I have issues with the concept of hell?

These paragraphs come from my web site...

There are a few religious systems which believe that when a person dies, depending on their behavior, their 'spirit' or 'soul' will go to one of two places. The Greco-Roman system had heroic people spending their existence after death in a place called the Elysian Fields, a paradise where parties abound. The bad or cowardly people spend their existence after death being forever tortured, or forced to endure extreme hardship in Tartarus. When the Romans became Catholics, they transferred this into the 'heaven and hell' fantasy, which is not based on the Holy Bible.

Where is Hell anyway? Is it a place somewhere deep underground? Is it a netherworld as described in ancient mythology? Is it the place where sinners will go to burn in fire and brimstone forever and ever? Is it a lake of fire, somewhere in the spiritual realm? Hell simply means the grave...and based on the book of Revelation, Hell is the World, after the Saved leave it...and the destruction of Satan and all that is Evil takes place. Hell is Eternal Separation from God...Hell is the Second Death that Christ experienced on the Cross--the Death which we are saved from when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Redeemer. Search your Bible. The Book of Revelation can be difficult...Pray the Holy Spirit guides you as you read it, and reread it.

The Bible says that the dead do not know anything, and they do not do anything. The dead also have nothing to do with the world. (Ecclesiastes 9:4-6) Therefore, that tells us that you do not wander around as a ghost when you die. What about the soul or the spirit, Are those different? According to Genesis 2:7, the Lord God fashioned man from the dust, with his hands, then he breathed the 'breath of life' into his nostrils, and man became a living soul, or a living being. Ezekiel 18:4 says that all souls belong to God, and that the soul that sins will die. There is no immortality for us in this World...1 Timothy 6:15-16 says that only God is immortal...so to say that a human soul is immortal is incorrect. It goes back to the 'heaven and hell' fantasy I spoke of earlier. When you die, your 'life-force' or 'breath-of-life' returns to God. That which makes you who you are, goes into the grave and decays until the Second Coming of Christ, when he calls the 'Dead in Christ' forth from the grave. (1 Thessalonians 4:16) If you went to heaven upon death, why would Christ need to return to get the dead?

This is not an answer but more of a personal view. 1> There's no proof to say that Hell exist but i do not conclude that it do not exist as well however that is not in my concern. To me, Hell is like what's happening at Africa where people suffers from starvation, war, poverty etc etc, that's what i call Hell. When someone you love, betrays you and leave you, that's Hell as well. So that's why i do not concern the Hell which people describe as a place with Flame burning for eternity and Satan, because from what i know i can see and feel Hell on Earth. 2> again this is a personal view as well. i m very happy for you that you do think about this question. Once my friend told me the same thing, but i asked her if God is so loving and forgiving why are they so many rules to punish a person for not obeying what is set by the Church. Is it made up by Human or is it really a message from God. To me, it doesn't really fits in that a God will do such thing, totally restricting our will of having Free Choice. My current view is that the Church is trying to control the followers with fear, and to make sure that no one will question about the rules they set, some may even say that the rules are set by God and questioning the message means questioning what God message and it is a sin, therefore MANY but not all followers do not dare to question about it and all they can do is follow. So that's why i say that i m happy for you that you do question about what you have heard, at least you are trying to truly understand what has been said instead of blindly following. Hope this helps, i still have more but its just too long to read.haha.

You don't burn in hell forever. Just how long for what bad deeds you have done or when you have turned away Jesus, your savior. The devil wants us all to burn in hell with him because when Jesus comes the devil, all his demons, and all the people that turned away The Bible will be put into hell with him. If it wasn't for Jesus coming and dying for us then we'd all be put into hell because satan temps us and most of the time us as humans in a world of sin, cant resist. Us christians do understand the bible its just some people mix it up and change it around. Thats why so many people are turning away from God. Jesus is coming back soon. Get ready.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and we have a unique concept of hell. After death, those who are not worthy of spirit Paradise will be punished in a kind of temporary hell. We believe that after judgment day almost all of God's children will eventually inherit a "kingdom of glory."

However, there are variations between these kingdoms---some are better than others depending on the faithfulness of the individual. The worst kingdom (telestial) is approximately as good or somewhat better than the conditions on earth are right now. Those who merit the telestial kingdom will be cut off from Heavenly Father and Jesus forever. The best kingdom (celestial) is where Heavenly Father and Jesus dwell and is apparently glorious beyond human description.

We believe that the only people that will go to "outer darkness" with Satan for eternity are those who had the greatest light and knowledge in this life (such as a prophet) who then completely rejected the gospel.

I hope this helps.

Here are a couple of websites with more info if you are interested:

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sou...

http://eom.byu.edu/index.php/Hell

You're asking an intelligent question. Some, if not many of us who are genuine believers, have struggled with the concept of hell, too. So may I share a few thoughts with you?

1. Some have stated that Hell, especially in the Old Testament, meant sheol, the grave, or the netherworld as I've seen some call it. I don't know of anyone who didn't know that he or she was going to die and that there was an afterlife. The Old Testament saints, and sinners too, knew whether or not they had believed in God for salvation using the faith they had and the Scriptural knowledge they had available at the time. Granted, the subject wasn't nearly known so well then as we know about it today. Yet, we have the clearest expression of life beyond this life when David said of his (illegitimate) son--born of Bathsheba--"I shall go to him, but he cannot return to me". David spoke this after the child died.

2. Jesus gave additional insight about the reality and portrayals of Hell when He spoke of Lazarus and the rich man, as recorded in Luke 16. This is NOT a parable, as no parable ever had a person's name in it. Also, Jesus was and is God in human flesh, and could have known easily when the two men died. He also could and did accurately describe the two destinies: Lazarus was resting in Abraham's bosom, however that was to be understood; whereas the "rich man" was in Hades and in torment, existing among flames so hot that he wanted a drop of water to cool his tongue.

Would Jesus just make up a story to scare people? Rather, He gave that story to shed much new light--even to correct false understandings--and warn people of what was going to happen unless they repented.

3. It's still true that the unsaved dead still enter Hades/Sheol and wait there until they are resurrected at the Great White Throne judgment. See Revelation 20 for additional details. The saved now go to Heaven directly, as Paul clearly stated in 2 Corinthians 5. Paul also described the transition, translation, and transfer from "Abraham's bosom" or Paradise to Heaven itself in Ephesians 4.

4. Finally, we have to remember that people weren't created for Hell and Hell wasn't created for people. What did Jesus say? "Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels". Look, all of us have sinned; we were born sinners because of Adam's sin back in Eden (proof: Romans 5:8-12). We don't naturally love God because we are of our father, the devil, unless and until we are born again. We are DEAD in trespasses and sins. Paul also said the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23, paraphrased).

In sum: we deserve Hell but Jesus died and rose again from the dead, making salvation accessible and available so that we don't have to go to Hell.

Jesus taught on hell. So Jesus, the Son of God who created all things, states that there is a hell. So now why would God do this and not just change the "rules." It comes down to the very essence of who God is. We call it the "isness" of God. There are only two things that are at the essence of who God is. The first is Holy and the second is Love. Because this is the essence of God these do not change, ever. This means that anything that is not holy (pure, without imperfection) cannot exist in his presence. Therefore, since all of us are imperfect or impure due to sin we cannot be in the presence of God. Since God created us eternal beings that means there must be a place where we can exist, but yet not be in the presence of God. That is hell. Jesus describes hell in such a way to reveal that this is a place absent of the presence of God and that means all the imagery that we have of hell. With this in mind that would mean everyone would go to hell unless there was something else to "counteract" this. That is the Love of God. You see, when we sinned, that which the Holy God hated became part of that which the Love God love - us. This is the entire reason for Christ (John 3:16-21). Jesus took the full brunt of the wrath of the Holy God so that those who trust in him can experience the Love God for all eternity (Romans 8:32-39). Jesus said that the condemnation is a human's choice. God's choice is to save, but those who choose not to trust in Christ choose to be separated from God for all eternity. You see, hell was never created for humans, but for Satan and the demons, but because man chooses not God they choose Satan and that means hell. God's will is that no one go to hell, but the Holy God will not allow anything imperfect into his presence. The Holy Love God provided the Way for us to become perfect so that we can exist in his presence forever. So it isn't 'leave me and I'll kill you.' It is, "I am Holy and I am Love. Therefore, I have given you the choice and because you chose the imperfect path I showed you my love by sending Jesus to die. Choose now which path you want to follow, but with choice come outcomes. I do not want you to suffer and spend eternity away from my love, but I will not force you to believe. You can do whatever you want." It all comes down to the principle of choice and the outcomes of our choice.

crazyharryoxymoron,

Royal Racer, adriftfeline, and Ernie have most of it correct (They each have some minor errors -- and although Jalapino seems to have the right idea, his answer seems rather muddied).

Hell is a myth derived from ancient Egyption religion (and possibly Babylonian). God did NOT create a place of eternal torment. God's Word says over and over again, that "the wages of sin is DEATH," (Romans 6:23) not torment!

The myth of hell is propagated by false religion. Don't believe what "THEY" say, believe what GOD says! Get the FACTS for yourself; Read and study the Bible on your own -- read multiple translations, multiple commentaries, THINK, PRAY for understanding. "He who seeks, finds" (Matthew 7:8, Luke 11:10).

Satan has done an excellant job in decieving the whole world, but God has made sure the truth is available to those who seek it.

God is both JUST and MERCIFUL!

I have written in Y-A on the subject of "Hell" many times. Feel free to read my past answers. Here are a few links to make it a little easier for you {Note: My answers are not selected as Best in these Questions.}:

Why does God create people he knows will end up in hell?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AoZW2...

In the Bible story about Lazarus and Dives, why is Dives condemned to Hell in the end?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ak81x...

Christians, did God create Hell during the six days of creation or was there ANOTHER creation day?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsKq5...

Christians, If somebody didn't know about god, would they still go to hell?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Am._B...

Where in the bible does it say hell is an eternal punishment?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ahq.N...

What is Hell really like? Since no one really knows for sure, just want some opinions.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmaAB...

Why didn't Jesus tell the rich young ruler about hell?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Av0kS...

Why did the christian god create a heaven and a hell?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AiukK...

If God is so forgiving, why is there a Hell?

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ar0mz...

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Well honestly i'm not a big religious guy but think of all this from another perspective. Your life is granted to you. God gave it to you (from the perspective of a Christian) and he lets you live in his universe.

Heres what i think and the way it should be. If you are good in life, you follow the path of God, you go to heaven as a reward for using the gift god gave you (life) in a way he would want you to. If you sin and do stupid things, you go to hell.

What i would like is if you don't follow god but you don't sin and do stupid things, there should be some kind of medium. Sorry for getting off-track but uh, yea if you take your life for granted and screw it up, God will throw you away.

a very interesting topic all i can say is god makes hell to as heaven the more good deads you do you go to heaven the more bad deads you do you go to hell but even if you got more good deads then bad deads you'll still go to hell in order to cleanse your self from all tht filth and impurity . god loves all yes i know even osama bin laden but ths not the point the point is there are rules and regulations of what not to do god is all powerful and is trying to mind you why he create du to worship him god isent like a strict person or thing w/e you know wht i mean if you do a bad dead gods merciful hes nice caring and loving 1 mistake he wont put you in the flames to burn hes so merciful he might forgive a sin thts so bad tht people might consider unforgivable wht do they know god can forgive anyone they don't know wht he forgave and did not . god put all this stuff about about hell in bibles and the holy quran and such to sh0w people wht well happen to disobeys try going to a Islamic preacher and asking the concept of hell he can help oyu way better i know you christ and all but go to a Islamic preacher called a ( alim ) he study's the meanings and such about the quran and well explain it very well because your Christin your concept of hell in your book changes like each year your book has been tampered with im not trying to offend or have a religice face off but the fact of the manner is Christians have been changing there so called holy book and has been tampered with by man . THE ONLY BOOK IN EXISTENCE THAT CAN HELP YOU OUT AND NEVER BEEN TAMPERED BY MAN OR CHANGED IS THE HOLLY QURAN . GO TO A ISLAMIC ITE AND ASK THIS QUESTION TO A ISLAMIC PREACHER

Fire needs fuel, and air. When the "fuel" is gone the fire goes out. The wicked will be ashes under our feet. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah are not still burning and they were burned with "eternal" fire. Eternal in this case means until it is finished. Jude verse 7 Malachi 4:1,3 have a whole blog on hell on my yahoo profile. complete with verses also on myspace link below