The Problem of Hell (Specifcally, What to Do There)

[Totenkopf]

Note: didn't intend 2x post, thought I'd edited the previous post.

 

 

@Mach--I merely figured he was referring to the commen (mis?)conception about hell and replied thusly. However, if Hell exists, it's unlikely anyone will know what it really is till it's too late. Also, never heard the one where dying with ANY unrepented sins=damnation. Exclusion of mortal sins in confession was considered a form of blasphmey. Also, going through the motions does not equal sincerity. The deathbed conversion (ie baptism) is supposed to wipe the slate, but my understanding was/is that God doesn't give you a free pass just b/c you went throught the motions. Same applies to a final confession.

 

@Jae--the whole good works vs faith issue seems in some ways kind of academic. Good works mainly seem to be the manifestation of the true nature of someone's faith. In essence, both sides are saying the same thing, but in different ways. In that I'd have to come down on the side of James. Never made sense that if God is all merciful and all compassionate (as well as all just) that He'd consider sin as "one size fits all". The idea that you'd go to hell as readily for flicking your sister's ear as if you'd murdered her doesn't make much sense. So, even if God "moves in mysterious ways", such a scenario seems out of place.

 

A few misc notes: I recall also hearing that even if one never heard of Christ, it was not impossible to gain entry to Heaven. Fact is, as Mach pointed out, most people had no idea who He was for a long time after His death. Such a person had only to live a good life to gain entry. Afterall, He was supposed to have died for the sins of ALL, not just the select few. However, this does not mean that everyone got a free pass Upstairs. Prior to the Resurrection, all the good people were supposed to go to Limbo, apparently the ultimate waiting room. Don't know if that concept has since been dropped or not.

[machievelli]

The problem is that if you go by what is commonly taught, if you were alive when Jesus was born, you were condemned automatically if you didn't hear of him, and if you were born before, you're also hosed.

 

The concept of limbo is still extant. It is where unbaptised babies and those who failed to do enough good went.

 

My entire point was that everyone hits you with the 'burn in hell' crap without bothering to even discover the provenance of it.