What is Hell?

[Hal Eaton]

[Ed Pettibone]

[Haruo]

[Wade]

[Hal Eaton]

[David Flick]

[Jim]

[Chris]

Hal, I don't believe in Hell in the Baptist tradition, i.e. a place where dead people burn in fire becuase they didn't "accept Jesus."

I believe that, after physical death, we return to spirit form. A "body" can burn, but a spirit can't burn.

I believe that most of us will be re united with God after physical death. The only ones who will be separated from God (call it hell if you wish) are those who CHOSE to be separated from God. I think being WITH God (call it heaven if you like) is the default end.

No father (heavenly or earthly) could want to see his children punished eternally. (Possible exception = a fundamentalist conservative). God would never devise a "plan" like that. Not the God I know.

[Jonathan]

[Dave Roberts]

[Chris]

[fox]

[Michael]

[Hal Eaton]

Thanks, folks, for replies thus far. I have just now been recovering from finding a leak in the pump and heater in my basement spa, with about 200 gallons of water spread out over the basement. Dragged the soaked carpet outside to dry, so it started raining . . . Found one leak, fixed it, added water, it leaked again; fixed it, added water, it leaked again . . . Is that hell or not?

Like several posters on this thread, I, too, experienced many doubts concerning hell (and heaven) during my adolescent years. I cannot deny the possibility that fear of death--and the unknown results--fuel our generalized desire for some sort of continuation of life beyond what we currently experience. (I have difficulty perceiving the continuation of the world without my comprehension of it . . .)

Add to that fear the idea of a God-run judgement day, with appropriate blessings (bribes?) for the faithful (in spirit or action?), and corresponding punishments (negative reinforcement?) for the undecided, the ignorant, the rebellious, the uncommitted, perhaps even the less-than-assured, and certainly for the pursuers of "other gods," and you have my own perception of both the origin and justification for belief in H&H.

The hope of singing in the heavenly choir, or of the 72 virgins (is there a like hope for females?), or of reunion with our dead grandparents, parents, and pets, and the prospect of our own ability to "look down" on our progeny later on are all part of the usual definition of heaven.

I once wrote on the forum that I knew when the end of the world would be. It would occur at the exact moment that I stopped being aware of the world, when I stopped comprehending it, or being cognizant of it.

I may hope for far more than that, but reality limits my optimistic dreams of some kind of a rosy future.

I have several times referred to the story of Jesus's entrance into heaven as the most important, least chronicled, and most often neglected teaching in the Bible. Rest assured, all ye who doubt, heaven is "up." And Jesus (NT-wise), Mary (tradition-wise), and Enoch (OT-wise) all went there in physical form, so . . . You and I must await the resurrection morn, when our graves will be opened, and we will -- etc., etc., etc.

Regarding Enoch, I have often thought that the poor fellow simply got lost in the desert, and died. One of his contemporaries later found his bones, but was afraid to reveal the discovery, for fear that he would be revealed as a liberal.

One more thought: The very idea of salvation having any meaning at all without the inclusion of heaven (or escape from hell) may have little appeal for mankind.

[Dave Roberts]

[Jim]

[Thomas Cassidy]

[Haruo]

[Hal Eaton]

[John Sneed]

[Chris]