Absurdity Of Hell

[nailit]

Some religions ( and some R&S posters) postulate that hell is a just and final destination for unbelievers.
Apart from the obvious (eternal punishment for finite sins is unjust) can anyone conceive of a more sick doctrine in religion than that unbelievers will be tortured beyond belief...for eternity...for simply believing something different?

All religions have their own ideas of hell but even the Christians that I know have a hard time with this and struggle to cope with it.
(I actually know one Christian who lost his son to drug OD and cracked up after, with the thought that his son was burning in hell)
This idea that people will be tortured/burned for all eternity for the sin of not believing in the right God is one sick doctrine.

Anyone comfortable with the idea of eternal torture?

[naomi24]

//... God is a gentleman, and does not force His way into your life, or impose upon you. //

Tell that to Job.

[sanmac]

For a pictorial representation of the absurdity of Hell, look at the third triptych Of Hieronymus Bosch's "Garden Of Earthly Delights".
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Hieronymus_Bosch_-_The_Garden_of_Earthly_Delights_-_Hell.jpg

[Old_Geezer]

Whose suppused to be the author of mortality ?
You should introduce them.

[Old_Geezer]

SUPPOSED

[Old_Geezer]

MORALITY

[Jackdaw33]

As Sartre succinctly put it: "L'enfer, c'est les autres". Hell is other people.

[sanmac]

Jackdaw, including those who, upon religious grounds, refuse to deliver poppies

[Theland]

https://www.gotquestions.org/God-Job-Satan.html

God and Job.

[Theland]

OG - Who do you suppose is the author of absolute morality?

[ummmm]

Theland - it sounds like you're living a living hell. What is your God doing to help you? Why is he/she letting you suffer the way you are?

Doesn't sound like a very nice God, does it?

[beso]

Theland //you know more and have a higher moral standard than the author of morality? //

Every fascist leader claims to be the inside story on morality and every one of them is deluded and immoral.

[rowanwitch]

No hell no heaven, just animals on the third rock from the Sun who think they understand things and because they have evolved the ability to think in complex ways have decided they are special. So to separate themselves from all the other animals they invent the ideas of God's, souls, heaven and hell. And all the other trappings of humanity.
We are just animals, we are born, we reproduce we die we become one with the cycle of life. We kill things we don't need to, we destroy things so we are not really even well adapted animals. We have evolved beyond a point of sustainable existence. Asteroid anyone.

[waterboatman]

An idea invented by the church to frighten people into toeing the line. Which just goes to show how evil religion is!

[nailit]

//The Bible teaches, quite literally, that God is a gentleman, and does not force His way into your life, or impose upon you.
He invites you to know Him, nothing forced//

Yeah right!

Im inviting you, Theland, to a fantastic party thats taking place in my attic. We will all have an absolute whale of a time. BUT if you refuse my invitation, then Ive got a basement where I will put you, chain you to the wall, torture you and burn you with fire. Of course its your choice which you choose...the attic or the basement...because Im a gentleman and wouldnt force my party on you.

[nailit]

//Nailit - It always intrigues me why you consistently demonstrate an obsession with this religious itch that never gets satisfactorily scratched//
I don't have an obsession with religion. I do have a passion for facts and truth though.

//Why bother tormenting yourself?//
Im not the one who is tormented with fear of what God may do to me if I disbelieve. You are!

[waterboatman]

As rowan has said. No heaven, no hell. But there is a spirit world.

[naomi24]

Theland, the question your link poses is, “Was it unfair for God to allow Job to suffer over what was basically an argument between God and Satan?” Your author could have saved himself a lot of time and effort in squirming around to provide excuses for God’s appalling behaviour. The answer is simply “Yes”.

I saw your now gone thread about your health the other night, Theland. Why don’t you have a break from R&S and talk about something else here? You’re not well and you’re driving yourself potty with this obsession.

[nailit]

//you’re driving yourself potty with this obsession//
Just like I did as a young Christian fundamentalist. The mind of a biblical literalist is far from peaceful and often filled with fear. So glad that I came to my senses and found reason and rationality.

[Old_Geezer]

I doubt in the existence of an absolute morality, since morality is a human creation and it's dynamic in character; one generation disagreeing with another, so it can be argued that it is no one. But morality as we understand it stems from human experience and thought, each generation building on the views of the last, so one could say it's the emergent understanding from the whole of humankind as a group.