Atheists focus on hell because we question how a loving god deserving of worship could create a place that is supposedly so terrible that we should all believe in something we have no evidence for out of fear of it. And because that fear causes many believers to do things that are harmful to themselves and others around them. They refuse to go to the doctor and instead put their faith in preachers who promise a seed or who promise health. The promises of heaven, and the fears of hell are strong for those who grow up indoctrinated by the church.
If I told my children I loved them so much that if they didn't love me back I was going to set them all on fire, I'd hope you would call Social Services. If I similarly told them that if they didn't love me back that I'd never let them feel love ever again, you'd call Social Services. You wouldn't in either case call me a loving parent.
Some insist that hell is a literal pit of fire. Which sounds incredibly unpleasant. Burning for Eternity. The Atheist will burn there for as long and as painful as Osama Bin Laden. Others insist it's just the absence of god, and the absence of love. Which again all sinners are punished the same. Imagine if our law system worked on similar values. The thief who stole bread sent to jail for the same time as a murderer.
I don't think it matters what hell is. The concept bothers most of us. It's why many religious people try to convert people. "We don't want you to burn in hell." And that sounds nice, but the truth is that if fear of hell is the only reason to worship god (and promise of heaven), then it's not really a god worth worshiping even if he does exist. Which we don't see reason to believe in the first place.
If I told my children I loved them so much that if they didn't love me back I was going to set them all on fire, I'd hope you would call Social Services. If I similarly told them that if they didn't love me back that I'd never let them feel love ever again, you'd call Social Services. You wouldn't in either case call me a loving parent.
Some insist that hell is a literal pit of fire. Which sounds incredibly unpleasant. Burning for Eternity. The Atheist will burn there for as long and as painful as Osama Bin Laden. Others insist it's just the absence of god, and the absence of love. Which again all sinners are punished the same. Imagine if our law system worked on similar values. The thief who stole bread sent to jail for the same time as a murderer.
I don't think it matters what hell is. The concept bothers most of us. It's why many religious people try to convert people. "We don't want you to burn in hell." And that sounds nice, but the truth is that if fear of hell is the only reason to worship god (and promise of heaven), then it's not really a god worth worshiping even if he does exist. Which we don't see reason to believe in the first place.
