Do you believe that the afterlife is anything like it's portrayed in fiction....Heaven being a place of eternal bliss, while Hell is this never-ending oppressive well of torture....

Yeah. lol The idea that hell doesn't exist is just something people convince themselves to make sinning easier. lol Heaven cannot be possible without hell.

I believe in heaven, but I don't know if I believe in hell.

Kind of odd to have one without the other though, wouldn't it? I mean that's like saying there's good but no evil, you only have to take a good look at the world around you to know that evil is real.

To answer the original question, yes I believe they exist.

Nystyle709 wrote:

Says who?

Nobody you're aquatinted with.

Marc wrote:

Do you believe that the afterlife is anything like it's portrayed in fiction....Heaven being a place of eternal bliss, while Hell is this never-ending oppressive well of torture....

I believe that heaven exists and that it's a "spiritual" realm, not a physical one. So I don't think it's anything like how its portrayed in fiction usually. But I don't believe that hell exists (as you describe it).

Forgiveness_Man wrote:

Yeah. lol The idea that hell doesn't exist is just something people convince themselves to make sinning easier. lol Heaven cannot be possible without hell.

Are you a Christian?

captainbryce wrote:

Are you a Christian?

Yeah, is that a problem?

Forgiveness_Man wrote:

Yeah, is that a problem?

No, it's just that your statement...
Yeah. lol The idea that hell doesn't exist is just something people convince themselves to make sinning easier. lol Heaven cannot be possible without hell.
...didn't seem to be based on anything "biblical". Seemed more like your personal opinion than anything else (which is fine of course). Why can't heaven be possible without hell?

I believe in the concepts of Heaven being a sanctuary of soulful rest, and Hell as a place for soulful angst, but I don't buy into how heavenly harps and fiery brimstone like we see on TV and in the movies.

@NY: But I DO know at least some that you aren't acquainted with.

captainbryce wrote:

No, it's just that your statement...
Yeah. lol The idea that hell doesn't exist is just something people convince themselves to make sinning easier. lol Heaven cannot be possible without hell.
...didn't seem to be based on anything "biblical". Seemed more like your personal opinion than anything else (which is fine of course). Why can't heaven be possible without hell?

1. I ain't a Bible-alone verse quoting Evangelical.

2. Hell is very Biblical anyway.

3. Why can't hell be possible without heaven? Simple. Heaven is the total presence of God, hence everything good. Hell is the total absence of God, hence the absence of everything good as well(and what's left but total evil/pain/etc.?). Being an all-just God, it's pretty darn naive to expect him to just bring everybody into his presence regardless of how they lived their life, hence there's gotta be another place; we call it hell. IMO, it all comes down to common sense for me. The idea that hell doesn't exist seems to be just a naive excuse to live a sinful life unrepentant to me. Afterall, why repent when you'll either stop existing when you die or God will take you to heaven no matter what? And without repentance, you got no reason to stop living a sinful life. IMO, saying that there is no hell is just wishful thinking at it's strongest.

I don't believe in heaven and I don't believe in hell. Too many other real things to concern myself with besides bullshit and moral grandstanding.

Nystyle709 wrote:

Squares? Yeah, you're right....I don't acquaint myself with too many of those.

Nah, I had something else in mind.

Generally, I still believe in the theories of heaven and hell....but I admit, the older I get, the more doubtful I become. At least of the way that they've been presented biblicaly.