rest. We are taken advantage of, sullied, spit on, abused. Those of us who commit the abusing are left feeling shallow because of believing what others believe. And yet even if we DO commit "good" deeds, oft' we are left wondering what would have happened had we not done so. If hell were to exist, to me, it would be the place in which we live.

There is nothing glorious about our current state. Yet why is there such mention of closeness to one's deity or worship? As stated, all things are a matter of thought.

Once more, I shall say that, to me, there is truly no hell. An afterlife, oh certainly yes. But hell? None whatsoever.

If there are any questions about my senseless banter and need to hammer out some slight opinions on things, feel free to IM or PM me, or simply reply to the thread.

Yeah. At least something made sense...

[Cheerful Coffin]

After the expirience I can only describe to you as "talking to God" I can't define hell as Judeo Christian teaches it, it's more like a dimension-X. Bassicaly the inescapable plain 45% of the world is destined to go to their unchangable destiny of being yang energy.

They wouldn't like "hevean" much anyway..