Originally posted by lemon limeWell, bearing in mind that the bible was written by man, it needs to be understood in context. Clearly all 'hell' references were intended to cause 'fear' in the sinful and unfaithful and scare them in God's direction. Awe and fear are Christianity's bread a butter.
What does your Bible say? Do you own a Bible?
If you don't own a Bible I recommend the English Standard Version, because imo it comes the closest to rendering an accurate word for word translation into English.
The issue is, and has always been, about the disturbed mindset of an individual who would want a fellow Christian to burn in hell for all eternity. It doesn't matter if hell doesn't actually exist; as the malevolent intent clearly does. As an atheist i would have expected every Christian on the site to quickly distance themselves from those unchristian comments.
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Originally posted by Ghost of a DukeAre you sure you have a doctorate in theology? Any student of the Bible knows that Hell is not even a Biblical word and none can be derived from the Hebrew or the Greek.
Well, bearing in mind that the bible was written by man, it needs to be understood in context. Clearly all 'hell' references were intended to cause 'fear' in the sinful and unfaithful and scare them in God's direction. Awe and fear are Christianity's bread a butter.
The issue is, and has always been, about the disturbed mindset of an individual w ...[text shortened]... cted every Christian on the site to quickly distance themselves from those unchristian comments.
-Removed-It's my opinion that threads like this exist to gin up anger against Christians and Christianity... I thought I made that clear.
Your purpose appears to be two fold: attack Hinds for suggesting you are going to hell, and dismiss the lake of fire as being metaphorical and not a literal destination. If the purpose of this thread was not to attack Hinds and gin up anger against other Christians, you would not have claimed that what the lake of fire represents is irrelevant. It may not be relevant to the intended purpose of your OP, but it is relevant in context with the discussion that has taken place here.
But you are attempting even now to shift the focus of attention away from your claim of it (the lake of fire) being a metaphor, and back to how horrendous you believe this Biblical teaching is. Your unstated purpose is not difficult to identify, and you can't really claim (without lying) that I haven't committed myself to an opinion about anything... I've committed myself to understanding your true intent and purpose.
