Apostate Aladdin
1. Acceptance and Awareness 2. Seek Others 3. Keep a List 4. Ground Yourself 5. Trust "God" (if you believe) 6. Submit to the Plot 7. Control your Exposure 8. Seek Knowledge 9.Identify the Source 10. Seek Help
Recovering from Religion
In this discussion Hayley Twyman Brack speaks about the fear of hell. We will discuss why even non-believers may experience residual fear of hell, long after they have deconverted. We will also explore the science behind the fear and resources for support.
Holy Koolaid
Is eternal life actually a good idea? While many religions offer eternal life as an incentive for belief, when you really think about it, the prospect of an eternal life that never ends sounds less like heaven and more like a hellish nightmare! Even the thought of something as wonderful as heaven is bad, worse - it's terrible - in the context of eternity!
Religiolog
What is more effective stick or carrot? Belief in Hell or in Heaven? Belief in a merciful forgiving god or belief in a wrathful, punishing god? In other words, belief in what kind of deities could prevent our ancestors from misbehaving? In his book "Big Gods: How Religion Transformed Cooperation and Conflict", published by Princeton University in 2013, (a psychology professor in University of British Columbia) Ara Norenzayan asks similar questions. So let's try to think why people need big omniscient and omnipotent punishing deities, and what might happen if other secular institutions will take over their function?
Recovering from Religion
David Teachout is a mental health therapist and photographer, focused on and teaching how creativity intersects with mental flexibility in working through the inevitable difficulties in life. David grew up as a Christian fundamentalist, attending a bible college and receiving a bachelors in theology and psychology. During his studies there, David de-converted and has been on a journey of more deeply appreciating the many nuances of humanity ever since. David has a master's in both forensic psychology and counseling psychology, and is currently at work on a doctorate in clinical psychology. David has been actively working within the field of psychology as therapist, social worker, advocate, and subject-matter-expert, for over fifteen years.
Terry Gross - NPR
Bart Ehrman says the ideas of eternal rewards and punishments aren't found in the Old Testament or in the teachings of Jesus. His new book is Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife.
Jacob McMillen
article
Jacob McMillen
"For instance, many Christians insist that if you question hell, you are rejecting what has always been agreed upon by the Church, yet the doctrine of eternal torment was not a widely held view for the first five centuries after Christ, particularly in the early Eastern Church, the Church of the early apostles and Church fathers such as Paul, Clement of Alexandria, St. Gregory of Nyssa, Origen, and others." "But here's the problem. Aiรณn means "Age", not "forever". And even worse, ton means "of", NOT "and". For example, Abraham was the father of (ton) Isaac. ALL THREE WORDS of this phrase are completely mistranslated. What it actually says is "Ages of the Ages"." "Eternal torment was not a pillar of church doctrine for the first 5 centuries after Christ."
Skeptical Science
It is natural for those that have a religious background to retain a fear of hell. If this is the case then what can you do?
Valerie Tarico
"What's surprising is how few people have actually thought about what a nightmare this kind of existence would be." "Perfection means sameness." "Your best qualities are irrelevant." "Gone is the thrill of risk." "Forget animal pleasures like food, drink, sleep, and sex." "Free will ceases to exist." "Ninety eight percent of Heaven's occupants are embryos and toddlers." "Gems and streets of gold define heavenly wealth and beauty." "Take your pick of sadism or ignorance. โ One of Heaven's dirty little secrets is that it co-exists with hell." "Your celestial day (and night) job is to sing God's praises." "This Heaven goes on forever." "Selling shares in this Heaven is a multi-billion dollar industry."
Michael Schur
Due to an error, self-absorbed Eleanor Shellstrop arrives at the Good Place after her death. Determined to stay, she tries to become a better person.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Hell, in many religious traditions, the abode, usually beneath the earth, of the unredeemed dead or the spirits of the damned. Hell figures in religious cosmologies as the opposite of heaven, the nadir of the cosmos, and the land where God is not. Learn more about hell in this article.
Wikipedia
The problem of Hell is an ethical problem in Abrahamic religions in which the existence of Hell for the punishment of souls is regarded as inconsistent with the notion of a just, moral, and omnibenevolent God. It derives from four key propositions: Hell exists; it is for the punishment of people whose lives on Earth are judged to have been sinful; some people go there; and there is no escape.
Wikipedia
Hell (Arabic: ุฌููู โ, jahannam; Bengali: เฆเฆพเฆนเฆพเฆจเงเฆจเฆพเฆฎ; Malayalam: Naraka; Turkish: Cehennem) in Islam refers to an afterlife place of punishment for evildoers (i.e. hell). The punishments are carried in accordance with the degree of evil one has done during his life. In the Quran, Jahannam is also referred as al-Nar ุงููุงุฑโ ('The Fire'), Jaheem ุฌุญูู โ ('Blazing Fire'), Hutamah ุญุทู ุฉโ ('That which Breaks to Pieces'), Haawiyah ูุงููุฉโ ('The Abyss'), Ladthaa ูุธูโ, Sa'eer ุณุนูุฑโ ('The Blaze'), Saqar ุณูุฑโ, also the names of different gates to hell. Just like the Islamic heavens, the common belief holds that Jahannam coexists with the temporary world.Suffering in hell is both physical and spiritual, and varies according to the sins of the condemned. As described in the Quran, Hell has many levels (each one more severe than the one above it); each for a specific group of sinners); a blazing fire, boiling water, and the Tree of Zaqqum. Not all Muslims and scholars agree whether hell is an eternal destination or whether some or even all of the condemned will eventually be forgiven and allowed to enter paradise.
the Guardian
Abu Lahab explains how he renounced Islam, the faith of his birth and upbringing.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Hell - Hell - Islam: According to Islamic thought, the existence of hell (Jahannam) bears witness to God's sovereignty, justice, and mercy and also stands as a warning to individuals and nations of the definitive choice to be made between fidelity and infidelity, righteousness and iniquity, and life and death. The major Islamic schools agree that it is essential to one's identity as a Muslim to believe in and look forward to the day--or, more pointedly, the hour--when God will bring his creation to an end, raise the dead, reunite them with their souls, judge them one by one, and commit each individual, as he
โStuff You Should Know
What is Hell? It's complicated and depends on which religion you're talking about. We dive into this fiery mess and do our best to explain it.
Bart Ehrman
If there is one thing most people are certain of about the Bible, it is that it describes how after people die they will be rewarded with heaven or tormented in hell. But does it? As it turns out ... well, you'll be surprised by what the Bible actually says. And once your surprise fades, you'll probably want to know: where do the Christian ideas of the afterlife come from?
