Who believes in a burning hell where the wicked are punished after death?

Not me.

though I must admit occasionally wishing it were true

will be visiting.

Thanks.

-- Allen

or was that your point?
Just backing you up

Good to see you back and posting..I missed you. :D

this rock.

Our lives on earth are finite. Thus even if you sinned from the moment you were born until the time you died, you would still only accumulate a finite amount of sin. Therefore there is no possible way you could sin enough to be punished for infinity. Not even the Bush Cabal. OK, maybe they deserve 1-2 billion years of bamboo shoots under the fingernails but c'mon even they are human and could have turned out to be halfway decent if their parents had loved them enough. ;-)

I am tortured just reading the story line...... hell is listening to Christians talking about how they are forgiven for everything they do and going to heaven where they will wear choir gowns and sing lovely songs as they lay down with the lambs (but are the shirts Pennys Penn-Prest?) and then damn me to flaming burning hell.....thats what I think.

;-)

...when my only reference to God was the bible, church and Sunday school. I know better now. Yes, there is a hell and it's here and now, as is heaven. Whether you are living hell or heaven is up to you...not a caprious God. God is like the electic company...he gives you power but doesn't decide what you should do with it. We look at the tragedies of the world and ask...how can God let this happen. While God looks at the tradegies of the world and says to us...how can you let this happen. The only thing that happens when you die, is that you lose your body...everything else remains the same.

I was raised Catholic and even so I always had trouble believing this(let alone purgatory).I think it's(the teaching of the existance of hell) basically just a way to keep people in line.

What would Milton's Paradise Lost be without a burning lightless hell?

And South Park would be a poorer cartoon for lack of hell. One of my favorite episodes has a bit where there's an orientation session for the newly arrived in hell...Ah yes, here it is, episode 411, part 2 of the "Do handicapped people go to hell?/Probably" duo....

(Long Pan to Hell. The entrance. All the world's recently departed are standing around the entrance to hell. Marcie's Dad appears out of thin air.)

Marcie's Dad: Where...where am I?!

New Hellion #1: WHERE ARE WE?!

New Hellion #2: Oh, my God! I've gone to Hell!

New Hellion #3: (Italian Woman) WAZZAPANING?!

New Hellion #4: AAAAAH!

Hell Director: (on a stage near the entrance. on a microphone.) Hello, new-commers! Welcome! Can everybody hear me?! Hello! (taps his mic.) Can everybo...okay! Uh, I'm the Hell Director! Uh, It looks like we have about eight-thousand, six-hundred, and fifteen of you newbees today, and for those of you who were a little confused, uh, you ARE dead and this is Hell! So, abandon all hope and, uh, yadayadayada! Uh, we're now going to start the orientation process which will last about...

New Hellion #5: Hey, wait a minute! I shouldn't be here! I was a totally strict and devout Protestant! I thought we went to Heaven!

Hell Director: Yes, well, I'm afraid you were wrong!

New Hellion #6: I was a practicing Jehova's Witness!

Hell Director: Uh, you picked the wrong religion as well!

New Hellion #7: Well, who was right?! Who gets into Heaven?!

Hell Director: I'm afraid it was (checks notes) the Mormons! Yes! The Mormons were the correct answer!

New Hellions: AWW!

Hell Director: So now, I'd like to quickly introduce your new ruler and master for eternity, Satan!

(Satan appears out of a burst of flame.)

Satan: ERRRAAAAAAAAAAH!

New Hellions: AAAAH!

Satan: NOW, YOU ARE ALL PART OF MY DOMAIN! EVERY DAY IN HELL GROWS HOTTER AS MY MINIONS...AS MY M'MINIONS, UH...I'm sorry! I just can't do this today! I'm just...I'm sorry! (starts to walk away)

and so on.

to find that Buddhists (some anyway) also have a hell in their belief system (how many really believe in it these days is open to question). Have you ever heard of Tiger Balm? It's sort of the Chinese version of Vicks Vaporub. The guy who got rich making it built 2 parks called Tiger Balm Gardens (one in Hong Kong and the other in Singapore I think). Now, this is not the top sight-seeing stop in H.K., but somehow I went there, and it was amazing. It recreated a Buddhist version of hell in painted fake statues (not stone, but molded of something stonelike). All the humans were screaming (not out loud, thankfully) and writhing in pain that was inflicted by demons, etc. It was quite large, with lots tableaux, all VERY tacky. I have no idea why it was built--maybe as an act of piety? I have never heard of a Christian hell-themepark (as it were)--does anyone know of one? Just wondering.

...and that's a pretty close approximation of what Hell feels like! That shit's intense :scared:

I put the Tiger Balm Ultra on my legs after a particularly rough Hapkido class, and about an hour later, without thinking, rubbed my eyes and scratched my nuts...

Bad... Bad thing to do.

That stuff is like Napalm.

The white stuff? Been there done that. Never ever put that where the light don't shine.

now that is an interesting thought.

Of course, you could be talking about the GOP HQ!

"All ye who enter here, abandon hope"! First thing you get is Ann Coulter's "Treason"; then it's off to the rides!

"Trials and Tribulations"

"The Ride of the Razor"

"The Carousel of Demons"

The Flume to the Flames"

"The Dashing of the Babies"

Sounds like the GOP Convention to me!

Even according to Christian philosophy, hell is not a place, but a state of mind where the person is seperated from God. There is both a Heaven and a Hell, and they are both on Earth.

I'm sure the Republicans there are trying to redistrict it.

Everybody knows Satan votes Republican :evilgrin:

despite what they may say.

Actions speak louder than words.

thought up to keep the masses in line.

What's the difference between a Northern Baptist and a Southern Baptist?

The ones from up north say there is no hell..
The ones from the south say "the hell there aint!"

Though I can't help thinking that those who suffer from schizophrenia, depression, and a variety of mental illnesses that I'm not even aware of are living in a kind of hell.

I've been married and divorced twice (badumpbump).
John
I'll be here all week.

:evilgrin: :evilgrin:

Hell Ain't A Bad Place To Be (Young, Young, Scott)

Hey you -

Sometimes I think this woman is kinda hot
Sometimes I think this woman is sometimes not
Puts me down, fools me around
What's she doing to me?
Out for satisfaction, any piece of action
That ain't the way it should be
She needs love, smells out a man
She's gotta see
Pours my beer, licks my ear
Brings out the Devil in me

Hell ain't a bad place to be

Spends my money, drinks my booze, stays out every night
And I got to thinking, "Hey, just a minute, something ain't right"
Disillusions and confusion
Make me want to cry
All the same, you lead your games
Tellin' me your lies
Don't mind her playing a demon
As long as it's with me
If this is Hell then you could say
It's heavenly

Hell ain't a bad place to be

Late at night turns down the lights
Closes up on me
Opens my heart, tears it apart
Brings out the Devil in me

Hell ain't no bad place to be :evilgrin:

be a women in hell to pour your beer, you're going to be waiting a long time.

.

That's a pretty fantastic claim, so I hope you're prepared to back it up with evidence that it's true. ;-)

== Allen

if there is or not but I sure hope there is a hell because I know of lots of people that deserve to go there. :evilfrown:

When you're dead, you're dead. Nothing happens.

The worms get to eat.:bounce:

pinochle on your snout, right?
;-)

Hell started on 12/12/2000!

sounds squishy

A friend was wearing shirt that got a lot of attention. It had a big smiley face and said "Smile, there is no Hell".

Personally I have been to Hell several times so I know for a fact it exists. It's reputation is way overrated. Not only is it not burning but it does in fact freeze over every year during winter. Its a bit warm there right now but then all of Michigan is a bit warm currently. http://www.hell2u.com/

.... in the Damnation University Computer Sciences program :evilgrin:

http://www.damu.com/socs.htm

whether there's a heaven or hell after life.

Making the most out of life and giving as much of ourselves as possible to alleviate hell on earth is what counts.

but I know it exists here on earth, not below.

eventually we will all find out. Thats why religious wars/arguments make no sense to me. If Mr Christian is right and Mrs Buhhdist is wrong, there is no way to find out till both are dead! So why fight about it now?

Because if Mr. Christian belongs to a certain church, he gets extra brownie points for converting non-believers. Some even think they get bonus points for killing heathens.

*duck and run*

AKA AMERICA UNDER BFEE CONTOL
:nuke:

Those that believe in hell, hope thy never go there. Those that don't believe in hell, hope they are right!

One thing for sure, we'll find out one way or the other.

IMHO....I see no reason to send hell to oblivion by default. As a Christian, I believe that hell is the absence of God and all that is good; a place I would not like to be. As for being poked and prodded by demons for eternity, i have no idea, and if I were to wind up there, at that point, the argument would be moot.