AManWithNoName
First of all,hell is the absence of God,the absence of His grace , His Glory,His mercy,His blessing,His Love...
An example... God controls the laws of nature, lets' say the temperature,OK?He sees that it doesn't go up too much and we all end up roasted,OK?What happens when He decides to withdraw a little bit of His mercy or care and allows temperature to increase just a little bit?
We all suffer from the heat,don't we?
Now ,imagine ALL of His grace and care and presence , forsaking us! That is hell!
Remember that Jesus cried out '' Lord, Lord , why have you forsaken me?'' and moments later He died!
Hell , is nothing more than God forsaking us!

Now, you say that you know you will die young.Unless you are talking about some very serious health situation here , I tell you that you are under the influence of an evil spirit, which convincies people that they are going to die.Then the person believes it and then this spirit has authourity over the person , so the road to death is wide open.If you are in that situation , open your mouth and say that you do not believe this lie, that your life is in God's hands and do so every time this idea comes to tempt you.Resist and it will go away!
And one more thing... If hell is depresing for you, how joyfull can God's Kingdom be FOR YOU ?

Adam,
That was very good. So good that this part needs repeating.
"Now, you say that you know you will die young.Unless you are talking about some very serious health situation here , I tell you that you are under the influence of an evil spirit, which convincies people that they are going to die.Then the person believes it and then this spirit has authourity over the person , so the road to death is wide open.If you are in that situation , open your mouth and say that you do not believe this lie, that your life is in God's hands and do so every time this idea comes to tempt you.Resist and it will go away!
And one more thing...If hell is depresing for you, how joyfull can God's Kingdom be FOR YOU ?"
Peace and kindness,
Fred

Without faith there's nothing. Always believe in god! Forreal everything I've prayed 4 has come true.. just believe in god if you don't have faith u have nothing REMEMBER THAT

As I prayed for you this day the Lord said "THE NEW MAN" "

"This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles [carnal people] walk, in the futility of there mind, having their
Understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the
Ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of there heart; who, being
Past feeling, have givenselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with
With greediness. But you have not learned Christ, if in indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus that you put off. concening
Your former conduct, the old man which grows, corrput according to the deceitful lusts,
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which
Was crested according to God, in true righeousness and holiness." Eph. 4:17-24

Renew your mind with the washing of the Word of God, that is putting off the old
Man and put on the new man by doing what the Word of God itells you to do!
Don't let yourself sink more into the hands of sata , call on the Lord who came
That you might have lLIFE and have it more ABUNDANTLY!!
Put your heart and mind on GODS WORD and BELIEVE IT! And peace will be with you!

Maggy 3

I would also like to add "That Faith Comes By Hearing, and Hearing By the Word
of God". Rom. 10: 17


Maggie 3

Nothing can be accomplished without some sort of faith, NOTHING!
Think about it.
Without faith you can not even move.
Fred

Hey, 'NoName. Sorry to hear you are going through such a crisis of faith. Dark nights of the soul like that can be no picnic. Try not to stress about it too much, especially the hell stuff. Everyone I know who is a person of deep faith, mature faith, has questioned, doubted, and stepped away from believing at least once in their lives. How else can you know your faith is real, until you know what it's like to live without it? After Mother Teresa's death, people read some of her private journals, and she expressed a lot of the same sentiments you express here, again and again through her life.

Faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we may feel the Spirit is withholding the gift of faith from us, and we cannot understand why She would do that. But perhaps you are not really losing your faith, merely losing the child-like unquestioningness that is only the superficial veneer of faith. It's good to be childlike in certain ways, but belief in God just because we are habitually holding on to what we were taught in childhood is not a faith that challenges us to discover God in our deepest selves. And if the Gospel stories tell us anything, it is that Jesus likes to push people to their limit (He asks the rich man to forsake wealth, the doubter to believe, etc.). To quote St. Thomas Aquinas, "Truth does not fear the question." In going into this period of doubt and darkness, you are going on a journey. If you face the journey with an open heart, an inquisitive and sincere mind, and love for yourself and your neighbor, what you gain will be far more than what you now feel you have lost.

Hand in hand with the more mature faith is a system of morals that has a deeper basis than merely the punishment and reward system of hell and heaven.

Have you ever heard the story of "The Fourth Wise Man"? (I think it's a folk tale--does anyone know its authorship?) Of course, the Bible doesn't say there were three magi, only that they brought three gifts to the Christ Child--so we assume there were three and each brought one gift. But this story tells of an additional one, who was going along with the others at first, but got sidetracked trying to help out a person in need. He spends the rest of his life doing that, trying to track down Jesus (right up to the Crucifixion), but always one step behind because he keeps stopping to serve others who need his help.

Finally, as this fourth astrologer is dying, Jesus appears to him and the man says, "Lord, I sought you all my life but I failed. I could never find you." Jesus' response is taken from Matt. 25: "In what you did for all of these least little ones, you did for Me. Now enter the home of my Father."

It is not a question of how long you will live, but of what you make of your life. Would you serve others out of love, even if you could not believe in heaven or hell? Perhaps Jesus deprived you of the sense of faith for a time precisely to teach you this lesson of love.

Consider this case: I have a friend, who is a firm atheist. When the hurricane Katrina disaster happened, she gave me some money (and she is a struggling college student) to give to the Catholic charities relief program. She told me, "I know if I give it to the Catholic Church, it will be used properly to do real good." (Nice to know that people out there in the world see that side of the Church too, sometimes!) Anyway, what do you think Jesus will say about this woman's act of giving money to people she has never met? Will He not say, as He said about the widow who gave at the temple, "She has given more than all the rest."?

Even a paramecium on a slide will move toward nutrients and away from acid. When do we become more than this? When do we become free? For some of us at least, it is when we start making choices to do what we believe is right, even if we do not have some reward or punishment in mind, or believe there is some Divinity who sees the good we do in secret.

Blessings to you, and Peace be with you.

Alder,
Excellent post.
Well said, well done!
Pax Christi,
Fred

AManWithNoName -

I think your words "...kind of don't want to believe" are very revealing. Whatever it is that you are internally questioning is where you'll find your faith or your unbelief. Hopefully, your unbelief is just a trivial, shaking of a transient fist at God kind of unbelief. Perhaps you have endured a real trial of faith and you are genuinely trying to sort out some issues. Perhaps you are not interested in resolving these issues but you are looking for some psychological comfort from others to further propel you in unbelief... I sincerely hope not.

Nobody knows where you stand but you know. So where do you stand? What happened that has caused you to doubt or not want to believe in God (which I think is more apt). Nobody sincerely doesn't believe in God... people ultimately choose not to believe because THEY DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE!

Just trying to be real but encouraging at the same time.

jakester,
I think you are on the right tract with that post.
Peace and kindness,
Fred

And love for yourself and your neighbor, what you gain will be far more than what you now feel you have lost.

Hand in hand with the more mature faith is a system of morals that has a deeper basis than merely the punishment and reward system of hell and heaven.


Consider this case: I have a friend, who is a firm atheist. When the hurricane Katrina disaster happened, she gave me some money (and she is a struggling college student) to give to the Catholic charities relief program. She told me, "I know if I give it to the Catholic Church, it will be used properly to do real good." (Nice to know that people out there in the world see that side of the Church too, sometimes!) Anyway, what do you think Jesus will say about this woman's act of giving money to people she has never met? Will He not say, as He said about the widow who gave at the temple, "She has given more than all the rest."?

Even a paramecium on a slide will move toward nutrients and away from acid. When do we become more than this? When do we become free? For some of us at least, it is when we start making choices to do what we believe is right, even if we do not have some reward or punishment in mind, or believe there is some Divinity who sees the good we do in secret.

Blessings to you, and Peace be with you.[/QUOTE]

I agree with what you said here. BUT, under the christian belief of God, this atheist friend of yours will burn in hell. Remember, your good works will not get you to heaven. Only one way to avoid hell. Through Jesus. How do you make any sense out of this? Many do "what is right" without regard of punishment or reward. We do it because we believe it is the way of a loving god or simply for the greater good of our world.

cozyk,
There is a belief that a very good person CAN go to heaven IF God so decides.
Not every Christian has that belief but I do.
I believe that God is the ultimate, final judge of who does go to Heaven, or Purgatory, or Hell.
So says the bible I believe in.
You have a nice belief concerning God and I respect that.
I also believe that He is the ultimate nice guy and that He is everywhere which includes being in us.
But I also believe that He is perfect in Justice.
So I also believe that Our Heavenly Father is similarly like a good parent who does nothing or rewards or punishes his Child as the case indicates.
That is what I believe.
Do you respect that?
Peace and kindness,
Fred