Is there a Hell?

[debs4321]

My thoughts on Hell.............................

I have had this conversation with a few of my sponsees. The question is always brought up.............."Do you believe in Hell?'

My Higher Power, for me, is a forgiving God. He forgives all for their sins. We are all God's children and I can not believe he passes judgement on any of us.

I dont believe he is standing at the gates to heaven and casting his vote weather you are accepted into heaven or not.
That is not what the God of my understanding is, for me anyway.

I believe, that when a person commits a crime of sexual attack, death, cannabilism, molestation, etc etc..............that person is not in their right mind.
Sick, mentally disturbed, drug/alcohol induced etc etc.

I certainly am not saying it is right. But, in Gods eye, being one of his own children, I am not sure he would make the decisions to send them to Hell for eternity.

I was molested at a very young age. Through working the steps and a great sponsor............I have been able to forgive the man who did this to me.
The act that was done to me............ Is unforgiving!!
I understand that he was a sick man. I must forgive this man or live in emotional Hell. for the rest of my life. So why wouldn't God do the same?


Just curious your thought on "HELL".

[nandm]

Interesting post and perspective. I need some time to think about this one but will reply later. Thanks for the challenging thread.

[vegibean]

I believe I can live here on earth and have it be hell. I don't believe you have to do anything wrong to be living in hell. I believe horrible things happen to wonderful people because that's just the way life goes. That can be hell.

I'm not morbid, but I've had my share of crap happen to me way long, long ago before alcohol ever came into the picture. So I'm just saying, life can be hell sometimes, that's life.

As well, things always get better, they can't stay bad forever.

I am NOT living on any pink clouds

[debs4321]

I edited to change a few words that seem, to me, a bit harsh...........I apologize for those who had already read it.

[Done-With-It]

I used to but then I read a book that kind of changed my mind, or it challenged my thinking one could say. I kind of believe we are all here for a reason, a lesson.
People who do bad things always teach other people å lesson, so I don't know.

I kind of think when we die it's like when we are born, we begin with a clean slate
again.

[ColdSweat]

I respect your beliefs, deb. And admire them. But for me, there is no higher power, I'm an atheist, and I don't believe in heaven or hell. I believe we, in our minds, create our own heaven or hell right here on earth. My beliefs are actually quite obscure... have you ever heard of a philosopher named Zeno, a presocratic?... Well, Zeno posed a theory, that to get from point A to point B, you have to go halfway first, correct? Yes. So then he also posed a theory, that to get from that aforementioned halfway to point B, you also must have to go halfway first. Zeno thought that there was an infinite number of "halfways" in the universe. He applied this to real life, for example, if you are walking down the road, you must go halfway down that road first, and then another halfway beyond that halfway. His conclusion was that no one actually ever gets to where they're going, because no matter where that is, they must go halfway first. In my mind, somehow, I applied this to my theory that one's body only dies because we in our minds accept death as an inevitability. I only think that our bodies die, and I think that our minds live on. I actually, keeping Zeno's theory in mind, don't think the material world fully exists, only in our minds. I think death is an illusion, and that only our minds and thoughts exist (scary to think about huh? Kind of blows your mind). I think in our "life", we create our own heaven or hell in our mind. We can live in a dark world, full of pain, depending on how we look at things. Or a lighter world, embracing forgiveness and new perspective.

[CarolD]

My role as an AA sponsor is to assist women
in doing Step work.
I don't fog this up with my personal beliefs
on theology.
Seems to work well for me this way.

[Lily]

Interesting Topic!

And.......since you asked.....I do believe in hell. My higher power whom I choose to call God gave to me a book called the Bible. The bible is the basis for what I believe.

I do believe that God is merciful and does not want to punish sin. "God is love". 1 John 4:8

However the same God who is love is also just. "I will by no means let let the guilty go unpunished." Exodus 34:7

So on one hand God does love us and doesn't want to punish sin, and on the other hand He is just and must punish sin.

So we have a problem and God solved this problem in the person of Jesus Christ.

When I transfered my trust from myself to Jesus Christ and received the free gift of eternal life on May 8, 1989, I no longer am heading for hell. My fears were gone!!

The bible does have a lot to say about hell. In fact, there are more verses in the Bible on hell than on heaven. It speaks of hell being eternal separation from God. Jesus taught on hell in all 4 gospels. A lot of people have this thought of Jesus as being mild and wimpy, however the bible teaches us that he turned over the tables in the temple when they were exploiting the church turning it into a marketplace. I think that Jesus was someone who was meek (meaning strength under control)

At the same time I also know that life here can seem like hell due to it raining on the good and the bad. (I was raped at 19) However, if you understand that we all sin in thought, word and deed daily, it would be correct to say that none are good, no not one. I think forgiveness can be difficult but it is possible.

So that is my thoughts on hell. I know 100% with out a doubt I am not going there and my prayer is that no one would have to go there either, but it is a choice and it is fully up to you.

That is why my verse on by my name reads Ephesians 2:8&9 because the bible says we are saved by grace thru FAITH not of WORKS (no amount of money or good deeds can earn our way) so no man can boast. It is a free gift.

Blessings, Sheila

[indigo]

I believe that we are living in an illusion of our own mindsets, and that hell is most likely what some of us experience here on earth. I do believe we're here to learn to love and grow, I guess I'm trying to say that we are here to experience the different effects things have on us and decide before we're born what that lesson will be then it's up to us. I sure have lived in hell here on earth. I am now growing jmo and learning the right path for me.

[zendust]

I am with ColdSweat on this one. Hell is purely mentation.

[Morning Glory]

Is there a Hell?

I don't believe there is a hell.

The result of the judgment on every man’s work in fire (both for the believer in this life now, and the non-believer in the second resurrection to judgment later) is the same gospel—good news:

If anyone's work shall be burned up, he will forfeit it, yet he shall be saved, yet thus, as through fire" (I Cor. 3:15).

When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. (Isaiah 26:9)

God is Good, and God is Wise, and God is Powerful, and God is LOVE, and God is enlarging His Family with billions of Sons and Daughters who will truly be for the first time in history, purged and purified, and finally molded into the desire of God’s heart from the beginning of time when He declared: "Let Us be making humanity… in OUR Image!"

"For this is GOOD and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; WHO WILL HAVE ALL MEN TO BE SAVED, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 2:4).

This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance 10(and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4: 9)

11Command and teach these things.


Romans 5: 18Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.(I Cor. 15:22)

I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. (John 12:32).

And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our sins only, but also for the sins of the WHOLE WORLD" (I John 2:2).

Love for Enemies
Matthew 5 43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

We are to love our worst enemies, but God will supposedly torture many of our most precious and dearly loved ones for all eternity?

We don’t imprison people for a hundred years for letting their parking meter expire. Neither will God torture anyone for all eternity for telling a lie or being cowardly(Revelation 21:8). To attribute to God the travesty of torturing most of humanity for all eternity in fire is to accuse God of being a far greater and vile sinner than all of the sins and sinners of the world combined to the power of infinity.

[laurie6781]

No, I don't believe in a Hell or Heaven in the christian concept.

I do know that I spent 24 years, right here on earth in MY OWN LIVING HELL.

I have no desire to go back there.

My solution, was really quite simple, although I did spend a lot of time COMPLICATING THE CHIT out of it, rofl

First I worked the 12 steps, and then I incorporated them all into my daily living life to LIVE the 12 steps One Day At A Time.

I like CAROL do not impose my personal beliefs on my sponsees, just share with them what worked for me and guide them to the best of my ability today.

J M H O

Love and hugs,

[splendra]

I believe that there is a form of hell. It seems that some people even live there and are among us.

The Bible mentions the eternal firey pit and burning forever. I wish I could read the Bible in it's original language.

I read the greek to english translation and it is vastly different from the KJV and the NIV which so many people read from.

What is hell anyway? War is hell, poverty is hell. disease is hell or so my senses tell me. Is hell a place or a condition ? I don't know.

I am still trying to learn what love is....

[HappyAddict]

HELL is in the mind of the beholder. I do not believe in the devil or Satan. What a waste of my energy! But I do relate to hell being in your perspective. I guess life is what we make of it. I don't care about an "afterlife", I am too busy living here, now!

[LosingmyMisery]

I hope not...
I guess I will have to wait and see???!!!

[CarolD]

This is what I keep thinking about on this thread
I think it was orginally about God not hell
however....

I'd rather strive to live
as though there is a burning hell
and be wrong
then to find out too late I was right.

[Digginit]

My personal belief is that the only hell that exists is the one we put ourselves into. We can choose to leave whenever it gets old.


dig

[Butterflywoman]

I don't believe in hell. We all go to heaven, but some of us sit in the back row.