DEA

I would like to say thank you to all who have replied, I have found your words to be very wise, and I have learned much from you all. So thank you kindly I myself, and I'm sure many others of you will agree, find this topic very hard. I would much rather just praise the Lord that I am not going there. But I believe that I need to understand in order to better understand God's plan (not that I will ever be able to even begin to fully understand it). I think that if more people truly understood what hell is, they would be a little more vocal about God and their faith. That is why I have brought this topic up. I know that hell will be truly aweful, but yet I do not go and warn my co-worker about it. So do I have a full understanding of it? I think not Of course with the above statement the opposite can be said. "God is so wonderful" but do I understand God's love enough to go and witness. I must admit that I do not. But I would love to learn. That is why I would like to say thank you all for your word of wisdom. And I can only hope that I will learn more from God, my bible and all you here at Worthy. Thank you, to all my Brothers and Sisters in christ Daniel.

AMEN I could not agree more with that statement. Ok, I think I need to reword my question. I don't think I was very clear as to what I was asking Sorry about that, let me try again here. "First, hardly anyone takes all the talk about hell being a place of fire and brimstone literally. The Bible uses a host of metaphors to describe this place..." Let me just use this quote from the book. Is it true that "hardly anyone" takes it literally? I always thought that it was a literal description of hell, but this author seems to think differently. SO, let me ask again, what do you think about this? Thank you Kindly Daniel.

aw, she is just adorable. Reminds me of a kid I babysit, named Emma too.

Good day to all who come and read this. I am new to the boards, but have found them to be very interesting and enjoyable. So I thought I would throw something out there and see what kind of response I get. With that said I shall get right to the point. I read a book not to long ago entitled "Letters From A Skeptic" by Dr. Gregory A. Boyd. I found it to be very good, but there was one part that made me think. I would really like to see what others think about it. "First, hardly anyone takes all the talk about hell being a place of fire and brimstone literally. The Bible uses a host of metaphors to describe this place, metaphors which would contradict each other if taken literally. So, for example, hell's described as a place of total 'darkness', but also of 'fire'. It is described as a 'pit' but also as a 'lake burning with brimstone.' It is described as a place of punishment, but also of total destruction. Sometimes the inhabitants are portrayed as being 'cast out' from a dinner (in heaven); sometimes 'cast down' into a pit; sometimes whipped by servants. Sometimes they seem rebellious ('gnashing of teeth'), sometimes even sorrowful (Luke 16). The metaphors, you see, vary greatly, and none of them are to be taken as a literal 'snapshot' of what hell is going to be like. Rather, the goal of each is to impress on us that hell is a very bad place! Hell is everything which is opposite of what God wants for humanity. In fact, the term hell itself metaphorically expresses this. 'Hell' in greek is gehenna, and gehenna was a valley outside of Jerusalem which was used as the city's major dump. What ends up in hell, the biblical authors are saying, is simply the refuse of humanity. It is the dumping grounds of the cosmos. It is the ultimate destiny of people who freely choose to live a life God never intended for them. They become 'garbage'. They are 'cast out'. The are 'burned in the fire'. All the metaphors in Scripture point in this direction. A second point is that it is people who put themselves in hell, not God. 'God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,' the Bible says. If anyone goes to hell, then, this is against God's will! Now God, to be sure, allows these people to go to hell. But He does it by giving such people their own way. Read Romans 1:20-32 carefully. Here Paul says three times about the reprobate Romans that 'God gave them over to do what they wanted to do.' God's judgement was giving the sinners their own way. When a person's heart is beyond hope - remember, we become the decisions that we make - God finally leaves him alone. 'Go your own way,' He says. And in saying this, He casts them into hell. God allows them to become eternalized in their self-creation. God gives the self-addicted sinner who will not accept Him what he wants. But because of this, the sinner misses out on what life was really all about. Having cut himself off from the only lifeline of love, joy, and peace which humanity has, the individual gradually sinks into a wholly loveless, joyless, peaceless existence. He becomes refuse, not suited for the purpose God intended for him. He is now the opposite of everything God intended him to be. His existence is a tragic abortion." I remember going to church as a kid (not that long ago), and being taught that hell is a "lake of fire" and so on. But after reading this, it makes it sound like hell is more just a "state" where God is not, and the fact that God is not there makes it such an aweful place. So I would just like to know what others think of this idea. Is hell really a "lake of fire"? If not, what is hell really like? Thank you for your time to read this, and I hope that you will share with me your thoughts on this issue. Daniel.

a grin from ear to ear, very cool

Cool. God's word is truly amazing

Wow, that is a Great poem. Gives me a lot to think about Thanks

Well, I must admit I am curious as to what you have to say. But I know too, that the only truth comes from God, and His word, so do not try to play the "car sales man" with me. Dan.

Wow, you can use all the science you want, until your heads hurt. But I know that when I lie on the grass at night and look up at the stars, I KNOW that there is a God that created all of that. And you know what, that gives me a wonderful, comforting peace inside, that science will never be able to do.

Cool topic, Fiosh. I think this was the perfect world. I mean God used to talk on it, but man became embarresd, and ashamed, and now the world doesn't have God. So bring back God, and all problems will be fixed. Just a thought. Dan.