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Heaven and hell are not eternal ... not even in Christianity

buddhist

buddhist

Well-Known Member
Christian Bible translations use the words "eternal" or "everlasting" to describe heaven, hell, and even the Christian god himself. Unfortunately, those English words are not an accurate translation of the actual words in the Hebrew and Greek, namely "olam" and "aeon".

"Eternal life" or "eternal suffering in hell" or "everlasting god" should actually be understood as "life for an aeon", "suffering in hell for an aeon" or "god who lives for an aeon".

"Aeon" in the Greek refers to an extremely long time period with an undefined end, but is still limited. Modern Bible translators perform a disservice by not translating the words accurately.

It appears that Christianity might be closer to the Dharmic religions and their ideas of samsara and rebirth than generally understood.
 
David1967

David1967

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
buddhist said:
Christian Bible translations use the words "eternal" or "everlasting" to describe heaven, hell, and even the Christian god himself. Unfortunately, those English words are not an accurate translation of the actual words in the Hebrew and Greek, namely "olam" and "aeon".

"Eternal life" or "eternal suffering in hell" or "everlasting god" should actually be understood as "life for an aeon", "suffering in hell for an aeon" or "god who lives for an aeon".

"Aeon" in the Greek refers to an extremely long time period with an undefined end, but is still limited. Modern Bible translators perform a disservice by not translating the words accurately.

It appears that Christianity might be closer to the Dharmic religions and their ideas of samsara and rebirth than generally understood.
Click to expand...

I think you may be right. When I read the Gita I found many verses that were very similar to verses from the Bible. And I have a book at home that has the parallel teachings of Buddha and Jesus. Very interesting read.
 
buddhist

buddhist

Well-Known Member
David1967 said:
I think you may be right. When I read the Gita I found many verses that were very similar to verses from the Bible. And I have a book at home that has the parallel teachings of Buddha and Jesus. Very interesting read.
Click to expand...
I've read books with parallel teachings as well ... it made me consider the idea that Jesus actually went to the Indian subcontinent and studied Vedism and Buddhism, and then returned to his homeland to bring those teachings with their emphasis on loving-kindness which he learned, along wth reform, back to his people.
 
David1967

David1967

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
buddhist said:
I've read bookswith parallel teachings as well ... it made me consider the idea that Jesus actually went to the Indian subcontinent and studied Vedism and Buddhism, and then returned to his homeland to bring those teachings with their emphasis on loving-kindness which he learned, along wth reform, back to his people.
Click to expand...
I have heard that but I dont know of any account that supports this theory. But there certainly are some curious similarities.
 
buddhist

buddhist

Well-Known Member
David1967 said:
I have heard that but I dont know of any account that supports this theory. But there certainly are some curious similarities.
Click to expand...
Apparently, multiple witnesses read of statements in the ancient texts preserved at a Buddhist monastery in India which records that a miracle-working "Issa" from Palestine visited the area to learn there at a time corresponding with the "lost years" of Jesus.
 
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David1967

David1967

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
buddhist said:
Apparently, multiple witnesses read of statements in the ancient texts preserved at a Buddhist monastery in India which records that a miracle-working "Issa" from Palestine visited the area to learn there at a time corresponding with the "lost years" of Jesus.
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I would like to read that. I am curious why it's not found in any western writings. At least to my knowledge.
 
buddhist

buddhist

Well-Known Member
Rival said:
And are you a better scholar than those who translate the Bible? Should I distrust every single Bible version?
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No, I'm not saying that I am a better scholar than other translators. What I do advocate is this: instead of simply accepting the word of certain others (appeal to authority or intermediaries), we should all directly investigate the source for ourselves (direct knowledge), in regards to any subject.

I have directly examined the source as far as I am able to, and have come to this conclusion for myself. Here, I am sharing the fruits of my labor, to present an alternative viewpoint on this particular issue as an impetus for others like yourself to examine the evidence for yourself.

So, I would also encourage you, and everyone else, to neither take my word nor the word of other translators, but to examine the sources for yourself, and come to your own conclusion. :)
 
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buddhist

buddhist

Well-Known Member
I find it particular interesting that the way the Jewish and Christian god describes himself is very similar to the way the Buddhist deity Brahma also describes himself. E.g. The latter, in the early Buddhist scriptures, declares himself to be "the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-seeing, All-powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, the Ruler, Appointer, and Orderer, Father of All that have been and shall be".

Brahma, a god of love, is said to have died in a former life from a higher heaven and, forgetting his past lives (as is common with most reborn beings), found himself reborn in an empty, middle-level heaven. After some time, he started to long for companionship, and other lesser deities (other celestial beings akin to angels) appeared in his heaven, having died from other heavens and (due to their kamma) found themselves reborn as Brahma's ministers and attendants. Brahma, not perceiving any realm higher than his, believed himself to be the first cause and the creator of all the lesser beings who appeared before him. His "universe" was eventually populated by other beings who died from other realms and found themselves reborn as humans or animals. The lesser deities occasionally visit Earth to preach the existence of the "creator", believed to be "eternal" due to his apparently unending lifespan; unfortunately, the Buddha states that even Brahma's life will end within a mahakalpa (the equivalent of the Hebrew and Greek "olam" and "aeon").

It is also said that the Buddha himself went to Brahma's heaven to correct his delusion. Perhaps it is just a coincidence, but some scholars place the lifetime of Buddha within the period of the Hebrew prophet Malachi, the last prophet of the Tanach (aka Old Testament) which Judaism states marked the end of the Hebrew god's prophetic activity on Earth.
 
K

kalyan

Aspiring Sri VaishNava
Sri Krushna clearly says in BG that those who go to heaven or hell has to fall down and very fast..the good virtue u did in this janma or birth gives you like 10 minutes of heaven time...Heaven and hell are like golden handcuffs and iron handcuffs, both bind you to this materialistic realm...if you do some good virtue even expecting a result to enjoy that result if it does not come in this life time, in a future birth you will enjoy that result but it is binding as we are again rotating in cycles of life and death, this is what bhagawan Sri Krushna said....abrahamic religions borrowed heavily from dharmic sanatana dharma but did not even acknowledge it and due to this, misinterpretations and holes are always present in them, not to belittle anyway but just stating out a thing that I know...

Hare Krushna
 
paarsurrey

paarsurrey

Veteran Member
Heaven and hell are not eternal ... not even in Christianity

Hell is not eternal/everlasting in Islam in relation to heaven even in Islam/Quran.
Heaven is not eternal/everlasting in relation to ONE, G-d.
Regards
 
Unification

Unification

Well-Known Member
buddhist said:
Christian Bible translations use the words "eternal" or "everlasting" to describe heaven, hell, and even the Christian god himself. Unfortunately, those English words are not an accurate translation of the actual words in the Hebrew and Greek, namely "olam" and "aeon".

"Eternal life" or "eternal suffering in hell" or "everlasting god" should actually be understood as "life for an aeon", "suffering in hell for an aeon" or "god who lives for an aeon".

"Aeon" in the Greek refers to an extremely long time period with an undefined end, but is still limited. Modern Bible translators perform a disservice by not translating the words accurately.

It appears that Christianity might be closer to the Dharmic religions and their ideas of samsara and rebirth than generally understood.
Click to expand...

I think that the same goals apply.

Liberation from suffering.
Salvation from hell(suffering).

Suffering and hell being relative, limited, and for a period/age.

Karma/reap what is sown.
 
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