hi people!..i have a serious question.and i often wonder have anyone one earth thought this way too! why when there's a funeral the preacher always say..."got called his son or daughter home.i went to a family funeral,not this relative lived a bad (with a capital BAD) life.the family knew it.he was evil,hateful,treated people wrong,yet the preacher said he's gone to heaven...so i'm now thinking then what the hell!..is hell for.no matter what i always hear the preacher say that person is gone to heaven...i asked my brother-in-law,why don't anyone say ...this person is in hell(since hell is suppose to be a place for the sinners)are the preachers afraid to say that around the families?i'm confused!
some please make sense of this!
by sad and lonely 14 Replies latest social family
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GetBusyLiving
We evolved from apes.
GBL
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Valis
s&l in JWland one mostly finds the funeral isn't really for the deceased. It is to make the JWs feel better about waiting for Armageddon and a paradise on earth, while jumping on the chance to Witness... And yeah most preachers will try and put a positive spin on the death of a loved one, but that too isn't really for the benefit of the deceased.
Sincerely,
District Overbeer
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upside/down
I wondered the same thing as a young alter boy in the Catholic faith. No one goes to hell.
The only good honest answer I got from one priest was that it really didn't matter, it was more for the surviving family. If the bastard ends up in a "hell" (which is a whole other topic in itself, as most here are x JW's and have an entirely different concept from "traditional faiths) what does it really matter. What mother wants to live knowing her child is in "hell"?
Remember ever Hitler was a Catholic in "good standing" till his death and was never ex-communicated or condemned to "hell", as you put it.
I wonder, would anyone attend a funeral where the minister outright made it clear this person was going to "hell"? I doubt it. He'd be labeled cruel and insensitive, and might even be harmed by anyone who loved the individual. That's a pretty harsh sentence, best left up to "God".
Don't you think?
u/s (of the "hell"is not what you think class)
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pennycandy
Who are we to judge where a person is going? A funeral or memorial service is for the family and friends, not the deceased. It wouldn't help the grieving process for a preacher to annouce the deceased was an aweful person and has gone to hell. Why not give the family a nice goodbye to their (hopefully) beloved and assume the best?
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Double Edge
Why not give the family a nice goodbye to their (hopefully) beloved and assume the best?
Right. I've always been taught not to speak ill of the deceased.
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love11
I think that christians don't want to judge someone like that, they leave that part up to God. How cruel would that be to the family to say that your loved one is not going to be in the afterlife with you from now until eternity? A funeral is no place to bring up any sins. A funeral is for the living to mourn and remember the good that this person did with their life. Believe me the family members are well aware of any bad actions of their deceased and it wouldn't do any good to rub that in their faces.
On the other side of the coin- When I was in intensive care for a very serious car accident, I asked the elders to come and " pay their last respects" so to speak. They would not come up to my hospital room because I was disfellowshipped. I grew up with these men as my uncles, it was the most disheartening experience of my life. They acted like they didn't even know me. My mom told me that " If your not going to be in the paradise then I might as well get used to it now". That is why she won't talk to me or my children. When I asked her what my children had to do with my leaving. She said they will pay for your sins from 10 generations from now. Cold B___!
My point- I think the christians way of handling "sinners" as you put it, is a much kinder, more loving way.
I personally don't believe in a heaven, hell, or a paradise earth. But I guess I'll find out when I'm dead. God help the world if power ever really did belong in their hands! Communist countries will seem like teletubbie land compared to the "paradise earth".
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Flash
sad and lonely
Preachers always say kind things for the sake of the living, to comfort them.
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love11
God help the world if power ever really did belong in their hands! Communist countries will seem like teletubbie land compared to the "paradise earth".
I truly believe the reward most Witnesses expect to get will NOT be the one they recieve! From the Top Down they will all get a very rude awakening when the Master arrives! Luke 12: 46-48 -
trinity83
People don't go to hell just because they are sinners. If that was the case then we would all go to hell. If he had faith and was a believer and repented than he's going to heaven, sinner or not. Just because he was a bad person doesn't mean he went to hell.
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EvilForce
At least most preachers don't make blanket statements like 6 billion hearts will quit beating. They don't put someone in hell because it is NOT their place, our place, or anyone else's place. They met their maker, it's up to him/her whether or not they had a good heart and deserve a heaven/nirvana/vallhala/paradise. How presumptious would it be to make a judgement. A funeral is for the living, mourning survivors not the dead. And no one I know would be so cruel. I have had experience with Witness J'Dub elders refusing to give a service for a DF'd one however...many, many times. Even though the family is mainly JW they still have the nerve to reserve judgement. How UGLY!