General Chat

through my door this morning ( and also prompted by a streak of 'devil may care' recklessness that I inherited from my mother , a lapsed Catholic incidently , lol)

Does 'Hell' exist? as a real place of eternal torment?

Can one place a 'rating' on sins commited before one is sent to 'Hell'... is Hitler rated as a 10, whilst the adulterer registers a 2 or 3 on the scale..... do they both end up in the same place?

if Hitler repented, but the adulterer did not.... who (if either) would make it to heaven?

Do you agree with the words of the late pope John Paul II ?
“Rather than a physical place, hell is the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy.”

Is 'hell' (as I think I believe) simply that period (and not necessarily after dying) of ' absolute knowledge' of one's own failings as a human being? the realisation of what one could and should have done for others before one shuffled off this mortal coil?

polite and respectful debate welcomed...any nastiness and I will delete :)

xx

*sits on hands n zips up mouth*

Hi Rose

I received that too hun. xxx

did you Shimmer? lol...I was just putting the bin out this morning , and 3 very pleasant ladies handed me the booklet... first time here (moved in a few months ago)

xx

Depends who they ar Rose ? *claps hand over mouth*

Hmmm!

I have thought and I have pondered.....but have come to the conclusion that no matter how much I think and ponder....we will never know till the time comes....we can wish it was one way or wish it was 'tother but all we can really do is hope that what we do in this life is the best we can...whether there is a reward at the end of it or not.

Whatever our beliefs we are best judging ourselves before we judge others.

never think about such things....... i just try to be a decent human being kind and considerat ......

sorry Footie ? who 'who' are ?

Susan, nicely put , as my mum used to say "we'll know soon enough!" lol...

xx

Hello Rose.........your getting very good at putting up these interesting subjects.

I don't personally believe in "hell fire and damnation"

I think that hell is a state of mind........much as you have explained your way of thinking.

If , when you died you could feel the pain that you had caused to others in your life ( and you had no flimsy excuses to hid behind ).........then if you had led a selfish and dominearing life it stands to reason that you would have caused a lot of pain to others and thus would have a lot of suffering to deal with in consequence...........Hell .

I hope this makes some sense.........lol

:) Stella... and that is as much as any of us can aspire to.

xx

sorry Rose wat denomination ?

:) yes it does make sense Amanda....

xx

Footie, don't think the denomination is relevant really? the concept of 'Hell' is not specific to any one religious group/church/philosophy...

xx

ok I av no comments

Just having a quick Google of the various religions ideas on heaven and hell

this is the Buddhist viewpoint, which differs from the 'mainstream' if I can put it that way...


"The wise man makes his own heaven while the foolish man creates his own hell here and hereafter.

The Buddhist concept of heaven and hell is entirely different from that in other religions. Buddhists do not accept that these places are eternal. It is unreasonable to condemn a man to eternal hell for his human weakness but quite reasonable to give him every chance to develop himself. From the Buddhist point of view, those who go to hell can work themselves upward by making use of the merit that they had acquired previously. There are no locks on the gates of hell. Hell is a temporary place and there is no reason for those beings to suffer there forever. "

xx

I've been having a Google too Rose.........Hell seems to be a subject that one could get lost in........lol

I like the Buddhist way of thinking.....it is very humane.

It seems the Quakers don't go in for Heaven and Hell.........they are more focused on just doing good whilst here on Earth.

The word Hell seems to be Anglo-Saxon ( pagan period ).........all very interesting.

Amanda x

It is interesting Amanda, what did I do before I found Google! ...I could be reading late tonight I think lol

xx

think i must lean towards the quaker way of thinking then....... certainly dont believe in a permanent state of hell

SHEOL (the original Hebrew term from which Hell is derived...)

the term in Hebrew means a grave or pit, was the place where the dead gathered, as thought by the early Hebrews, and was believed located beneath the earth, perhaps at the roots of mountains. The dead were thought to lead a conscious shadowy existence there, they were not in torment, but had neither hope nor satisfaction. Some thought they remained cut off from God.

Buddhism isn't actually a religion - it is more a philosphy on life and death. Buddhists believe that each person is responsible for their own deeds good or bad. Buddhist don't worship Buddha they respect him and his teachings. It is relatively easy to live by his teachings in western life and many people do this without becoming Buddhists.
Sue x