While trying to ignore Fatty and Bats, my advice is this: Akin to what Bats was saying (even though I'm trying to ignore it), stay away from bat-s**t crazy fundamentalists of any religion. Bat-s**t crazy Christians condemn others to hell and blow up abortion clinics. Bat-s**t crazy Muslims condemn others to hell and fly airplanes into buildings. I'm uneducated to speak on bat-s**t crazy Hindus, so maybe someone can fill us in on those. As an agnostic, I'd be uncomfortable raising a child in any particular religion, bat-s**t craziness notwithstanding. Bottom line: unless you're a bat-s**t crazy fundamentalist yourself, you won't be happy in a relationship unless you're with another bat-s**t crazy fundamentalist. Find someone whose beliefs match your own, and go from there.
I think it's fairly obvious that your problem is with bat**** crazy humans and it has nothing to do with religion. Bat**** crazy atheists and agnostics are equally bat**** crazy, just less visible because they don't number in the billions like the religions you mentioned. Just a thought.
I grew up in the Episcopal church and I'm pretty sure that the idea that non-believers go to hell is a fairly mainstream Christian belief, but it usually gets soft pedaled. Even as a little kid, that just seemed so crazy to me, that I was extremely sceptical of official religous doctrine from an early age. If I remember correctly there was a story about Bush and his mom debating this and going to Billy Graham for an answer. aahhh yes. Here it is. America's pastor believes non-Christians are going to hell.
I thought it was rare to see a Jewish female marry outside her faith. Maybe it isn't as uncommon as I had believed.
I've dated 3 Jewish girls seriously and I'm as Indian as they come. It really isnt that uncommon at all.
Durvasa is correct. There are plenty of Christians who don't believe in non-believers going to hell. ...Or maybe not the same kind of hell that has been talked about in this thread. If we look at hell as a literal place that is full of fire and brimstone, and stuff then it would mean that Gandhi is going to hell while Hitler will end up in heaven. If, according to the bible, God is Love, and also just, then that is neither. Really having anyone burn and suffer for all eternity isn't love. But there are other ways to look at hell, which do seem. If Hell means separation from God then I think almost ALL Christians believe in that kind of hell. As for heaven, Jesus himself said the Kingdom of heaven is inside you. I'm not a scholar, but I've heard Scholars who are Christian and don't believe in a physical hell but rather a spiritual one discuss it.
Why the hell does it matter to you how people think about you????? Been following this board for years and this doesn't sound like you.
I'm in a mixed-faith marriage. My wife is a fundamentalist Christian and I'm an athiest. We have 2 (soon to be 4) children. My wife thinks I'm probably going to Hell. We're raising the children in the church. If they become Christians, they will -- or should -- likely believe I'm going to Hell. It was a big issue for us before we married, and it almost scuttled the wedding. It is hard on a believer to think the person you love and will share an identity with your whole life will go to Hell at the end. It's not as hard on me. I merely think my wife is mistaken and not much will come of it in the hereafter; not a big deal. I agreed to raise the children Christian because it meant a lot more to my wife than it did to me. Again, if I'm right and my children are wrong, nothing much will come of it. Besides, I didn't want them to grow up to be jack-asses forever mocking people of faith in online communities. I have not yet explained to them about my atheism, but the oldest is only 4. My wife is Presbyterian (PCA) and, doctrinally, believes that God chooses those who are saved (as opposed to Baptists, for example, who believe people must choose to follow God to be saved). So, one, she can never be sure that I am damned, and two, there is nothing I can do to fix it. It doesn't bother me that my wife or children would believe I'm going to Hell. I may see in the end if I was wrong. In fact, it would bother me a great deal if she couldn't muster the intellectual honesty of that conclusion when it is pretty obvious in the Bible. I would think less of her if she caved to the cognitive dissonance and rationalized a way I wasn't going to Hell. Anyway, this seems way too early for you to be wondering about. You don't even have a prospective mother to your children at this point. You might marry an atheist, or never have children, or have conversion experience.
Very interesting situation you got there, brother. I'm sure your wife has considered that she might be eternally without you after death--wouldn't that take some of the luster off the idea of being in heaven? Personally, I would rather be in hell with the ones I love than in heaven alone.
Depends on your doctrine, I suppose. She would tell you that "till death do we part" is pretty literal -- as in, death is the end of the marriage covenant, even if you're both in Heaven. Moreover, since God is all-sufficient, and all brokenness is restored, she will be okay with the separation. My absence couldn't really impinge on the infinite perfection of God, could it? Besides, if you wanted to make Hell a place of torment, you certainly wouldn't let the damned be with their loved ones anyway.
Good point. The whole thing just seems so absurd to me, but then so is the idea of disembodied souls. I do hope that your children grow up in an environment where they are encouraged to think freely and critically, and I think it's great that they have access to such varied perspectives.
I'm not worried about the kids. It's possible to develop prejudices against atheism or Christianity growing up depending on the environment, but that wouldn't be the parenting we would be providing regardless of our religious convictions. I do think it will be helpful for them to see what rigorous religious doctrine looks like on the one hand, and what real science is showing on the other so they can make their choices in an educated way. Then, chips will fall where they may. (As an aside, my wife would also not believe in disembodied souls. She's not a dualist. Souls would be one with bodies, even in Heaven. Also, she's vague on what Hell is, since there isn't a lot of Scriptural guidance; it is probably a mischaracterization to talk about wanting to Hell a place of torment. Her doctrine is that the torment stems primarily from eternal separation from God. But, who knows? I'll resurrect this thread when I find out.)
I brought this up in the "Atheists" thread that to accept a particular faith does imply a rejection, on some level, of another faith. It seems to me that if you don't believe in Christianity and a Christian view of Heaven and Hell what does it matter if Christians believe you are going to Hell? Do Christians feel insulted if a Hindu tells them they are going to be reborn as banana slugs for not following the Dharma?
At least until a natural disaster, terrorist attack or any other tragedy. Then their minds tend to close up considerably.
The Bible states there is a hell. So, Christians who believe there is no hell are not Christians at all.
The bible refers to different things as hell, including the ruins of a physical burnt out place that was on earth at the time it was written. For instance one of the words that ends up translated to hell is Gehenna, which was the valley where dead animals and waste were burned. So are you saying that when non-Christians die they will all go to that valley that was in Hinnom forever?
