"What was God doing before he made the universe?"-"Busy creating Hell for the likes of you!"

"What was God doing before he made the universe?" they asked. "Busy creating Hell for the likes of you!"

So said Augustine of Hippo, a Christian saint who lived in the fifth century. In those days before science, cosmology was a branch of theology, and the taunt came not from journalists, but from pagans.

I just wanted to share that with you all, I thought it was very amusing.

Is there anywhere on ATS I could post that without starting a thread?

I mean it's just for a bit of fun and not worth of an entire thread in itself!

Peace

kiwifoot



[edit on 23-5-2009 by kiwifoot]

I find it quite ironic. That if God created everything I mean everything, would that not make Him the Creator of hell as well. Religion seems to leave this out. He that creates everything leaves nothing not created. So therefor it takes a balance in the universe in order for God to be the Creator & why would God if He is everything, have us go through one man to get to Him which He is everything. When a persons concept of God grows to this level of understanding it makes a person truly think on how we treat one another & everything. We truly are all one with everything

I do not know where that quote came from recently. It looks like someone said something like that and it has been repeated, without giving any attribution to who said it.
It came about apparently in some discussion about Augustine's writings about time, which was far in advance of the standard thinking of the day, concerning these kinds of concepts.
The "Busy creating Hell for the likes of you!" thing was not something Augustine said but was someone's idea of how to describe how they imagined someone else would answer the question.

This is like an urban legend, at this point, where someone said something and is taken out of context and repeated, without understanding what it meant originally. You end up with people thinking they are quoting Augustine, when what he really said was exactly the opposite.


[edit on 24-5-2009 by jmdewey60]

That is amusing....from wherever it was originated.


But truely...if the idea of tormenting imperfect man for his shortcomings, is distasteful.
Thankfully the misconception of Hell as being a place of torment for souls of man is not the intent of the scriptures
Try this link www.abovetopsecret.com...
it does a decent job of describing what man deserves after he survives the limited lifespan he endures in this wicked system of things...

the creator was asking a question, kinda like 'what am i ?'.... and we are all answering that question now including the 'hell' which isnt fire and brimstone BTW.
All of it was created to answer something for it, not to make us worship it. thats just a human outlook.Theres plenty more life on the planet and the universe besides us and all of them are answering 'what am i' for it.

reply to post by zazzafrazz

All of it was created to answer something for it, not to make us worship it.

it might be the same thing, answering and worshiping. By acknowledging that something exists, we worship it. By it, I mean God. God did not create us to build statues or idols and bow down to them. If we say that the universe created itself we are denying there is a god. If we say there is a creator, then the creator is given value, which is worship.



[edit on 25-5-2009 by jmdewey60]

reply to post by jmdewey60


like ur thinking, but how can the only way to answer the source of creations question be worshipping? We're all answering sources questions, by life day to day.Worshipping is just another way to answer it, just like playing with your kids, working and living. our every moment is doing the job of answering its question of 'what am i.' We're just here to do as it wants us to do for self realisation, we are its self realisation we should all just be happy it wants us to answer its quesions because that means we have life. Humbling methinks.

edit spelling

[edit on 25-5-2009 by zazzafrazz]

reply to post by zazzafrazz

' We're just here to do as it wants us to do for self realisation, we are its self realisation we should all just be happy it wants us to answer its quesions because that means we have life.

Sadly, what you are saying is a dream, but a good dream. That is the way things should be and you are awake to the fact that there is something horribly wrong with the universe. I pray that you will be here when things are made right.

reply to post by yesIAM

He that creates everything leaves nothing not created.

There is a fire that is in reserve for the purpose of destroying. I believe it is in store for Satan. Apparently there has been a spirit of Satan in the world, almost as long as it has existed, and God will have to destroy him at some point.
Before this hell-fire existed, the plan of salvation existed. God wills that none of us gets to take part in that destruction but should be saved.


[edit on 25-6-2009 by jmdewey60]