What do you think hell is? I believe it is actually describing the grave, I have a friend who is a Masonic Jew (Meaning he is Judaism religion, Jewish Heritage, and a Mason) he claims that Jewish people do not believe in the same idea of hell as Christians. The Jewish/Judaism refer to hell as being the place where you are buried( a Grave). He claims Christians (Catholics) started using hell to describe a place of fire and brim stone where God keeps the punished for all of time. He also claims this is a scare tactic created because the catholic church did not have many members, so by doing this they were able to scary people into becoming members and tithing to the Church.

What do you think? Also Masonic Jews do believe Jesus Christ has come, but do not like to be referred as Christian because they claim. They believe Christians interpretation of the bible as a document is incorrect in the fact that Jesus did not come here to start a religion, but rather to die for mans sins and teach men compassion. Also not all Masons are Jewish. Some are Christian, some are Muslim, and some are Jewish, but they all are united through Masonry because they all believe in one God and that no man can judge another mans religion and tell them it is wrong as long as the believe of a single god exist, similar to tolerance.

I'm in complete agreement that it's just a scare tactic.

I don't beleive that any God would try to scare people into loving it.

Also, what purpose would it serve God to punish people for all eternity? Unless the God thrives on sadism there wouldn't be any point to it.

If there's nothing in it for God when what's the point? Clearly it's a scare tactic invented by man.

Any genuine surpreme being that has any compassion at all would simply un-create or destroy anything that it deemed to be undesirable. What would be gained by keeping it alive in a state of torment?

It's a totally absured and incompassionate notion in the first place. No all-loving God would have created such a scenario in the first place.

Men created the concept of Hell just so they could use it to threaten eveyone who doesn't believe like them. The only real demons are the religious proselytizers.

any human can create an emotional hell by not listening to their own heart and admitting whatever it tell oneself it did, lol.........

everything is learing, or how does one learn, if not wrong yesterday, so hating to feel as wrong, make a miserable combination that make for the worst kinda hell, lol......

a world all doing the same, could easily create lack of wisdom which lead to a nuclear holocost, which could fit the description, lol........

Yes, that would clearly fit the description of hell, and that's precisely what all these Christians are rooting for!

The Battle of Armageddon!

They'll make sure we all go to hell. The innocent as well as the guilty.

can't happen, not in the plans.........

a few GOOD secrets just not out in the open yet.......equal, equal equal, equal, equal, equal, equal, equal....all is equal.......the heart will follow suite

I won't say it can't happen, because it most certainly is in some people's plans. Even if not intentionally. Just pushing the mythological agenda forward is to participate in that end.

Most people who push that agenda aren't even aware that they are contributing to it. They are under the false impression that they are serving some higher being.

I'm not personally paraniod about things going that way. I personally believe that a major distraction is about to take place in the next few years. A distraction that no one is prepared for, but not to worry it will be a very positive and constructive distraction to move mankind away from the dark ages and into a genuine age of enlightenment.

I was merely commenting on the idea that this is where religious mentalities are headed. Fortunately for us, those very same people are easily led, and will therefore be easily led away from this nonsense once the positive distraction begins.

I don't believe in a hell where people are tortured by demons and floating around in a lake of fire. I don't believe that the scriptures support this belief. And I agree that Sheol means grave, but in the New Testament, greek words with other meanings were used to discuss a different state of being.



Well, that might be what some Christians believe, but most Christians here will tell you that Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship with God. Jesus wanted to do away with the trappings of religion and show humanity the correct path to walk.

Well, this is what they often claim. However, as soon as they tell another person that it's important to accept Jesus Christ as their 'savior' then the idea that it's just a relationship with God falls apart and it becomes a religion.

Once that claim is made then it's no longer just a "relatioship with God", but instead it has become an absolute necessary act that, if rejected, has dire consequences.

I would have absolutely no problem with the religion at all if people would just accept it as a "personal walk with God" and quite trying to push it onto other people as being a 'necessary' act that must be accepted or they are rejecting by God.

It's in the heavy proselytizing of the religion and in the judgmental stance toward non-Christians where it crosses over the line.

Once it crosses that line, then it can no longer be claimed to be a 'personal' walk with God. It has insisted on becoming nor only a religion, but the only valid religion.

To try to claim otherwise is truly a farce overall. Some individuals may view it as a 'personal walk with God', but usually those individuals don't try to push the religion onto others. They are quite often accepting of other people's choice to walk with God in their own way.

When you have one person quite litterally 'harping' on another person about how they aren't 'saved' or how they are 'rejecting' God, then it's has become a religion. A judgmental religion too boot.

Trying to claim that Christainity isn't a religion is truly is an exercise in denial.

plainly hell is just the absence of God.
the rest is just dramatic imagery.
as far as the openning statement.
when JFK became president, fundies raised hell because they thought the pope was going to take over the USA.
There is a lot of BS that people say against the Catholic Church, yet not everything is true.
Yet, the fundie anti-christian uses whatever comes into his/her hands to attack the Church.
It has been the same for 2000 years, it will be the same as long as the world is the world.
Yet the Church will remain.

hell is being married and some of the above u all describe.

The requirement for becoming a mason is simply that you believe in a "higher power."

There is a good reason for this, as masons are taught to follow orders of their higher ranking masons, and keep all secrets, no matter what they are.

If you are found to have not kept a secret, (and you will be tested,) you will probably never go past the second degree.

The problem with masonry is by the time you reach the higher initiations, you are expected and trained to blindly obey orders of those of higher rank.

Also, certain bloodlines will move to higher ranks faster and other bloodlines will never go past the second degree. This organization is mainly for the purpose of control and has agendas that the people at the bottom of the pyramid know nothing about.

Atheists are not allowed to join. Too hard to control them. They think for themselves.

JB

the third degree is master of the local lodge.

Beyond that is where the degrees are by selective nomination to advance into as passed.

That is what past master means when acted upon.

the following 30 degrees lead to Templar Knight status.

But entrance is reseved to those entering The Shrine only.

Eastern Star and AAmes are two paths within The Shrine that merge into one by the 33rd degree.

It is not so much about a bloodline, but about being able to trace one's bloodline back far enough to the French Revolution , for example or to the origins of the Scottish Rite and then, if the family is one of Masonic or Scottish Rite membership in root, there is potential access.

And the testing one goes through is about virtue and morality and ethics and must be demonstrable by the member, flawlessly throughout one's lifetime and is in no way excuseable of that member at any time forward. That is prerequisite for advancement in degrees.

2be1ask1..but as for me and my house, we serve the Lord.

I would agree with Abra that hell is nothing more than a "threat". Not only that, it’s pretty much inconsistent and ambiguous. For one thing, not all religions, or spiritualities even recognize a "hell". Nope. It’s solely an invention of Christianity ironically. Paganism, a faith that predates established Christiandom by thousands of years and reaches back to the Neolithic by archeological evidence, had no discernable concept of "hell". Humans were merely accepted as both sustaining good and bad within them, and this would be accepted by the Mother Earth as creating a whole.

"I don't beleive that any God would try to scare people into loving it."

Abra

excellent point

I wanted to point out this interesting observation. This actually makes COMPLETE sense to me. In light of the Romans and how they were handling their political endeavors and their bizarre behavior near the fall, the people would have been looking for something, anything to give them relief from this horror and cruel treatment. Jesus was in the right place, at just the right time. He was also an intelligent man and knew how to project himself to the masses as any great politician should. It was a good sell and probably LONG overdue.

Now were the ideas of peace and compassion brand new on the scene? Absolutely not. They just required the right microphone in my opinion.

I don't believe that there is any place that is Hell. I believe in reincarnation as opposed to one life and then you go to heaven or hell.

Trenton, New Jersey.

Ruth, I also entertain the belief in reincarnation. I’m not proclaiming that’s it and no other post mortem experience (or lack of) is possible. However, reincarnation has a plausible premise behind it. We just shovel those souls in and back out them come, reborn, as man or beast perhaps?

I feel that we have plenty to work with here . . . we can make hell. We can make heaven.

I'm like you in that I don't claim to be 100% sure of what happens after death. But, it seems to me to be the most likely scenario. Although I seriously doubt that human souls can be reincarnated into animals or other living matter (i.e. trees) but I don't know for sure.