I doubt a "God" powerful and old enough to have created everything in the Universe is petty and egotistical enough to come up with a Hell.  Worship me and do what I say or burn for eternity seems a bit harsh for a all knowing supreme being who can create at will, see the future and read the minds of billions of people at once.

Hell is an eternity without God.

Attached File

Did you buy a ticket? Have you received it in the mail? General Admission is the cheapest. Early Admission costs more but gets you at the front of the line.

Of course, the Meet and Greet option also gets you early entrance, plus you get to meet Jesus and get his autograph and get a photo of you and the Lord as a keepsake.

If you haven't received your ticket yet, call Ticketmaster. Ask for Peter.

Not sure where you are in SC but call these people and have them help you find a local sound congregation.

Just repent on your deathbed, BOOM in.

best answer

Belief in the afterlife is one of the biggest copes ever, people just can't seem to accept that this life is it.

The human soul is exceedingly unique.

Which set of rules for which god(s) am I to follow then, assuming said god(s) do not see through the insincerity of my behavior?

Because you missed church on Sunday? Come on. the premise that a supreme being requires worship and uses threats of damnation to secure it is laughable.

Lutheran Heaven is better.

We'll have beer.

Tried it. In the middle.  Path not clear.

You might be in the waiting room with the rest of us, smoking a petrified dog turd and drinking warm beer. At least you'll be in good company.

Place your faith in Christ and put on His righteousness instead of your own and repent of your sins.

Attached File

Good song

What if there is no heaven? (Or hell)  but there is G-d?

Just the reality of the next level? (Or the possibility of returning to this level) there is no salvation.  Just like you must take your next step on a journey, you can’t believe that process away.  

There is no magic belief that can get you “in the club.” There is no hell for lack of a belief.  Your actions matter.  Who you are matters. Not what you believe. There are infinite beliefs, but we are all responsible for what we do. We will have to account for that.  We will have to learn. Then we move close to the true reality. A greater revelation of the divine. (Which we lack here)

You are who you are. You are what you do.  I don’t think any rational person does not know this. There is no belief that changes this. There is no salvation from it.


This is what traditional Judaism believes. There are 7 simple rules for humanity.

https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/62221/jewish/The-7-Noahide-Laws-Universal-Morality.htm

You need not join or convert  

“Who Keeps the Noahide Laws?

Nobody needs to convert or join a particular church or temple to keep these principles and laws. But it is important to keep them because this is what the supreme G-d wants of every one of us, and not only because they are wise and good laws.

Anyone who keeps these basic rules for that reason—regardless of race, nationality or culture—is considered a righteous person and granted eternal life upon leaving this world.”

Well if you are a Christian you accept Jesus Christ as your savior, repent for your sins and stop sinning.

Salvation is a free gift, so that nobody can boast.

It isn't your act which saves you.  It is the faithfulness of Jesus who interceded for you.

Grow in your relationship with Him.

Learn more about Him.

Listen to His Word.

Pray for forgiveness every day.

Forgive others.

Love others.

This is a horrible argument.  Because it can be applied to every religion. It is also a horrible way to approach faith because it would not be authentic.

Just ask God for forgiveness and change your life going forward.

Tithing is part of jewish law and probably overemphasized by the church.
Being charitable and helping others is important. Giving a specific percentage of your income to a church in dollars because you think that will save your eternal soul is ... Misguided at best.

Faith.

Yes you need to be saved

You get saved by accepting that Jesus Christ died
to pay the price for your sins and rose again.

The ONLY sin that keeps anyone from going to heaven is denying that
Christ Paid The Price For You With His Shed Blood and Rose Again.

Just remember: you have to mean it. When you repent it must come from the heart, because you want to be the best person you can be, not because you're scared of consequences.

To be absent from the body is to be present with God. You will be on one side of the Gulf or the other. Then after Jesus returns to earth, there will be a thousand year millennial period, then the judgement.  All true believers will enter into heaven for eternity.  You must believe and follow the Bible’s teachings. Not some man’s.

Believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, confess your sins (you don't have to enumerate them merely acknowledge you are a sinner), profess Him before men and repent and you will be saved.

After you die you do live on...a piece of you will be in your children, grandchildren, great grand children ect ect.


Some people need a coping mechanism to deal with reality, and some people accept reality as is.


There is nothing wrong with either approach.

I have swung back and forth in my life from devout fundamentalist Baptist to militant agnostic and at this point in my life, I am a Pragmatist Deist I think.  Pragmatist in the sense of William James and his philosophy of the "truth" of things being found in whether they work in a society rather than their factuality.  Thus, I think Christianity is a good thing because of its good effects on society and I'm not overly concerned that some of its beliefs may not be based in any sort of fact.  As for the Deism part, that means I can accept the possibility--a rather strong one--that this universe was created by Something or Someone.  Call that Someone God...fine.  That has just as much chance of being accurate as anything.
But.
I can't find any justification at all for an afterlife outside of holy scriptures that I have no reason to accept as accurate, though I do think, as I said, that following their basic tenets is a good idea.  
The facts of human personality are that it is a function of biology, of brain chemistry and memories.  You change someone's memories, you change their brain chemistry, you change their personality.  That includes the aging process.  I'm not the same person I was when I was 6, or 18, or 30.  Memories are also a function of brain chemistry.  We don't remember what actually happened, we remember a version of it filtered through our perceptions.  That means that there's no real mechanism to recreate our personalities without that brain chemistry and those perception-filtered memories.  You make a duplicate of your brain and somehow find a way to "read" your memories into it, it's still not you.  From the second it comes alive, it's a separate person with a separate personality.  There's no continuity of consciousness from you to that duplicate if you die before it's activated.

So, given all that, how does a "soul" work?  How is it ME?  ME, my personality, is defined by that brain chemistry.  That's not a guess, it's demonstrably true, has been proven again and again.  There's no way to duplicate that, no way to carry that on in a non-physical form because it's a totally physical and biological process.  There couldn't be any meaningful afterlife because everything that's me would be irretrievably gone when those biological processes stop.  Anything that existed afterward would be a separate entity, not a continuation of me.  Thus, I wouldn't care what happened to that duplicate.

The only way that's not true, the only way that there could be any sort of duplicate is if none of this is real, if we're in some sort of simulation.  If that's so, then we don't actually have any real consciousness, we're just computer subroutines.  If THAT'S true, then I don't honestly care what happens after we die.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1e2DfwN5oQ

I can tell you how I was saved.
Grew up in a missionary Baptist church and realized at age 10 that I was lost and separated from God. I knew this because I had heard the gospel from many preachers over the years and a seed had been planted. I ran from this for many years and didn't seek the lord. Then one night by his grace and mercy alone I made my way to an alter. I wasn't saved that night but a few nights later I was saved as I knelt down at my seat in the back. As soon as he saved me I started running again and didn't tell or join the church for about 20 years.

I know beyond a shadow of a doubt the lord saved me. I know this because when I was lost I had trouble and sorrow. When he saved me I had no more burden and couldn't find the trouble anymore. No one can tell you your saved and don't listen to anyone that does. You can believe with your mind but that doesn't get it. When God convicts you then you will have a troubled heart. You have to humble yourself before God and submit yourself to his satisfaction. Once that happens he saves you instantly. The problem with humans is our pride gets in the way.

Find a good Bible believing church that preaches the truth. Any that give you a little prayer or speech to say or just shake the preachers hand and then get baptized are deceiving you. There has to be a spiritual change before baptism.  No one can tell you your saved it is between you and God.

Troll thread.

Corollary, from the author of Fight Club:

Realize you are a sinner.
Romans 3:23: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."

Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death.
Romans 6:23: "For the wages (payment) of sin is death".

But understand that God loves you so much, He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place... Jesus paid your sin debt on the cross... He died, was buried and he rose from the grave 3 days later, in accordance with the scriptures.

Romans 5:8: "...God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

We may not grasp how right now, but God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He paid our sin debt.

Acts 17:30: "God...commandeth all men everywhere to repent."
To repent is to acknowledge you are a sinner and to ask Jesus for forgiveness.

You will read in Acts 16:30-31, that the jailer asked Paul & Silas: 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' And they replied 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt (shall) be saved...'  Simply believe in Jesus, who bore your sins on the cross, died in your place, was buried, and rose 3 days later. That same power that raised Jesus from the grave, will also raise you to life everlasting.

Romans 10:13: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved". 'Whosoever' includes you. 'Shall be saved' isn't maybe be saved, but 'will be saved'.

Just pray:
God, I know I am a sinner, and I believe that Jesus died in my place on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial and resurrection were for me. I receive Jesus as my Savior and ask for forgiveness for the sins I have committed. Thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, and thank You for the gift of salvation (everlasting life) because of your merciful grace, Amen.

Now, just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith.

Can it be that simple? Yes.
Now seek a Bible-believing church and be baptized as a public testimony of your salvation. As you study your Bible, you will grow in understanding and faith.  

Three things to do each day for spiritual growth:
1. Pray
2. Read the Bible
3. Witness. Just like this thread is an opportunity for many to witness and respond to your question.

2 Timothy 1:8 states: "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him I will confess also before My Father which is in heaven."

 

Hate to sound like a raving liberal but….here goes: source? Prove it.

Double tap

Kill enough infidels. No season or bag limit.
If you can get the Pope to declare a Crusade, kill enough saracens.

Most world religions believe that way. True Christianity is different. It's not our "faith". It's our trust in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Do you have sufficient evidence to justify belief?

The Bible and conviction of the Holy Spirit are enough for me. Ymmv.

Put money in the basket at church every Sunday and ignore the news stories about priests molesting kids, and you should be good…..

Don’t forget to live your life cheating, breaking laws, etc, but praying at night to make it all better.

Show me one....I'll wait right here.

Yes, but I tend to ask the opposite question. If a man took the time to contemplate the world around himself, and take each answer he finds to the next question, how could anyone think differently?

These are incredibly old concepts we've been building on for quite some time. The more you get into it, the more questions you have answered, but you still have a billion questions. Teleology (note not Theology) is a concept I'm familiar with but I'm going to start reading more on it because it's absolutely fascinating.

Question reminds me of this stupid commercial.

Are you going to heaven

Not call you stupid op in anyway Just that your question reminded me of this commercial which is stupid. HTF would they know. Reminds me of TV evangelist

But asking that question in GD. Well it's not going to go as you planned or maybe it will

Depends who you ask. Denominations with more gate keeping are harder to undermine, but in exchange you have to actually do more than just accept Jesus as your lord and savior. I like the gate keeping, so I'm biased.