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Thoughts on Heaven, Hell, and the Christian/Islamic God

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
What challenges do you think there would be for eternity? What purpose do you think there would be in fulfillment of those challenges?
I have no idea what these challenges will be but according to my religion we will continue to progress spiritually and we will be a service to others. The purpose of the challenges will be to get closer to God, whatever that means.
I think religious people miss the fact that eternal conscious life would be the worst existence. If a person cannot feel pain they will become numb to joy. If a person is unable to hate then how can they understand the power of love. If a person is unable to die then how could they possibly live.
I understand your point, and I often feel the same way, but the spiritual world is not something we can understand from this world. It will be nothing like this life so we cannot draw those parallels. It will be love and no hate, joy and no pain. The part I most worry about is living forever; because my life has been mostly pain I cannot imagine joy, so even if I had joy forever I wonder if I would even like it since it will be unfamiliar to me.
In every aspect of this universe their is a balance one side of a coin cannot exist and apart from the other side. So why do you think the creator of this universe would create a afterlife that is so philosophically different?
I do not know why God created that way, but I can surmise that it is a reward for the true believer who had to endure patiently through this material world, which is a storehouse of suffering for many of us.

I believe it will be as it is depicted in the Writings of my religion because I know with certitude that my religion is the current Truth from God. There is not a lot of detail about the afterlife because (a) we could never understand what it will be like, not anymore than a child in the womb could understand what this world would be like, and (b) if we knew we would either want to die to arrive there sooner or we would want to perish...

“Know thou that every hearing ear, if kept pure and undefiled, must, at all times and from every direction, hearken to the voice that uttereth these holy words: “Verily, we are God’s, and to Him shall we return.” The mysteries of man’s physical death and of his return have not been divulged, and still remain unread. By the righteousness of God! Were they to be revealed, they would evoke such fear and sorrow that some would perish, while others would be so filled with gladness as to wish for death, and beseech, with unceasing longing, the one true God—exalted be His glory—to hasten their end.

Death proffereth unto every confident believer the cup that is life indeed. It bestoweth joy, and is the bearer of gladness. It conferreth the gift of everlasting life.

As to those that have tasted of the fruit of man’s earthly existence, which is the recognition of the one true God, exalted be His glory, their life hereafter is such as We are unable to describe. The knowledge thereof is with God, alone, the Lord of all worlds.”
Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 345-346

It often feels unfair that we are not allowed to know more about the afterlife, given we are supposed to do what we do here to prepare for it, but I just try to do what I know I am supposed to do, improve my character and help others on their spiritual path. I try not worry too much about the afterlife, since I know I cannot know what it will be like.
 

URAVIP2ME

Veteran Member
If heaven and hell are real I want to go to hell. If my life has taught me anything it's that the purpose of life is to adapt and overcome any and all challenges. If hell is a place of eternal suffering and challenge, then eternal life can only be achieved in hell. If heaven is challenge and suffering free, then there is no life but at best simply existing and at worst eternal death.
I find 'biblical hell' is Not suffering, but simply the temporary stone-cold grave for the sleeping dead.
That is why Jesus taught 'sleep in death' as does the OT- John 11:11-14; Psalms 115:17; Psalms 146:4; Ecclesiastes 9:5.
Religious-myth hell teachings put the flames in an eternal hell.
Besides heaven being real, so is earth real.
Jesus promised everlasting life and most people just assume heaven
However, Jesus promised that humble meek people will inherit ( Not heaven ) but inherit the earth.
Jesus was teaching about the meek from Psalms 37:9-11.
 

Muffled

Jesus in me
Nearly all Muslims, and most Christians believe in a god that eternally tortures anyone who does not follow their faith. This means that the majority of people in the world will spend an eternity being tortured in a conscious state, according to these religions. So, according to these religions, the majority of my family and friends would end up being tortured in hell forever by a being that you claim to love and worship. How could you possibly worship and claim to love a god that would do this? This "god" that you worship sounds like an inherently evil and deranged psychopath. This is why, even if I were persuaded that your god exists (which is highly unlikely, since I find its existence to be highly improbable), I would never be able to love or worship such a god. Clearly, the only reason a Christian or Muslim believing in hell would forsake all of their unbelieving loved ones and "worship" such a monster would be out of pure cowardice. You fear going to hell more than you care about your unbelieving loved ones, so you turn your back on your unbelieving loved ones to follow the cosmic Hitler. Have fun in "heaven" with the evil Almighty Sadist that you worship. Count me out.

I believe that most Christians and Muslims think that is their destination. I do not believe it is.

I believe the only thing you got correct is that He is almighty. He is not evil and is not a Sadist.

I believe you assume too much. I do not fear Hell because I am not going there and like God I believe the most loving thing I can do is allow my loved ones to choose to go to Hell.

I believe I do not turn my back on my loved ones but do my best to persuade them to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. God is not a Hitler.

I believe you clearly don't know what you are talking about.

I believe that is correct and they will richly deserve it since they have an alternative that they refuse to take.
 

Muffled

Jesus in me
I wouldn't worry about it to much. What to either Christians or Muslims actually know about God. They base most of their knowledge on some ancient tribal prophets. Even if those tribal prophets had some connection to God, it's unlikely any modern Christian or Muslim possess a good understanding of the message delivered.

I see no good reason to accept any of their claims about God. Folks feel better, more secure about things when they "possess" the truth. This need drives most people more than any actual knowledge.

I believe telling him not to worry is a matter of the blind leading the blind.
 

Muffled

Jesus in me
Kindly do not lump the Islamic Allah and the Christian God on the same page.
And likewise for Christian and Islamic Jesus.

They are not the same. And to suggest this is the case is deeply offensive.

I believe they are the same and if the truth offends you then I will be happy to lie to you and tell you that you are absolutely right, As for me I prefer to know the truth whether I like it or not.
 

paarsurrey

Veteran Member
I believe that Jesus remained in the grave for treatment of his injuries on the Cross, as soon as he got recovered so he could go to Galilee, he came out of the grave met his closed followers and went there. It means that Jesus did not die on the Cross and became unconscious as he was seriously injured.
This is what I believe with reasons and arguments, others could believe differently with or without reasons and argument, if any, please.
Regards
Didn't Jesus a righteous human pray to G-d to be saved? So why allege that his prayers were not accepted by G-d, please?
Regards
 

England my lionheart

Rockerjahili Rebel
Premium Member
Nearly all Muslims, and most Christians believe in a god that eternally tortures anyone who does not follow their faith. This means that the majority of people in the world will spend an eternity being tortured in a conscious state, according to these religions. So, according to these religions, the majority of my family and friends would end up being tortured in hell forever by a being that you claim to love and worship. How could you possibly worship and claim to love a god that would do this? This "god" that you worship sounds like an inherently evil and deranged psychopath. This is why, even if I were persuaded that your god exists (which is highly unlikely, since I find its existence to be highly improbable), I would never be able to love or worship such a god. Clearly, the only reason a Christian or Muslim believing in hell would forsake all of their unbelieving loved ones and "worship" such a monster would be out of pure cowardice. You fear going to hell more than you care about your unbelieving loved ones, so you turn your back on your unbelieving loved ones to follow the cosmic Hitler. Have fun in "heaven" with the evil Almighty Sadist that you worship. Count me out.

I think it's worth remembering that a huge majority of people don't even get a choice of what to believe,indoctrinated from birth into these belief systems which become the norm for them but I get what you are saying, it pretty much sucks Imo.
 

Trailblazer

Veteran Member
The believer perceives that God is good, and that all of mankind is bad. So when they filter their reality this way, they read their holy book and never question the motives of God in the book. And they blind themselves to the glaring inconsistency of that Gods actions. I mean why would God tell Abraham to kill Isaac in the first place? Why would God command not to kill, and then tell the israelites to kill and seize the land? It all points to blind faith, and never question that of which you dont know. And by what method should they know Gods character and heart on the matter? Why is God having humans do the work of God? And what are the logistics involved with making Noahs ark viable?

How are all these associations and connections being drawn. Even somewhere in the bible it says to search, prove and test God to see if these things are so. Where's the first hand evidence to the non believer who searches with their whole heart, and only comes to dead silence?

As an outsider looking in, since I was never a Christian, I think the Bible has done as much harm as good, so I cannot say that the Bible is the “Good Book.” It has hurt so many people, namely nonbelievers who can no longer make any sense of it, if they ever did, and have lost their faith in God as a result.

Daniel 12:4 says “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” The lack of understanding of the Bible is precisely why there are so many Christians that ran to and fro, which resulted in the many factions of Christianity, and this lack of understand is also why the church had to hold councils to decide upon the doctrines Christians would follow for the next 2000 years.

The Bible was never intended by God to be fully understood until the time of the end. That is why Daniel 12:9 says “And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” Then Daniel 12:12 says “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days”which is when the book would be unsealed.

Baha’is believe the waiting was over in 1844, and that Baha’u’llah unsealed the Book.
For the believer God is truly real. So i have to deduce that they experience things of themselves, and attribute it to God if its good.
That is true. Believers attribute everything that is good to God and everything that is bad to humans. I see this as an overly simplistic way of viewing the world as well as illogical, for if God is responsible for all of existence then God is also responsible for “some” of the bad, or at least what we consider bad. For example, when a natural disaster occurs and people suffer and die, how is that attributable to human free will?
Seems like a convenient way to escape reality, judging all mankind as sinners, and then getting mercy and transformation all by the power of God. In effect fantasy becomes reality, their life experience correlates to it, and they probably never experienced love from a non believer before. And they may have been into some very wrongful things in their lives.
Judging all mankind as sinners because Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from a tree is a fantasy because the story of Adam and Eve is just an allegory intended to convey a spiritual truth. I have heard from some of my atheist friends who were formerly Christians that the church concocted that story in order to make us into sinners so we would need to be saved by the cross sacrifice. One doctrine supports another. According to my beliefs, what saved us were the moral teachings of Jesus which enabled us to live according to our spiritual nature, not the act of dying on the cross. At best, that was an example for us to follow in order that we would deny self, but that did not work because all the focus was on removing our sins. The teachings of Jesus have been superseded by the Church doctrines which are not what Jesus ever taught.

My best friends are nonbelievers and I am closer to them than I am to believers. Sure, we disagree about God and messengers and the afterlife, but that does not come in between our friendship. Granted they are all online but all my friends are online. I only have one good Baha’i friend who is a believer and my husband is also a Baha’i.
They see what they want to see with rose colored glasses toward it.
That’s true. That applies to Christians but also to Abrahamic faith believers in general. They see what they want to see and they feel uncomfortable when others see something different. Is see all of it and I do wonder. I don’t think God minds if I wonder. At times I get very angry at God because of what I see, I can only hope He forgives me.
 
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