What does the Bible say the penalty for sin is?
Rom. 6:23: “The wages sin pays is death.”
After one’s death, is he still subject to further punishment for his sins?
Rom. 6:7: “He who has died has been acquitted from his sin.”
Is eternal torment of the wicked compatible with God’s personality?
Jer. 7:31: “They [apostate Judeans] have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart.” (If it never came into God’s heart, surely he does not have and use such a thing on a larger scale.)
Illustration: What would you think of a parent who held his child’s hand over a fire to punish the child for wrongdoing? “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Would he do what no right-minded human parent would do? Certainly not!
2007-02-10 03:33:06
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answer #1
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answered by papa G 6
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Hell does not literally exist.
"Hell" is simply a metaphor for the type of spiritual "death" and psychological torment one suffers from lacking faith in oneself. If one does not have "faith" and believe in oneself, then eventually one will spiral downward into a morass of regret and despair, a "hell" of one's own creation.
Unfortunately, brainwashed Christians are too mindnumbed by the dogma they're constantly bombarded with to realize that it's all just a metaphor. They fall victim to fearmongering by those who have an interest in controlling the ignorant, uneducated, and intellectually incurious.
See, Christianity (and for that matter, most organized, heirarchical religions) are like viruses of the mind. They spread by human-to-human contact, just like a virus spreads. That's why the Christian mind virus drives its adherents to "spread the Word".
The Christian mind virus is like a parasite, totally depending on its human hosts for support, so it has to construct mechanisms to keep its human hosts supporting it and also defense mechanisms to prevent the human hosts from expelling it. If the human hosts were to stop believing in the validity of the Christian "meme", then the Christian mind virus would die off.
And the people at the top of the Christian mind virus pyramid, i.e., the Church officials and whatnot, do not want that to happen since that's how their bread is buttered. So they reinforce those fear-based myths such as "hell" in their followers' minds to keep them from leaving.
Ever wonder why the Christian doctrine is against abortion and birth control? It's not because abortion is murder, because throughout history the Christian Church has either endorsed murder (Crusades, Inquisition) or turned a blind eye to it (Catholic Church, Holocaust), especially when rival religions were involved.
No, it's because the more poor, ignorant, uneducated souls that are born onto this planet, the greater the Christian mind virus' chances for survival. Christianity thrives in conditions of ignorance, poverty and misery, so that's why they oppose birth control and abortion.
It's always amusing to hear Christians say "well if there is no heaven or hell, then what is the point of life?" Like life itself isn't the reward. It's no wonder that Christians have to have some kind of carrot on a stick, the way they view life as constant misery and have to run around constantly worrying if they've sinned too much to qualify for the big final jeopardy round in the sky.
2007-02-10 03:59:59
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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You don't seem to know that Hell is NOT a lie. None of God's creation deserves Hell and it is not God's will that any should perish. He also knew when He created us all that some would not accept and acknowledge Him as Lord of all. It is all about life both in the here and now and for all eternity. Whether one chooses God to follow or not, He made it an individual choice for each of us to make. Too many who profess to be Christians spend too much energy criticizing others and condemning them instead of showing the love that Christ taught about and that makes for the opinions from those such as you. Would you give some real thought to the possibility that Christ died for all of us, even you, so that we might have life and also have it more abundantly? We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God the Bible teaches in Romans chapter 3 verse 23. Christians are only saved from eternal death and suffering by Jesus' crucifixion and we are warned not to judge others or we will be judged by God for so doing. So it's like I can say that I may be deserving of Hell, but it is against God if I say you are. That is not the way God himself intended us to be. He said to love each other the way He loves us. If you truly seek after peace in this life and the next, you should consider carefully reading the new testament scripture. It is full of positive things about life for all who will seek after it.
2007-02-10 03:48:36
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answer #3
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answered by froggsfriend 5
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But doesn't that make the whole concept of life a complete lie and a very dumb idea as well??
What's the use of living if there is no hell nor heaven..
So you are saying that God created us to run around and commit sins..
isn't it obvious that all sins harm US..HUMANS??
Killing is a sin, extra marital sexual relationships is a sin, hating is a sin, lusting is a sin for it breads corruption...
ahh..reflect about the concept of sin..
Nice question though
2007-02-10 03:32:40
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answer #4
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answered by Razan 3
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If you don't believe in Jesus you go to Hell. Everyone in Hell has worms, they itch and can't scratch, and they suffer painful farts.
They burn and rot at the same time.
Hell is so overcrowded there isn't even any place to lie down. You just crouch in an alley and try to get some sleep, but the screams and gargled moans will keep you awake, and there is no night or day.
Yes, we do not deserve Hell, but that is where the vast majority of God's greatest creation -- mankind -- will end up. God is disgusted with the human race; Hell is their destiny. Even Baptists will not escape this putrid region.
2007-02-10 03:29:37
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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There is a hell - people make their own hells on earth.
I am glad to see the many answers from people who can see the light.
Maybe in afew generations we will loose the concept of hell - which was forced onto us by the church and their need to force us to our knees, and the weak ones are stull down there.
Viva la Freedom of mind and soul
2007-02-10 04:02:20
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answer #6
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answered by eidunotno 3
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whether it's beneath the Earth with a guy in a red suit or not, people steal, kill, cheat and hate each other. Children die from hunger, more species of animals die by our hands, people make other people fight wars over resources including money. We lie to each other and love doing it.
Hell's everywhere whether you wanna realize or not. It's up to us to decide if we're going to works towards making life a heaven for everyone.
2007-02-10 03:33:46
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answer #7
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answered by ? 2
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I really think what you're saying is right. I've been trying to tell this to my Christian friends. When they say God threw us into hell if we don't believe in him or we sin too much, why create us then? I don't think He'll be able to stand seeing us in pain. He's just too good, to pure to even think of doing that. Death might be our punishment and wat I think is another life is in stored for us, we'll be given the chance to change, we are His creations, He loves us, we love Him but sin is just something no human can escape. No one deserves to suffer eternal torture.
2007-02-10 04:04:52
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answer #8
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answered by Halo 07 2
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The concept of hell was a lie perpetuated by early Christainity to keep people in line...It is all about politics.
2007-02-10 04:07:39
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answer #9
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answered by copestir 7
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Maybe the concept, yes.
But hell itself isn't. There's 420 Biblical references.
That's enough evidence for any Bible-based believer.
2007-02-10 03:35:18
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answer #10
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answered by Doug 5
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