I noticed a comment or two from a individual who said that there is no hell. I did not want to pick one little bit out of a post because it would be far off topic. How many Christians believe there is not a hell or that a loving God would not send someone there? I personally think there is a Hell, I think people go there, but I would not say it is a big fire ball either. Sorry if this is a duplicate topic but I searched and the search function here is a little too buggy.

You’re right about that search function, but maybe I’m too buggy! As far as I know, not a duplicate topic, and even if it was, Id never point that out to you twice in one day. And i give people hell all the time, well, heck anyway, what’s your point, kook? It’s that once again, I’ll get back to you. This one’s gonna be good!! Thanks Joew!

Not a fire ball, a bottomless pit. I believe it exists. I believe in heaven. Purgatory is just the place where I ski, and nothing more. Souls do not get to cruise around earth after the body dies and haunt houses and what not. They cartainly do not go to Purgatory or the lift lines would be heinous. You can infer the rest…

And, they got rid of limbo! i was shocked, it seemed so logical to send unformed minds someplace where they couldn’t mature, heard they sent them to purgatory, but now they may be dumping that, too! It’s so hard to keep up with it all, I’ll head down to H E double toothpicks (as radar O’reilly would say) to help fan the flames for when everyone arrives! I’ve got a season pass, in and out privileges for whenever the pope changes his mind.

I’ll add Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and Limbo to my list of common misperceptions about Catholics to talk about at some point :)
Purgatory is not “dumped,” though. Although it would be nice if it were just a ski resort. Maybe we could invite some of the finalists who didn’t quite make it up the hill to hop on a lift with some flames for the hearth fires…

Simply put, I believe in Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. You’ll find that I’m very Catholic :) I didn’t use to be. I spent seven years (when I hit college) systematically dismantling everything I believed, trying to make sense of it, and attacking it from every angle I could conceive—with the help of many, many non-Catholic friends. I ended up far more Catholic than I was originally. I’ll write my books later!

For me; I believe in heaven and hell.
What I can’t believe in which led me to believe in heaven and hell is a place of nothing when we die. Emphasis on NOTHING

Nothing at all…..........

Hell, I think is what is remarked to in the bible as separation from God. Where and How I wonder.

See, joew, I knew it would be great!
Arandur, I knew you would get into these discussions with both feet. I’m eager to hear about the limbo thing and more about Purgatory.
I dismantled everything, too, right after high school, just kept it that way, tho. Mine also, about seven years, eerie coincidence, but probably different eras.

This is my kind of subject.. You will all know what hell is in about 10 years.. Quote the good ol’ JT on that one.. Some Muslims believe it is temporary.. I do not.. Hell is where your flesh will regenerate and continue to burn at the same time.. And it is not God who will put you there.. It is souls who carry no faith who will put themselves there.. God will simply look the other direction as the infidels have done to him for so many years.. Take heed of my warning..

On Purgatory:

Base Elevation 8,793 ft
Summit Elevation 10,822 ft
Vertical Drop 2,029 ft
Area 1,500 acres
My favorite places to play there are Styx, Catharsis, Upper and Lower Hades, Paradise, 666, No Mercy, Pendemonium, Peace, and Limbo

Is Styx where you go to wash those terrible images we sometimes run into from our minds? :)

Ah, the river Styx…not sure I would want to wash in it…but I’m sure if you did bathe in the river of the dead, all the images in your mind up to that point would be effectively erased…

Loves those scary-scary descriptions of H-E-L-L…all by folk who’ve neva been there…But I’ve been to Phoenix in the summer…So I know…

Hell is other people.

You’re blessedly naive, EC.

I think the dead would amuse each other by tossing random passersby into the river and watching their confused expressions when they get out :)

Haha no I am just a realist.

Hell doesn’t make sense to me. If there is a god out there, and he is brilliant and powerful enough to create a world such as this one, then I would think he would be more sensical than that.

I’ve come to the conclusion that physical punishment is rarely nessacery, and eternal punishment would be pointless. A level headed, well thought out approach would be much more effective, and the concept of hell, of all things, is certainly not that.

What’s your “level-headed, well thought out approach?”

And what if Hell isn’t what you perceive it to be, but rather merely the state of living eternally in rejection of a God who loves you, and the only way you can ever truly find happiness and peace is if you accept Him and His love? If you can’t be happy without Him, then when you reject Him, you cast yourself into Hell. And if when we die we exist in an eternal state outside of the time we’re used to, then the consequences of your rejection of God results in you left eternally unsatisfied, eternally empty, because you refused the only thing that could make you happy.

I get sad and depressed just thinking about what that must be like.

“What’s your ‘level-headed, well thought out approach?’”

I’m glad you asked.

Okay, so imagine I, a non-believer, have just died. I walk down a long tunnel, step into the light, and whaddayaknow, I’m in heaven. “Well, gee, I guess heaven does exist. Go figger.” No real problem there, god can let me waltz on through and all will turn out fine.

That’s one reaction, here’s another. “Yay! Heaven! I think I’ll be a little shit and go around trying to ruin everything!” In this case, god can’t just let me go into heaven, so now what? This is where hell would supposedly come in. Here are three better choices. (There are probably others too.)

One, he can set me streight. He’s god, right? If he wants to teach me a lesson, there’s got to be a way. Probably possible without any punishment whatsoever, too.

Two, he can destroy me. It would certainly do the trick, and with minimal suffering.

Three, he can maroon me in some other world. To me, this would seem the most sensical idea. In fact, heaven may just be one world amoung many. Which world you would end up in would depend upon what type of person you are.

“And what if Hell isn’t what you perceive it to be, but rather merely the state of living eternally in rejection of a God who loves you, and the only way you can ever truly find happiness and peace is if you accept Him and His love?”

Well, if that’s the case then at least I wouldn’t end up there. I don’t reject god. I don’t know wether he exists or not, but I don’t reject him. If he exists, then I love him. It’s diffacult for me to describe how I feel about him but it definitly isn’t rejection.

Rejection comes into play if you have been told the truth but reject it.

I know, that’s why I said that it wouldn’t come into play with me. I don’t reject it, I just don’t accept it. I’m in limbo. ^^

God loves you so much dear friend – maybe you should consider :)

I was motivated by the thought of hell before I accepted the truth that Christ Jesus could save me from all that mess and so much more :)

sister Thea

For me to claim to believe that god exists would be just as dishonest as it would be for me to claim to believe that he does not exist. (Hope y’all could follow that…)

I think death necessarily puts us in a different time reference, or outside of time altogether, so the ability to change things at heaven’s gate isn’t necessarily an option.