"Hell is the Invention of the Church"

by leavingwt 62 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  PSacramento

  I quit -- Do you realize that a sizable number of Christians alive today believe that God predestines bilions of people (mostly Asians) to burn forever for all eternity. They have absolutely no problem with a loving God doing this. Moreover, many Christians believe in the Divine Command theory. Simply put, WHATEVER God does is the very personification of love and justice. WHATEVER he does. If we don't perceive his actions are just and loving, the problem is with US.

  One of the very first things I asked Jesus wasa long these lines and he replied that God is a God of Love and all that is written in the bible MUST be viewed from THAT and interpreted from that and based on that.

  If your conclusion is not a "loving one" then you have come to the wrong conclusion and need to understand it better or realize that Man, at times, doesn't state the Word of God as it should be, sometimes by no fault of their own.

  They don't make any sense to me, but these ideas are very popular.

  God predestinaing people to "torrment" doesn't make sense to God either.
• 

  leavingwt

  One of the very first things I asked Jesus wasa long these lines and he replied

  That's what I'm talking about. Just going to the source and ASKING him. This eliminates the need for dogma, Scripture, clergy, tradition, research, etc.
• 

  tec

  That's what I'm talking about. Just going to the source and ASKING him. This eliminates the need for dogma, Scripture, clergy, tradition, research, etc.

  Agreed. Leaving is a pretty wise guy!!!
• 

  THE GLADIATOR

  Hell is a state of mind, and a state of mind - is a state of mind.

  It really is that simple.
• 

  Darth plaugeis

  Hell is where the heart is.

  wait or is it Home..... home.... hell ....what's the dif.
• 

  designs

  Dogpatch-

  You inserted 'Jew' where I had written 'man', in other words the writers were not limiting the future rewards of God to the Jews alone but saw everyone benefiting eventually. The post repatriation Jews were becoming more cosmopolitan and magnanimous in their world views.

  I hear a lot of people say they have a Hebrew scholar who tells them about Judaism, I don't know what is so stinking hard about going to a Synagogue or studying with an actual Rabbi but Evangelicals in particular sure get a rash when its mentioned. Take your pick of Orthodox, Conservative , or Reformed, they all know the history.

  What evangelicals, JWs, Lutherans and Calvinists have to do with this is the JW view versus the Literalists views on hell and the odd revulsion within some circles of Protestantism towards Jews and Jewish philosophy, the old perfidy of the Jews thing that Calvin and Luther perpetuated. They tried their best to make their new Jewish God as unJewish as they possibly could, very odd.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  If all believers were as forward thinking as this guy, I wouldn't mind discussing these things with them.
• 

  donny

  That was hella good.
• 

  Dogpatch

  Designs says,

  You inserted 'Jew' where I had written 'man', in other words the writers were not limiting the future rewards of God to the Jews alone but saw everyone benefiting eventually. The post repatriation Jews were becoming more cosmopolitan and magnanimous in their world views.

  Of course, God looks less harmful to the more enlightened. :-))

  Yes, just like you have the liberal and hardcore evangelical Protestants. The first waters down hell to nothing, the second retains the original meaning. Your attempt to pan me as some kinds of evangelical is erroneous. I don't believe in hell anyway.

  The Point Is, the ruling class did believe it back then, whether temporary or permanent. Jesus certainly did the hardcore way.

  I have nothing against Jews so I am not biased. It's ALL crap when it comes to hell, Protestant, Catholic, or orthodox Judaism.

  I have not seen a passage where the liberal school of Hillel granted everlasting life to non-Jews... do you have access to that? Most all gave no hope to the Gentiles. At any rate, Jesus never fit that liberal mold, and THAT is my point.

  Randy
• 

  designs

  Dogpatch,

  I was not including you in the views I expressed about some Protestants and some of their Denominations who are anti-semetic or insist to this day to portray Jesus as European.. That whole mindset gives them a very skewed view of Judaism and a Jewish Messiah.

  The comment on Hillel came from the work The Book Of Jewish Wisdom. Hillel was noted for saying to a Gentile man seeking to convert 'do unto thy neighbor, that is the entire Torah'. That idea was from the earlier school of Ger Toshav which meant to follow the laws of Noah, something considered to apply to all of humanity. If one did those things they would have God's favor and ostensibly enter Gan Eden.