Heaven & Hell

Bond · 07-05-2006, 08:51 PM

- Do you believe in heaven and/or hell?

- If so, how do you see each place/state of mind in your head?

- Would Adolf Hitler be in your hell?

Jonbo298 · 07-05-2006, 09:49 PM

I'm weird on it.

I believe there is some form of a heaven. Hell..I tend to not believe in. From how I see it, mistakes I make on Earth doesn't make me horrible in the afterlife. Your bad memories are erased and only the times of happiness (as cheesy as that sounds) are remembered and anyone is forgiven. Yes, even Adolf Hitler.

I dont know how to picture Heaven *if* it exists.

Bond · 07-05-2006, 10:05 PM

So then you don't believe in justice?

Jonbo298 · 07-05-2006, 10:38 PM

I believe there is some form of a heaven. Hell..I tend to not believe in. From how I see it, mistakes I make on Earth doesn't make me horrible in the afterlife. Your bad memories are erased and only the times of happiness (as cheesy as that sounds) are remembered and anyone is forgiven. Yes, even Adolf Hitler.

I'm talking about the afterlife, not now.

Plus, this is MY own view. This isn't me conforming myself ot someone. Heck, I didnt even say I fully believe in what I said. Just how I would see it for myself. So ridicule me all you want

Bond · 07-05-2006, 10:44 PM

I wasn't ridiculing you at all. I was simply trying to clarify. I think most people view the afterlife as a sort of justice to what one has done on Earth.

Neo · 07-05-2006, 11:13 PM

I think this strongly relates to the concept of good and evil so I'm going to comment on that. I don't believe in good and evil - they are just labels we apply to categorize actions. There are only actions and the consequences of those actions. "There is nothing good or bad but thinking makes it so." Good and evil are simply concepts; There isn't this physical stuff called good and evil floating about in the atmosphere. I also believe in doing what's right because YOU believe it's right, and not because an invisible man who lives in the sky tells you what is right. Most people do what is right because they want to be rewarded with the gift of everlasting life in heaven or they are afraid of being punished and going to hell if they don't do what God says. I'm not saying I think God does or does not exist, I'm simply saying I do what is right based on my own personal integrity and what I believe is important. I don't know what will happen to me when I die I just know what I have to do while I'm here.

That is one thing many Christians do not understand about regarding atheists. They have this misconception that atheists can't have any morality if they don't believe in a God who provides a backdrop for absolute morality. I know many atheists who are very moral people because they have strength of character. They are very emotionally mature in the sense that they don't need that emotional crutch (to use the governor of MN's words) in order to believe in right and wrong.

I can tell you I don't believe in a traditional hell where people go to burn for ever and ever. Think about what that would really mean....You know how painful it is to experience a burn even for a few seconds? Does anyone really deserve an eternity of that feeling? An eternity is a long time. What would be the point, anyway? Isn't the purpose of punishment to teach someone a lesson? What kind of lesson lasts for an eternity? And what can be taught through physical pain? Wouldn't a better punishment (to take the Hitler example) be to be born into a life in which you have to watch your entire family and everyone you love be killed? Isn't the only way to really make someone understand something is by making them experience that specific kind of pain themselves?