Not only is there no proof Hell exists (I know, edgy online atheists, actual Christians just mad at God they were sent to bed without dessert, etc), but what is written about Hell in “official” texts (say, holy books) and what was written later (e.g. movies, but also classic literature such as Dante’s Inferno and whatnot) differ a bit.
One of the big misconceptions about Hell is that the Devil (Satan, Lucifer, whatever) is the warden of Hell, or the leader or something. No, he’s just prisoner #1.
It’s more accurate to say that Hell is just a purgatory that is far from God’s light. An endless void.
I’m no Biblical scholar, but most of what we commonly think of as Hell comes from movies, and has been used to scare Christians into giving more than they can afford at the collection plate so the priest or pastor can buy this year’s Cadillac.
As far as where you go when you die? Nobody knows, but science’s best guess is it’s where you were before you were born. Nowhere. You can read about how life was like before you were born, but you can never experience it. Add 100 to the year you were born: anything after that is similarly conjecture and stories. It will never exist for you. Dream about it all you like, but at that time, or somewhat after (people have lived to around 120? but it’s rare) you won’t be here. It’s what you do here that matters.
Instead of worrying about what happens after you die, worry instead about how you will live. Or spare a thought for the trillions who will never live. In your place, a great artist who united the world could have been born, or a great scientist who cures cancer. But instead, you live in their place. That’s not to say your worth is lower; in your place it could have been another serial killer as well. But no, you’re the one who lived… so live.
That last paragraph wasn’t me. I was summarizing and paraphrasing Darwin.
Speaking about assumptions about the afterlife, people who believe in reincarnation typically believe that after you die, you get reincarnated. The assumption there is that it happens right away. What if it happens like a thousand years after you die or maybe an entire universe goes by?
Sure, but I mean the mind. We can’t remember where we were before we were born because we did not exist. The mind cannot fathom true zero, not existing, so we made up a lot of cool and interesting theories for what comes next.
Of course, the physical body returns to the soil and all that.
Not only is there no proof Hell exists (I know, edgy online atheists, actual Christians just mad at God they were sent to bed without dessert, etc), but what is written about Hell in “official” texts (say, holy books) and what was written later (e.g. movies, but also classic literature such as Dante’s Inferno and whatnot) differ a bit.
One of the big misconceptions about Hell is that the Devil (Satan, Lucifer, whatever) is the warden of Hell, or the leader or something. No, he’s just prisoner #1.
It’s more accurate to say that Hell is just a purgatory that is far from God’s light. An endless void.
I’m no Biblical scholar, but most of what we commonly think of as Hell comes from movies, and has been used to scare Christians into giving more than they can afford at the collection plate so the priest or pastor can buy this year’s Cadillac.
As far as where you go when you die? Nobody knows, but science’s best guess is it’s where you were before you were born. Nowhere. You can read about how life was like before you were born, but you can never experience it. Add 100 to the year you were born: anything after that is similarly conjecture and stories. It will never exist for you. Dream about it all you like, but at that time, or somewhat after (people have lived to around 120? but it’s rare) you won’t be here. It’s what you do here that matters.
Instead of worrying about what happens after you die, worry instead about how you will live. Or spare a thought for the trillions who will never live. In your place, a great artist who united the world could have been born, or a great scientist who cures cancer. But instead, you live in their place. That’s not to say your worth is lower; in your place it could have been another serial killer as well. But no, you’re the one who lived… so live.
That last paragraph wasn’t me. I was summarizing and paraphrasing Darwin.
Speaking about assumptions about the afterlife, people who believe in reincarnation typically believe that after you die, you get reincarnated. The assumption there is that it happens right away. What if it happens like a thousand years after you die or maybe an entire universe goes by?
Or it could be non-linear…
The Egg by Andy Weir
May I have a slightly different interpretation: Everywhere.
We are made from the same stuff the Sun is made, traveling together for eons. When we die, we just roll back to the matter is our planet.
And once it dies, we will travel again together through the stars.
Sure, but I mean the mind. We can’t remember where we were before we were born because we did not exist. The mind cannot fathom true zero, not existing, so we made up a lot of cool and interesting theories for what comes next.
Of course, the physical body returns to the soil and all that.