Is it possible to have an irrational fear of hell?

Question

If you believe in god, heaven and hell then aren't you supposed to always fear eternal damnation? If that is true then wouldn't that make it a rational fear? I don't know, when I thought of this question, I had to laugh because everything in life seems so ridiculous even to the point of death and the unknown. Any other crazies out there besides me, what do you guys think?

Answer 1

I've kept pretty much kept the same philosophy on the subject of hell since I was a child. The "Boondock Saints" thought, if you will. Don't kill, rape, or steal. All this repent crap, commandments, original sin, I think that was made up just to keep people in line way back when. Just be a good person. To answer directly, I think rationality would refer to having some kind of proof, irrational having no backing. So technically, fear of hell would be irrational. Ow...my brain. Damned philosophy.

Answer 2

A fear is only rational if an actual threat is imminent.

If you're swimming in shark-infested waters then your fear of sharks is justified & rational. If you're sitting at home on the toilet however, a fear of sharks is irrational (since it's highly unlikely that one will swim up & bite you on the butt.)

If you're a murderer, then a fear of hell is rational (but then again, most murderers probably don't believe in Hell, Heaven or God because if they did they wouldn't be committing evil!)

If you're just a normal person that doesn't make a habit of destroying people and committing evil then a fear of Hell is irrational because YOU WON'T BE GOING THERE!

I hope this helps!

Most of our fears are irrational. Humans are a neurotic bunch. Fears & phobias are throwbacks to our biological fight or flight mechanism. Fear was necessary for survival when you may be attacked in the wild & had to be vigilant & keep your senses keen. But now we just fear things that either will never happen or which don't represent any real danger. We don't have too many real threats these days. Most of them are in our heads (such as my irrational phobia of insects. Yes they're ugly & incredibly creepy but they can't really hurt me, right?)

Like they say, there's nothing to fear but fear itself. Fear can be pretty scary though!

Answer 3

The only irrational fear of Hell comes after you are saved having recieved the Holy Spirit. Until then, it is very rational, if if a pantheist pagan. Our idea of hell emerged from the multiple cultures withh similar beliefs in ancient times. It is a terrible place. However, once having obeyed the command of Peter on the day of Pentecost to the assembly in Jerusalem (Acts of the Apoitles Chater 2 verse 38) there should be no fear(For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Second Book of Timothy Chapter 1 verse 7) knowing this then yes the fear of Hell becomes irrational. The only way a person can go to Hell then is to reject the Gospel, blaspheme the Holy Spirit and have their name blotted out of the book of life; however, the live in Christ is to live in hope and courage, with the able strength of Jesus residing in you by virtue of his spirit giving you new life. Be strong, repent, find a pool or a baptismal tank or a stream, have a believer baptise you in the name of Jesus, and pray God fill you with the Holy Spirit as in the days of the apostles with fire, power, and authority over fear and failure.

Answer 4

Yes. 3 cases:
1) When you are a true believer and then people mess with your mind thus causing an irrational fear of hell for yourself.
2) When you are not a believer and yet you fear hell for yourself or others regardless.
3) When you consider yourself a believer and yet you still fear hell for yourself.

Let me start by saying that if you believe then you MUST fear eternal damnation and that fear would be completely RATIONAL since you are a believer and that's actually expected from you. You should be afraid of hell and you will be afraid of hell because you believe it exists. However, we must keep in mind that believers, also acknowledge that Jesus died for their salvation. So while they acknowledging hell exists, and they indeed RATIONALLY fear it and respect it, since they are believers and have accepted Jesus Christ as your savior then they shouldn't be afraid that it is THEM who will burn in hell, but rather their loved ones or others who are not believers.

Now, if you consider yourself a believer, and you fear hell for yourself. Then that's an IRRATIONAL fear and you have to reevaluate your beliefs and accept that you are not really a believer since if you were you wouldn't be fearing it for yourself (just acknowledging it and fearing it for other non-believers.)

On the other hand, if you don't believe at all, and yet you still fear hell, then it is completely IRRATIONAL too and you must then accept the fact that you do believe after all.

But what happens when you are a believer and then people mess with your head and you start fearing hell for yourself eventhough you believe Jesus died in the cross for you already and that alone should keep you away from it? That happens, and this results in an IRRATIONAL fear of hell as well. Let me illustrate...

I was raised Catholic and so were my sisters. But when my older sister was 13, we changed schools to a Lutheran school and we had devotions class in the morning. My older sister, since she was in Jr. High would get more instruction on the bible from the Lutherans, and apparently their teacher would read the Apocalypsys to them and play tapes backwards to the students to illustrate that evil existed in this world and that there was a hell. All this caused my sister, a believer, to seriously question her beliefs that because she was baptized and Jesus had already died for her and saved from her sins she was already saved from eternal damnation. Thus, she developed this IRRATIONAL fear of hell which even made her stay awake night after night praying because she was so afraid of dying on her sleep and not be 'ready' or cleansed from her sins enough to go to heaven (this is a 13 year old).

So there you have it. Yes you can have an IRRATIONAL fear of damnation in some cases. Not fun at all... Hope that helped.

Answer 5

hello, ahh yes damanation and hell, well if you look at history and this started in france germany, and so on, churches used fear to govern people and to get their worldly goods, that is how they controled people living from their fears, if you dont do as i tell you you will burn in hell type stuff, those who have died to my knowledge have never returned to tell us of their experiance, and so god and the church is used to for the most part stear people to being good in their lives, their is good and bad in all people but the good prevails for the most, no one knows the truth of god not the christian, nor the muslem, nor the protestant, and so on it is up to inturpretation, and how one feels about his or her life, so then be the best you can be and be well, best wishes.

Answer 6

When I was in catholic school, I was told that if I failed to attend mass on Sunday, it would be a mortal sin, and if I were to die before confessing that sin to a priest, I would go straight to hell and burn for eternity. That struck me as irrational.

Answer 7

well it gos if ur so haunted with the idea, but personally i thnk hell n heaven arent wat they told us, i thnk they will be like control over the feeling of happiness n of mysery in a way that makes it a blessing once n a damnation the other..but there surely must be somone greater to make me...sensing the good n bad within combines to smthng super thsz how i see it

Answer 8

Any fear of hell is perforce irrational, because there is no evidence to support a theory of its existence.

Answer 9

.Walk towards the light!
Blah Blah Blah!!
It don't matter; we all die.
It is what u leave behind that u should be afraid of!
If u are genuinely good then u have to leave with a good conscience.

E-mail me when u get there.
Walk towards the light!!!

Answer 10

mhmm thats an anxiety disorder i do believe. just go to the doctor and they will prescribe medication that will help your mind not b so paranoid and they will probably recomend u get counseling (which by the way, isnt half as bad as it sounds rly.).