What is Hell, according to Christians?

What is the definition of childish?

 

I have heard a quote about the devil that goes something like:
"Satan visits the other angels before God, presumably in heaven. When God asked Satan where he had been, Satan replied, From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it".

Is this actually from the bible and as such the Devil is capable of going in and out of Heaven?

 

I can give a personal opinion, but keep in mind I'm an atheist, so take it with a grain of salt I suppose.

I take it to be a total separation from god and true understanding becomes unattainable. To further this, I think it may put you in a state of total self writhing and pity, you will be totally lost within your own despair and uncertainty. You have defeated your self. When self becomes what you are all about, that's all you are left with, a broken shell of yourself.

Or maybe it's just fire and whips?

 

Well the Jews thought the dead went to Sheol, which was just their word for the underworld. And the first Christians, like Jesus himeself, were all Jewish of course. The word hel itself is of Norse origin - again being their word for the underworld. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hel_(realm)

The Christian perspective of how Hell came to be equated with suffering is explained in my previous post - it is a fusion of the idea of choosing not to be part of a new kingdom on earth - the Kingdom of God, with the idea of an immortal soul, which is not of Judeo Christian origin. Early Christianity is a fusion of radical Jewish thought, with Greek philosophy.

Check out this stuff about the origin of the idea of the soul:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soul

 

Hell does have a purpose:

 

Lol!
Some say that hell is eternal torture in a spiritual world, some say that it will be punishment for sins in this world, others say that it is a separation of God that is as painful as such torture. Some say it's punishment for rejection of a Christian God, some say it's punishment for rejection of an Islamic God. They all have on thing in common though!

It's the ultimate way to try and scare the crap out of those who disagree with you!



(lol @ Immolation's pic too! That one also fits into the Buddhist/Hindu theology of Karma! )

 

if your in hell do you get a chance to repent after a duration spent there?
chance to redeem yourself?

or is that it... for eternity?

 

It depends on who you ask - a priest might be a good place to start. Or maybe you could check out a Christian book shop, but anyone who wishes to do so for the first time will have to be prepared to drop everything they think they know about Jesus or Christianity. Look into it as an empty vessel, that is, with an open mind rather than just looking for things that suport your existing views. There is a LOT of anti-Christian prejudice around right now, but I think the tide may be starting to turn a little here in the UK.

 

i am open minded and like to talk about it... a few questions that i'd like replied to as answers mean 'fact'.
Nobody has the facts, just the basis for the faith if you understand?

 

Well I guess if you want to ask any questions about what it means to spend time in hell, you need to take as your basis an understanding of what it is, and ideas vary widely. My other postings here, if accepted as a starting point, indicate that hel is the norse term for the underworld, used as a way of translating into English the idea of Gehenna - the rubbish dump outside Jerusalem. In this sense, Gehenna / hell is a way of explaining that if you wish to exclude yourself from "God's Kingdom" which would be a new, egalitarian kind of society on earth, you would be, or remain to be very unhappy indeed for as long as you did so. Any time before death that you wish to repent and turn your life over to serving the greater good, you will be forgiven and accepted into God's Kingdom. God's Kingdom in this context describes a very communal non-materialistic way of living where no one has any special status based on wealth, inheritence, family or profession. It's kind of Communism with soul. The hope is by everyone serving the greater good above their individual needs or desires, the world will be best preserved for the next generation, and the next, and the next. But to achieve this, people will have to cease their self-centred ways forever.

 

i have never been christened nor been to church... that was my upbringing into a non religious family.

although i believe in god, have my faith and act towards others accordingly, am i any less of a christian?

 

What is Hell? Hell is where im going when i die to meet up with the rest of the family

 

I would say that providing you are sincerely serving the greater good then you are certainly fine in my book. A Unitarian perspective is that there are other faith paths to God, not just Christianity. But Christianity explains God in a specific way, so you are probably not a Christian unless you are trying to follow Jesus' example of how to live and how to serve God.

I personally think that sincere benevolent actions are probably the most important thing.

 

I think for an awful of lot of Christians, Hell will be when they get into Heaven and find that it's full of Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists.... etc.

 

Here's the kind of hell that MAist's will go through.

15 MINUTE HELL!!!
http://15minutehell.com/

 

Can you imagine, you finally pass to the otherside, your in heaven, then that annoying pratt you hated from back at school is there and you cant get away from him!