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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 29, 2011 at 10:38 pm
(This post was last modified: November 29, 2011 at 10:40 pm by Mystic.)
The purpose of hell is in exacting justice. It's so evil people get what they deserve.
The thing is in Christianity it is said only God is good. So no one can get to heaven by being good, it's rather by believing in the doctrines of Christianity that you will be saved.
I wonder, are even Angels not good? Are they evil as well and deserve punishment only to be saved by Jesus sacrifice.
The concept of hell is indeed cruel. God won't forgive people unless they accept a certain doctrine as true. They have to face his harsh wrath otherwise.
It's also a contradiction that there is a way to escape justice and requiring God to exact justice. If God can be merciful to some people simply by the fact they accepted a doctrine, then God can be merciful to everyone without that condition.
There is really contradiction in protraying God as Merciful, and the doctrine of hell. If either the Christian or Muslim hell exists, than I would say definetly God is not Merciful. He might have mercy on some, but over all, he is not merciful.
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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 29, 2011 at 10:46 pm
The purpose of hell is to both fool real victims out of seeking real justice, and to scare the straight into participating in the con.
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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 30, 2011 at 1:55 am
(This post was last modified: November 30, 2011 at 1:56 am by Oldandeasilyconfused.)
(November 29, 2011 at 12:38 pm)Minimalist Wrote: "Hell" was created by men to threaten people they don't like.
SUMMER: would you mind correcting any errors of fact ?
( I will ignore comments by any of our resident theist apologists)
As an eternal punishment, hell was invented by Saul of Tarsus I think,it is not a Jewish belief. According to a rabbi I asked,the Jewish concept of afterlife punishment is much like the Catholic purgatory,IE EVERYONE gets out eventually.
My understanding is that unlike Christianity, Judaism is not a death cult. The emphasis is on daily life, the here-and-now, not pie-in-the-sky. The purpose of The Law (the 613 mitzvot Saul abrogated so gentiles could join his club) is about LIVING and about social cohesion. This was just dandy if you happened to live about two thousand years ago.-Mosaic law as it written can be every bit as cruel and barbaric as Sharia law at its most horrific. Today,not so much--that may be why even among Jews today Hassidim tend to be seen as 'eccentric' at best, as a bunch of nutters at worst.
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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 30, 2011 at 11:06 am
No arguments with any here.
Thanks for the good replies.
You walk where theist fear to tread I see.
Regards
DL
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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 30, 2011 at 1:46 pm
(November 29, 2011 at 12:25 pm)Greatest I am Wrote: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
...
If God’s everlasting hell is not serving a purpose, God would not create it since scripture says that God created all things for his pleasure and for himself.
Hell was invented so that people would fall in line and do what the religion's leaders wanted. Think about how superstitious people were back then... if you told them they would burn FOREVER if they didn't do exactly what you tell them they should do, that's a pretty powerful motivation. It certainly must be, because superstitious people still believe it today.
As for God's pleasure, you're probably not far off. I have no doubt that a lot of Christians get pleasure from the idea of non-Christians burning in a lake of fire for eternity. Since God is an extension of Christians' minds, he gets pleasure from seeing people burn because they themselves do. I think it also helps them cope with the idea that bad people can go through life doing bad things without being punished. It makes them feel better to say, "Just wait until he dies, then he's going to burn." If there's no justice in this life, they feel comforted by the idea of justice in an afterlife.
Christian apologetics is the art of rolling a dog turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.
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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 30, 2011 at 2:52 pm
(This post was last modified: November 30, 2011 at 2:53 pm by Egor.)
(November 29, 2011 at 10:38 pm)MysticKnight Wrote: There is really contradiction in protraying God as Merciful, and the doctrine of hell. If either the Christian or Muslim hell exists, than I would say definetly God is not Merciful. He might have mercy on some, but over all, he is not merciful.
His mercy is shown by sending His Son, Jesus Christ. Those who believe, are saved, those who don't, aren't. Of course that implies a conscious choice to reject Jesus Christ. If you're a Hindu and never heard about Christianity or because of your culture were never exposed to it, I'm sure God has other plans. Otherwise, we'd have to assume he's creating people for the sole purpose of burning in hell. And that would not make any rational sense.
(November 30, 2011 at 1:46 pm)Doubting Thomas Wrote: If there's no justice in this life, they feel comforted by the idea of justice in an afterlife.
I think a true Christian would not want to see anyone burn in hell. However, if the Ultimate Perfection, the very Creator of the Universe, the Artist of every human life, were to send a revelation of himself that we were to accept, and we did not. What else would you do with that eternal soul?
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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 30, 2011 at 3:00 pm
(This post was last modified: November 30, 2011 at 3:01 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
You mean by scapegoating his son as a human sacrifice to "redeem" us vicariously. That's not mercy, that's disgusting.
What else might I do with the souls of all the people I didn't like? With absolute power and a merciful heart I'm sure I could come up with something a little better than hell.
Tiny, evil god. Glad it doesn't exist.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 30, 2011 at 4:36 pm
(November 30, 2011 at 3:00 pm)Rhythm Wrote: You mean by scapegoating his son as a human sacrifice to "redeem" us vicariously. That's not mercy, that's disgusting.
What else might I do with the souls of all the people I didn't like? With absolute power and a merciful heart I'm sure I could come up with something a little better than hell.
Tiny, evil god. Glad it doesn't exist.
You sound pretty pissed off at a God that doesn't exist.
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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 30, 2011 at 5:45 pm
No, just pissed off at the idea that Christians can believe in an all-loving good god that would create a place like hell to send the evil souls he created.
Christian apologetics is the art of rolling a dog turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.
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RE: What is the purpose of an everlasting punishment in hell?
November 30, 2011 at 6:07 pm
Or that this place could be avoided by laying all of one's own personal responsibilities on another human being and torturing them until some nebulous debt had been payed in enough blood.
Gratz on getting in a quick "why are you so angry at god". How many posts in are you now?
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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