Okey, im going to take you seriously, which may not be wise.
If you are afraid of hell it is because you are afraid that God made such a place and will send you there. Personally I don't see any real evidence that there is anything remotely like a god in the known universe. So I don't worry about what he might do to me any more than I worry about what elves or unicorns might do to me.
The only way out of your fear is to cease to be afraid of myths. Why is it that you believe in God's existence?
The Bible describes such a being but rather inconsistently. Hell isn't really a thing in the Od Testament, and the New Testament is all about saving you from it. The Old Testament God is just for the chosen people but otherwise harsh. The New Testament one is all forgiving, except for that Hell thing. Both talk of miracles, but recent miracles are in rather short supply. Most of the cosmological and biological descriptions in it are obviously false. As a historical document it's less than reliable. I solidified my lack of belief simply by reading it cover to cover. Try it. Pay attention to what it says rather than what you've been told it says.
Other than the Bible, why else do you believe? Because your parents do? Why do they?
Near death experience are just that. NEAR death. They aren't death experiences. What people experience is intensely cultural. Only Christians see Christian imagery. As a guide they are about as useful as dreams. They don't provide evidence of much except how the victim was raised.
That is the crux of it. What real reason do you have to think god or hell exists? If he doesn't and I am personally sure he does not, what reason do you have to be afraid of not following him?
If you really believe in him and can't be shaken in that, I can't tell you how not to be afraid. But many Christians don't become priests. Ask them why not.
If you are afraid of hell it is because you are afraid that God made such a place and will send you there. Personally I don't see any real evidence that there is anything remotely like a god in the known universe. So I don't worry about what he might do to me any more than I worry about what elves or unicorns might do to me.
The only way out of your fear is to cease to be afraid of myths. Why is it that you believe in God's existence?
The Bible describes such a being but rather inconsistently. Hell isn't really a thing in the Od Testament, and the New Testament is all about saving you from it. The Old Testament God is just for the chosen people but otherwise harsh. The New Testament one is all forgiving, except for that Hell thing. Both talk of miracles, but recent miracles are in rather short supply. Most of the cosmological and biological descriptions in it are obviously false. As a historical document it's less than reliable. I solidified my lack of belief simply by reading it cover to cover. Try it. Pay attention to what it says rather than what you've been told it says.
Other than the Bible, why else do you believe? Because your parents do? Why do they?
Near death experience are just that. NEAR death. They aren't death experiences. What people experience is intensely cultural. Only Christians see Christian imagery. As a guide they are about as useful as dreams. They don't provide evidence of much except how the victim was raised.
That is the crux of it. What real reason do you have to think god or hell exists? If he doesn't and I am personally sure he does not, what reason do you have to be afraid of not following him?
If you really believe in him and can't be shaken in that, I can't tell you how not to be afraid. But many Christians don't become priests. Ask them why not.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
