Fear of hell

[Simon Moon]

To the OP: Do you know there are some people that identify as Christians that flat out reject the concept of hell as valid and consider it a fabrication on the part of translators?

The more you know.

Not to mention that all the images that most people have of hell are from Dante's 'Inferno' and John Milton's 'Paradise Lost'. Both written long after (1300 and 1600 years) the Bible.

All the images the OP probably has of hell are completely non-Biblical.

[Tartarus Sauce]

Because right now it dominates my life.

I think it dominates your life because you really don't believe in god. You go through each day trying to convince yourself that it's true but deep down you know it's really bullshit. The fear keeps you stuck in your cognitive dissonance.

If you really were a good Christian you wouldn't fear it because you would feel saved. You need to let go of the delusion. You will feel a little bad at first because you will realize that you won't live forever. Once you get past that it is a non issue and you can live your life the way you want with no fear.

Besides, do you really want to kiss gods ass for eternity?

No, this is the wrong response to give someone in the middle of a breakdown.

You are right that the fear is fueling his cognitive dissonance, but you are presenting him a false dichotomy based on the assumption that he deep down KNOWS it isn't true. Maybe that is the case, but you don't actually know that, so giving him the option for being either a hell-fearing Christian or an atheist is in fact NOT the proper response and may back him further into a corner he doesn't want to be in.

The point I was making is that he doesn't have to let fear be the guiding force in his beliefs. I made the point that there are some Christians who loyally standby their label while still rejecting the concept of hell. From what I have observed from him, he appears to come from the hellfire and brimstone type of fundamentalism found in the likes of Souther Baptism (not sure if that is his actual denomination), and these types tend to hold the least knowledge of the book they claim to hold so dear.

So the best advice for Jesuslover is this: Stop letting everything that has been spoonfed to you by your pastors, parents, and other authority figures in your life be accepted without question. Come to your own conclusions about your faith and what you do and don't believe in through your own research.

Whether that leads him to atheism or not is not for us to decide.

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To the OP: Do you know there are some people that identify as Christians that flat out reject the concept of hell as valid and consider it a fabrication on the part of translators?

The more you know.

Not to mention that all the images that most people have of hell are from Dante's 'Inferno' and John Milton's 'Paradise Lost'. Both written long after (1300 and 1600 years) the Bible.

All the images the OP probably has of hell are completely non-Biblical.

Another valid point, if he really does hold the bible to be true, he can allay his fears by discovering just how few of his notions of hell are actually biblically supported.

[Bad Writer]

Either he's in the middle of a crisis, or he's a big fat Poe/Troll. I'm leaning towards the latter at this point.

[Crossless2.0]

Just to be mindlessly charitable in the event you aren't a Poe/Troll, your fear isn't hell; it's death. Now ask yourself how filled with fear and anguish you are at the thought of your non-existence prior to your birth. Seems silly, right? In the absence of any chemical/electrical activity associated with life, why would death be different than your non-existence before conception/birth?

I had surgery when I was 18. At no time while I was under did anyone declare me "dead." I was alive and well. My brain and other vital organs continued to function. Yet I had no sense of myself or time or anything while I was out. It was a nothingness that I wasn't even aware of. One moment I'm being an anesthetized, the next (as I experienced it) I'm coming to in a recovery room. No fear. No experience.

The uncertainty people have regarding death and the dread we feel contemplating it is what gives rise to these afterlife fairy tales we use to scare each other and that some use to keep us in line. It's all bullshit. Get over it. You can choose not to live in fear and grovel like a slave to an imaginary judge.

[*Deidre*]

OP, if you once thought God was evil, and now you're concerned that he might banish you to hell because you thought that....wouldn't that mean you were um, right...in your assessment? lol If you were a parent, would you banish your child away to a place of torment, if he/she disobeyed you? Logically, this has to make no sense to you after a while.

If God exists, I expect him to act a bit better than a petulent child who doesn't get 'his' own way. lol

[TaraJo]

Well, what specifically is the fear?

That I might go there because I've said in my past I though God was evil.

Well, first off, you were wrong: god isn't evil. God also isn't good. God is fictional, imaginary, not real..... and therefore, is only as good or as bad as the writers who tell him what to do.

You might also try reading the Bible with a bit of a critical eye and examining some of the things god calls 'good' and 'bad.' I mean, a lot of sex is considered 'bad,' but, unfortunately, rape is usually 'good.' Animal sacrifice is considered 'good,' but wearing blended fabrics is considered 'bad.' And it leads me to question, if god has a values system that fucked up, isn't there a damn good chance that hell is a pretty awesome place to be and heaven would be the worst thing imaginable?

[Minimalist]

I know you guys don't believe in hell, but can you guys help me, as a believer, not fear it so much? Because right now it dominates my life.

Keep playing this until it sinks in.

[Nicko]

Not really the answer you want to hear, but nevertheless.....if you truly believe in the existence of hell, then I'd fully expect you to be utterly terrified. To rid yourself of it's fear, you'd have to abandon your belief of it's existence, as others have said.

[Ryantology]

Well, what specifically is the fear?

That I might go there because I've said in my past I though God was evil.

The fact that you're afraid of God's evil is evidence that you were right about it.

But, you have to ask yourself why God's punishments and rewards are designed to happen where no one else can ever verify that they actually happen, and then ask yourself if that seems more than a little fishy. Once you accept the obvious answer, you'll have nothing more to fear.

[nogodchick]

I know you guys don't believe in hell, but can you guys help me, as a believer, not fear it so much? Because right now it dominates my life.

There is no hell. Don't worry about it.