Reading Time: 4 minutes Hell is a grave topic. Everyone is going there according to the doctrines of one religion or another. No one of us is safe. And for Eastern religions, every one of us has already been to hell many times over. Owing to spotty police work in antiquity, the idea of a torturous afterlife arose to […]
afterlife
Posted inDeath & Dying
Imagine there’s no heaven. Is it always easy if you try?
Reading Time: 4 minutes I have my own convictions about what happens after we die. As a person with a terminal illness, I’ve had good reason to explore the topic. But do I have to insist that others join me in that conviction?
Posted inCulture
Atheists who believe in ghosts
Reading Time: 3 minutes Credulity is an odd mix with atheism. After all, the atheist has had to wade through a large network of theological ideas, parse them, critique them, and reject them. This requires incredulity to begin with, and it enlarges incredulity along the way. Such intellectual labor is like attending a seminary of impiety where multi-year courses […]
Posted inReligion
9 responses to Christian hell
Reading Time: 3 minutes An all-loving God sends people to burn in hell forever. What sense does that make?
Posted inMeaning & Purpose
There is a secular afterlife
Reading Time: 4 minutes My family church here in Indonesia offers an online Bible study. One day, at my parents’ request, I helped them navigate to the page. The theme of the day was “Being brave facing death.” In support, a common proverb was offered: urip mung mampir ngombe—”Life is just stopping by to drink.” The proverb invites us […]
Posted inDeath & Dying
When Christianity becomes a death cult
Reading Time: 4 minutes The logic of Christianity leads to the disturbing conclusion that if heaven is better than this life, then death is a good and desirable outcome.
Posted inSatire
Letters from the damned
Reading Time: 3 minutes From Cro-Magnon Woman: All of us Cro-Magnons—the men, the women, and the children—are here in hell. Not a one made it elsewhere. When I say ‘men’ and ‘women’ I mean what you would call late teens and young adults, because few of us Cromies lived very long. Not a white hair upon a Cromie’s head. […]
Posted inParenting & Family
I’m nonreligious, and I kind of hope reincarnation is a real thing
Reading Time: 2 minutes Like a good little Evangelical, I spent much of my childhood worried about going to heaven. Though, it wasn’t all bad. The idea that I’d get to see my little sister who passed away as a baby was comforting. When I left Christianity in my early adult years, I had no trouble ditching the Bible, […]
Posted inCritical thinking
How ghost stories helped me live my life to the fullest
Reading Time: 4 minutes It was a dark and stormy night. Really. A few weeks ago, we had a crazy storm blow through. I was snuggled up in my bed with the house to myself. My favorite gardenia scented candle was burning, my nose buried in a book, and a cup of chamomile tea on my nightstand. The only […]
Posted inReligion
Yes, But WHICH Hell Shall We Fear? (Journey Into Hell #1)
Reading Time: 6 minutes Hi and welcome back! After I ran that post about how my fear of Hell got burned out of me one night, some folks wanted some more info about what I learned about Hell afterward. It’s been a long time since we talked much about Hell, so I thought that sounded like a marvelous idea! […]