(July 16, 2023 at 10:03 pm)Ahriman Wrote:(July 16, 2023 at 2:52 am)emjay Wrote: I'm aware there are different interpretations of what hell is/would be, its duration, and who goes there, but in my experience the majority of people I've met, on and offline, believe in the bog standard eternal fire and brimstone idea. Within that group there are those, mainly offline, that have expressed real and heartfelt concern for my soul, and those are the ones I respect the most because it shows that a) they truly believe what they're saying and have given it a lot of thought, and b) that they are compassionate. Then there are those that don't dwell on it, probably compartmentalise it, certainly don't threaten or posture with it. And then, mainly online, in my experience, are the sadistic ones who seem to relish the prospect of people going there, and use it as a weapon in argument. Those are the ones I have no respect for.
You've never made enemies in your whole life?
What I'm talking about is the inconsistency with the stated goals of the religion of Christianity, depending on how you interpret it. If you interpret it like TGN then I guess that's fine, there never really is any inconsistency, but if you accept a more global interpretation of love thy neighbour, and forgive all those who trespass against you - which is the version of Christianity I grew up in and still surrounds me IRL - then it is inconsistent to delight in their suffering, and even more inconsistent to take that to the grave, and hypothetically beyond, since it says in the Bible you can't even get into heaven without forgiving others. So what I mean is I have no respect for them as claimed Christians ... Fred Phelps for instance, who went to extreme and sickening lengths to delight in the death and hypothetical eternal suffering in hell of Matthew Shepard, would be one of many who - if (the global version of) Christianity turned out to be true - I'd expect to get turned away at the pearly gates.
