The concept of heaven and hell

[Romy]

I searched about every thread in this department but nothing seemed to touch this subject, which rather surprised me. The "Is the bible true" and the "What happens after death" thread were a bit too general for this question, I´m afraid, but if I did overlook something please direct me to it. I also read the rules of this department very carefully and hope I don´t break any with this thread.

This is a question mainly directed towards religious people who follow a faith that has the concept of a heaven-like place where you go after death. The concept of heaven (or hell, for that matter) confuses me thoroughly. I admit to being agnostic so I don´t believe in such a thing but perhaps someone could point out to me how they think it´s meant. To my understanding heaven is meant to be a place without any evil in it while hell would be a place void of all goodness. Then again, good cannot exist without evil and the other way around. If you lived in a place that knows no evil you would also know no good as you have no chance for comparison. Apart from this, for how long could one possible endure infinite good-ness?

This, admittedly, touches upon "What happens after death", however, it´s different in the way that my question is related to a certain supposition of what might happen after death.

[Daesmirdum]

You mention the fact that good and evil can not exist without the other.

Both is the counter point to the other, or the counter rate. It is very much like physics where a force must have an opposite.

I do not believe in 'good' and 'evil' as they are part of a morale code that Humans have thought up over the centuries and they are not part of our base instinct. I believe that there is only the birth-death circle where we are here to continue the human race.

I am a Pagan by religion and I do believe in the divine, but my belief of an afterlife is very simple; We go back to the earth from which we came.

Could there be a purer form of death than to return to that which was our support throughout our lives? We live off the Earth. We eat it's produce, we breath it's air and we walk it's ground. I believe we have to pay for that by finally becoming one with the Earth to help replenish what we have taken in our meagre time on Earth.

Of course there are many views on this and mine is definately not definitive. Please do not flame me for my beliefs.

~Daesmirdum

[Paintball]

The concept of Heaven and Hell arises from the belief that man is inherently bad, and must have some incentive to treat his fellow humans in a civilized manner. Such religions teach that those who do good things on earth are "rewarded" in the after-life and thoses who "sin" are punished in the after-life. Most religions believe that all persons have a "soul" that never dies. The concept is taught more as a reward and punishment, then as a seperation of good and evil. Different religions discribe Heaven and Hell in different ways and people believe in different roads to Heaven and Hell. Most religions teach that the beliefs of that religion is the only road to Heaven, thus causing conficts between the followers of the various religions.

I am not so "Christian" to preach that the "only" road to Heaven is through Jesus Christ, even though I have been taught this since my birth. I do however believe very strongly there is a "soul" in all of us that never, never, dies.