Heaven and Hell. What do you think?

[BornBronson]

They do??

I just thought he was,my mistake.

What religion does he practice anyway..do you know?.

[Enchantress]

I believe that we step back and forth between heaven and hell every day.

Are there pearly gates that part to welcome us as angels beckon with song? More than likely not.

Is there something after life? I believe so.

I subscribe to the thought that what we put out in life is what we receive in the end. It's an energy that is palpable and alive.

We find heaven on a daily basis. There are bits of it in every moment that we experience. There is proof that it exists. Unfortunately we simply choose not to see it (or can't because outside stimuli keeps our walls inpenetrable).

The same theory can be ascribed to Hell. In every moment there is a bit of it. It lurks and works to pull us in. Again, it's what we choose to see, believe and feel. Hell is subjective. It is not Dantes version of fire and brimstone (although I do believe that Nimrods exist as I come in to contact with at least one daily). Instead it (in my opinion) manifests itself into that which we fear and abhor the most.

All energy is connected. The good, the bad and the ugly (Thanks Hollywood for the phrase). Therefore Heaven and Hell are connected as well.

There's a balance beam and we (gingerly) walk it daily.

Choose love, kindness, grace and humility. In doing so (I believe) you guarantee soulful existence surrounded in these energies after death...

[MsDemeanor]

Originally Posted by BornBronson

I thought our president was a Muslim.

Originally Posted by BornBronson

I just thought he was,my mistake.

There were about a bazillion news stories about this lie that was fabricated by conservatives. I'm gonna guess that you get your "news" from Glenn Beck.

[Toughy]

Originally Posted by BornBronson

They do??

I just thought he was,my mistake.

What religion does he practice anyway..do you know?.

He is a Christian. Do you really care which version of Christianity he practices.....Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, etc?

Why does it matter if he is Muslim or Christian or Jewish or Pagan or believes in the Flying Spaghetti Monster or is atheist?

[Nat]

I might believe in heaven, though I don't know what I think about it being an afterlife experience. I have lots of ideas about the afterlife - and for all I know, it really is just turning out the lights. I would prefer otherwise, and I don't mind entertaining more pleasant theories. However, I think heaven and hell may be experiences we can have concurrent with life.

I cannot say what exists for other people, but I this quote has resonance for me. There have been times during meditation where I feel I have reached a place of beauty and mystery that is so profound and pleasurable that heaven would be a way to describe it.

In every one of us, if we can still our questing heart and our puzzling mind, there is a secret doorway. Who knows how you will find this doorway? Through great suffering, so that one day you turn inside and in anguish stumble upon the key there in your heart? Through reading the lines of a poem? or hearing the words of a song that lead you to this hidden place? Or will it be when you grow old? When the seeking of fame and fortune, of possession and distraction weary you at last? and you take the first deliberate steps towards a discovery of the soul that breathes within you. However you journey to this doorway, however young or old, however driven by sadness or delight in exploring, once you turn its handle and step forward into the realm this doorway reveals, your life will change forever. For you will discover there the land that is known to the Druids and Celts as ..."The Land of Eternal Youth" , some call it..."The Land of Promise," others..."The Land of Honey". It is the secret heaven within each one of us, that if we dare to enter, we discover it is not binded by the limits of our mind or soul but is coexistent with the Universe. There we never age and live in perfect health and joy, feeding our hearts with the love of all creation and expressing our beauty and our strength in acts of noble generosity and courage. For some, it is easy to travel to this place - they have learnt the ways and know the routes that magic in the days of old have laid upon this trackless land, and they come and go through this doorway, refreshing their bodies, hearts and minds, bringing with them the gifts of youthfulness, of healing and of art.

from druidcast episode 3

[Mrs. Strutt]

I believe in heaven. I don't believe in hell. I think there is a beautiful place our souls go when this life is ended and, if we choose, we can do "the life thing" all over again. Or not.

I don't believe there is a Satan or a hell. The God I love bears no resemblance to the needy, neurotic being taught and used by fundamentalist Christianity to brainwash/frighten people into accepting their belief systems and allow them control over their lives. My God doesn't need a "devil" to conquer because He/She is far bigger than that in my eyes.

[Bob]

Originally Posted by BornBronson

I thought our president was a Muslim.

Oh, wow, I feel so stupid! I thought he was a MUSLIN, which according to Wikipedia is "..often used to make dresses or curtains but may also be used to complement foam for bench padding."

There goes my BP conspiracy theory too!

[dreadgeek]

Originally Posted by BornBronson

Sometimes I need to come back to my words.No,it's not a headache.It's the truth that hurts,when you fight it.

I thought our president was a Muslim.Regardless,he believes there is a God.Good for him.

I still want him OUT of office.

Can you explain WHY you thought he was a Muslim? I'm just curious if there is any reason--any piece of evidence at all--or did you just leap to this conclusion? He went to a UCC church in Chicago. He goes to, I believe, a Methodist church in DC. He says he's a Christian. So is there something about Mr. Obama that you know that he doesn't know about himself?

Btw. what if he didn't believe in God? What difference would it make?

And actually, what if he WAS a Muslim? Then what? What if he were a Hindu? Or a Buddhist? What possible relevance could his religion have to how he does his job as POTUS?

[Apocalipstic]

On the original question....In the words of the late greatest John Lennon....

"No hell below us, above us only sky!"

On the more recent discussion...

Why would it be a problem if President Obama were Muslim? Alledgedly the USA believes in division between church and state.

[dreadgeek]

Originally Posted by apocalipstic

On the original question....In the words of the late greatest John Lennon....

"No hell below us, above us only sky!"

On the more recent discussion...

Why would it be a problem if President Obama were Muslim? Alledgedly the USA believes in division between church and state.

There is also this inconvenient piece from the Constitution:

...but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

That is Article VI of the Constitution. Someone--I forget who it is at the top of my head--wrote that Article VI applies all the way down to the citizenry such that if we impose a religious test for office we are in violation of the spirit of the Constitution.

We should not take into account the religion of any person running for public office. When I was growing up religion was a private affair, a matter of individual conscience. I find it terribly ironic that those who would style themselves super-patriots, the last true lovers of America would be so quick to apply a religious test for office while many of us freethinkers, attached to no religion in particular or holding loosely to something like Buddhism (as I do) apply no religious test.

Ironies abound in modern America.

[Ryobi]

I saw this thread active today and had the time, finally, to come in here. I read through posts and now the last few are a political debate? What?

Can that chunk of this threat be taken to the "red zone"? Or can one of you posting in that particular debate, start a thread in the political section? I have things to say on that subject too, not what I intended for this thread.

Thanks for understanding. I'm going to go find all the thoughts that went flying out of my head earlier. Jeezus people! Give a dyslectic, ADD brother a break. LOL! when I find them, I'll be back.

[Apocalipstic]

Back on subject..

Logically I do not believe that there is a Heaven and Hell.

If people focused on being a good person today, instead of acting however because they think they can repent and will have a better life in Heaven, the world would be far more peaceful.

On the other hand, it is so comforting to think of my Mother and my dog Mac watching over me from somewhere wonderful.

[Ryobi]

apocalipstic, for you and Mac. "If there are no dogs in heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went". ~Will Rogers~

I have enjoyed all the comments and ideas posted here. I don't believe in religion. I believe it's ALL, every one of them, a brainwashing. I also believe that, if you are talking religion, satanism must be included. It's a religion just as valid as any other. (did you know, the military will now state "satanism" on dog tags as a persons religion, instead of "non" like they once did. Score one for the red devils! (that's not why I think it's a valid religion, btw.))

There was a time in my life, when I only thought about heaven. All of my attention was turned to seeing only good things. I will admit, I saw a lot of good. Then I realized, I had gotten so good at pushing all the bad out of my mind, and keeping it out of my "sight", it was getting harder and harder to be the person I was striving to be. It had clouded me to the reality of human suffering. Including my own. Just because I was unwilling at the time to see it, doesn't mean that it didn't exist, everywhere. I started to make an effort to see bad, to see hell, if you will. In doing that, it became easier for me to be me. That person I was striving for. I think that seeing both good and bad in my life, and around me, is exactly what I needed. It opened my mind and my heart to really enjoy and cherish the good. I no longer take the good for granted like I once did, and I try to find "the silver lining" in the bad if there is one to be found. Accepting both makes me feel like a better person. It also reminds me that, I can be a better person still.

I think everyone of us has our own personal heaven and hell. And, I also think that it's up to each one to decide where they are willing to live most often.

These thoughts come from a very personal space for me. They include no one but me.

[SelfMadeMan]

I've come full circle in my religious (and now happily NOT religious) beliefs, and I don't believe in the concept of heaven or hell the way Christianity would have me buy into it. I am a born again agnostic and I can't help but think that belief in a religious afterlife keeps one from fully living in the here and now. I hear people all the time say not to focus on their "worldly life" and to remain focused on the afterlife... that just doesn't sit well with me. What if they're wrong? What if you deny yourself all your life, and live life the way some book or preacher tells you to, only to get to the end and there be nothing? If I'm wrong, I will have lived one hell of a full, fun life - and have lived it the way I choose, doing what makes me happy & complete.. and I'll take whatever comes in the end. I still feel better about my option. I am a positive person, I try to do for others, live a good life, I am a good parent, husband, friend... I am a decent person. So if I'm wrong, I can look back on my life and know that I left love behind.

[chefhmboyrd]

i don't believe in either.....
and i don't believe that the bible is the "word of god" sent down to man via the celestial dictaphone
IMO
man wrote the bible,
man made god to control the masses.....

"god" lives within us
therefore We are the gods......
Somos Dioses.........

that being said, i think of my life now as heavenly and my life before T as hellish.....

it wasn't entirely bad, i have lots of great friends and memories...
((((((Apocolipstic))))))

but i hated "her" so badly and wanted to die most of the time, that was in fact HELL.

my life since...........
i stabbed "her" to death repeatedly with a 200mg of T every other week......

has been heavenly

[Tommi]

I think Medusa must think she's in hell about now.

Hell Yeah

[ravfem]

i was raised Church of God, and had to attend every Sunday until i reached 16 (for whatever reason it became my choice then). Heaven was where you went if you were a good, god-fearing christian, as defined by COG standards. Hell was for everyone else.

i started questioning the whole religion thing while in high school, and ID'd as agnostic for a couple of years, until i finally "came out" as atheist. One of my first questions was, "how do we know the bible wasn't written by people sitting around the campfire, passing a pipe around?" my next one was, "If god made us, who made god? Where did god come from?" and "if every single person on earth all came from one couple, then incest was accepted and widely practiced back in the day, huh?"

And for racist christians, including most of my bio-family, i point out that according to their bible, we all came from Adam & Eve, so.....

i believe people use religion as a crutch. All good things that happen to them are because they're good christians. All bad things aren't their fault, it's the devil trying to tempt them.

Miracles are credited to god. Bad things are the work of the devil. If your belief strong & true, you'll do just fine. If you misbehave, you'll burn forever.

It's like the police, or laws. Religion tries to keep people from doing "bad" things.

Only religion is much more judgmental & hypocritical. i don't need a book or a person to tell me how to behave or live.

i try to do the right thing and try to live by good morals & ethics. i try not to hate people or be mean to them, even if i don't like them. i try to treat others like i want to be treated. i wish more christians lived like that.

i believe when i die, i die. The end. Like someone else said, i've got it set up so that the medical community can take what's left that is useful, and cremate the rest.

[imperfect_cupcake]

"when will the Kingdom come?"
"it is is already here but men do not see it."

Basically, this is what I believe. I'm functionally Atheist, but I grove on good metaphor. The eternal, heaven, hell, the Kingdom, etc is here, now. it's up to us to see it and live it.

I know when I'm trapped in my own hell. I know when I'm in an eternal moment. There's no afterlife. it's all here, now. Right now.

[wolfboi]

Originally Posted by Ryobi

Heaven and Hell
i was raised a catholic . my mother was a devoted catholic . there is most diffinately a heaven a beutiful place were you seen your loved ones when you pass . and as for hell yes there is a devil around every corner trying to get your soul . so believe in jesus and everything in your life will be awesome
When I was a kid (under 10), I asked my Grandpa about Heaven and Hell. I wasn't sure what to fear or what to hope for. He put it in terms that I have never forgotten and think of often to this day. (He was a wise man, and he read a lot. I'm not exactly sure where credit of thought lies.) This is what he told me:

Heaven and Hell are like two rooms that are exactly the same. In both rooms there are huge banquette tables filled with the most wonderful feast you can imagine. Food doesn't go bad, and there is an endless supply, open for the taking. In both of these rooms, the people don't have elbows. In Hell, the elbowless people are angry and starving, only being fed what they can selfishly mash their faces into. In Heaven, the elbowless people are happy and helping. They're feeding eachother.

In my daily life, I try to feed. And in-turn, get fed. There are days that I'm angry and starving. Those days have become far and few between in my personal growth. I have learned how to get my ass back to Heaven.



How do you view Heaven and Hell? How does it apply to your daily life?

.
i was raised a catholic . my mom was adevoted catholic . there is most

[Ryobi]

Originally Posted by Tommi

I think Medusa must think she's in hell about now.

Hell Yeah

I think if there really were manuals for everything, the one for "site ownership" would have fine print that reads, "no matter what your intentions or how often you bend over backwards to bring them a little piece of heaven, they will give you hell."