Hey monkeyman-
A thought occurs to me. Why bother stressing refuting another when you admit you yourself fear a hell realm and also still have belief? You should stop. Until you are confident in your convictions, I suggest not debating anyone. Hell, never debate anyone for that matter. I realize your friend has what he believes to be your best interests at heart, but he isn't giving you an unbiased view...and looking for counter arguments won't necessarily help the situation...especially if you just regurgitate them. I think your friends questions(coupled with Godschild's responses) gives you a decent um...'pro' framework to compare with the rests of the folks here 'con'. Without too much rash decisions, sit back, research, and reflect on the cases presented. What makes sense? What feels right? Etc. Etc. The only person who can come to this conclusion is you. Unforced. Being true to yourself means more than just being(or even being) right. At least you'll sleep sounder.
Just so you know...hell is a powerful concept, no doubt. It was my main foil to sloughing off Christianity for years. But once I saw the holes in history and doctrine for what they are, hell became like any other urban legend...a myth so fervently believed by the gullible that it takes on a life of it's own. My advice? Ignore it. Fear is a shitty reason to stick with a religion.
A thought occurs to me. Why bother stressing refuting another when you admit you yourself fear a hell realm and also still have belief? You should stop. Until you are confident in your convictions, I suggest not debating anyone. Hell, never debate anyone for that matter. I realize your friend has what he believes to be your best interests at heart, but he isn't giving you an unbiased view...and looking for counter arguments won't necessarily help the situation...especially if you just regurgitate them. I think your friends questions(coupled with Godschild's responses) gives you a decent um...'pro' framework to compare with the rests of the folks here 'con'. Without too much rash decisions, sit back, research, and reflect on the cases presented. What makes sense? What feels right? Etc. Etc. The only person who can come to this conclusion is you. Unforced. Being true to yourself means more than just being(or even being) right. At least you'll sleep sounder.
Just so you know...hell is a powerful concept, no doubt. It was my main foil to sloughing off Christianity for years. But once I saw the holes in history and doctrine for what they are, hell became like any other urban legend...a myth so fervently believed by the gullible that it takes on a life of it's own. My advice? Ignore it. Fear is a shitty reason to stick with a religion.
