02-08-2003, 12:09 AM
... It seems like everyone wants some generally accepted definition of what heaven and Hell are, yet they do not want the definition given out by organized religion. I'm sorry, but how else would we know or think about a heaven or Hell if it wasn't for organized religion?
Here is the defintion I have accepted and believe heaven and Hell to be, and just so happens to be the position of my Catholic teachers and local religious leaders.
Heaven is the reward for living a life according to God's will, and Hell is the punishment for not doing so.
Heaven and Hell are states of being. Heaven is the reward because you are in the presence of God for all eternity. To be in His presence is so beyond the greatest feeling in the world, so great that man cannot fathom, and no matter how great a sin might feel on Earth, it could never compare to being in the presence of God.
Hell is to be outside of the presence of God for all eternity. It's not burning flames, it's not a huge sin party of evil doers, it is emptiness. So empty that man cannot fathom. It is the inverse of what heaven is. And your state of being will be forever in pain over the fact that you will never be in His presence.
Here is the defintion I have accepted and believe heaven and Hell to be, and just so happens to be the position of my Catholic teachers and local religious leaders.
Heaven is the reward for living a life according to God's will, and Hell is the punishment for not doing so.
Heaven and Hell are states of being. Heaven is the reward because you are in the presence of God for all eternity. To be in His presence is so beyond the greatest feeling in the world, so great that man cannot fathom, and no matter how great a sin might feel on Earth, it could never compare to being in the presence of God.
Hell is to be outside of the presence of God for all eternity. It's not burning flames, it's not a huge sin party of evil doers, it is emptiness. So empty that man cannot fathom. It is the inverse of what heaven is. And your state of being will be forever in pain over the fact that you will never be in His presence.