Do you believe in a fiery place of eternal punishment for all who don't espouse a particular belief?

[slackmaster]

i.e. do you believe in a literal Hell as described in the Christian Bible and Western literature?

[dmallind]

1. It's worth pointing out that hell is not an exclusively Christian construct

That said it is te one familiar to the vast majority of DUers.

It will be interesting to compare the results, even of a self-selected sample, with that in the total US population.

[BillStein]

2. do other religions believe in hell?

That is, a place of eternal punishment? Even Orthodox Jews don't believe in it- who does?

Asking a question here, not confrontation...

[dmallind]

6. Sure - Islam is the other biggy but some other minor faiths have variants

[BillStein]

7. Thanks!

I missed the most obvious one

[RC]

11. Everything in Christianity has been taken from other religions.

So that probably explains it.

[dmallind]

12. Most of it yep - but the ones they got Hell from are dead, and the Xian hell is a developed idea

over centuries. Yes the eternal fiery place is in the NT despite what some apologists from liberal sects pretend (Gehenna was indeed a garbage dump, but also obviously a metaphor alomg with the many other uses of symbols assigned to the founder-figure given the name Jesus, since even the most literal-minded and gullible contemporary follower could see that the recently dead were not writhing in continuing torment in with the burning trash a few miles from town). However much of the trappings of Hell people imagine such as the inventive tortures, the red-skinned cloven hoofed and horned devil, the different "levels" and in-kind punishments come from later writings - either Islamic (their Hell gets the wacky torture details going) or secular like Dante and Breughel.

[Kurmudgeon]

16. That is an assumption not based in fact. However, I'm sure the same stale examples will be posted.

[laconicsax]

20. Hmm.

Since Christianity finished 'borrowing' from other religions millenia ago, it stands to reason that there won't be 'fresh' examples.

Here's an old book on the subject: http://www.archive.org/details/biblemythsandthe00doanuoft

[Humanist_Activist]

22. The greek word Tartaros is present in the new testament as a place of punishment...

It was later translated to hell, but it was a place of suffering and torment in Hellenic religion.

[leveymg]

3. No, but they sure make it Hell on Earth for the rest of us. For that, some deserve to be sent to

their just dessert, whatever the climate there might be.

[Meshuga]

4. I am assuming the people who chose the first choice are joking

If not, please let us know your take here with a post. It would be interesting the reasoning behind it and at the same time scary that some DUers have this view.

But again, I am assuming that sarcasm played a role in the choice for that option.

[slackmaster]

5. I would not make that assumption. There are some deeply religious people on DU.

I too would appreciate any clarification that people would like to share.

[jschurchin]

8. I voted yes.

I'm pretty sure they call it Atlanta.

[slackmaster]

17. At least you can get fried chicken at the airport there at 5:00 AM

Thanks!

[Denninmi]

9. I voted No, but I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't Hell right here?

Maybe we're all trapped in it, like one great big giant, ongoing episode of 'Lost' -- things just get weirder all the time.

[Denninmi]

10. I voted No, but I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't Hell right here?

Maybe we're all trapped in it, like one great big giant, ongoing episode of 'Lost' -- things just get weirder all the time.

[Bluenorthwest]

13. The play 'No Exit' by Jean Paul Sartre...

Hell is other people.

[bowens43]

14. no

that is one of the dumbest ideas man ever came up with......

[dmallind]

18. But without Hell, what is salvation worth? And without salvation what is Christianity worth?

The big selling point of the faith is that all our sins have been redeemed, and that we can be saved from the "wages" of those sins if we simply believe in the redeemer.

What are we saved FROM if sins have no punishment? Why did Christ have to die if not, as is unanimously claimed by believers, for our sins?

Liberal theology only has two outs:

1) Universal salvation - which is inevitable if you posit a non-despotic non-tyrannical god, but which makes the whole idea of faith while alive nothing more meaningful than having to send annual thank-you cards to a reclusive aunt who will still give you Xmas checks every year and leave you her estate whether you send the cards or not. If thisone's true I'll thank god when I go to the same Heaven as the saints, but not waste my time worrying about it here and now.

2) Hell as a "separation from God" rather than a Heaven in God's presence. We cannot logically be any more separated from a god who right now in this life eschews all signs, all contact and all evidence of his existence, so this Hell is no threat to me either, and again leaves faith meaningless, because the worst punishment it can offer is eternal continuation as I am now - completely separate from any gods.

Sure you could posit a one-sided all-carrot-no-stick scenario whereby believers enter Heaven and I simply die and cease to be, but since simple death is what I expect anyway and since I will never get to "see what I am missing" in Heaven, you might as well ask a 17th Century person to worship Willis Carrier or never get to feel air conditioning. He's no idea what it is, will never experience it in life even if he does grasp the idea, and will die without feeling it even if he worships Willis. Who cares if he remains non-Willisian and never feels heat again thet air conditioning might relieve?

Without Hell, Christianity loses any selling point beyond promising eternal iPads to children who've never seen gadgets beyond a stylophone.

[Iggo]

15. No.

:rofl:

[frebrd]

19. I don't believe in hell........

and I don't believe anything is eternal.

[laconicsax]

21. Wow, 16% reject the concept of punishment that fits the crime.

Don't believe the right things during a finite lifetime and receive infinite punishment.

[Humanist_Activist]

23. Wow, about 70% of people who voted aren't Christians...

I thought there would be more Christians on this board.

[dmallind]

24. Just like Obama approval, DU is the obverse of its greater group.

Nearly 80% of Democrats approve of Obama's performance. Just over 20% of DU does.

Same here - more than 70% of Americans believe in a literal Hell. More than 70% of DU at least won't admit to doing likewise.

We are. collectively, representative of nothing but the far left, secularist, pacifist, isolationist fringe of society,

And I say that as someone who only fits one of four.

[Humanist_Activist]

25. I don't know about that, most of DU seems centrist to me...

Don't know what you mean by isolationist, in fact only secularist seems to fit(barely). Also I don't see much actual pacifism, more advocating for war as last resort.

[dmallind]

26. The DU that approves of Obama at a 20-odd% clip is CENTRIST?

Liberal Democrats in the real world approve at 82%. Dems as a whole in the high 70s. Since there are no signs at all on DU of anyone who disapproves of Obama because he is too far left, we must then assume that DU is further left than liberal Democrats in reality by over 50% of its membership.

Isolationist in this context is the economic sense - the rejection of globalization and free trade; the assumption that products for American consumption can and should be made viably in the US. There is also a fair amount of political isolationism on DU too - the idea that we should not have bases overseas and not get involved in the disputes of other countries.