Do Christians really grasp the idea of Eternal Damnation?

Question

If you beleive there is a hell(being eternal damnation,).. Why?

Why would a supposedly loving and forgiving god send sinners and non-beleivers to hell forever? F-o-r-e-v-e-r???

Do you honestly beleive HITLER deserves to rot in hell for 9999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 Years?(and thats just the beginning.. imagine 99.9 x 10^999 years, because according to the Christian faith he'll still be rotting)

And if you beleive that, Wouldnt it be ok to Torture Prisoners and sinners since thats what is inevitibly coming to them?

I just dont get it. Its such an obvious ploy to use fear to control the masses.

God doesn't send anyone to Hell that did not send themselves there.

Thats a good one. as if he thinks we're born knowing the christian god is the one true god! lol

Kat, it scared me when i was younger. Im not saying that it has the same effect as it did in the early stages of christianity, but yeah. It scares children who are too young to really understand the concept into beleiving, and by the time they understand it, it no longer worries them because they are devout christians and are "saved"

No. i merely want to understand the minds of people who actually beleive in hell

IDC what you beleive, but WHY does Hitler deserve to rot in hell FOR-E-VER? The Bible is fairly Vivid in its description of hell so i know its not a room with a A-trac player and a radio that only receives AM channels. Hitler Very Likely had a mental disability, And i agree he should suffer some punishment but Eternity? If thats what god considers Just id rather burn with him.

Answer 1

no, it is a lie from Satan.
It is the natural follow up to the first lie of Satan- that Eve( and Adam), would not die.
As time past and the first humans did die, the concept of the immortal soul was created by Satan to fool people into believing that a part of us never dies.
Following that, it was the concept of eternal bliss or burning hellfire.
The fact that the Bible claims that "God is love" flies in the face of keeping a part of us alive forever to torture us in fire.
In all reality, the only teaching of the Bible is that those that die only have two possibilities.
1. To return to the dust.(and stay there), or
2. To be resurrected after death to life either in heaven or on earth.

Answer 2

I am not a Christian, but I am a Moslem, but nevertheless, Islam also has the idea of Eternal Damnation. And yes, for the longest time, (about 30 years), I thought how unfair it is to let someone burn in hell for EVER! I mean, what about forgiveness and what about punishment in proportion to the sins.

Then I was lucky enough to work with a Chemist who was a Lutheran. It was than I realized that Hell (if there is an afterworld, God, Satan, etc - I am an agnostic), then Hell is where God ignores you and you are not in his presence.

Sometimes, the worst punishment is "ignoring" someone. For example, if you have been in love, what felt worse: being ignored by someone u cared about or them hating you after a breakup?

Answer 3

You are right it is a scare tactic to control others. the whole concept started back in medieval times to control the populace. Giving a place like hell to Satan would be giving him a lot more power then he actually has. He can tempt, maybe even give ideas, but he cannot ever control us.

"Eternal Damnation" is simply not being being allowed into the presence of God and knowing why, when and what you could have done to earn he highest salvation. but there is no "hell" let alone torment and torture forever.

Answer 4

I don't think that this question was intended to actually get an answer - it seems more like a statement to me (in other words, you've made up your mind what you believe), so there's no dissuading you. However, here's my answer, as best as I can give it.

I believe in hell (a place of eternal damnation) because the Bible teaches that it's where people who have sinned go. It does, however, teach that nobody is beyond God's grace. The Bible says that liars, thieves, etc... will go to hell, but that doesn't include those that God saves.

The Bible tells an interesting story near the end of Matthew 25, where Jesus talks about the difference between the righteous and the unrighteous. He says at the end (speaking about the unrighteous), "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

It is amazing how hard it is to grasp the concept of eternal damnation - we tend to think it's just not fair. How could a supposedly loving God sent people to hell forever? And yet, we forget that for those who love God and obey Him, there is a flip side: eternal life (in heaven).

Most people go about their lives sinning and trying to make up for it, hoping to gain some sort of reward at the end. What most fail to realize is that God is also just. His requirement for us to get into heaven is perfection - no sin whatsoever. However, since none of us can ever hope to be perfect, we're all going to hell in the end. But that's not necessarily the case - God sent a remedy: His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus was sent so that some people could actually come to heaven. Without Christ, we are all destined to hell. With Christ, some of us can get out alive and spend eternity in heaven - though nobody deserves eternal reward.

And as far as Hitler... Yes, I believe he deserves to rot in hell forever. FOREVER. But then again, so does everyone, including me.

I hope this makes sense.

Answer 5

Universalists would fall under the umbrella of Christian faiths (originally for sure and some still today) and they do not believe anyone is damned.

There are various forms of Christianity and they all aren't so hellbent (pardon the pun) on focusing only on the fire and brimstone portions of the bible. Unfortunately for the religion, the fanatics who DO focus on Old Testament God of wrath stuff give a bad name to all Christians. That's my view as an Atheist, anyway.

Answer 6

Christians live in denial. They say that people choose hell. That way they take the responsibility for eternal punishment off God. But of course their bible says that God created hell before he created humans.

Answer 7

God's punishment is sometimes referred to as "eternal punishment" but the scriptures also say another name for God is "Eternal." Therefore, "Eternal Punishment" can mean God's punishment, not "forever" punishment. We don't know how long God's punishment will be.

Also, eternity to us may be a total different time period in God's eyes. He created the world in seven DAYS, but each of those days was a thousand years to us.

Answer 8

Fear? Do you think anyone anymore HONESTLY fears hell? Come on, if this were a ploy to control the masses, don't you think it would work better? But first of all, its not my place to say wether hitler belongs in hell for a billion zillion years or not...Its God's...And you for one shouldn't be questioning it, exspecially since your not there yet, and you really have NO idea what you are talking about. And to torture the "gulity" isn't our job, we don't even know if their gulity, one because God will forgive anyone up until their very last breath if they simply ask him. Secondly because torture is inhuman, even for the rats that come out of their cages to beat on us Christians. In all honsty, would you actually if I stood right before you, grab me and beat me across the face until my eyes bled all over you? Would you take hot iron's and inbed them to the back of my head and let them stand for a full 30 seconds? Would you take two edged swords and slice cleanly off my right arm, and then perhaps my left ear...all because I admitted to being a christian? Would you make me suffer the worst death you could imagine because I offended you? Don't you think that is alittle insane, even for us lowly humans? I do.... What you have to understand, is that maybe I did alot of bad things in my time, maybe I even tried to kill you first. But that doesn't give you the right to take my life...to make me bleed dry and then chop my body into mulitple peices and leave it infront of other Christains doors... Hitler did alot of bad things, to many perhaps for me to mention here...But it wasn't our place to decide where his soul would go, it was his...He chose NOT to believe in God, we didn't force him into anything... God begged him to be with him, but he wouldn't listen. The punishment for sin is death, eternal death... the only way we can escape it is by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ...who willing died on a cross to free us from our certain hell. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. Hell exists, you can see it in the eyes of men... If you don't believe me, look for yourself....

God bless you, and merry Christmas

Answer 9

it should never really be up to us to torture sinners because it is up to God what happens to them and where they go. god is forgiving and are you aware that there is such a thing as "spirit prison" which is where all sinners go for a chance to redeem themselves, whoever does not wish to partake of that then go to hell. God always tries to help those who are in special need of his mercies and love. hitler deserves to be in hell, no matter what anyone says on the matter, hitler will rot in hell and thats the end of that discussion okay.

Answer 10

Eternal damnation doesn't exist, it's just something that was thought up by religius leaders to keep their ignorant flock under control and keep the money coming in, so they could check out the local girly bars as often as they wanted.