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Do you believe in heaven and hell?

Please answer my poll, and please answer it sincerely.

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by Anonymousreply 31August 23, 2019 11:08 PM

I believe I will go to a farm upstate, where I can roam free, and make friends with all the farm animals there.

by Anonymousreply 1August 19, 2019 4:14 AM

Ave Satanas

by Anonymousreply 2August 19, 2019 4:22 AM

Hell is right here in the U.S. It's called Phoenix, AZ.

by Anonymousreply 3August 19, 2019 4:42 AM

Of course there is a grander scheme to things. We're dealing with a Higher Power that we call God that transcends the human intellect and the 5 senses. We only see a smidgen of the overall grandeur of everything. We are part of a magnificent creation and have very little understanding of it. Simply live your life and be happy to be alive - you don't need all the answers to get through life.

by Anonymousreply 4August 19, 2019 4:49 AM

Get a load of Preachy at r4!

by Anonymousreply 5August 19, 2019 5:02 AM

I have a horrible story.

My mother must have been maybe 80ish when I casually mentioned how funny it was that today, kids still believed that silly story their parents tell them when their pet dies, that they had taken it upstate to a nice farm, as in R1, when it actually had died, instead.

My Mother replied that this wasn’t always so, because her Mother had actually taken her dog, Prince, upstate, when she was a girl, and he hadn’t died.

Then there was this really awkward silence. I felt terrible.

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by Anonymousreply 6August 19, 2019 3:37 PM

I would LIKE to believe there is something beyond this life. I really would. Some place where one could be reunited with loved ones, pets, friends. A place where one doesn’t have to worry or fear or hurt. Just be with the ones you’ve loved and cared about.

In that regard, I can see and understand why some would turn to religion, particularly as they advance in age and this life is less long.

But for me, my biggest hurdle was simply this: if there IS a god... If there IS something beyond this... why can’t it (the god, higher power, etc) just make itself known and visible and cancel all doubt? And I mean real indisputable proof. Not simply someone saying “I am god” or “I am a messenger of god”. I mean REAL “miracles” or feats that are impossible to perform by a simple human. The crazier, more impossible shit, the better. Things to convince me and all others that, “Hey, there IS a higher power/afterlife, so maybe I oughta believe now.”

And I get it. If it was shown that this was not the first, last and only ride, then perhaps many people wouldn’t have the motivation to be good to one another and nature. Until you throw that “reward” (heaven) or “punishment” (hell) into the factor.

I went to catholic school from kindergarten through 6th grade. I have to say I tried to believe. I tried to listen. I tried really hard (to paraphrase Carlin), but I soon realized it was a mix of fear (of god, hell), control (do as I say and honor only me, and lobe me more, before all your loved ones), and OCD (repetitive thoughts and praying).

I instead chose to live my life being a good person to people and animals.

I myself don’t have a great fondness for my own life and existence. But I curtail those thoughts by helping people and animals in any way I can, and hopefully positively affecting their lives.

I’ve been told it’s not enough. And I’ll still go to hell for not accepting Jesus in my heart, etc.

I brush that aside. No one knows. Not me. Not them. Not you. And if I’m wrong and have to be “punished” for it, then so be it. But I think I’m doing a good thing just trying to make a positive impact in the lives of others, and animals’ lives. And if that’s not good enough, then I guess I never was going to make it or up to par with the expectations of what may or may not exist.

I prefer to life the life I know I DO have, and spend the time I know I DO have being a good person to others and animals. To me that’s a fulfilled existence enough.

by Anonymousreply 7August 19, 2019 5:06 PM

We create our heaven or hell on earth. After death our so called soul, or core energy, re-joins our higher self in a higher plane of existence.

by Anonymousreply 8August 19, 2019 5:12 PM

Life is like when we try out a fashion ensemble. We put it on, check it out in the mirror, do the occasional turn and then change into something different. Our bodies are just that, a meat suit we try out for a little while and then take off.

by Anonymousreply 9August 19, 2019 5:16 PM

Couple spelling errors in my post above, but the point is still clear, I think.

by Anonymousreply 10August 19, 2019 5:23 PM

I’m hoping Jeffrey Epstein is in hell right now.

by Anonymousreply 11August 19, 2019 5:29 PM
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by Anonymousreply 12August 19, 2019 5:29 PM

Heaven and hell, the carrot and stick of religions everywhere.

by Anonymousreply 13August 19, 2019 5:32 PM

God seems to hate us as this recently discovered Bible code reveals =

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by Anonymousreply 14August 19, 2019 5:37 PM

Why do you ask?

by Anonymousreply 15August 22, 2019 4:54 AM

Not ever have been dead I can only guess but not believe anything in particular about it. I do remember what it was like before I was born and it was nothing but black void then out I popped into a confusing place filled with tense and crabby people and a bossy big sister.

Just trying to figure out this life is hard enough. I try to be a good person (with mixed results) and not worry too much about what happens after death. I am really concerned about the years leading up to it and all the shitty things that can happen to older people. Actually dying doesn't seem like too much fun either. After that, who knows.

Everything we know about heaven and hell was made up by some people in history anyway, they were probably guessing, too, but with ulterior motives about tricking fools out of their worldly goods.

by Anonymousreply 16August 22, 2019 5:05 AM

The idea of living ‘forever’ scares me more than dying but if you ever want to know what forever feels like, watch The Tree Of Wooden Clogs...fucking hell.

by Anonymousreply 17August 22, 2019 5:38 AM

[quote]R4 Of course there is a grander scheme to things. We're dealing with a Higher Power that we call God that transcends the human intellect and the 5 senses.

I guess S/He called you on the phone and told you that just today?

by Anonymousreply 18August 22, 2019 6:35 AM

Now that Trump has announced he is The Chosen One, I'm pretty depressed.

I thought the Second Coming would be better looking, somehow--and thinner.

by Anonymousreply 19August 22, 2019 7:15 AM

I think we are going to learn some hard truths when we died, namely that we are far from being alone in the universe and the beings we encounter are not necessarily benign.

by Anonymousreply 20August 22, 2019 8:09 AM

It does scare me a little, the stories about demons waiting to grab the souls of evil people after they die. You all remember what happened to the false-friend in the movie, [italic] Ghost, [/italic] right? That scenario is reported by some people with near death experiences.

I know it’s really just the result of an oxygen starved brain, but it also complements the other stories about benign souls waiting on a deathbed, to guide the deceased to a better place. A day or two before my Grandmother died, my sister was sitting with her in her bed, and Gram asked her who the other people behind her were. My sister was sitting there alone.

by Anonymousreply 21August 22, 2019 2:02 PM

All of the near-death experiences that people describe are what is likely to happen when you lack oxygen to the brain and it begins to die. The similarity between all the accounts is a result of that phenomenon.

It's like someone describing the sensation of sticking his hand in fire or frostbite - the experience is obviously going to be the same for most people.

by Anonymousreply 22August 22, 2019 2:25 PM

Hell is just dumb. I have a hard time accepting the idea of everyone's consciousness completely ceasing to exist though, so I am open to the idea of an afterlife of some kind.

by Anonymousreply 23August 22, 2019 2:37 PM

[quote] R23: Hell is just dumb.

Well, that’s going on your permanent record.

Catholics teach that literal Hell is simply the absence of God in your experience, for eternity. And that absence is created by yourself. There’s no literal fire and brimstone.

by Anonymousreply 24August 22, 2019 2:47 PM

There is no heaven or hell- but we are all energy. Since energy can't be destroyed we must go somewhere or become a part of something. I think heaven is a place that makes fools feel safe. They think it's something you earn and a place where you and loved ones embrace the glory of God. Quite frankly I would rather be rewarded with another, better life.

by Anonymousreply 25August 22, 2019 2:50 PM

I don't know about Heaven and Hell in the traditional sense, but I've had experiences in my life that proved to me that there's something beyond our current reality.

I got baked not long ago and had it all figured out. Essentially, God was an extra-terrestrial and much more advanced than humans, and this is simply a giant science experiment for God/Alien, that there's no real "meaning" behind our existence here but we're just essentially a petri dish.

by Anonymousreply 26August 22, 2019 2:53 PM

[quote] I like what Jesus said about the afterlife, John 14:2: “There are many rooms in my father’s house.”

An Episcopalian dies and goes to Heaven. He is greeted by St. Peter. St. Peter opens the pearly gates and starts to show him around. They pass a room, and the place is rocking! The Episcopalian asked about it, and St. Peter says, “Oh, that’s the Baptists”. They pass another room, and the Episcopalian hears chanting and smells frankincense. He asks about it, and St. Peter says, “That’s the Greek Orthodox.”

The approach another room, and St. Peter tells the Episcopalian to be very quiet as they walk by. After doing so, the Episcopalian asks why he had to be so quiet. St. Peter replied, “Oh, that’s the Catholics, and they think they’re the only ones up here.”

by Anonymousreply 27August 22, 2019 2:54 PM

[quote] R26: I got baked not long ago and had it all figured out. ...there's no real "meaning" behind our existence here

You can make your own “meaning” in service to others. I think compassion is built into the human psyche and is rewarding for most people. That’s why sociopaths are so hard for non-sociopaths to understand.

by Anonymousreply 28August 22, 2019 2:58 PM

I lived across a narrow street from a Black Baptist Church. They must have been a wealthy group. On Sundays, they really dressed to the nines and drove their best cars. And that place really rocked!

They moved, and their Church is a collection of multi-million dollar condos now. There are two or more Catholic Churches nearby which are multi-million dollar condos now, too. It must be nice coming hone to a place with a majestic exterior.

by Anonymousreply 29August 22, 2019 3:18 PM

On the subject of R29, there’s this Black man who lives nearby. He is always out, polishing his Cadillacs. He had two identical cars in 1988 and until recently, and he kept them clean. It was apparently his hobby. For the last few years, he’s had only one car, and it makes me sad. I assume his wife died. Who knows, but that’s where my mind goes.

by Anonymousreply 30August 22, 2019 8:01 PM

[quote]r20 we are going to learn some hard truths when we died, namely that we are far from being alone in the universe and the beings we encounter are not necessarily benign.

That would be so funny for the religious!

They swim toward the light as choirs sing ... then just as they're congratulating themselves, they're ripped limb from limb by toothy aliens : )

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by Anonymousreply 31August 23, 2019 11:08 PM
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