Isn't everyone going to Hell?
 

There's an old joke about a college final exam where the instructor asks the students if Hell is increasing or decreasing in heat. In the one reply noted in the joke a student says Hell is increasing in heat because there are many religions in the world, as a rule people only belong to one religion, and most religions believe anyone who does not follow their religion is going to hell.
If you truly believe in your religion and others truly believe in theirs, then in your your eyes they will go to hell and in their eyes you will be going to hell, so it seems that everyone is going to hell. Doesn't it?

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Personally I think the afterlife is whatever a person believes it will be. If you believe in heaven and hell then that is the reality you will create. If you believe in a 'Happy Hunting Ground", then that's what you get. If you believe you be welcomed into Valhalla then keep your cape and sword ready.

Re: Isn't everyone going to Hell?
 

Ya, and everyone believes they are right. Not everyone can be right, but it is possible for everyone to be wrong :)

I think that we just die. We go brain dead so our consciousness is ended. Our bodies rot. The particles that make us up will go into making something new. I don't believe in "souls".

Well, I've thought about taking bets on what happens after death, but how do you collect on them?

Self ends at death. Perhaps that which constitutes you goes on to reincarnate. I'm not enough of a Buddhist to really believe in reincarnation.

Reincarnation is my favorite religous base by far as it lets me continue throughout the human race seening us grow, and the things that we will accomplish.

This said its also the most illogical of all the reliongs, because how long do you really believe that the human race will survive for

I say less than 1000 more years.

Intellignence is not a good survival trait.

The human race also grows and and exponential rate, are we just creating new souls for every new being?

reincarnation all be it very satisfying doesn't seem to hold water to me.

A resounding theme throughout relgion is to become a contributing member of society.

So if there is a heaven. I'm sure that the qualifications to get in would be to have lead a "good life" if you study the religions a good life is a fairly universal throughout the spectrum of relgions.

Re: Isn't everyone going to Hell?
 

what if i believe that heaven is being with my loved ones in some place, but they have other pictures of heaven that don't include me in that place? i want my loved ones, not copies of them (even if those copies would be indistinguishable; it's the principle of the thing). but if i get my loved ones, then they are deprived of their vision of heaven. can everyone get their way? ;)

I once read (or tried to read) a rather interesting book by a physicist who had somewhat gone off the rails, but in the book he had an interesting explanation for how the afterlife could exist: rationally.

Suppose human life goes on for thousands or millions of years and the race gets pretty damn powerful. At that point, they might be able to build a computer or facility that could run a complete simulation of life on earth from year zip on forward. Everything would unfold exactly as it had. But when people "died," the program would graduate their souls into a sort of "afterlife" program where they would receive additional instruction and eventually be incorporated into the future world as living (and presumably immortal ) beings. Thus making an afterlife for everyone who ever lived.

But if you believe this, one question is paramount: are we now living the real thing? Or the simulation?

I'm a very un-religious man. I'm pretty certain when you die you don't go anywhere, you just rot away.
I once read a very strange article about how Noah's ark was the basis for our modern perceptions on religion; that ever since the ark managed to avoid the flood we have wanted to avoid death in the same way, that by preparing for death we can somehow avoid it.

Well, then at least it's fair & equal ;)

i don't know if there's a heaven or a hell. but if there is, i'm sure my space in hell is already reserved. but i think it's more likely that maybe as we die, in that instant, our brains flash and we see what our idea of the afterlife is, and then are gone. so that flash is sorta eternity for us.

If you havent heard of Pascal's wager than its something you should at least take a look at. Im not promoting any religion, but I think believing in SOMETHING is better than believing in NOTHING, even if there is no *real* evidence to support either.

As for being afraid of death, its non-sense. Most people fear death because they are either afraid of non-existence, or they are afraid of a "final judgement" from a God-like being. If you fear death because of non-existence, just look at it this way: Do you remember what life was like before you were born? No? Well then why would you be afraid of what it will be like when you are gone? As for a final judgement type deal, well all I can say is lead the best life you can if that is what you fear.

My personal belief can be summed up in a quote: "All roads lead to Rome."

I always just thought I'd go back to where I was before I was born, nowhere.

For me, I feel that I have as much chance of visiting Santa's workshop in the North Pole as going to heaven or hell.
But if there is a Hell, I'm sure most people would go there.