| 9/15/2007 6:32:39 AM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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sahyriael
Bronx, NY
age: 38
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I don't think Christians preach that........I believe they preach of consequences for one's own action according to the Bible.
Sahri
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| 9/15/2007 12:47:57 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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4evr6y
Morgan, VT
age: 65
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yes but it's one and the same isn't it
 
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| 9/15/2007 5:29:03 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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swcw25
Woonsocket, RI
age: 48
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Hey all! Ive never even read Revalations and dont have any desire to,now. Its like Sah said...Its consequences for our actions (sins)that the Bible teaches you.
I have never really worried about where Im going after Im dead...my concerns are more of how I can please God in a way that "I believe" is acceptable to Him. Do I please Him "all ways"? NO Does He know what my "true intentions"are? YES
Do I think that He wants us to accept His son Jesus as our Lord and Savior? YES
But...."I" DO NOT believe that a person will go to "hell" if they Do Not "understand" the concept of accepting Jesus! That would mean that some of the NICEST,KINDESS,HONEST,and GIVING, "non believing people" will not be in Heaven. Thats not what Jesus is all about!
Just my opinion,mind you!.......................Peace
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| 9/15/2007 5:33:56 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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4evr6y
Morgan, VT
age: 65
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Jesus as lord and savoir is a given to me,
but if people arn't ready to do that...thats cool God will meet them on their level
they won't fry for it, but they might be real slow to progress to the higher levels toward God the Ultimate in Paradice
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| 9/16/2007 11:28:42 AM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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queenofhearts61
Seymour, IN
age: 61
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That is just great god has given us a gift but we have to accept it or suffer. Thanks!
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| 9/16/2007 11:33:37 AM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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4evr6y
Morgan, VT
age: 65
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if your eyes are closed...well ya just can't see.
can ya feel that?
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| 9/16/2007 12:09:02 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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jewelz5
Monteagle, TN
age: 53
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You can see more with your eyes closed than you can with them open.
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| 9/16/2007 12:15:55 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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4evr6y
Morgan, VT
age: 65
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only if you look within.....
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| 9/16/2007 12:21:16 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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jewelz5
Monteagle, TN
age: 53
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That is why they say that your life is an 'inside job'...you can only know what that means if you look within and not without.
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| 9/16/2007 12:23:22 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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4evr6y
Morgan, VT
age: 65
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i hope you don't drive that way!
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| 9/16/2007 2:33:31 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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1pinkstar
Omaha, NE
age: 55
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!
[Edited 9/16/2007 2:34:04 PM]
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| 9/16/2007 10:18:13 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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wayting4u2
Ramona, CA
age: 49
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it's what they believe,we believe in things to give our lives meaning.....
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| 9/22/2007 8:57:02 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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lovinglife437
Meadville, PA
age: 44
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These are just opinions, nobody has to agree. I just needed to think about this.
It's as Sahri said, it teaches consequences for our actions, and otherwise life lessons for being better people. Same thing parents do for their children. As a parent, I surely don't want my son to grow up and all he has to say about ALL I've taught him is 'I threatened him' - it's "the whole picture" that is supposed to be considered, not just the consequence part. I believe some churches/religions do/did preach fire & brimstone too heavily. But that's more the people, not the basis of the teachings itself. The basis is love... same as with parents & their children. I have often heard there's a fine line between fear and respect. If you've raised kids, you know that eventually they get to an age where you'd darned well better have consequences if you want to teach them basic values.
I don't have the history background others here have, and if I did I wouldn't remember it anyway. When I read this thread I remembered studying Benjamin Franklin and puritanistic views once upon a time. And... in another somewhat unrelated thought, I recently researched & wrote a history on the origin of the wishbone. Once upon a time, chickens were worshipped cuz gosh they must be able to see the future cuz they laid eggs and crowed at dawn. So they put them in a circle with letters written in the dirt, with kernels of food, and the order in which they ate were "interpreted" by these pretty darned clever high priests who convinced the masses they knew what the chickens were saying. The chicken was then sacrificed and people would stroke the bone for luck. (And I can't help but wonder why the Bible's so darned hard to believe but masses believed in a chicken who was, frankly, just hungry.)
With these two thoughts combined, I think that some people just know how to grab an audience and wield power. They find whatever means to hold onto it. Fire & Brimstone preaching preys on people's fears and it was done quite successfully. That style of preaching may exist in part today but it surely is nothing like many years ago. Most religions now are approaching sermons and their teaching with modern-day applicability and some of the fastest-growing churches are the ones with the most positive approach and involvement in the community.
I can't say I have a definitive point, these were just my thoughts. I guess.... well, I think the hell & damnation preaching is sad... but knowing that it largely came from people seeking power, can we not recognize that and perhaps revisit God's word from the perspective of love? God gave us free will... and unfortunately, that means corruption - shame on the leaders who took advantage of the masses; shame on the masses for allowing it to happen. That doesn't mean the original intent of the teachings was as one-sided as some would have us believe. In fact it was very well-rounded.
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| 9/22/2007 10:51:54 PM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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4friends2
Raleigh, NC
age: 29
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I agree that as a way to teach not to do things Hell, Fire, and Damnation was a good scary way to do it. After all who would listen if you were sent to the land of fuzzy bunnies, marshmallows, and flowers?
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| 9/23/2007 1:24:42 AM |
Why do Christians preach Hell, Fire and damnation?? |
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jewelz5
Monteagle, TN
age: 53
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Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor - (Jeremiah 5:26)
It should never be forgotten that the power of the priest rests solely on the credence of the people. The people cry out for a savior, for certainty of heaven, for an exemption from the terrors of hell. Hence Priestcraft can neither do without hell nor purgatory. Take away both, or either, and its power is gone - M. F. Cusack (The Black Pope: A History of the Jesuits)
A religion which sedulously opposes its own improvement can do nothing essential toward improving anything else...On the contrary, it must check the growth of everything it touches with its palsied hands - Kersey Graves (The Bible of Bibles)
Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those whose are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God…But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God - (Peter 2:18-21)
Most of religion is disguised satism, turn the other cheek, bless those who hurt you, martyrdom to the needs of others. They create a tone of violence, aggression and belligerence that is sweetened up and clocked with religion and spirituality.
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