Posted on 09/26/2010 2:35:35 PM PDT by NYer
Sometimes it is necessary to state the obvious.
Now suppose a young man wanted a young lady to love him. Suppose he threatened to punish her with smoke, and fire, and brimstone for eternity for withholding that love. Presto! She “loves” him! Is it love? No, it is fear. Love, to be love, has to be free.
Bingo! Do your research on languages & contexts, and one will find this nonsense about an eternal fiery pit is crap that was introduced by Pagan traditions into the church. God is not a two headed monster who says love me or I will torture you forever.
OTOH, allah is.
What about people who love the idea of God and heaven (as it really is) but are agnostics? They are miserable throughout their lives and hopeless because they don’t believe even though they wish to believe.
Does God give them a second chance in the next life or are they also doomed to hell?
Before it could be answered, the young man was tragically injured and emasculated. Now day's he's on the run from the his crazed lover! Was it love?
We don’t know. Your description sounds rather like Mark Twain, poor man.
“And God won?t make you live some place where you are not happy.”
The Devil was a pagan creation hundreds of years after Christ walked the Earth. I don’t buy it one bit. God is not a sadistic bastard that says love me or else.
This makes me feel all lovey dovey and ooey gooey on the inside after reading this article.
And then I read the Bible. I trust what God’s Word says on the matter, and not some priest.
Eckhart Tolle would approve of this article.
Does the priest lie about what is written in scripture?
Your life is full of forked roads. Good and evil, yes and no, only you can make those choices. God does the same thing with Heaven and Hell. You chose the road you will take, God does not send you there, you send you there.
Where did you see that in this article?
The Vedas teach of hell, in the Puranas there are many descriptions of not just one but many hells. The punishments are of extremely long duration, but not eternal.
And all atheists go to hell, it is stated.
“So here is the best I can do on a difficult topic.”
It’s only difficult to priests and professors of theology (from an earlier thread on the same subject).
So who tempted Jesus in Gethsemane on the night before his execution?
No one should care what I “think” about heaven or hell. And neither do I care about what thoughts might flicker through my mind. What I care about and what any human worthy of the title “human being” should care about is the truth. Obejctive reality, truth, does God exist. That’s the difference between human life and animal life. Poor animals cannot consider or seek for transcendent truth. Humans can, and that is the duty and mission of human life.
So flickering thoughts of any human are not useful unless cognizance is lighted and informed by truth, which is found in various scriptures, and dawns within the heart as realized truth, experienced deep within, by the mercy of God.
The Vedas teach that atheists go to hell. But as long as there is breath in the body, each person can choose to pray to God - even if they are not sure He exists, or think He may not exist - and ask Him. Even at the last second of earthly existence. But it is harder when one has spent an entire life of rebellion against Him; not impossible, just much harder.
Better to ask such questions now.
I used to be an atheist. But I questioned, and sought the truth. Knock, and the door will be opened. Seek, and you will find.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.