Is this Hell?

[Cockadoodledoo]

This reality in which we find ourselves, is this Hell?
And if so, why do you think you're here?

 

[Jeremiahcp]

No, this is not Hell it just feels that way sometimes.

 

[Brickjectivity]

This reality in which we find ourselves, is this Hell?
And if so, why do you think you're here?

Are you asking about the nature of hell in the Christian tradition and also the nature of human existence? What is it you wish to debate?

 

[Sanzbir]

In the Baha'i view, possibly, it all depends on you. Heaven and hell are not seen as afterlives to us, but as states of being. You could be in hell while alive but the guy next to you could be in heaven. This world is neither, nor is the afterlife heaven or hell.

 

[leibowde84]

This reality in which we find ourselves, is this Hell?
And if so, why do you think you're here?

No. I don't see any reason to think that. No evidence whatsoever to support it. But, I'm all ears if you have some.

In other words, propositions should not be believed simply because they are possible without supporting evidence.

 

[Cockadoodledoo]

Are you asking about the nature of hell in the Christian tradition and also the nature of human existence? What is it you wish to debate?

My mum once said that she thinks this (universe, I suppose) is Hell.
I just want to get your ideas I guess.

 

[Erebus]

I can certainly accept the concept of a Hell on Earth. The atrocities of the Holocaust for example could be viewed as such, as could the grief of somebody who lost a child.

I get the impression though that what you're going for is whether the sum total of reality is Hell and that therefore there must be another reality which is not. While I definitely view the world as more cruel than kind, I don't believe that this is a world designed to punish its inhabitants. Both the bad and the good are simply the way things are.

 

[Brickjectivity]

My mum once said that she thinks this (universe, I suppose) is Hell.
I just want to get your ideas I guess.

There are several ways of looking at it, but I am going to guess that your mom is saying that she believes in her mortality. Lets say that hell is the gap between what should happen and what does happen. Call it injustice or imbalance if you like. Doesn't it feel like wrongs ought to be righted, sometimes? Well that is a feeling that most people share.

When your mom says that this is hell she's going toward the philosophical end of the spectrum. In a way she's saying there's no justice but that which we make. That is, every choice she makes is like a 3-way fork in the road. 1. Do nothing 2. Make things worse 3. Make things better. Either she turns in on herself and becomes depressed about injustice, or she takes advantage of the power of injustice to gain at others expense, or she aims for glory and heroism, or there is some combination of the three.

 

[Laika]

This reality in which we find ourselves, is this Hell?

yes. absolutely. I think the totally arbitrary and unnecessary cruelty may have given it away.

 

[sun rise]

I think for many this world is a realm of suffering. All the major religions have looked to a day when the world is turned right-side up and the world becomes a place of joy not pain.

 

[David1967]

This reality in which we find ourselves, is this Hell?

Sometimes.

And if so, why do you think you're here?

Generally because of something stupid on my part.

 

[idav]

Theravada Buddhism would suggest the earth a realm of suffering, Samsara, needing escaping via Nirvana.