Irational fear of hell still naggs me from time to time

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Arsoo,

Your concept of hell is actually that of the Islamic hell and not the biblical hell. There's a big difference between the two of them.

In the biblical version when people die they go to one of three places = death, the sea, or hell. The good news is that all three are temporary and everyone gets out on Judgment Day. At that time if a person's name has been written in the Book of Life he moves on to the gaudy bejeweled golden cube called New Jerusalem where he bunks with Yahweh (the God of the Hebrews and the God of the armies) and his zoo of weird creatures for eternity. The problem is that you have to pass through one of the twelve gates dedicated to the twelve tribes of Israel so there's no specific guarantee that Gentiles will get in. If you don't make it then you get tossed into the lake of fire, along with death and hell. So you will never go back to hell even if you had been in it.

In the Islamic version everyone just dies and stays dead until Judgment Day. Then everyone gets resurrected and judged. Some people get an express ticket to their own paradise, a 60 mile wide pearl shell with rivers of wine and two 60 or 90 foot tall translucent "women" plus a few assorted human women and a herd of cute boys. It's more of a guy thing because most of the women end up in hell. That's the hell you don't want to end up in because it's permanent and you never get out. And all of the bad things you imagine in your OP is constantly repeated.

The Mormons said to hell with those versions and made up a new one. Each good guy becomes a god with his own planet and a harem and and churn out babies like cockroaches for eternity. They seem to be skimpy on the hell thing.

[Foxaèr]

If you know it's an irrational fear, as you stated in the thread title, then you can take the necessary steps in rationally understanding that hell is not real.

[Minimalist]

Being a young adult, the idea of hell doesn't really make a whole lot of sense- yet I still fear it!

As an old fart I fear rattlesnakes.  The difference being that rattlesnakes are real.

[Brian37]

Arsoo,

Your concept of hell is actually that of the Islamic hell and not the biblical hell.  There's a big difference between the two of them.  

In the biblical version when people die they go to one of three places = death, the sea, or hell.  The good news is that all three are temporary and everyone gets out on Judgment Day.  At that time if a person's name has been written in the Book of Life he moves on to the gaudy bejeweled golden cube called New Jerusalem where he bunks with Yahweh (the God of the Hebrews and the God of the armies) and his zoo of weird creatures for eternity.  The problem is that you have to pass through one of the twelve gates dedicated to the twelve tribes of Israel so there's no specific guarantee that Gentiles will get in.  If you don't make it then you get tossed into the lake of fire, along with death and hell. So you will never go back to hell even if you had been in it.

In the Islamic version everyone just dies and stays dead until Judgment Day.  Then everyone gets resurrected and judged.  Some people get an express ticket to their own paradise, a 60 mile wide pearl shell with rivers of wine and two 60 or 90 foot tall translucent "women" plus a few assorted human women and a herd of cute boys.  It's more of a guy thing because most of the women end up in hell.  That's the hell you don't want to end up in because it's permanent and you never get out.  And all of the bad things you imagine in your OP is constantly repeated.

The Mormons said to hell with those versions and made up a new one.  Each good guy becomes a god with his own planet and a harem and and churn out babies like cockroaches for eternity.  They seem to be skimpy on the hell thing.

Yes and no, yes in the details, sure. But no, it is still a bullshit childlike concept of a cosmic parent using either an ice cream bribe, or threat of a belt and spanking.

And as I said before, even the concept of reincarnation is the same concept. Do good in this life, you'll be rewarded in the next. Do bad in this life, you will come back as a lesser life. 

It all still amounts to a non existent Santa having a naughty and nice list. The only difference are the details, just like Coke is a drink and so is Perrier. One could argue that the concepts of "hell" in Islam are more like having moonshine and reincarnation is  more like a plain beer which is less vindictive.

They are all still human invented gap answers to explain our species morality and behaviors.

[The Grand Nudger]

A plausible reason that people with similar cultural backgrounds report experiences predicted by their cultural backgrounds?

How many christians, if you had to guess, would we expect to report seeing Vishnu during an NDE?  How many report crossing Bifrost?

[Edwardo Piet]

Man up and get over it.

I've always hated the expression 'man up'.

For the same reason I've hated the expression 'men don't cry' or 'stiff up a lip' and all that shit.

[Brian37]

Man up and get over it.

I've always hated the expression 'man up'.

For the same reason I've hated the expression 'men don't cry' or 'stiff up a lip' and all that shit.

I think it is ok to call someone a "crybaby". But yea, "man up" is fucking sexist. 

For example, 45 not serving doesn't by itself make him a "pussy". What makes him a "crybaby" is that he talks like he is a bad ass but couldn't admit he couldn't do it.

I hate "man up" as well. I have met plenty of women mentally stronger than I am, and would give a shit less if a female police officer, female firefighter, EMT or Military service person saved my ass. What would matter to me is that they saved my ass, even if I admit I couldn't do their work myself.

My own mother is a perfect example of a strong woman mentally. She was always assured of herself and if it were not for her, I know I would have ended up on the streets or worse.

I am sick of the idea that being a man means you have to be a testosterone Rambo wannabe.

Especially with military service. If you run a platoon, the last thing you should ever want is an idiot looking to get even, and someone who isn't mentally capable to handle the stress. Surviving combat isn't a matter of gender, or revenge. Just like any other job, it requires focus and only focus and training increase your chances of survival. 

I'd value truth over anything, and if you admit to me you cant handle the stress of being under threat of injury or death, that is far better than lying to dodge it, or lying and pretending you can. 

I'd trust a honest president who didn't serve over a bombastic braggart.

[drfuzzy]

If you had the concept of hell beaten into your brain since before you understood language, sure, I get it.  My Mother said "If you do/don't ______ you'll go to hell and burn forever" on a daily basis.  Hell was the ultimate oogy boogy man that (tried) to keep kids toeing the line and going to church and saying their prayers.
   Then you grow up.  And you realize that no rational entity would eternally punish any being for . . . even the most heinous of behaviors.  It's not something that an entity that was good, knowledgeable, powerful, and forgiving would do.  And certainly not for simply refusing to believe it exists, because the evidence is lacking.  No.  Only a punitive, power-mongering, sadistic human being would come up with such a concept.  

Seriously, the xtians believe that god created human kind flawed.  Set them up for failure in the Garden of Eden just to start with. (Seriously, the all-knowing god had to know that they would eat that forbidden fruit - if god was all-knowing.)  Decided some years later that he had made a mistake and kills all but a few of them.  Decided some years later that he needs a major blood sacrifice to atone for the sinful nature that he created.  Then set up an eternal lake of fire that would hold all of those that did not accept this sacrifice.  Which, at this point in history, is about 5 billion living people (7-pushing to 8 billion people on the planet, about 1/4 of them some brand of xtian, tho' many of the thousands of sects will claim that only THEY are going to heaven, so you would have to amend the number to about 7 billion) plus all of the unbelievers back to Australopithecus . . . wow, how many humans would that be?  Are we thinking about creatures that have language, can reason, or what?  What about the dinosaurs?  Oh wait, some churchy jerk at some point declared that only humans have "souls".  Well.  

So from the word "go" this supposedly all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving deity knew - before "creating Adam and Eve" - that more than 3/4 of all these "created" beings were going to be tortured forever??   Nope.  Just nope.  I don't know about you, but for me, at some point, reason just had to kick in.  If there is a hell, God is the most evil concept ever created.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

---

Arsoo,

Your concept of hell is actually that of the Islamic hell and not the biblical hell.  There's a big difference between the two of them.  

In the biblical version when people die they go to one of three places = death, the sea, or hell.  The good news is that all three are temporary and everyone gets out on Judgment Day.  At that time if a person's name has been written in the Book of Life he moves on to the gaudy bejeweled golden cube called New Jerusalem where he bunks with Yahweh (the God of the Hebrews and the God of the armies) and his zoo of weird creatures for eternity.  The problem is that you have to pass through one of the twelve gates dedicated to the twelve tribes of Israel so there's no specific guarantee that Gentiles will get in.  If you don't make it then you get tossed into the lake of fire, along with death and hell. So you will never go back to hell even if you had been in it.

In the Islamic version everyone just dies and stays dead until Judgment Day.  Then everyone gets resurrected and judged.  Some people get an express ticket to their own paradise, a 60 mile wide pearl shell with rivers of wine and two 60 or 90 foot tall translucent "women" plus a few assorted human women and a herd of cute boys.  It's more of a guy thing because most of the women end up in hell.  That's the hell you don't want to end up in because it's permanent and you never get out.  And all of the bad things you imagine in your OP is constantly repeated.

The Mormons said to hell with those versions and made up a new one.  Each good guy becomes a god with his own planet and a harem and and churn out babies like cockroaches for eternity.  They seem to be skimpy on the hell thing.

---

Yes and no, yes in the details, sure. But no, it is still a bullshit childlike concept of a cosmic parent using either an ice cream bribe, or threat of a belt and spanking.

And as I said before, even the concept of reincarnation is the same concept. Do good in this life, you'll be rewarded in the next. Do bad in this life, you will come back as a lesser life. 

It all still amounts to a non existent Santa having a naughty and nice list. The only difference are the details, just like Coke is a drink and so is Perrier. One could argue that the concepts of "hell" in Islam are more like having moonshine and reincarnation is  more like a plain beer which is less vindictive.

They are all still human invented gap answers to explain our species morality and behaviors.

Of course heaven and hell were created by con men to help them control their superstitious buddies.  

The point I was making is that Arsoo could choose a less scary version if he actually learned something about the various ethnocentric Asian religions.  All of the major religions originated in Asia.  If a person is religiously superstitious there's no reason to pick the worse one to scare himself with.  They are all imaginary so go with the most user friendly.  There's no reason to live in the house of horrors when you can live in the house of plain stupidity.

[Arsoo]

I appreciate everyone's answers, but I am still wondering, why do you all think that hellish ndes seem to mention demonic creatures torturing them? I mean, that's not something religion teaches, and it is not something most people with asscociate with hell.