From: johnsd2@rpi.edu (Dan Johnson)
Subject: Re: Atheists and Hell
Reply-To: johnsd2@rpi.edu
Organization: not Sun Microsystems
Lines: 38

In article 29279@athos.rutgers.edu, atterlep@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Cardinal Ximenez) writes:

>  I have seen two common threads running through postings by atheists on the 
>newsgroup, and I think that they can be used to explain each other.  
>Unfortunately I don't have direct quotes handy...

>1) Atheists believe that when they die, they die forever.

>2) A god who would condemn those who fail to believe in him to eternal death
>   is unfair.

>  I don't see what the problem is!  To Christians, Hell is, by definition, 
>eternal death--exactly what atheists are expecting when they die.

This is the problem. This is not hell, this is permanent death. It is
indeed what atheists (generally) expect and it is neither fair nor
unfair, it just is. You might as well argue about whether being made
mostly of carbon and water is "fair".

However, the atheists who claim that Hell is unfair are talking about
the fire and brimstone place of endless suffering, which necessarily
includes eternal existance (life, I dunno, but some sort of continuation);
not at all the same thing.

Granted, you clearly feel that hell=death, but this is not a univeral
sentiment as near as I can tell.

If *your* idea of God "condemns" heathens to ordinary death, I have no
problem with that. I do have a problem with the gods that hide from humans
and torture the unbelievers eternally for not guessing right.

[deletia- Hell, and Literalness.]

---
			- Dan Johnson
And God said "Jeeze, this is dull"... and it *WAS* dull. Genesis 0:0

These opinions probably show what I know.
