Listening to many "devout" people talk about these "places" always reminds me of Star Wars. Luke Skywalker = good, Darth Vadar = bad.
How can it possibly be that simple for you?
2006-10-23 19:05:47 · 27 answers · asked by Alex62 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It's not simple. Those who claim it is are truthfully ignorant. Just be yourself. Do well, love others, and live your life to the fullest. You're much better off.
2006-10-23 19:08:37 · answer #1 · answered by munkees81 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
I believe there used to be some gradations in Catholicism - like Limbo etc for which there are no sources in the Bible. But you're right. Devout and simple-minded people of any kind seem only capable of seeing black and white, good vs. evil, etc. However the priests and authorities may weave their way through subtle semantics etc, the mass of the congregation don't seem capable of subtle thought. It's why they can swallow the unbelievable, and contradictions in their beliefs. It's why they cannot understand the world, or function intelligently with difference within it. E.G. George Bush, and look at the good (!) he's done. And of course, why those old sky-god, good-and evil, mythologies still have power to underpin the mad movies of modern times. We're all children at heart, but some of us learn to think and act like a grown-up when appropriate!
2006-10-24 02:16:43 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Life is made simpler (less stressful), the simpler you make it. Grey areas are full of maybe's, sort-of's, almost, stuff like that.
Perhaps Heaven would not seem so wonderful without Hell as the opposite choice for the afterlife. Similarly - how would we really understand what "bad" is - if we didn't have "good" and vice versa?
I would think that it's pretty black and white that pre-meditated murder and rape is bad and helping children/people in poverty or dying of AIDS is good (for example).
2006-10-24 02:55:36 · answer #3 · answered by Evy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Religious texts specifically outline these places as such. The Bible doesn't say specifically what heaven and hell are like, for instance, but it does point out that you either go here or there. It's very clear about that.
To answer your question, people have this black/white understanding because it has been written as such.
2006-10-24 02:09:53 · answer #4 · answered by mjfly 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
basically most people mix up religion with spirituality and have not gained enough awareness to realize that ALL opposites ALL beings are on the path back to the one (SPIRIT). since spirit created all things with thought, ALL THINGS ARE SPIRIT.
imagine that everyone even darkness is on the path back to the LIGHT from where it once began. each one of us is using our own individual path to make the same discoveries along the way but at different times and in different languages.
once more and more beings become aware of this, they will no longer need to argue over the one. that the one is the same by any name and that there are millions of paths to get there.
of course if one chooses darkness from the get go it will take alot longer than if one chooses light. that doesn't matter we are all on the path.
the basic answer to your ? is lack of awareness.
just a few thoughts from angelrose
2006-10-24 03:44:58 · answer #5 · answered by angelrose 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If everything was grey like what some people would like to say, then there would be anarchy. So we need a definition between right and wrong.
It's to keep people from doing crazy things. They say only the consequences keep some good people from going really bad.
2006-10-24 02:10:09 · answer #6 · answered by geeeezzzzeeee 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It is as simple to me as the kind of hell that is envisioned by millions does not exist!
WHATEVER image the word "hell" brings to your mind, hell is generally thought of as a place of punishment for sin. Concerning sin and its effect, the Bible says: "Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned." (Romans 5:12) The Scriptures also state: "The wages sin pays is death." (Romans 6:23) Since the punishment for sin is death, the fundamental question in determining the true nature of hell is: What happens to us when we die?
Does life of some kind, in some form, continue after death? What is hell, and what kind of people go there? Is there any hope for those in hell? The Bible gives truthful and satisfying answers to these questions.
2006-10-24 02:12:54 · answer #7 · answered by I speak Truth 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As a Christian, I believe the bible. The bible describes heaven as this: "eye has not seen, ear has not heard, the heart cannot conceive, of all the things God has prepared for those who love Him". Hell is described as this: eternal torment.
Pretty black and white to me.
2006-10-24 02:14:23 · answer #8 · answered by Esther 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because that's the way it is. Whether you believe it or not it still stays the same. Plus thats the way people are period there are good people and bad people, just the way it is.
2006-10-24 02:17:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are making the mistake of using a broad generalization as fact.
2006-10-24 02:14:03 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋