Do you believe in heaven and hell?

[umsami]

I remember reading some Gallop poll or some such thing that said while a majority of Americans believed in heaven (and believed they were going there)... not very many believed that hell was an actual place. So, I'm curious... Do you believe in heaven/hell? Do you believe that everybody goes to heaven.... everybody goes to hell... or some such combo?

[ChasingPeace]

I voted that I believe in heaven, but not in hell--this is the closest to my beliefs. I actually don't believe heaven is a place but union (or reunion) with the Divine.

Edited to add: I believe that all eventually reunite with the Divine, although I don't know how this happens--are evil deeds atoned for through reincarnation or are we "purified" by feeling all the pain we've caused while on earth or does God just forgive us for our wrongdoings? I don't believe in hell as a place "sinners" are sent to for eternity.

[DaryLLL]

I believe in nirvana, samsara, hades, sheol, "heaven," and reincarnation/recycling.

Keeping my options open...

Who says we have to choose?

[cappuccinosmom]

I hesitated to vote. I guess I fall in the "I believe in heaven and hell and only members of my religious group go to heaven..." but I didn't really want to vote that. I know people who actually believe that only those who follow the rules of thier particular denomination/belief system *within* Christianity will go to heaven. You know the joke, were the angel says "Shhhh...be quiet as you pass this door. They're <insert denomination> and they think they're the only ones here"??

I do believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven. And that there is an open invitation to the world. The invitation doesn't exclude anyone of any religious group, or atheists, etc. but I guess once they accepted Christ, they'd stop being whatever they were, and become Christians, so, really, I guess I believe heaven is only open to Christians. I'm not sure how to word it. I think it's poorly phrased at the moment, but don't know how to fix that.

[Amandzia]

I believe that Heaven is being with God and you can go there if you want to. I believe purigitory is where you go if you aren't exactly ready for Heaven and need to be purified before going to Heaven. Maybe you have some sins or issues to work out.
I believe Hell is where you are if you reject God. I don't believe God puts people there. I believe people put themselves there when they reject God.

[stafl]

I do not believe in heaven or hell per se, but I do believe in a spiritual reality that is different than the physical reality in which we now live. I voted "other"

[Colorful~Mama]

oh

Originally Posted by Nursing Mother

I didn't vote because you didn't have my catagory.

I believe in heaven and a hell. Hell meaning seperation from God and Heaven meaning with God.

and that no particular "religious" group will get there.

....and I believe millions and millions will get there cause God's will is that ALL be saved and go to Heaven. Those who end up seperated from God will have chosen to be so.

once again you have said whats in my heart. You are so eloquent mama.

Those who end up seperated from God will have chosen to be so.

nods nods nods nods nods nods nods

[momto l&a]

Originally Posted by Nursing Mother

I didn't vote because you didn't have my catagory.

I believe in heaven and a hell. Hell meaning seperation from God and Heaven meaning with God.

and that no particular "religious" group will get there.

....and I believe millions and millions will get there cause God's will is that ALL be saved and go to Heaven. Those who end up seperated from God will have chosen to be so.

ITA with NM

[Free Thinker]

I don't believe in either heaven or hell. I don't know if there is an afterlife, and I choose not to dwell on exactly what it will be like if it exists. My family all belong to the "only our denomination will go to heaven" sect, which might make a good extra category, since I am assuming "religion" means Christianity in general, not specific denominations

[pugmadmama]

Originally Posted by Amandzia

...I believe Hell is where you are if you reject God. I don't believe God puts people there. I believe people put themselves there when they reject God.

If there is a G-d, I think G-d is much more powerful that that. I think the concept of Hell puts a limit on G-d's love and I just can't imagine that being so.

[Arduinna]

voted I don't believe in heaven or hell because it appeared from the poll that it was being defined as the heaven and/or hell of one religion or belief system. Since I am not a part of nor do I beleive in that belief system I voted as such.

[Kaitnbugsmom]

Originally Posted by cappuccinosmom

I hesitated to vote. I guess I fall in the "I believe in heaven and hell and only members of my religious group go to heaven..." but I didn't really want to vote that. I know people who actually believe that only those who follow the rules of thier particular denomination/belief system *within* Christianity will go to heaven. You know the joke, were the angel says "Shhhh...be quiet as you pass this door. They're <insert denomination> and they think they're the only ones here"??

I do believe that Jesus is the only way to heaven. And that there is an open invitation to the world. The invitation doesn't exclude anyone of any religious group, or atheists, etc. but I guess once they accepted Christ, they'd stop being whatever they were, and become Christians, so, really, I guess I believe heaven is only open to Christians. I'm not sure how to word it. I think it's poorly phrased at the moment, but don't know how to fix that.

It actually sounds perfectly clear to me, and very much my opinion as well.. I mean, I know 'the church of my youth' as it was, believes that only protestants go to heaven, specifically born-again Baptists who believe in the KJV as the ONLY accurate translation of the Word... I no longer believe all of their statements, {especially the KJV thing and the protestant thing} but I do believe in a personal relationship with Christ being central to entrance to Heaven..

[DesireeH]

I believe in heaven but not in hell. I do not believe that a loving Creator would condemn people to burn forever in a fiery torment. After all the Bible says that the wages sin pays is DEATH. It does NOT say the wages sin pays is burning for eternity. When the bible talks about Hades and Sheol I beleive that to be the common grave/ground.

I do believe in heaven but I do not believe I am going there. I have an earthly hope to live on a paradise earth.

[green betty]

I don't think that there is any way to know for sure what happens when you die (a lot of my religious practice is based on making peace with the unknown!)
My feeling is that we reunite with the divine and probably lose individual consciousness.
My religious tradition is based in Universalism, which means that all are saved. (Of course in 2004 most of us are saying, "Saved from what?") If God is a loving parent, how could he possibly condemn people to hell? No parent here would do that to their child, no matter what awful thing the kid did! And isn't God supposed to be more loving and compassionate than any human can even comprehend?

(Editing here to add comments) I think many religions use the concepts of heaven and hell to A) control behavior and B) take emphasis off the rich joys and responsibilites of this life to focus on the hereafter--a practice I consider sinful! We can create our own heaven AND hell in this lifetime, and have a responsibility to our world to create peace and sustainability, to meet the needs of all.

[Jazmommie]

I had to vote other --
my views are leaning toward the all goes to heaven /( do not believe in hell)
except those who choose to remain separated from God as NM said so well.

These are some quotes from some Edgar Cayce readings--
You grow to heaven ,you do not go to heaven.
All ye may know of heaven & hell is within your own self.
For hath not God given freedom of choice to every soul?and it is the heritage of every man,every soul--Freedom!
By sin came death;by the shedding of blood came freedom-freedom froma consciousness,into a greater consciousness.
For what ye sow,ye must reap.And remember,every experience is a conditional one.For choicemust be made daily.

God has not willed that any soul should perish & has made a way of escape for each.

[ShadowMom]

I voted that I don't believe in a heaven or a hell. I have no particular reason to believe that they exist, so I have no active belief in them.

[umsami]

At one point in my life, I did not believe in hell...or I believed that it was a separation from God. My belief in a "real" hell came to pass over time, mainly as I began to contemplate one of God's characteristics as the Most Just. If God is in fact just, than how can he treat somebody who worships him daily, performs acts of charity, etc. the same as somebody who murders many people (yes, I'm including the hijackers of 9-11 in that category)? That would not be justice.

Now, having said that, I do believe that God is the Most Merciful and Compassionate... so only God knows who will end up in which place. I pray that God's mercy allows me, my family, and friends to end up in heaven. There are numerous stories in Muslim tradition of God's mercy, such as the prostitute being forgiven all of her sins for giving a thirsty dog a drink, etc.

I do not believe that only Muslims will end up in heaven. Islam teaches that we will all be judged by our Prophets... so Jews will be judged by that which was revealed to Moses, Christians on that which was revealed to Jesus, etc. In the end, it will come down to our actions and deeds. We do not believe that belief in any one Prophet is a get-out-of-hell free card. Instead, we believe that God has assigned two angels to each of us to record our deeds...both good and bad. On the day of judgement, that record will be read. We believe that even our body parts may testify against us...so if it said that I stole make-up from K-mart when I was a teenager, and I denied it... my hand may speak saying that I did. (Yup, I did.) We also believe that those who we wronged are allowed to help themselves from our good deeds as a form of compensation. In the end, our good deeds and bad deeds are weighed. (Faith without action is useless.) In the end, it will come down to our deeds and God's mercy.

As an FYI, Dante's description of Hell having seven layers borrows heavily from the Qur'an. Hell is a "real" place with fire and brimstone, so to speak. It is said that the fire of hell is 70 times hotter than the fire on the earth. It is said that everytime your skin is destroyed by burning in hell, a new layer of skin grows so that you can experience the pain yet again. Not all will spend eternity in hell--although even one day there would be worse than any of us can imagine. It is said that anyone who has even a small amount of faith in God will eventually be released and admitted to Heaven, if God wills it.

Reminds me... did anybody see the Nova episode on String theory and how there could be parallel universes? Very fascinating!

Argh. Long post. Sorry.

[BelovedBird]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

voted I don't believe in heaven or hell because it appeared from the poll that it was being defined as the heaven and/or hell of one religion or belief system. Since I am not a part of nor do I beleive in that belief system I voted as such.

What Arduinna said. Except I voted other.

[sleeping queen]

I voted other. I believe in heaven and hell. The Bible says faith in Jesus as your saviour is how you go to heaven. Those that reject Jesus will go to hell.

[KoalaMama]

Originally Posted by Arduinna

voted I don't believe in heaven or hell because it appeared from the poll that it was being defined as the heaven and/or hell of one religion or belief system. Since I am not a part of nor do I beleive in that belief system I voted as such.

What she said!

Originally Posted by sleeping_queen

The Bible says faith in Jesus as your saviour is how you go to heaven. Those that reject Jesus will go to hell.

Does it actually say this in the bible? I don't want to hijack this thread, and I'm sure it's been addressed in other threads, so a link to a discussion elsewhere would be just fine.