Heaven & Hell

[Neo]

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?