I want to know specificly why you believe in what you believe. I asked this question about 7 years ago to five people my mom went to church with and the only answer I got was "read the bible". The five people included; the pastor and wife, two Sunday school couples who taught, and my mom's best friend.
2006-10-23 08:16:40 · 23 answers · asked by go_blue34 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
well..... i have a christian family and have always gone to church. I'm not sure if i believe totally in heaven and hell, but i do believe there is some kind of after life. i look around me and think there has got to be something better out there somewhere, and i believe there is a Creator, how could the world and everything in it come from "the big bang", it just doesn't make sense to me.
2006-10-23 09:13:20 · answer #1 · answered by HANNAH S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I would suppose if you don't want to read the Bible - you don't have to, but its a good start.
However - I do think there are some misconceptions as to what hell really is, perhaps even heaven.
The Book of Enoch, which should have been canonized with the Old Testament books covers some of that detail - hell having seven compartments to it - each one being various forms of punishment until Judgment day.
Enoch also mentions the planets having their own orbits - and this I remind you was way before Galileo and the other great scientists. He also reveals much about the Sons of God (angels) how they came down from heaven and mixed with human females, their fate and all that. Check it out.
2006-10-23 08:30:11 · answer #2 · answered by Victor ious 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What makes me believe in heaven or hell is not that it's the best philosophy out there, that it makes the most sense, that it can be scientifically proven over all the other theories. For all human intents and purposes, it is just that - a theory.
But that's just it, I don't believe it based on human understanding. See, the change that I experienced in my life, the undenyable truth that something happened to which I will never be the same - those are the things that cause me to believe in heaven or hell. When Jesus Christ changed my life in a very real way, I was left with no choice but to believe every word He said.
But I also understand that for some, that would be "taking it for granted." So if you're so inclined, I would encourage you to read "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. Lewis was an atheist who set out to prove that God could not possibly exist. What he found was the exact opposite, and he came to these conclusions by means of rationality. He basically reasoned that there could not possibly "not" be a God (for lack of a better double negative). haha! God has to exist according to C.S. Lewis, and his reasons are more than compelling. I would also recommend "The Case for Faith" by Lee Strobel.
I'm sorry that you were only give shoddy answers by the people who should have known those answers best in your life. But if I were you, I wouldn't base your beliefs on what other people tell you. See, I believe the truth stands up to questioning and when we go searching for the absolute truth, we are destined to find it. That's exactly what happened to C.S. Lewis. And that's what happened to me. Christ is so real to me, so undeniable, that if He told me pigs could fly, I would believe it.
2006-10-23 08:38:23 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Life is so unjust... good people bears the burden of hardships and bad people enjoys the luxuries of life...
My aunt has just died on 17th of this month at the age of 43. She hasn't seen any pleasure in her life, she did really worked hard just for the sake of her kids, now tell me shouldn't she be rewarded for this?
There is always an end of the movies that we watch, some has good end some his miserable, the film of my aunt has ended in a misery. But God is not unjust, He will reward her in the next life.
So what I mean to say is this that the unjustness of this life makes me believe that there must be a good or a bad life ahead. Those people who have faced difficulties in this life will go to the heaven in the next life where there would be all happiness. And bad people will be punished in the firey hell.
Now it depends upon you whether you look at it as a way to satisfy myself or a reality...
2006-10-23 08:54:52 · answer #4 · answered by Ω Nookey™ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It may not be something that people in general can understand. But believing in Heaven or Hell is a spiritual thing. Not just believing in Heaven or Hell as a place.
Keeping that in mind. I have found that it is possible to notice little coincidences that seem to happen at the right moment in my life for me to recognize. After enough of the little coincidences have happened(Not all of them Good!), I have become convinced that a power not completely understood by me must be there.
For example there was one time that I simply did not have any words that would come to mind as I was trying to pray to god. So I simply asked god to help me find some way to pray to him so I could give him thanks. At that very moment I happened to look down on a table I was near. And inscribed on the table was a small but simple prayer. "I love god he is good to me and you"
This can obviously be dismissed as random chance, but I really did not notice that graffiti until I prayed for it.
This type of thing happens to me alot.
As it says in the bible you do not see with your eyes. But if I am willing to feel the spirituality surrounding me it becomes easier for me to know Heaven and Hell is really there.
2006-10-23 08:47:04 · answer #5 · answered by Tiredman10 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Obviously, there is right and wrong in life. We experience such truth when we receive rewards and punishments, benefits and consequences, victory and failure, directly or indirectly for what we have done. What's unfair is if we receive these things unjustly. There is someone who understands this and He plans to correct this in His time. He would use His written words to determine what's the truth in each of us. Thats why He sent His Son to give us a way out. Read John12:44-50
2006-10-23 09:08:04 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
i believe in heaven because i saw my sons face the second he was born. in my darkest and deepest time of need i felt gods love warm my soul. all i had to do was ask for him and he was there where he always is. when i feel love warm my heart i know it is because god lives there and i cant tell u how i know there is a heaven i just do. i believe in hell because i have felt the pain of loss and have seen the evil we can do to each other. i watched my son board a plane for Iraq. i have read the bible and i am not sure all is gods true word but i know that the love intended for us is there. beauty and gods love is anywhere u find beauty and love in this world.
2006-10-23 08:29:43 · answer #7 · answered by skylinbaby 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe in it for a few reasons...
1) Jesus spoke of it. If you can show me any other person who walked out of their own grave and then witnessed by over 500 people - many of whom were killed claiming to have seen him (you'd change your story if you were lying) - I'll believe what they have to say too!
2) Changed lives. When Jesus gets a hold on someone's life - it changes. It's not objective proof - but I've seen it happen. Something is there we can't explain that changes lives - I believe it is God just as those individuals claim.
3) The peace I have believing in it. I believe in God who wants to redeem ALL people and live eternally with them. I believe he has loved us enough to live our lives with choice - even if that choice is to reject him. I believe he loves all people and his heart is broken at our current state. I believe Hell was never intended for man. Because of these things I have a peace believeing in Heaven and Hell.
2006-10-23 08:27:57 · answer #8 · answered by MLK II 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't believe in heaven or hell. There is no such things existed.
Don't get me wrong on these above statements. I just think we are just like another kind of animal on this earth. I am gone when I die. The only thing left is my bone.
Even though I don't believe in heaven or hell, I do believe religions do good things for people. They keep us in line. Straighten us out if we do wrong things. It is very much a guidance to keep us moving forward not doing bad things.
Who is not feeling good if you are loved? Who is not feeling good if your hatred is not in your heart? I feel better if I try to love someone even though I don't like him/her. I feel better if I try to be forgiven even though logically hard to forgive. Those are examples of religion try to teach you to live the right way to live happily.
2006-10-23 08:45:33 · answer #9 · answered by Tuan N 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I believe because of faith.. Its a deeper faith than the one that I have in my kids.. Its a deeper faith than the one I have in myself. Something believed in me long before I was ever created or thought of.. Which is why I'm able to believe in another.. The cycle has a beginning. You know its there.. don't know how it got there.. but its always been there.. Its something you have to experience for yourself.. But I promise you this, if you sincerely seek it out.... You will find it.. and much more..
2006-10-23 08:36:22 · answer #10 · answered by elias_boni 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋