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Would You Choose to Live in Heaven?

Unless we are made into robots...
If I were a machine running strictly on a program I could do heaven. The programmer would decide everything for me and I would never be unhappy. I would regularly encounter subroutines where I would affirm that I am satisfied with the state of my operation. I have written plenty of programs where that could easily be accomplished. This would be digital or mechanical satisfaction, heavenly joy for me as a machine.

Emotions as we experience them would never work in heaven, cannot work in heaven. I can define "emotion" if I want to any degree and of course I as a machine would be quite satisfied with my emotional state as programmed. Anything "unsatisfying" is simply not present, an outcome I cannot experience.

There can only be free will insofar as it is defined and accomplished in the program, and free will so determined and defined could readily be demonstrated and affirmed within the machine which is me. I might be connected to zillions of other machines but the nature of those connections would once again be entirely determined by the programmer. I as a machine could never be the programmer. I could be programmed to use a bit of fuzzy logic and even be aware of my own consciousness, all defined of course by the program. I would be content and blissful.

So in heaven everything Lion says would be there can certainly be there, the difference is that it won't be there the way we now know and experience it. Maybe such an arrangement appeals to some people. There is no pain or suffering, death, anxiety, unhappiness, etc. Life is perfect.
 
OK, so you don't know what the rules are, and we are supposed to trust Jesus to only make fair rules.

Now I can answer the question that appears in the OP:

No. I could be signing up to rules that I can't abide by. Like 24/7 worship, or no swearing, or any number of things.

What are my other options? Hell? Annihilation?

Good analysis - we have discussed at length and arrived at the root question:

Do YOU want to buy a pig in a poke?

It’s a great pig. The best. Everything you want. Promise. Various entertainments. Thrones. A GOD! Fountains becoming rivers running down the middle of the streets. No oceans. Mansions wirh pilars. Manicured walkways under palm trees. All happy all day. Except for the people burning, but you won’t mind that. Promise. No evidence, and I can’t describe details because no one knows, including me.

Putting it the way you do "Pig in a Poke" (as the description you give above, is to you). I quite understand - it's not that type of place you'd like to be in. No doubt imo, the meek, all those who suffered terribly through all sorts of atrocious ordeals throughout mans history, may have found it kinda attractive... a whole new experience 'for a change', you could say.

Don't mind? Christians are concerned (or most should be if not all). That's what preaching these things is about.

Do YOU want to buy a pig in a poke?

For the record, my most deeply held problem with this “heaven” that y’all imgine is that it includes a hell where people are being tortured. And while that makes me say, “um, no?” what really disturbs me is that actual non-imaginary humans are walking around in my world with hearts that think they can be perfectly happy while knowing people are being tortured. THAT is the real problem in my heart.

"What theists imagine of Heaven includes a hell".

Hmm.. without asking for ANY defining description for the latter as you did for Heaven... you DO have a concept description.. of what hell means to you. :rolleyes:

In a manner of phrasing language (pig in a poke). Were you telling 'porkies' when you said you didn't understand (the concept of) heaven? :thinking:

Hell is a deterent against evil wickedness etc.,& etc.. POV. Only God/ Jesus can take that position as being ultimately fair. to Judge. It takes ultimately more than a mere mortal to do what is promised, by the laws laid out and covenants agreed upon, without hesitancy (even with sorrow in heart) not to rewrite the laws, or take back His WORD...doing turnarounds( like politicians) with what was established. It takes ultimately more than a mere mortal to fulfill and keep to the script, so to speak.

Without conflicting with any covenants - He sent a saviour should we fall short (of the laws for example),sins are forgivable. Sinners get forgiven - Reprobates (Gods enemies) don't repent.
 
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I've already spoken to what I think the jumbled words of the Bible indicate about 'hell'...
Hell is a deterent against evil wickedness etc.,& etc.. POV. Only God/ Jesus can take that position as being ultimately fair. to Judge. It takes ultimately more than a mere mortal to do what is promised, by the laws laid out and covenants agreed upon, without hesitancy (even with sorrow in heart) not to rewrite the laws, or take back His WORD...doing turnarounds( like politicians) with what was established. It takes ultimately more than a mere mortal to fulfill and keep to the script, so to speak.

Without conflicting with any covenants - He sent a saviour should we fall short (of the laws for example),sins are forgivable. Sinners get forgiven - Reprobates (Gods enemies) don't repent.

So, in Learner's theological POV, could you explain a few more details about this 'hell' and who goes there? The Bible seems to provide more details about this 'hell' than 'heaven'. Is this hell eternal? Is this eternal hell a place where the reprobates know their fate and feel this torment forever? If the reprobates include everyone who has heard of the Good News but found the Christian God lacking any reality, then hell would seem to contain billions of souls and growing quickly these day. Would that be your view? Can you imagine yourself having bliss or happiness knowing that family members and friends are bound in this alternate afterlife? Or?
 
So, in Learner's theological POV, could you explain a few more details about this 'hell' and who goes there?

Based on previous form, Learner probably imagines a fire-and-brimstone Hell, like this:

tenor.gif


Basically, this is what Jesus does to you if you aren't willing to buy his pig in a poke.
 
I've already spoken to what I think the jumbled words of the Bible indicate about 'hell'...
Hell is a deterent against evil wickedness etc.,& etc.. POV. Only God/ Jesus can take that position as being ultimately fair. to Judge. It takes ultimately more than a mere mortal to do what is promised, by the laws laid out and covenants agreed upon, without hesitancy (even with sorrow in heart) not to rewrite the laws, or take back His WORD...doing turnarounds( like politicians) with what was established. It takes ultimately more than a mere mortal to fulfill and keep to the script, so to speak.

Without conflicting with any covenants - He sent a saviour should we fall short (of the laws for example),sins are forgivable. Sinners get forgiven - Reprobates (Gods enemies) don't repent.

So, in Learner's theological POV, could you explain a few more details about this 'hell' and who goes there? The Bible seems to provide more details about this 'hell' than 'heaven'. Is this hell eternal? Is this eternal hell a place where the reprobates know their fate and feel this torment forever? If the reprobates include everyone who has heard of the Good News but found the Christian God lacking any reality, then hell would seem to contain billions of souls and growing quickly these day.

As you're seeing hell, I used to see it that way.

I know you're asking the above, but what was YOUR view on reprobates? Reprobates are written as wicked who refuse to stop doing evil whilst holding their fists up to God, spitting in His direction. On the sinners "chart" shall we say: it goes right across the scale for example, from a mere pick-pocket to the killing and eating of children etc.. So I am thinking that you must take to the theology that ALL people have the same punishment. As I understand it so far ... taking a simple POV no overthinking. People will be burnt up in a puff of smoke and exist no more (wheat and the tares). Some of the worse of the worse maybe.. go to the eternal place made for satan and his angels... which yes..is an alternative after-life (and not second death!?). I don't know for sure who actually goes there (case by case).

Atheists and perhaps theists errors too (not forgetting sabotage from the dark forces, in a manner of speaking ..) throughout history have caused a lot of problems with various discriptions of hell, I suppose. Certainly we know now by the text.. Satan does not torture people in hell, like in the movies. And I say.. God doesn't torture people in hell either.

Would that be your view? Can you imagine yourself having bliss or happiness knowing that family members and friends are bound in this alternate afterlife? Or?
(Alternative after life, well spotted)

Of course it would naturally be torment in one's mind. What did those family members do? Did they worship bulls and throw children in the fire? Was that family member Hitler or Stalin? Regarding those who are not evil individuals that also do not want to be with or love God, is still against God, so imho, they will just simply exist no more. I meet more Christians now understanding this context. The bible is revealing itself, as it's continuosly being studied, seeing differently than before on a number of theological things.
 
Putting it the way you do "Pig in a Poke" (as the description you give above, is to you). I quite understand - it's not that type of place you'd like to be in.

Then how could it be bliss?

No doubt imo, the meek, all those who suffered terribly through all sorts of atrocious ordeals throughout mans history, may have found it kinda attractive... a whole new experience 'for a change', you could say.

So heaven is designed for each individual without interaction with the other individuals?

They are each in separate virtual realities?

Do YOU want to buy a pig in a poke?

For the record, my most deeply held problem with this “heaven” that y’all imgine is that it includes a hell where people are being tortured. And while that makes me say, “um, no?” what really disturbs me is that actual non-imaginary humans are walking around in my world with hearts that think they can be perfectly happy while knowing people are being tortured. THAT is the real problem in my heart.

"What theists imagine of Heaven includes a hell".

Hmm.. without asking for ANY defining description for the latter as you did for Heaven... you DO have a concept description.. of what hell means to you. :rolleyes:


Oh look. Just as I predicted on page one. When I _do_ offer a description, you just tell me I’m wrong, and we play a little game you’ve cooked up called, “bring me a rock. No not that rock, bring me a different rock. No not that rock, bring me a different rock.” With a “rollseyes” you show me how wrong I am about your theology.

This is why I asked YOU to describe what YOU were asking about.
How predictable. Go look at your reply to my prediction, where you said, “what? Me? The nice Christian? Whatever do you mean?”

I knew you would do this, and I KNEW that what I heard or read would nbot be what is YOUR personal picture of heaven, so I asked you to describe it, and you can go back an re-read the thread to watch how coy and evasive you have been, asking me to tell you what’s in your head. You were asked about hell several times as well. And you were evasive again. Now you rolleyes at me for making a guess.


In a manner of phrasing language (pig in a poke). Were you telling 'porkies' when you said you didn't understand (the concept of) heaven? :thinking:
No, learner, I really truly was not, am not. I wanted to answer YOUR question. I asked you straight up to explain yourself and admitted I had no idea what YOU meant. I explained I’d heard what other people meant, and what your bible says, and it often contradicts so to answer YOUR question, I would need YOUR description. I listed some things to ask and instead of answering the useful ones (how will people resolve conflicts) you picked the most unimportant one (how will they nourish themselves) and caricatured it with “I don’t know the menu”. That is your dodge, your evasion.

It is not a good faith discussion.


Hell is a deterent against evil wickedness etc.,& etc.. POV. Only God/ Jesus can take that position as being ultimately fair. to Judge. It takes ultimately more than a mere mortal to do what is promised, by the laws laid out and covenants agreed upon, without hesitancy (even with sorrow in heart) not to rewrite the laws, or take back His WORD...doing turnarounds( like politicians) with what was established. It takes ultimately more than a mere mortal to fulfill and keep to the script, so to speak.


This is a whole ‘nother thread and is intensely interesting. About “rules” your god “has” to follow that result in some people being rewarded with “new bodies” that “don’t sin” while other people “have to” keep the sinful bodies and be tortured in them. I shall start a different thread for this. It’s a weird, twisty, (very human) and pretty disturbing excuse for torture.


Without conflicting with any covenants - He sent a saviour should we fall short (of the laws for example),sins are forgivable. Sinners get forgiven - Reprobates (Gods enemies) don't repent.

So your heaven includes the existence of something bad happening to “reprobates”. AS I posited above.
 
Just the top line for now (I've got to go).

Quote Originally Posted by Learner View Post

Putting it the way you do "Pig in a Poke" (as the description you give above, is to you). I quite understand - it's not that type of place you'd like to be in.
Then how could it be bliss?

It's not for everyone is it now?
 
Just the top line for now (I've got to go).

Quote Originally Posted by Learner View Post

Putting it the way you do "Pig in a Poke" (as the description you give above, is to you). I quite understand - it's not that type of place you'd like to be in.
Then how could it be bliss?

It's not for everyone is it now?

Why wasn’t it built to be bliss for everyone?
 
And more to the point, why does it have to be a blind choice - a pig in a poke?. Maybe it is bliss to me. I DON’T KNOW, so how could I choose it?
 
I mean, I get that you and your theology just delight in the idea that you think I made a choice to turn down the offer, I get why you do that. So that you can continue to think it is “loving”. But you have deliberately devised this whole conversation to ask the question

1. ... ...“Are you someone who is comfortable with blind choices”

You have very carefully contrived to NOT ask the question,

2. ... ... “Would you like to live in heaven.”

As much as I have tried and tried to get you to provide information that would allow me to answer question #2, you have carefully and repeatedly made sure that it is question #1 that is on the table.

Then you take my answer to question #1 and say, smugly to yourself and your congregation, “see? She freely said ‘no’ to question #2!” But that is not an honest representation of my answer. I dug and I dug and I dug to make sure I could tell what question you were asking. And it is definitely question #1.

Make sure you are honest in conveying that I answered question #1 ONLY. I have no answer for question #2. There has been no question #2 here.
 
It is as if you're more concerned about defending some sort of "honour or sumink," what ever it is.

(still a bit busy, later)
 
It is as if you're more concerned about defending some sort of "honour or sumink," what ever it is.

(still a bit busy, later)

What? No. What does that even mean? Honor in what?
 
People will be burnt up in a puff of smoke and exist no more (wheat and the tares). Some of the worse of the worse maybe.. go to the eternal place made for satan and his angels... which yes..is an alternative after-life (and not second death!?). I don't know for sure who actually goes there (case by case).

OK, so the bad people go to the underworld with the Devil, but you have no idea what it is like.

So we've got a choice between:
1. Buy Jesus' pig in a poke, which may have awful rules like constant worship.
2. Spend eternity with the fallen angels. No description of this venue. Infidels go here?
3. Get burned (must be evil to quallfy).

Have I got this right?
 
Gotta love how each believer can customize a heaven and hell. JC seemed to be fixated on wailing and gnashing of teeth, but no, hell must be more humane than that. But, according to many Christians' reading of the Bible (and one that seems to fit the meaning of the NT), Grandmother's gonna fry if she doesn't accept Jesus as L&S. Doesn't matter if she fixed your booboo and poured your Honey Nut Cheerios.
 
No particular order:


Gotta love how each believer can customize a heaven and hell.

And so it's said e.g. so many denominations. Such Differences about what hell is, I'm sure, won't neccessarily affect that much on the whole.

JC seemed to be fixated on wailing and gnashing of teeth, but no, hell must be more humane than that. But, according to many Christians' reading of the Bible (and one that seems to fit the meaning of the NT), Grandmother's gonna fry if she doesn't accept Jesus as L&S. Doesn't matter if she fixed your booboo and poured your Honey Nut Cheerios.

No real confliction among Chrsitians as above. It does seems to me there is some regret, a change of mind, perhaps some realization they may like it after all.

Luke 13:28
"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.


(Right I'm really off. Get back to posts tommorrow)
 
No particular order:


Gotta love how each believer can customize a heaven and hell.

And so it's said e.g. so many denominations. Such Differences about what hell is, I'm sure, won't neccessarily affect that much on the whole.

JC seemed to be fixated on wailing and gnashing of teeth, but no, hell must be more humane than that. But, according to many Christians' reading of the Bible (and one that seems to fit the meaning of the NT), Grandmother's gonna fry if she doesn't accept Jesus as L&S. Doesn't matter if she fixed your booboo and poured your Honey Nut Cheerios.

No real confliction among Chrsitians as above. It does seems to me there is some regret, a change of mind, perhaps some realization they may like it after all.

Luke 13:28
"There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out.


(Right I'm really off. Get back to posts tommorrow)

Holy fuck. Believing in a heaven and a hell (and a god) is borderline pathological. If it wasn't so common we'd be putting these people in institutions.
 
Thanks for the straight up

As you're seeing hell, I used to see it that way.

I know you're asking the above, but what was YOUR view on reprobates?
I never really used or had that term used in the churches I went to. First some background, as my views weren't really static over time. I grew up mainstream protestant in the 1970's. As college ended, I ended up switching to evangelical/independent Bible churches, and spent a dozen years in that situation before the cracks started forming in my faith. So I guess thru college I sort of had your below view, but largely without serious thought put into it. When I switched to what I thought was churches that took the Bible more seriously (aka God-breathed et.al.), I tried to adopt their more black and white view of the heaven-hell (eternal torment for the masses) dynamic. I don't think I was ever that comfortable with the view, but within the construct of the Bible being God-breathed, I felt it was the most rational conclusion.

Reprobates are written as wicked who refuse to stop doing evil whilst holding their fists up to God, spitting in His direction. On the sinners "chart" shall we say: it goes right across the scale for example, from a mere pick-pocket to the killing and eating of children etc.. So I am thinking that you must take to the theology that ALL people have the same punishment. As I understand it so far ... taking a simple POV no overthinking. People will be burnt up in a puff of smoke and exist no more (wheat and the tares). Some of the worse of the worse maybe.. go to the eternal place made for satan and his angels... which yes..is an alternative after-life (and not second death!?). I don't know for sure who actually goes there (case by case).

Atheists and perhaps theists errors too (not forgetting sabotage from the dark forces, in a manner of speaking ..) throughout history have caused a lot of problems with various discriptions of hell, I suppose. Certainly we know now by the text.. Satan does not torture people in hell, like in the movies. And I say.. God doesn't torture people in hell either.
Without the notion that the Bible is God-breathed, then what you state here I would find reasonable enough, as I find the descriptions of the negation side of heaven to be somewhat conflicting even if it has more words about it than heaven.

Would that be your view? Can you imagine yourself having bliss or happiness knowing that family members and friends are bound in this alternate afterlife? Or?
(Alternative after life, well spotted)

Of course it would naturally be torment in one's mind. What did those family members do? Did they worship bulls and throw children in the fire? Was that family member Hitler or Stalin? Regarding those who are not evil individuals that also do not want to be with or love God, is still against God, so imho, they will just simply exist no more. I meet more Christians now understanding this context. The bible is revealing itself, as it's continuosly being studied, seeing differently than before on a number of theological things.
I get this, though I don't care for the way you said "individuals that also do not want to be with or love God", as I don't think it is about desire or wanting. It is about the rational side of the brain simply finding this construct called Christianity to be not real/true. I know in my case, it certainly wasn't about 'not wanting'. It was painful to loose this sense of having God at your side. However, reality crept in and shoed God away, much as reality shoed the belief in Santa (albeit in much more simpleton terms) away when I was young.
 
People will be burnt up in a puff of smoke and exist no more (wheat and the tares). Some of the worse of the worse maybe.. go to the eternal place made for satan and his angels... which yes..is an alternative after-life (and not second death!?). I don't know for sure who actually goes there (case by case).

OK, so the bad people go to the underworld with the Devil, but you have no idea what it is like.

So we've got a choice between:
1. Buy Jesus' pig in a poke, which may have awful rules like constant worship.
2. Spend eternity with the fallen angels. No description of this venue. Infidels go here?
3. Get burned (must be evil to quallfy).

Have I got this right?
I don't think you have it right, per what I read of Learner I'd say it is:

1. Buy Jesus' pig in a poke, which may have awful rules (evidently they will like it) like constant worship.
2. You die for real, nothing further. Yes, Infidels go here, but Mormons might get into #1.
3. Spend eternity with the fallen angels and get burned (must be evil to qualify).


*Mormon comment is my addition
 
I don't think you have it right, per what I read of Learner I'd say it is:

1. Buy Jesus' pig in a poke, which may have awful rules (evidently they will like it) like constant worship.
2. You die for real, nothing further. Yes, Infidels go here, but Mormons might get into #1.
3. Spend eternity with the fallen angels and get burned (must be evil to qualify).

Ah, got it.

Imagine some believer who ends up in Heaven only to find out that his whole family isn't there, so he asks Jesus what happened to them.

"Oh, them? they didn't actually believe I was real, so I obliterated them."
"Jesus Christ!"
"No need to shout, I'm standing right here."
 
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