What's up with the eternal torment thing?

Answer 1

That's god's love... you didn't get the memo? I mean isn't that what any father would do? Send your kids to the ugly neighbor to be tortured in his basement when they disobey you?

Answer 2

"Several years ago a book was published, entitled Beyond Death's Door by Dr. Maurice Rawlings. Dr. Rawlings, a specialist in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Disease, resuscitated many people who had been clinically dead. Dr. Rawlings, a devout atheist, "considered all religion "hocus-pocus" and death nothing more than a painless extinction". But something happened in 1977 that brought a dramatic change in the life of Dr. Rawlings! He was resuscitating a man, terrified and screaming — descending down into the flames of hell:
"Each time he regained heartbeat and respiration, the patient screamed, "I am in hell!" He was terrified and pleaded with me to help him. I was scared to death. . . Then I noticed a genuinely alarmed look on his face. He had a terrified look worse than the expression seen in death! This patient had a grotesque grimace expressing sheer horror! His pupils were dilated, and he was perspiring and trembling — he looked as if his hair was "on end."
Then still another strange thing happened. He said,"Don't you understand? I am in hell. . . Don't let me go back to hell!" . . .the man was serious, and it finally occurred to me that he was indeed in trouble. He was in a panic like I had never seen before."
(Maurice Rawlings, Beyond Death's Door,(Thomas Nelson Inc., 1979) p. 3).
Dr. Rawlings said, no one, who could have heard his screams and saw the look of terror on his face could doubt for a single minute that he was actually in a place called hell!"

Answer 3

An old scare tactic to keep people in the pews and giving donations. And to hopefully scare new members into getting fleeced too.

It's a totally disporportional penalty for refusing to stroke the ego of a petulant tyrant.

Answer 4

That is what happens when you go to hell the eternal torment thing.

Answer 5

Hey Dude:
There is no eternal torment.
That's a catholic idea meant to keep you in fear.
Ecclesiastes 9:5,10 says the dead are conscious of nothing ....that includes torment.
Jeremiah 32:35 says God never even thought about burning people.
So, there is nothing .....up.

Answer 6

well, it's what happens when you become Christian and are forced to spend eternity hanging out with thousands and thousands of willfully ignorant, arrogantly self righteous, smugly pugnacious, aggressively rude Fundies.

non Christians go to hell and spend eternity with all the other intelligent cool people. "cool people" is kind of a inside joke/paradox kind of thing. **wink**

Answer 7

Eternal torment is up to you. The way to avoid it is easy. You only have to believe Christ died for you. (I know some of you won't be able to type your comments fast enough but.......) I am praying right now that God touches the heart of one of you! I pray that as your are typing your words God begins a good work in your life. Other Christians please pray with me. We may never know who was touched by His hand but we know that God hears our prayers and that will be enough.

Answer 8

I have asked the same question and got no answers. I was wondering how a person could "rot in hell." if he had no body. I think people take literally things that are allegory.

Answer 9

It's actually a big fat scare story.

Consider - if god is all knowing, loving, kind, merciful, etc - then he would never, ever, ever have created a horror like hell and certainly would never send anybody there.

In this country we have laws against cruel and unusual punishment. I assume that god would have something similar.

Answer 10

It's a scare tactic used by Christians on 12-year-old boys to get them in their pants.