BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Spirituality Hurtful Words

In my opinion there are no words in this world that are more hurtful then "You are going to Hell."

What you are wishing upon that person is an ETERNITY of suffering and pain.. an ETERNITY...

And why? It doesn't seem to matter how selfless the person may be..or what kind of great works they have done in our world..or how humble or compassionate or kind or loving... If they don't happen to believe in a certain book.. then they are doomed to eternal suffering.

And yet, a person who is arrogant, angry, fearful, shallow and verbally abusive is promised an afterlife of eternal bliss.. because he or she reads 'the book'.

Everytime someone tells me that I am going to Hell because I don't believe in God.. it hurts me. It hurts me that a fellow human being could say that to me.. or to anyone. It hurts me to think that a person would think that way about a fellow human being.

Justify it as you will.. that YOU are not sending me to Hell.. Jesus or God is... it makes no difference at all.. it is YOU who are thinking that thought or saying those words.. based on what you have read in a book.

But, when I strike back and defend myself against these hurtful words I am told that I am unsympathetic to the Christian cause.
I'm sorry but I do feel that when someone tells me and mine are doomed to eternal suffering.. I have a problem with that.

That is the part of Christianity that I HATE. Not the Christians mind you.. but that part of the religion. And, that is why after all these years I still can't bring myself to attend a Christian service.. I want to stand up and yell... Stop it! Don't you hear what you are saying? Don't you know how much that hurts those who are not of your creed?

Once said.. those words cannot ever be undone... they are cruel, they are hurtful and they don't need to be said.. ever.

Love and Light..

Hello;
Wow! Thank you for sharing your experience of what you went through.
I felt compelled to share my feelings.
The words "you are going to hell" I suppose the "fear" would be coming from the perception of the one saying and believing that those words are true. "Fear, belief and faith in there religion"
To me that is just a level of faithing thing. Once again being a certain faith that has encouraged such words, to be used on another being on there journey.
The song by John Lennon comes to mind "Imagine"
the lines"nothing to kill or die for,no religion too"
Conform or you shall be exiled.
Words are indeed powerful! To really be free of them I practice letting go of the meanings, so there is not prior belief attatched to them.
I personally have never had the experience of some other being saying I would travel to hell....but as I sit here typing I have this huge silly grin and spirit inside of me that suggests I would probably bow and say thank you!
There faith is so strong that they truly believe this to be so and they feel they MUST pass this information on, to save my soul.
I have been asked if I have been saved many times and also that people would pray for my soul. (That use to urk me) but now I say, save the saving for the self and thank you for the prayers please do more!
Yes, I think I would bow and then say thanks for the info and I will see if it makes a difference in 300 years.
(I use this 300 year term a lot)~!
Chia
Namaste'
P.S
Sorry this experience was a painful one however; a lesson as you shared and became a teacher in human spirit by sharing this.
Thank you

Thank you Chia.. You make me smile. It isn't on a personal level that I feel this.. It is on a humanwide level. Everytime someone condemns another, harms another, or uses words as a weapon, it affects us all. We are interconnected.. like it or not.

So, I guess I am the dreamer that John Lennon talks about in Imagine. I can imagine a word that lives with one another in peace and harmony.. a world where war does not exist... a world where we live in harmony and respect for the Earth itself, and a world where love rules.

I can imagine a world where there is no hunger, no disease, no hatred, no bigotry, no greed, no anger, and no fear.. A world that is not ruled by green paper. I can imagine a world where children grow up eating nutritious food from the Earth, and drinking pure water and not a single child would go to bed with a empty stomach.

I can imagine a world where people are not divided by religion, politics, race or color. And, a world where we have respect and honor for all living things.

So, it saddens me to hear those words... and to know that there are still those in this world that would even begin to think that anyone's soul would be doomed for eternity.. By doing that they are also condemning their own soul.. it is all part of the web of life that we are all a part of...

But, I don't know that there are that many people out there who truly understand this.. or want a world that is not filled with strife. It is a pity really.. for human beings are an expression of Universal Love.. if only we would stop and listen to the beautiful music of that Love.

Love and Light..

mmm I feel the same about the or you're going to hell!'

I dont go to church anymore for several reasons but one of the major ones is the preacher has to say do this or go to hell or the "other" who dont believe what i say are going to hell!!

what? just because he reads the bible that way and has come to some cunclution that hes big we're small hes right we're wrong hes going to heaven and we're going to hell?

I just I havent got to that point in my understanding of the bible and i hope i never do!!! I want to let God be the Judge, I want to use my very own God given brain and heart to make up what I believe!

needless to say I stay home!!!

Just think of it this way Linda,

If all the people who've been told they are going to hell ever end up there,I reckon it will be a place filled with my kind of people. People who love nature and animals and who don't go around telling OTHER people that they're going to hell or that some God is gonna 'get them'!

Sounds kinda like a nice place to me.

Percy.

There is a hell and it is real. It is love to warn about it and hateful to stand by and watch sinners go into it. The lake of fire was created for the devil and his angels, not for us. We don't have to go there but God is righteous and must always keep His Word. So, all those who rebel against God will join the devil and his angels. But Jesus Christ is God's mercy. Repent, accept His death in place of your own, and follow His commandments and you will not go there.

I believe that hell is a state of mind - not a place.

I believe that heaven is a state of mind.

I believe that the only devil there is, is in the human heart when it hates.

I believe that the God Force is in everything - animal (which includes human) vegetable and mineral.

The commandment that I try to live by is 'Love your neighbour as yourself' - which is the same as 'do not do to others what you wouldn't like to have done to you'.

This is enough for me.

Patience.

Ok I believe much the same thing. you can make your life a living hell or heaven... you can chose either one in this life most of the time!

but I think there is good and there is evil in this world and that there is a hell and there is a heaven.

I also think God is in everything and everyone because the bible says (yeah yeah forgive me for this one I dont normaly hand out bible quote when they are not asked for but) Even the rocks will cry out He is Lord... God made everything and everyone so I dont think it is a big jump to say He is in everything and everyone!

And I think Love your nieghbor as your self is one of the hardest things God could command of us because on the surface it could mean play well with others and dont hurt them... but if you apply it to all things it can also mean give your time, money, and friendship to anyone how needs it!! and while that seems like nothing for someone who has nothing to give it hurts in a big way!!! It can mean many things when applyed to different areas in life!

JCFreak.. Telling someone that they are going to spend an eternity of suffering and torture is not love. In fact, it is the most abominable thing that I have ever heard of.

To you, Hell is a real place.. and the fact that you would choose to think that anyone on this Earth is doomed to go there is hateful.

Neither you or any other human being has any real knowledge of what this life of ours is all about ..let alone what our afterlife is all about. We can only base our ideas on the books we read or the stories we have heard. We don't have any concrete evidence.. no matter how badly you will that to be so.

All the praying, repenting, reading, and rituals in the world are not going to influence what happens to you when you die. And, in the meantime, keeping a closed mind and heart does not help to make this world a better place. In fact, it only serves to further feed the hatred and discontent that keeps us all from leading lives filled with love, compassion and joy.

How can you have love, compassion or joy when your thoughts are filled with hell, satan, sins, and a holier than thou attitude?

How can you have love, compassion or joy when your thoughts are filled with hell, satan, sins, and a holier than thou attitude?

Linda said it!!! know lets see what the answer is!!! well ya'll will see it Im just ignoreing freak!!! lol