If you believe you have loved ones being tortured in hell, how do you even deal with that thought?

Question

Do you try to just make yourself not care about them as much?

I don't think I could deal with that thought in my mind if I believed in such a place.

Answer 1

I don't believe that. That's bad doctrine.

Answer 2

That's a difficult question to answer. I think it may be helpful to first define what hell really is.

Many people view hell as a fiery place containing devils with pitch forks who torture the inhabitants there. But what hell really is, is eternal separation from God.

True, the Bible does use a great deal of imagery concerning fire and burning when describing hell. But what happens when something burns. It is destroyed, but only in the sense that it has changed forms so drastically, that it is unrecognizable from what it once was. As a Christian, we spend our lives trying to become Christlike. This is a goal that is only truly reached in heaven with God. Only then will we reach perfection, and become truly and completely ourselves. Likewise, if we choose a life without Christ, then we choose eternal separation from God. It is like we are burned in the sense that we become only a vapor of what we once were and what we could have become.

I think hell is best described as a place locked from the inside. If it were possible to go there for a "visit", I don't believe we could convince anyone to leave. Sure they would want to, but they would be unwilling to put forth the effort it would take to do so. It is the ultimate state of someone who is suffering from bad choices they have made, yet they are unwilling to make any changes to get out of it.

As far as dealing with the thought of someone you love being there, all we can do is grieve for them while we are here. I don't really buy the idea that God erases our memory of them in heaven. I tend to believe that once we are with God, we will be so overwhelmed with joy, that the grief we have for loved ones in hell will be miniscule in comparison. This may not offer much comfort, but it's the best I can come up with. :)

Answer 3

That was the main thing that kept me away from Christianity. I did not believe that God could condemn people in such an evil way. Someone who died 1000 years ago and was sentenced for the exact same sin that someone who dies tomorrow did, would now have to suffer for an extra 1000 years! That's far from a fair and just God. Not to mention the fact that I can't see God letting Satan be in charge of doing the very thing Satan wants to do..To hurt humans.

This said, I do believe in the hell which the Bible actually speaks of. I believe that when it says eternity, it is referring to it in a different sense than most think. In my opinion, the sentence for sinning is to be burned to extinction. This is equivilant to an eternal punishment, because it means that the 'effects' are eternal. If you don't exist, you have no chance to enjoy the wonders of Heaven. However, you also are not in constant pain and torment.

God wants only those who 'want' Heaven to be there. If you did not agree with something that would apply in Heaven, would it not be punishment for you to live eternally there? We all have that choice. God will never force anything onto us.

Yes, I find it very sad to think that many people won't be in Heaven. I'm sure God does, too. These are His children, afterall. We will all be judged fairly, and according to what choices we made in life. Thusly..Even though it's sad, I could never force someone to chose salvation. So, I can't let it torment me. God will do everything He can to guide anyone to Him. ^_^

Blessings and Love,
Sarah

Answer 4

That idea is a silly myth from pagan times and the Bible has no such teaching.

It is very sad to think that so many people believe this and feel bad for their loved ones who have passed on and my not have made it to Heaven.

Answer 5

Let their dead bury the dead.

I have more to do just dealing with the life I live now.

I have an uncle and a great uncle, both dead, who were pedophiles till the day they died. I loved them both, but can't waste time worrying over such stuff. I work all the harder to try and keep as many as I can from following them there.

Answer 6

Hi. I always like your questions and answers and I'm a Taurus too :)

Anyway, it seems really like you have two choices with hell.

1. The person in heaven DOES remember the person they loved that's in hell. Somehow, being "perfected" in christ means they just don't care. Being made Christlike means feeling no empathy for them.

2. That god designs heaven in such a way that the person does NOT remember their loved ones. God engages in a little brainwashing so they have no memories of the person and can remain blissfully ignorant of what the Almighty Being is doing to their loved ones.

(my mom's a fundy and we had a chat about this once. it was interesting!)

Answer 7

You have no idea what you're talking about. God doesn't torture people in hell for eternity, that's only for Satan and his fallen angels. Their hell is called Tartarus; After the White Throne Judment they're restrained and forever tormented. The lake of fire is where the souls of mortal humans go. Their soul is consumed by fire and they perish..............They're not tormented forever..........and that's not going to happen until the return of Jesus Christ at His second coming when he judges the world.............right now all the people who have ever lived and died in this world, their soul is merely "asleep in the grave". If they are not of Christ they will have to wait for the White Throne Judgment shortly after the Millennium (1000yr) reign of Christ and His saints in the Kingdom of God on earth. Only the dead saints of Christ will be resurrected and the ones that are still alive will rule in God's Kingdom at the return of Jesus Christ. What you heard from most of the misinformed world is a fallacy. There is no mortal being that has ever ascended into heaven except Jesus Christ himself.......this is a fact of the BIble.

Answer 8

I dont believe people are tortured in hell. What point would there be in punishing someone who cannot make amends?

Hell is just a place of emptiness and separation from God. Sad, but after you breathe your final breath that is it, no conversions in the afterlife.

That is just one reason to try to tell everyone we know now about the good news of salvation and righteousness.

Answer 9

We are all being tortured in hell, everyday. This physical plane of existence is the only one in which pain is truly felt. Beyond this plane the only pain a soul can know is that of the complete and utter separation from their soul-source. This is experienced when a soul is cut of from it's source and serves only what is beneficial to itself and it's own selfish purposes. The thing is that all souls must experience this in order to finally achieve true enlightenment. Do not fear for those who have embarked upon a hard road, they shall return.

Answer 10

I don't think hell exists at all. I think hell was invented by the clergy, to have a place to threaten those who didn't go along with the dogma and doctrines. I think the idea is kept alive by people these days for the same reason.

Answer 11

You just put your trust more in the one who has the power to send your soul there, and that he is a righteous judge so whatever he decided is for the good of all involved. And yes there is such a place.