Help me not fear heaven/hell

[fredd bear]

Hey, everyone. I thought I’d ask for some help here.

I was raised Christian but don’t believe in god anymore. I think it’s all nonsense. We’re on this pale blue dot alone. I believe in science and reason.

The problem is my atheism is only at 99%. There’s 1% of me that still thinks I could be wrong and that I’m going to hell for being a bad person. I’m also afraid of the idea of endless life, mostly because I struggle with anxiety and the idea of eternal anxiety in heaven is my idea of hell.

Can anyone help me unhinge the last 1% so that I’m not afraid of heaven and hell anymore? It would mean the world to me. I’d like to not have this hang over me for the rest of my life.

- Fleeing Jesus

  
Recovering Catholic here.  Welcome to the forum. Buckle your seat belt, things can get a bit bumpy. 

I empathise with your position.

Neither the existence nor non existence of god is provable.----at least so far, no one has managed either in recorded history

I hoe you will never be 100% certain of anything.  In my opinion. only a fool is 100% certain of anything. To be100% certain god does not exist  is to be as arrogant and closed  minded as some of  the fundamentalist Christian apologists you will see here.


I guess that wasn't very helpful. Below is a link to part of a 1948 radio debate. The debate  is on the existence of god. The opponents are Bertrand Russell, arguably the best philosopher of the twentieth century(atheist) and Frederick Copleton,  Jesuit, top catholic theologian of his day. The clip is edited ,so only 18 minutes You may find it challenging, it's a bit intense, but worth the trouble I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXPdpEJk78E

[Fireball]

I used to keep a link handy that led to a source that describes how "Hell" has changed over the millennia, but the wiki article on Hell is quite informative. Hell is all made up, you don't need to spend any time believing it. Just check it out, though I struggled with it myself, tbh. "hell"

[Belacqua]

I thought I’d ask for some help here.

A word to the wise about this forum:

Bullying and insults are accepted forms of speech here. Even as a fellow atheist, if people disagree with you for any reason, they are likely to call you the foulest names they can think of at the moment. 

I don't know about your background or what triggers your anxiety, but it might be wise to keep your cards close to your chest here until you know the personalities who will be responding to you.

[Losty]

I thought I’d ask for some help here.

A word to the wise about this forum:

Bullying and insults are accepted forms of speech here. Even as a fellow atheist, if people disagree with you for any reason, they are likely to call you the foulest names they can think of at the moment. 

I don't know about your background or what triggers your anxiety, but it might be wise to keep your cards close to your chest here until you know the personalities who will be responding to you.

Meh, there are jerks everywhere. Most of us are nice

[fredd bear]

A word to the wise about this forum:

Bullying and insults are accepted forms of speech here. Even as a fellow atheist, if people disagree with you for any reason, they are likely to call you the foulest names they can think of at the moment. 

I don't know about your background or what triggers your anxiety, but it might be wise to keep your cards close to your chest here until you know the personalities who will be responding to you.

Meh, there are jerks everywhere. Most of us are nice

((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((9)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

 Quick word on hell:

Eternal hell is a Christian invention. It does not exist in Judaism.The Jews do have a place or punishment/cleansing. The longest time anyone will spend there is 2 years.

 Christian hell began in early Christianity. Once again, lifted from Roman beliefs; a vague notion of the underworld. I also remember an early name for hell was "sheol"-- that was a rubbish dump outside of Jerusalem where literally anything could be dumped, including the bodies of slaves and executed persons. It took centuries for the Christian notion of an eternal to evolve and become doctrine. 

The Wikipedia article quoted below is worth a read.

In religion and folklore, Hell is an afterlife location, sometimes a place of torment and punishment. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as eternal destinations while religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations. Typically these traditions locate hell in another dimension or under the Earth's surface and often include entrances to Hell from the land of the living. Other afterlife destinations include Heaven, Purgatory, Paradise, and Limbo.

Other traditions, which do not conceive of the afterlife as a place of punishment or reward, merely describe Hell as an abode of the dead, the grave, a neutral place located under the surface of Earth (for example, see Sheol and Hades). 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell

[brewer]

I thought I’d ask for some help here.

A word to the wise about this forum:

Bullying and insults are accepted forms of speech here. Even as a fellow atheist, if people disagree with you for any reason, they are likely to call you the foulest names they can think of at the moment. 

I don't know about your background or what triggers your anxiety, but it might be wise to keep your cards close to your chest here until you know the personalities who will be responding to you.

[Fleeing Jesus]

Hey, everyone. I thought I’d ask for some help here.

I was raised Christian but don’t believe in god anymore. I think it’s all nonsense. We’re on this pale blue dot alone. I believe in science and reason.

The problem is my atheism is only at 99%. There’s 1% of me that still thinks I could be wrong and that I’m going to hell for being a bad person. I’m also afraid of the idea of endless life, mostly because I struggle with anxiety and the idea of eternal anxiety in heaven is my idea of hell.

Can anyone help me unhinge the last 1% so that I’m not afraid of heaven and hell anymore? It would mean the world to me. I’d like to not have this hang over me for the rest of my life.

- Fleeing Jesus

Stop trolling    and don't be a bad person and you'll be fine.

Lying awake terrified makes me a troll?

[Gwaithmir]

Check the internet for an atheist group near you.

[Rahn127]

To that 01% in your brain that still has heaven & hell rattling around, tack these ideas in your head.

You are living a mortal life. It is limited in so many ways. If you still have the idea of a soul floating in the crevices of your brain, then once your soul is free from all limitations, it will become infinitely powerful.

No one or no thing will be able to move you anywhere.
You will be on an equal footing with any infinitely powerful being.

Idea #2 - After you die, your consciousness moves to another body. You will never ever experience a heaven or hell. With an infinite number of universes in the multiverse, you will always be alive somewhere.

Idea #3 - After you die, you're dead. You stop experiencing. You stop being aware. You won't even know that you are dead.

[arewethereyet]

I thought I’d ask for some help here.

A word to the wise about this forum:

Bullying and insults are accepted forms of speech here. Even as a fellow atheist, if people disagree with you for any reason, they are likely to call you the foulest names they can think of at the moment. 

I don't know about your background or what triggers your anxiety, but it might be wise to keep your cards close to your chest here until you know the personalities who will be responding to you.

Oh, you poor delicate flower.  Take your persecution complex elsewhere.

I can think of plenty of fouler things to call you but am curious why you stay here if it's so awful.  Find a Christian forum and sing some Kumbaya.