Christian Threats of Damnation

[Jonathan H. B. Lobl]

27 minutes ago, Seeker said:

It was intended firmly tongue-in-cheek as a response to

 

I wouldn't actually wish harm on anyone.

 

 

No.  Of course not.

 

I am partly responsible for a false binary which is plaguing this board.  On the one hand, we have the Christian followers of the one true God.  In the other camp -- my camp -- we have the Atheists.  It bothers me that the Pagan voices on this board have gone silent.  Now and then, I feel obliged to at least mention the Pagan perspective.  It is a third way and the subtleties keep getting lost.

 

I'm a poor choice to speak up for the Pagan perspective.  I would much rather a Pagan stepped into the breach.  Alas, someone has to do it.  This time, it was me.

 

 

 

[damnthing]

You posted a link and a video about some necromancer discussing hell and atheists. Obviously there is no hell and there is no heaven otherwise science would have discovered both. Hell is a whip used to flagellate people into believing, or who are losing their faith to buckle up and believe. The threat could have been an infinity of existential angst and self-doubt and recriminations but how do you paint that. But people can easily understand fire, heat, burning, disfigurement, you know, all those horrible things a loving god would use to threaten people who didn't believe, or believe fervently enough.

 

As shown in the video the necromancer claims that atheists are dragging people (other atheists) into hell. So he is using the idea of hell-as-punishment to remind his followers (aren't all those necromancers really just their version of jeebus, and everyone else their followers?) what will happen to them if they stop believing. I see it this way, a dog can respond to its owner out of loyalty and affection or out of fear and punishment. The x tian god expects its followers to behave like the fearful dog.

 

Honestly it would make more sense if the the x tian god just said, 'believe in my and you get life everlasting, don't believe in me and when you die that's it baby, nothing at all.' Hardly seems threatening and certainly not a huge impetus to believe in such a namby pamby god, so psychotic, stalking, vengeful god it is. A person has to be a complete moron to believe in any of that, especially the idea of a god and heaven in the cloud and a hell down in the earth somewhere. With a nod to another thread what we really need is an alien 'invasion', either one that wipes us all out or even one that arrives to help us and giggles their alien version of giggles when the religious attempt to convert them. That's when a lot of 'religious' people are going to go completely bonkers, jumping off buildings, cliffs, mass suicides. The world will be a better place for it, with either scenario.

 

 

[Jonathan H. B. Lobl]

Regarding the video that I used to start this thread.  It is amazing.  These pious terrorists still think that their silly threats can frighten us into submission.  These threats have been failing to frighten for hundreds of years, yet they keep trying.  They are impervious to external reality.  Neither reason nor evidence will penetrate.  True madness.

 

In the not so distant future -- when true general AI makes it's advent into the world -- I expect that this will be another test for religion.  A test that will actually happen; unlike the alien visit.

 

The future is coming for us.  Ready or not.