h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I's interesting to note that the book of Revelation actually doesn't talk about hell:

"[People worthy of hell]--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death." (Revelation 21:8 (NIV))

As far as I can tell, this means that hell isn't somewhere you get eternal, but excruciating, life, but eternal death, which is quite different. So all those Popes saying that heretics would go to hell and suffer forever were technically liars.

Actually, hell is a knock at the door two minutes after you've finally gotten the two-year-old to take a nap after sixteen and a half hours of activity.

Whenit says that satan will get chucked into the lake of burning sulphur it says that that is where he will suffer forever, so hell is a place where you feal pain forever.

spook

I must read Paradise Lost one day, I believe it is meant to clarify everything, although from a Christian point of view. Do all religions have a hell?

Yes. It's called Earth.

Ahhh, a wit!

umm...u missed off the first 't' in that word

omy

no offence meant of course

Yes, well, it was once believed that idiots were chosen by God to make normal people aware of the blessedness of their condition. Thus, it was also believed that idiots were blessed because they were suffering in order to do God's will.
Now in the case of a twit, which is so close to two of my favorite words that my hands sweat as I type it, we find a situation where the normal people say,"There, but for the grace of God, goes someone I would drive over if I weren't worried about the finish of my car." Of course, the Buddhists and the Shintoists believe that it is possible for a car to be blessed (one finds vestiges of this in the west with Herbie, the Love Bug, and Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang), so it is possible that the lot of the car is to suffer from encountering a twit and thus it has blessed the world and is blessed itself. Whether or not God blesses anything about the twit is a topic for another millenium.

errr.. yeah, whatever....

Whoops! It does indeed say that.

Then what is this 'second death'?

The first death is when you die on Earth. The second death is the death of the spirit. Once you have suffered the second death your soul goes to hell, and there is no escape from hell.

spook

eek! that dont sound 2 gud!

i shall have 2 behave myself here!

bummer!

But if your spirit dies, how can it then be tormented?

gooood point!

Whether there is a difference between the spirit and the soul could be a point of debate, but a very pointless one. I think that the second death probably refers to the death we suffer on the New Earth (Revelation 21) when everyone is judged.

my mates got a gud book all about that, ie what happens 2 us whhen we die. its quite a goog read but i dont like the fact that it says all non-christians go 2 hell & all christians heaven. that bit bothers me. its wrong.

I must break the news that that statement is true. "Jesus said 'I am the way, the trith, and the live. No one comes to the father except through me." (John 14v6 (I think)) That practically says that you are either a Christian, with Jesus, and can get to heaven, or you're not, and you can't. I always consider it that Christianity is a do or die religion, and all the others aren't. For most other religions, as long as you're a good person, you will get to their good afterlife. For Christianity, you have either chosen the correct route to heaven, or you haven't. It may sound a bit disciminant against other religions, but to God these other people are just worshipping idols like in the oldtestament. My view is that Christianity is a brilliant religion for guaranteeing your future after death, as being a Christian means you are supposed to be a good person, which is good enough for most religions if they are right, and if Christianity is right then you are saved. To me, that makes Christianity win win.