What do others think on this?
In 4th grade (elementary school level), one of my classmates learned that I was not Catholic. At the time, I was Methodist. That kid told me that because I wasn't Catholic, I was going to burn in Hell for all eternity. Muslims aren't the only ones who indoctrinate their kids with hatred of those who are not "of the faith." Which is why I added comments to the thread that my disdain for religion wasn't selective.
There is no respect for others religious beliefs or non-religious beliefs.
I have found that in many religions. Southern Baptists are another group that can be pretty seriously judgmental. Right now the Methodists (my parents' religion) are undergoing a major split over LGBTQ+ treatment. And today's newspaper said that priests cannot perform same-sex marriages but they CAN bless same-sex couples. I didn't read the whole article but it was interesting because I can see yet another controversy springing up over a "progressive" pope who was TRYING for a touch more inclusion than was present before.
The problem with this cross-religion condemnation is that something that SHOULD be a unifying force isn't, and hasn't been for a long time. Both Isaac and Adam have their deep religious beliefs, which is fine with me. But both have at times played the "condemned to Hell" card in past discussions. To which I simply reply, "Nope."
I see the problem as a believer telling you what they believe God has put into being, and your mistake is thinking that the believer him/herself put that into being and somehow wished it all into the way they are describing.
The weak point in this, Isaac, is that you are uttering words of condemnation for something that you cannot prove even exists. Yes, you believe it. I see that and acknowledge that it is your belief. But if you are a skeptic, then you are condemning someone despite skepticism. If I'm going to make a permanent enemy, I'd want to be sure that I'm right. For a religion that claims to be based on love but ALSO is based on faith rather than proof, you are making a LOT of assumptions to be telling someone they will burn in Hell.
I've been to Hell, thanks. The torment of watching my mother degenerate into the living darkness of Alzheimer's Disease was bad enough, but when my father died, I became her sole caregiver and watched every step downwards, helpless to stop it and with no shoulders to cry on. At the time, I didn't even have a lady friend. I didn't dare take time off for a vacation. I had to turn down a BIG promotion where I worked because I knew I couldn't travel as the job would have required. I seriously considered suicide. I understood misery.
This was the time when I turned to the Bible for help, comfort, and solace - only to find all of the words empty, generic, and not at all helpful. When I read the Bible under those circumstances, that is when I found it to be misunderstood. I realized the Bible didn't tell me about God. It told me the beliefs of people who believed in God - i.e. second-hand smoke. And I couldn't even inhale because it all dissolved once I reached that understanding. I was reading just another book on mythology. There is nothing quite so wrenching as to realize that your own parents propagated the deception because they didn't know any better either.
Once I reached that understanding, though, the "big guy always looking over my shoulder" feeling disappeared, once and for all. It was truly liberating to realize that I could judge myself without that perpetual second-guessing of whether the "eye in the sky" was going to hold me accountable for a lusty thought or a marginally unkind word now and then.
I don't have to "wish away" the fate you describe, Isaac, because - like Voodoo - you have to believe in it first. Otherwise it has NO power over you. The "afterlife" beliefs that are common to many religions are just - in my opinion - people wishing away what THEY don't want to happen, even though there is a very simple description in Ecclesiastes 9:5 and a few more verses regarding death - as non-existence. I have been that way (and so have you). Before you were conceived, you were non-existent. After you die you will be non-existent. There is a certain symmetry to it. All that talk of Heaven, Elysium, Gehenna, Hell, Valhalla, etc. are just people wishing and hoping that death doesn't lead to non-existence because that frightens them with its ultimate finality. But there is nothing to fear in death. It is dying that might be a bit ugly. But once you are done, you are DONE. No pain, no torment, no suffering, no memory... no awareness at all. Nothing.
