Is hell really the destination ?

[Nolunny]

Reading a lot of the post's on here, it seems the notion that hell is waiting for you on the other side is a very common theme !
Is this just based on religion, folklore or a wild guess ? As no one has been able to verify it ! So let's look at assistant suicide ( Euthanasia ) are these people now in living in hell from having their lives voluntarily ended through choice because of pain and sickness which a lot of us suffer that makes us not want to be here anymore, why would you be punished in such a way because you are not happy on this earth..me personally I think once you're gone you're at peace and your suffering is over ! No shovelling coal into a furnace every day !
It also raises the question that if you leave your body here, do you get it back on the other side ? Do you still age on the other side....when you actually think about it it's all a bit absurd !

 

[Lekatt]

Many good questions. There are answers, millions of people have experience a Near Death and touched the hem of the afterlife. Their stories are nothing like what some churches teach. In fact those that attempted suicide found a new look on life and did not attempt again. In short there is only the Spirit World, we all come from it and return to it. Love is the main thing in living a successful life. Suggest you read about NDEs to help you understand there is more to this life than you know. There are some links below this message that may get you started. Love.

 

[johnDoen]

Reading a lot of the post's on here, it seems the notion that hell is waiting for you on the other side is a very common theme !
Is this just based on religion, folklore or a wild guess ? As no one has been able to verify it ! So let's look at assistant suicide ( Euthanasia ) are these people now in living in hell from having their lives voluntarily ended through choice because of pain and sickness which a lot of us suffer that makes us not want to be here anymore, why would you be punished in such a way because you are not happy on this earth..me personally I think once you're gone you're at peace and your suffering is over ! No shovelling coal into a furnace every day !
It also raises the question that if you leave your body here, do you get it back on the other side ? Do you still age on the other side....when you actually think about it it's all a bit absurd !

Pretty much almost everyone here on this forum must have been taught the suicide is either punishable, a sin or generally a bad thing to avoid so they relate it with the most popular and typical place for punishment in the afterlife: hell, mostly inferno-like with fire and red demons carrying pointy sticks. That's my guessing.

Religions have their own theories (they call them truth, actually) about the afterlife but they all agree on souls leaving bodies after death. A soul will not age because aging is a body thing.

 

[Nolunny]

Pretty much almost everyone here on this forum must have been taught the suicide is either punishable, a sin or generally a bad thing to avoid so they relate it with the most popular and typical place for punishment in the afterlife: hell, mostly inferno-like with fire and red demons carrying pointy sticks. That's my guessing.

Religions have their own theories (they call them truth, actually) about the afterlife but they all agree on souls leaving bodies after death. A soul will not age because aging is a body thing.[/QUOTE

I suppose for a lot people....the worst hell they could suffer would be being sent back to their life here again....! A lot of people are living a life that feels like hell on earth !

 

[MosesY]

Revelation 20:14 in the Bible says this; "Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.." NKJV. I was raised Amish, was raised to believe that everyone who is not "Saved" will be punished in hell for eternity. Matthew 12:31 says ""Therefore I say unto you, every sin, and blasphemy, will be forgiven men, but the Blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men". KJV Blasphemy against the Spirit is when the Spirit comes to you and you say it is the power of Satan. It is the unpardonable sin. Only one man will commit this sin, the antichrist. Revelation 14 says "9 Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” I have come to believe that all who sin and are not "saved" will suffer the second death as mentioned in Revelation 20. They will cease to exist. The only ones going to hell forever are Satan, the antichrist, Satan's angels, and all those who worship the antichrist and take his mark (the mark of the beast)."

 

[Jsinjin]

The prophets of the abrahamic religions have received descriptions of torment for those who are deemed "unworthy" (a paraphrased catch all term) for life with the one true God in heaven. Jesus Christ stated that the way to salvation is through him. The Prophet Muhammad stated that submission to Allah and his word will lead to salvation and the Jewish faith believes that adherence to the laws of Moses and the prophets is the way to life with God. Those are all very glossy overviews of faith. Each believes in hell. Besides descriptions that can't be validated by anything other than faith there is no "proof" for hell but there is no reproducible scientific "proof" for God beyond a null hypothesis.

Accepting God on faith means that you accept specifically that you believe for the sole purpose of believing in God. We can't really have proof of Hell of Heaven for that matter while living because by definition, those places are inhabited by spirits which are not alive.

The real question whcih is emotional and psychological rather than philosophical is, "what do you do to sustain yourself while you are alive?" That's sort of the key to taking care of yourself and choosing to be alive. Choosing to live only because of fear of Hell is probably a brief respite from suicidal ideation but fear doesn't remain a good motivator for long otherwise we wouldn't have revolutions under tyrants.

I absolutely recommend faith as a sustaining means of emotional and spiritual well-being. But God helps those who help themselves and seeking counseling, friends, positive people on forums like this and activities that are positive for you is a way to take good steps.

In short, I can't describe Hell (Dante is my only reference) anymore than I can describe heaven. I can state that the biggest reason to not do euthanasia is that humans did not rise to the top of the intellectual, emotional and spiritual pile on this planet to choose suicide when things are hard, painful and dark and people who are nice don't want others to commit suicide. If that means using faith as a lever to help someone be sustained then that lever can help someone through a touch patch. It is far.and away not the only reason or argument against suicide-there are many of those arguments.

I personally don't want anyone (including me) to commit suicide. I also deeply understand how crippling depression, pain, fear, anxiety and even disease can be and I don't want to take away from anyone's deserving sympathy for their suffering. I just want them to hold on for help that can bring relief.