Does hell exist?

[Penelope]

I don't say, disregard the Bible.....but I do say, treat it circumspectly.

Because it was written by mere men.....mere people.....and altered to fit their world views.....and understanding.....at the times and places when and where they lived.

We live now....in a time when communication is at its peak.....we can all talk to one another and share our ideas and experiences......never in history has this happened before....

I believe our souls are eternal.....not (perhaps) our personalities....

and if our souls are eternal...it is always 'now'.....

Heaven and Hell......are part of what we are experiencing.....now.

It is immediate.....dynamic....and it can be joyous!!!

As far as I can understand......the point where we diverge (with atheists).....is in our belief that the soul is eternal......if one believes that the soul is eternal, it alters ones whole concept.....

I don't know what God is.....I am not sure it is worth arguing about....

But if some people believe that when we die, that is the end of us....then, there is nothing I can do with words.....to convince them otherwise.....I just need to wait for them to begin to doubt.......and wonder.....

If, it is true....as I believe...that all our souls are eternal beings......then it will be understood.....eventually....just because it is a fundamental truth....and therefore a scientific fact......

[Interbane]

Skepticism is a virtue Penelope. To hope for someone to believe in something that has no verisimillitude isn't virtuous.

[GentleReader9]

I voted no, Hell is a myth. I decided to answer the literal, geographical place in the afterlife dimension of the question since it seems there are a lot of very literal readers who participate in this site and I want to be clear that I don't believe Hell is a hot place under the ground where we go when we die if we are naughty.

When you say "Hell is a myth," however, you are showing that it does, in some sense, exist. Does fairness exist? Does the color blue exist? These are concepts that represent to us features of our experience in a way that is meaningful enough and comprehensible enough to enough people that they exist. Hell describes metaphorically the experience of suffering as a result of having done something we know or believve to be wrong or which caused others to suffer. That is a real phenomenon, a real fear, a real effect that many people experience, whether or not they are troubled by conscience.

There is one idea about Hell I have always found reassuring. It is said to be eternal. If it is eternal and you aren't there at this time already, you can rest assured you aren't going. There is no chance you can spend all eternity somewhere unless you are there for this part of eternity and have always been there, too, for that matter. Hard as my life has been at some points there are many more parts I have truly loved and enjoyed. So there is no way I could be suffering in an eternal fire of punishment even as we speak. (Just tell that to the Judge and see if it works. Let me know by ghostly haunting or by means of a Medium. And don't even think about trying any of that cutting a hole and spitting stuff they mention in the song!)

[Penelope]

Intrabane:

My hope doesn't hurt anyone......My love doesn't hurt anyone.

Only hate....hurts......

[Interbane]

Hope can lead to hurt. From hope in a belief to that belief. From that belief to an execution of that belief's contents. IE Monotheism, it has killed and tortured and raped more people on Earth than any other paradigm. Many people inside that belief hoped for non-believers to believe.

Be careful what you hope for.

[Penelope]

Hope was all that was left in Pandora's Box.....

Pandora's Box was a Greek Myth.....Those Greeks were no dumbos!!


It is fear that we must beware of.......it is fear of one another that leads to the carnage....which you describe.....not hope...

I continue to hope....that we will all begin to understand the fear that is in us all......because with understanding of the human condition...comes love.

It is hard to love....what we fear....but that empathy...understanding...is our only hope. (No smiley face.....)

[GentleReader9]

Penelope:

As far as I can understand......the point where we diverge (with atheists).....is in our belief that the soul is eternal......if one believes that the soul is eternal, it alters ones whole concept.....

I don't doubt that there are some atheists who, on finding themselves to continue to be souls beyond this lifetime in some other form or dimension than this one, would concede the existence of their eternal soul, or at least its unexpected greater longevity than what was previously expected, yet still doubt the existence of God.

Afterall, here we all are now. What could be less likely, more extraordinary, less comprehensible or explainable than the mere fact of existence and what it is like to experience it? Take a moment and pause: is this wierd or what? Think about how big the universe is, to the degree that you can. Think about how small we can see things breaking down to with our most powerful microscopes. Think of how much of it there is and how little of it has to do with you or me personally, and notice how completely ridiculous it would be to think almost anything we think is serious or important. Yet all of us, atheists, theists, whateverists -- we all go around trying to explain things and argue things with one another so much of the time.

The only thing I know at all is the quality of my motivation and feelings with others. Am I being nice? Am I having fun? Am I contributing something interesting others might enjoy thinking about? If none of the above, what am I doing and why? We do get to co-create our experience here, whether because of some nutty Being who gets a kick out of watching amateurs make worse choices than they would if everything were clear and under control, or whether for some far nobler and less entertaining reason. I say we can have fun and be nice at the same time. It's the best we can do. We won't figure much out in the time we have in one lifetime. I hope we have more. I always need to file for extensions.... Probably because I spend too much time messing around online.

[Chris OConnor]

Pandora's Box was a Greek Myth

It was also a spectacular adult movie. LOL

just kiddin....kinda

[GentleReader9]

Quote text:

Pandora's Box was a Greek Myth

It was also a spectacular adult movie. LOL

just kiddin....kinda

Now it's my turn to be too literal: was it or wasn't it an adult movie? And was it spectacular? Which thing are you kidding about, Chris? Or are you saying you're kidding because you want to obscure whether or not you really watched and had an opinion about an adult movie to the effect that it was spectacular? Do tell. Maybe we can all view it and discuss it in a string at this site.

[Interbane]

Penelope: "It is fear that we must beware of.......it is fear of one another that leads to the carnage....which you describe.....not hope..."

Almost anything can lead to carnage. Fear, jealousy, hate, even love. It depends on the circumstances. To say that only fear leads to carnage, and hope cannot lead to carnage is incorrect. You didn't say that verbatim, but I assume that's what you implied.