An idea about hell

I just realized something about hell in general. I don't think it says in the bible that people go there for eternity, but that hell is always burning. So does this mean that people are eventually forgiven.

To me this makes sense (at least, a little sense) compared to the idea of all loving god leaving people in hell forever, and never forgiving them.

This site gives some more info about these sorts of topics, such as the idea does hell even involve fire?

This site is quite interesting although its more to do with NDE's than the concept of Hell but I see your reasoning.
My own personal opinion on NDE's is that they are initiated by hallucinogenic neurotransmitters ('___'/MAOI etc) from the pineal gland and it is from these hallucinogens that we get the visions of Hell and Heaven.
Its also possible that the whole concept of religion and God stems from these neurotransmitters. Heres a summary of a study on '___'.

www.diagnosis2012.co.uk...

What do you think?


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I just looked on the links near the top of the page with its ideas about hell, heaven and other places, but it sparked the idea in my mind that hell may not be a place people go forever, but it seemed one of the few sites which wouldn't be one which said "The non believers go to hell. they deserve it. They never get out". Obviously i think that view is wrong(or at least flawed), but this site seemed to approach the matter from a scientific point of view.

I think NDEs may be genuine, but i don't really want this thread to just be about them.
I think NDEs are probably genuine, as they seem quite amazing that an entire cross section of populations have had them.

Originally posted by apex
I just realized something about hell in general. I don't think it says in the bible that people go there for eternity, but that hell is always burning. So does this mean that people are eventually forgiven.

There's nothing in the Bible about people eventually being forgiven. There are passages that refer to eternal torment. The Bible is fairly clear that hell is not a temporary state.

I'm glad to see you recognize that eternal torture is unjust regardless of how heinous an individual may be. Not even Constantine deserves an eternity of punishment. Not to mention that the purpose of punishment is to reform or to set an example for others. An eternal hell accomplishes neither of those, as it lasts forever, and it sets no example since those bound for hell probably don't believe it exists anyway. It's just pure revenge. Revenge is spawned by hate, not love, so not only is the punishment pointless, but it proves god to be capable of infinite hate.

You have reached the point of rationalization of your faith. You are to be congratulated for allowing yourself to think at least that much. If you continue, you may one day realize that your faith is false, and that even the very concept of faith is fallacious. If you do, your mind will finally be free.

Originally posted by spamandham
I'm glad to see you recognize that eternal torture is unjust regardless of how heinous an individual may be. Not even Constantine deserves an eternity of punishment. Not to mention that the purpose of punishment is to reform or to set an example for others. An eternal hell accomplishes neither of those, as it lasts forever, and it sets no example since those bound for hell probably don't believe it exists anyway. It's just pure revenge. Revenge is spawned by hate, not love, so not only is the punishment pointless, but it proves god to be capable of infinite hate.

is it possible that the idea if eternity in hell is either a mistranslation centuries ago or that it was an invention of the vatican or someone else, as it would scare more people into belief.

You have reached the point of rationalization of your faith. You are to be congratulated for allowing yourself to think at least that much. If you continue, you may one day realize that your faith is false, and that even the very concept of faith is fallacious. If you do, your mind will finally be free.

I wouldn't go that far!

Originally posted by apex
is it possible that the idea if eternity in hell is either a mistranslation centuries ago or that it was an invention of the vatican or someone else, as it would scare more people into belief.

Of course that's possible. But if you allow for such a possibility, you are implicitly accepting that the Bible is an ordinary collection of books rather than the magically maintained word of god.

There's nothing wrong with looking at it that way of course.

I wouldn't go that far!

he he. That's what they all say.

I just had another look at parts of the new testament. Lots of references about hell being eternal, unquenchable fire etc, but no where did i see it implicitly say evil people go to hell for eternity.

Originally posted by apex
I just had another look at parts of the new testament. Lots of references about hell being eternal, unquenchable fire etc, but no where did i see it implicitly say evil people go to hell for eternity.

I'm curious, have you found the verse that defines "evil people", or the one that says "evil people go to hell"?

There are several that say "[hhh] shall not enter the kingdom of heaven", and there are several that say "better [iii] than to enter hell...", and yet others that say only "[jjj] shall enter the kingdom of heaven", but I'm having difficulty locating the ones that say "kkk (not entirely a coincidence) go to hell".

From the liberal Christian perspective, there is no explicit condemnation of anyone to hell, permanent or not.

(I'm going from memory, so perhaps I'm wrong on these points).

Okay, to get a good reference you need an implicit quotation. Here goes:

"Parable of the sower:
Those which were on the path... are those which are deceived by satan and are sent to the unquenchable fire" That was an effort to remember it.

Evil people, I suppose should be replaced by those who ignore the rules of god.

Originally posted by apex
"Parable of the sower:
Those which were on the path... are those which are deceived by satan and are sent to the unquenchable fire" That was an effort to remember it.

The parable of the sower is not about who goes to hell, it's about acceptance of the "good news". Some take it to heart and it grows. Some grab hold of it in an emotional frenzy and it soon peters out. Others reject it outright.

Just a quick correction to the author's post.
The idea of hell burning was not accepted nor beleived by the church until Dante wrote Inferno back in the 13th century.
Prior to this, "hell" was depeicted as being extremely cold since those in hell were far away from the warmth of god's love.
Dante's Inferno