MSNBC BREAKING: "Hell doesn't exist?"

[trof]

Honest to God.
They're actually giving air time to some fundy preacher who has concluded that hell doesn't exist.
Whew.
What a relief.
I'm goin' out and sin some.
:shrug:

[liberal N proud]

1. Without hell, how are they going to use the fear of not being saved?

[trof]

26. "Are you saved?" "No, I'm spent."

:rofl:

[iconoclastic cat]

2. Which is why Bush is trying to build one in Iraq. nt

[mod mom]

16. Now there's a "mission accomplished"!

[Donnachaidh]

3. if Hell doesn't exist -- then Heaven cannot either

So these Fundies should be out of a job. And expect all these people to go through religious *withdrawal*. :sarcasm:

[bryant69]

5. How does that follow?

I see the sarcasm tag, but I'm not sure it applies to - why can't you have a heaven without a hell?

Bryant

[Donnachaidh]

6. the balance of good versus evil

That is the basis of Christianity.

You cannot have one without the other.

[bryant69]

7. You are thinking of manichism (which I certainly just mispelled)

There are Christians that would agree with you I'm sure, and others who might well disagree. There's the theory that evil is an absence of good, that once the whole universe is light, there will be no more darkness. And if there is no more darkness, than there's no need for hell.

Bryant

[genie_weenie]

9. That's Zoroastriamism.

The ideas of Heavenly choirs with ranks of angels and legions of demons in hell came into Judaism (and subsequently Christianity) in Persia druing the Babylonian exile 2600 years ago.

[bryant69]

4. Are all Christians Fundys in your mind?

Or how do you know he's a fundy?

Cause saying their's no hell is pretty far from what most fundementalists would do, in my opinion.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[trof]

25. There are many strange and magical things in my mind.

;-)

[MUAD_DIB]

8. Of course it is real!

I mean everybody knows that God is so righteous that if you break one commandment, and don't repent for it, you will suffer for an eternity for it.

What other scientific proof do you need than faith?

[Double T]

10. Let the sinnin' and grinnin' begin.

:evilgrin:

[Tyler Durden]

11. Carlson Pearson and the Gospel of Inclusion

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/127/story_12772_1.html

"The Gospel of Inclusion is the exciting and liberating news that in the finished work of the cross, Jesus redeemed the entire world to God from the cosmic and organic sin imposed upon it by Adam, the original man. In effect, the world is already saved, they just don't know it; and, unfortunately, most Christians don't believe it. First Timothy 4:9-10 says, "...we have put our trust in the living God who is the Savior of all men, and especially those who believe." Jesus did not just die for Christians, He died to redeem, reconcile, and ultimately save the Cosmos.

Jesus was not a Christian, He was a Jew. God, however, is Spirit and cannot be confined exclusively to any particular religion including Christianity. He's not Jewish or Christian or Hindu or Buddhist; yet, He is all of that if we want or need Him to be, while at the same time, none of it conclusively, because He can't be and, in fact, is not limited to a person's or culture's perception of Him.

He loves everybody, He understands everybody, and He has a covenant with everybody-again, whether they know it or not.

Every human being in the history of the planet was created in the image and likeness of God. Anything else is an impersonation. God sees Himself in everybody, in every belief system, in every icon, perhaps even the devil. The devil can't subsist on his own. He came from God, has a specific assignment, and carries it out well."


This is a pretty kind and benevolent concept: EVERYONE goes to and "Afterlife," call it "Heaven" if you want, and "God" does not have some private concentration camp called "HELL" where he tortures beings for eternity via his inquisitor "Satan."

It's also innocuous: I mean, you don't have to "believe," so you don't have to "Join."

Of course if you're an evil shitfucker, we won't talk to you when you get there.

[Perky]

12. Glad I missed the heretic

but I assure you that he is not a fundie. By definition fundamentalists believe in inerrancy and as a consequence Heaven and Hell..

[CrazyOrangeCat]

13. See ya!

I'm going sinning too. What a relief to finally know the truth.

[Hubert Flottz]

15. Now what was the DC madame's phone number?

[CrazyOrangeCat]

21. Exactly. Time's a-wastin'

[madokie]

14. Welp, there ain't no hell in my world

I layed off that stuff years and years ago

[hobbit709]

17. You've never been stuck in Biloxi, Mississipi then

[Perky]

27. I spent a week there one day

First prize one week in Biloxi
2nd prize two weeks in Biloxi

[youthere]

18. Obviously this guy has never used Microsoft's Tech support.

[endarkenment]

19. Bummer. Now where am I going to go? nt.

[Poll_Blind]

20. Ok, ok, I know this is not the right thread for this BUT NPR did a moving...

...piece on one Carlton Pearson, who headed one of the nation's largest congregations and who came to the same conclusion- and who lost everything because of it.

  So here's the deal: The OP is blowing off steam but this is a great opportunity to introduce you to this story, which was introduced to me by a fellow DUer, and which I return the favor to pass on to you. The thread where I was introduced to this story had dozens of responses but if I recall correctly, only two of us listened to the NPR piece- which is really incredible. It's worth your time and it tells you alot about how religion in America works.

  This American Life: Heretics

  I can't recommend it enough.

Thanks for reading,

PB

[Tyler Durden]

23. That's the one! Ira Glass did a "This American Life" on him.

See post 11.

Hey, I'm on the atheist side of agnostic, and I LOVE the guy. How more "Love Unconditional" can you get?

[hashibabba]

28. I wondered what the real story was about Carlton Pearson. I

used to hear him now and then when I lived in Tulsa. Very interesting, I'm glad you shared it with us.

[TlalocW]

22. Next up, Belinda Carlyle who claims that Heaven is a place on Earth.

Then join us for our round-table discussion led by Joan Osborne and Bill Donohue, asking, "What if God was one of us?"

TlalocW

[jwirr]

24. I wonder if he has ever been to Iraq? Or any previous war?