Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Gooch's dad · 05-08-2003, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Corso
Unfortunately, they do get to me. The concept of hell is just to terrifying to ignore. I recently saw a special on TLC about Near-Death Experiences. There was one segment about an atheist who had an heart attack and had a very bad NDE. He recounted having been sent to hell where he was devoured by demons! The guy was so frightened that he converted to christianty and later joined the ministry. Now, I know this sounds like something out of a stupid Chick tract but the man seemed to genuinely believe his experience was real.

Funny how we never hear about Buddhists or Hindus (by which I mean, those that were raised in a non-Christian culture) having NDE's that involve the Christian hell.

I'd bet a *lot* that the atheist who had a hell NDE was raised as a Christian. I know what you mean, Corso, I was raised as a Catholic and it is hard to shake that early conditioning. But hell is exactly as real as the tooth fairy.

Corso · 05-08-2003, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stephen T-B
Corso - have you heard that non-Christians in many countries have what we might consider to be "heavenly" near death experiences.
How's that if only believers in Christ's divinty are supposed to get through the pearly gates?

I don�t know. I think there is a very good chance that NDEs are in fact, bogus. But I just can�t shake the notion that they might be an indication of the existence of an afterlife. This really scares me. I suppose some of you might think I�m being a little irrational about this whole subject. That may be the case, but I�m just being honest to myself.

Salmon of Doubt · 05-08-2003, 11:36 AM

Are you equally as scared by concepts of hell or punishment in other cultures? Or is it just the Christian hell that you're worried about. Are you equally as frightened about not being a good Muslim or Hindu? If not, you should consider why not. Does Christianity have some defining feature that sets it aside as 'probably true', or is it just about pressure from society and peers?

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05-08-2003, 11:36 AM	#53
Salmon of Doubt Regular Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: UK Posts: 150	Are you equally as scared by concepts of hell or punishment in other cultures? Or is it just the Christian hell that you're worried about. Are you equally as frightened about not being a good Muslim or Hindu? If not, you should consider why not. Does Christianity have some defining feature that sets it aside as 'probably true', or is it just about pressure from society and peers?

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