Were you ever afraid of going to hell?

[DigitalFudge]

I mean, from age 6 to about 12 or 13 I was truly conflicted on God, hell, and what gay really meant for my soul.


Then I realized that religion is bullshit and God makes no mistakes so now I'm unbothered. Did you guys have these fears? Do you still do? How long did it take you to get over them, or do they still weigh down on you?


If you did once feel this way, how did you get over it?

[DeafFoxDemon]

I believe that we would not know until we dead. I mean if he is such a merciful God, he would love us no matter what because we all SIN anyway. It is not like that being gay is hurting anyone or killing anyone.

[DigitalFudge]

I believe that we would not know until we dead.

I'm not going to extrapolate anything from that statement. However, I'm guessing that you believe enough about your religion/God/Holy text that being gay is a sin? Granted, like wearing mixed fabrics and eating shellfish.


At the end of the day you still believe that there is a chance you would get thrown in hell for sucking that good D?

[RaKroma]

I had genuine fear of hell up until 20ish when I stopped attending religious sermons. Now, I'm just too cynical of these issues to take them seriously anymore.

[bort138]

I was raised without religion. Was never baptized. Never went to church with my family. Never would have given it a second thought if not for it's prevalence in our culture and the number of people who believe in a literal hell.

So the answer is no. Never bothered me one bit. If I was to fear a hell, I could never decide which one to be afraid of anyways. Is it the one that non-Christians go to? The one that non-True Christians go to? The one that non-Muslims go to? Some hell from some other religion that isn't even practiced anymore?

[miguelfukt]

The only way your not gonna go to hell is by confessing that Jesus is Gods son and believing it in your heart and telling others!

[DigitalFudge]

As such, I was not taught to fear God and Hell but to revere, which is quite different. I guess a parallel is that one might appreciate the power of an elephant, or even a domestic cow, but not necessarily fear it.

That's beautiful.


I take it you are still religious?

Then I thought it was stupid that "God" would threaten to send us to hell if we don't believe in him even though he never shows up or says hi or anything. (Selfish much?)

And I thank God (<---expression. lol) that my parents never went to church growing up. Because all the brainwashing would've made such independent, unbiased thinking impossible. I'd be dealing with a whole set of issues I never could imagine dealing with.

Your first paragraph really lays down the foundation for the argument that religion and many aspects of God are simply man made. Created to control the masses and enslave us. All points that I have thought held much value.

Something interesting you brought up in your second pargraph was church and I actually went to church most if not all of my childhood. My parents weren't crazy about it but we simply went every Sunday. Fortunately for me both my parents believed (And still do) in love and respect above all else. I saw one of my sister's go from boarderline cult behavior to basically throwing "God" away in the span of my entire life. The things she put her kids through because Harry Potter was "Secular" and that the world was the "Devil". To be honest she's even worse now and it has nothing to do with religion or God. She's just a selfish witch. Funny how they didn't go over that in the Bible.

A mess.

[backagain]

I'm not going to extrapolate anything from that statement. However, I'm guessing that you believe enough about your religion/God/Holy text that being gay is a sin? Granted, like wearing mixed fabrics and eating shellfish.


At the end of the day you still believe that there is a chance you would get thrown in hell for sucking that good D?

Only with the gif
That fucker is going to talk to me forever into eternity.

[DigitalFudge]

I had genuine fear of hell up until 20ish when I stopped attending religious sermons. Now, I'm just too cynical of these issues to take them seriously anymore.

I couldn't imagine holding onto those fears past the age of 15, hell 13 was still too late for me looking back but at the same time I feel like me evolving past those fears at 13 was a true feat. Especially with these Ex-Gheighs and self loathing republicans in their 40s.

So the answer is no. Never bothered me one bit. If I was to fear a hell, I could never decide which one to be afraid of anyways. Is it the one that non-Christians go to? The one that non-True Christians go to? The one that non-Muslims go to? Some hell from some other religion that isn't even practiced anymore?

See? Doesn't it just sound so messy? It's embarrassing I even entertained it.

The only way your not gonna go to hell is by confessing that Jesus is Gods son and believing it in your heart and telling others!

I see.

[DeafFoxDemon]

I'm not going to extrapolate anything from that statement. However, I'm guessing that you believe enough about your religion/God/Holy text that being gay is a sin? Granted, like wearing mixed fabrics and eating shellfish.


At the end of the day you still believe that there is a chance you would get thrown in hell for sucking that good D?

No, you misunderstood.. what I mean by that is We will not know what will happen to us until we dead.. there may or may not be an afterlife. I am not afraid of going to hell for being gay, but when i was a kid, I was afraid of that. I recognized that Bible are written by old men from thousand years ago, and time have change since then

[DigitalFudge]

Only with the gif
That fucker is going to talk to me forever into eternity.

And you will love every second of it.

[zoltanspawn]

Hunger, cold, filth, poverty, stupidity and pain are the qualities of hell that are most palpable to me.

I'm afraid of them.

[DigitalFudge]

No, you misunderstood.. what I mean by that is We will not know what will happen to us until we dead.. there may or may not be an afterlife. I am not afraid of going to hell for being gay

Ah I see, thanks for the clarification

Hunger, cold, filth, poverty, stupidity and pain are the qualities of hell that are most palpable to me.

I'm afraid of them.

Talk that TALK

[backagain]

And you will love every second of it.

That knee kick doesn't do it for me.
That blah blah blah is hell.

[eastofeden]

No...never been afraid.

I think that hell (and heaven) exists right here...inside every one of us...

[Rickrock]

Sure I was afraid of going to hell, especially as a kid. Even the first several times I masterbated, I was scared. I still believe in heaven and hell, but I have more experience to compare myself to and don't think that I am all that bad. There is a heck of a lot that is grey in the world compared to what is totally black or white. I think that God will take that into consideration when judging us and give us some slack. I think that it is possible to go to hell, but much more likely that I won't. I generally try to do the right thing to the best of my ability and can't really believe that I will go to hell.

[Rickrock]

P.S. to my above post. I think that God judges us by where we are coming from and what we have to work with and takes that into consideration.

[Audio Tech]

I was raised Catholic..... it took me 45 YEARS to break that mind conditioning. I'm happy now.

The way I see it, IF I go to hell, I'll be in better company than the so called Christians that hate me.

- - - Updated - - -

I was raised Catholic..... it took me 45 YEARS to break that mind conditioning. I'm happy now.

The way I see it, IF I go to hell, I'll be in better company than the so called Christians that hate me.

[IAMTHATIAM]

Umm... no one even understands this existence.

You postulate another which can not be understood.

All I can surmise is this... a human mind belongs in a human body, and
without the other the first degenerates into madness.


So.... salvage your mind?


No.


Honest. YES


Are you more? Yes. Is the more that your grown? Maybe?

What does that mean?

Nothing, except a human mind is not enduring.

A human mind is only meaningful within a human brain/body, outside it is NOTHING OF CONSIQUENCE.

Sorry we are finite.

Want to be some imaginary being enduring forever and growing always?

That is not humanity. You are some new form of creation. Good luck, delusional being.

[EuroSoccer]

I don't believe in afterlife, but if there was something after death, I would rather go to Hell.
Heaven seems just so boring.

[spiderpig1013]

Hell and Heaven seem a bit too fantastic for me. I don't know what the heck happens, but I am hoping for a peaceful exit and reincarnation. First Law of Thermodynamics: the internal energy of an isolated system is constant and energy can be transformed from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed. Makes sense.

[Nishin]

No
I never believed in Hell, or in the reasons why people would be sent there ...

[unloadonme]

No. For as far back into my childhood as I can remember, I've never has religious beliefs of any kind. Talk of God, the devil, heaven and hell struck me then, as now, as complete mumbo jumbo.

[peeonme]

At one time, when I realized that I was gay at about 15 or 16 it hit me that God had to really hate me. This fit my mind set as I was raised to believe that I was no good and hated.
I set out to find a cure for my gayness, at 19 I became what was referred to as a Jesus freak back in the '70's, it was preached and taught amongst us that Jesus could and would cure, heal and deliver anyone from anything... also that if one did not accept Jesus as the bible shows him then an angry God would send them to burn in hell forever, of course it was said that God didn't want to do it, but we left him no choice, hence it was our fault, not God's.
It was also taught that one could slip from God's grace very easily and be back on the path to hell in an instant, just for things like "lust", you know, like "wow, is that person hot"
I actually did believe that I was str8 and Jesus had changed me, when I found myself checking out a guy I wrote it off as satan tempting me, that's what we were taught.
As I grew older and read other books besides the bible, about archeology , evolution, anthropology and such I had to question the bible verses science, I had to reject the "young earth" theory that was prevalent in churches, I found myself in the end questioning the churches concept and teachings about God.
The church taught the same message that my family taught me as a child, "it's all your fault, you loser!"
What bullshit! So Adam and Eve sinned, some how that ended up making me gay and now I will go to hell for having no choice in this?
Again, bullshit!
A true loving God would never send a person who never asked to be born, never heard the message of the gospel to eternal torment,
he would never hate a boy that has ne choice in his sexuality, he would not be the mean vengeful God portrayed in the Bible, religion
controls people, it gives some power over others, it is a feeble attempt to explain the pain and suffering that we see, it is man made.
Yes, I believe in God, but not the one that I was introduced to, and hell no, I am not "afraid"

[MisterMajestic]

If you're a born again Christian you do fear The Wrath of God. As Christians we accept Jesus as our personal Savior & Follow the Scripture. Every believer has his own relationship with The Lord and our acts are written in the Book of Life.

Just like Non-believers find it hard to believe Christians believe in a God they can't see We Christians find it hard to believe Non-Believers believe in Nothing.

But, God did make Man in his own image..So go figure...

[Corny]

Hell, no.

[rareboy]

I don't think so.

[jensu846]

going to hell is the biggest fear i have after death... i dont think its cuz im gay or anything, I just dont lead the lifestyle the bible preaches. i cant fathom how scary and painful hell is.

[bankside]

No. I think it is imaginary, harmful, twisted nonsense. Unlike a good novel, where people realise the author just made it up and they can get on with enjoying the ideas or learning from them, the harm in believing in god comes from actually taking it seriously. I would empathize with what is really someone else's personal tragedy of belief, and then not worry about it too much, except for the the fact that a large percentage of believers expect the rest of us to take it seriously too.

As far as "Hell" in particular, even as a young child, at an age when there was really no difference between santa and gnomes and jesus and unicorns and wizards and vampires and pegasus and Mr. Hooper, and Mr. Snuffleupagus, I was not afraid of this "Satan" character. I thought he just needed a good talking-to.

[HunterM]

I was afraid...until I saw a picture of the devil here.

[Nick4444]

It wasn't the thought of hell that scared me as a child, but the thought of still being here on earth at the time of the end of the world ... I used to have dreams, for example, of being out in a park at night with a group of people, noticing the stars suddenly change and expand, as if falling to the earth, then feeling the earth be flipped over and everyone around me falling off the earth, while I cling desperately to the grass and soil. Another one was seeing me as a middle-aged businessman, dressed in expensive natty suit and tie, standing outside a tall building in Hong Kong, then in the background huge yellow and red eruptions of flames as massive nuclear bombs explode ...

As far as judgment of the gay sex thing, at my first encounter, and thereafter while I was surrounded by other dancing gays, I couldn't help but feel that something fundamental (and possibly fatal) had occurred (soul-wise), much as Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas described the feelings at his first experience. Wrestling with it, I realized that their were in fact, no Christian issues -- the texts, if properly understood, seem to concern themselves with taking sex to an extreme (which is pretty easy to do)

[njcollegekid]

im too scientifically oriented to be religious. yes i know the two arent always mutually exclusive; and that while science has disproved most of what man says about god, it has not disproved the notion of a god.
but if there is a heaven and hell; id much prefer hell. if you think about it, sataniel fell from grace out of his pride, and the notion that he did not have to do as god commanded - he desired freedom 'better rule in hell than serve in heaven'. by that interpretation of the mythology, god is the tyrant, and sataniel - now fallen and thus losing the angelic 'iel'/'ael' to become satan - is a freedom fighter. besides, sins most certainly would not be allowed in heaven itself. this means no sex except to make babies, no getting drunk, no feasting, nothing fun.

[Ichigofang16]

Ha never had that fear, I realized when i was like 10 that religion is a way for society to curve behavior. Yes it might give others hope but too many people abuse the system and try to bring about control on others. + think about it this way, if the big guy is up there--if he really didn't want you doing something he could stop you right? Also the bible or whatever religious book one follows was written by a human being --not the almighty, so its another human trying to tell you what THEY BELIEVE is right and wrong, not the deity. Until God or who ever sends down a golden rule book with blazing holy letters and in its presents all the impossible is possible, I will not bow to the words of a corrupt human being seeking to control me.

[Sha-Rok]

I wasn't explicitly exposed to religion. I've been to church 10 times or less my entire life. I can't take it serious enough to follow. So no, I do not fear going to hell. Personally, I would love to explore the universe and different dimensions in the afterlife.

[Nick4444]

I was afraid...until I saw a picture of the devil here.

actually quite tempting

[RazielJD]

I was afraid of going to hell when I was a lot younger. But now that I'm a free thinking atheist, the fear of going to hell is a nonissue.

[FanofFiction]

I was afriad of hell. Then I grew up. I know God loves me and that homosexuality is not a sin. I love God and I know my husband and I are both going to heaven.

[HoodedRat]

Nope.
I was brought up in an agnostic/atheistic family, so I was never infected by any of that religious-guilt-trip nonsense.

[justanothershyguy]

Nope. My family/church never instilled the fear of God into anyone.

[CowboyBob]

Hell... you mean like burning, whipping and gnashing of teeth? Cast into the lake of fire-type Hell?

The one where demons torment you for all eternity. The medieval fright-fest where clergy dreamed this up to control you.

Nope.

[LeicsDom]

How can you be afraid of something that doesn't exist??

[HunterM]

When I was a boy, I was more afraid of going blind by jerking off too much than going to hell when I die.

[njcollegekid]

Ha never had that fear, I realized when i was like 10 that religion is a way for society to curve behavior.

this.
my parents never brought me up religous. basically, they believe (as do i), that religion is often used as a crutch for the weak-minded. or as a means of control and way to placate the masses.

[DigitalFudge]

If you're a born again Christian you do fear The Wrath of God.

Not here for it

[zoltanspawn]

I find the prevalent christian notion that hell is a place of 'punishment for sin' distasteful and dumb.

But I don't think that accounts for every notion of hell. I think it's fair to say that hell is an idea about extreme states of human misery, and judge its fearfulness and worth from there.

How can you be afraid of something that doesn't exist??

Amongst the *most* common, and most terrifying, of our fears are those things that don't exist.

[Stoowii]

Is there a place worse than hell? Cuz I don't think me going to hell will stop me from fucking with guys. Not unless the devil is okay with it.

Seriously, though. I was afraid at first. I'd say I thought a lot about it during middle school. Then around senior year in high school, I figured God wouldn't have an ounce of negativity in him and he'd love me just the way I was/am.

So I shall rock these wings betta than any Victoria's Secret model eva could!

[Beachguyj]

Nope, never believed in hell.

[kindabikindagay]

I have and I think I still am.. but if it's a sin then you can always repent, no?

[BFizzle]

Is there a place worse than hell?

Florida...

[nfgrls]

no, from a young age I knew that there was no Easter Bunny, Santa, or the rest so naturally I didn't believe in all the religious junk.