Devoured by monsters in Hell

by trevor 24 Replies latest jw friends

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  trevor

  Egyptian Burial. Saturdays Daily mail - UK newspaper.

  Finally, and perhaps most importantly of all, the passport to eternity would be put in the tomb with the deceased.

  The Book of the Dead contained the vital answers its owner would need when faced with questions from “Judge of the Deceased,” the powerful Egyptian god Osiris.

  Give the right answers and the deceased would spend eternity in heaven, a sort of idealised version of the real Egypt, but with better weather and no snakes.

  Get it wrong and they might find themselves being devoured by monsters in Hell.”

  How different is this to the fear Christian religions instill in their followers?
• 

  LittleToe

  When did you last go to church?

  Further, where's the difficulty with many faiths having similar archetypes?
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  Honesty

  How different is this to the fear Christian religions instill in their followers?

  I've never heard anything in my church remotely connected to what you have stated. BTW, I would like to invite you to our Worship Service.

  The WT doctrines of either Paradise or annihilation evidently was as bad as what the Egyptians believed. That's another reason I scaped from their prison of fear.
• 

  trevor

  Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you traverse sea and dry land to make one proselyte, and when he becomes one you make him a subject for Ge·hen´na twice as much so as yourselves.

  Matthew 23:13

  “Serpents, offspring of vipers, how are you to flee from the judgment of Ge·hen´na?

  These are Jesus’ own words. What was he referring to? The part of the Bible that trendy Christians want to ignore?
• 

  LittleToe

  Avoiding the questions?
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  trevor

  LittleTtoe.

  I am familiar with the games you play on the web. You have a pattern of distracting people from the point in hand by asking obscure questions. Once answered you ask more questions and move further and further away from the issue you choose to avoid.

  It doesn’t work with me and is one of the reasons I generally avoid debating with you. Perhaps you would like to answer the questions raise on this thread rather that replying with questions of your own.
• 

  Narkissos

  *Couldn't we all get along, play nice, and all this sort of things*

  http://www.touregypt.net/bkofdead.htm

  The Book of the Dead is fascinating. In spite of the religious strategy (flattery to the gods, formal declaration of innocences -- which doesn't need to be true, as opposed to the Jewish-Christian repentance, i.e. admission of guilt) it shows a remarkable human sensitivity.

  One of my favourite (although necessarily false) is "I haven't caused anyone to weep."

  The idea of a passport through divine judgement to eternity is interesting btw, because it is a pretty common pattern in religion. What it consists in is another matter, e.g. the many Christian answers: "repentance" (John the Baptist), "faith" (Paul), "works of love and mercy" (Matthew, James), "knowledge of one's divine origin" (John, Gnosticism), "sacraments" (post-Paulinism)...
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  LittleToe

  My you're an elusive one. I play no such games. Are you getting paranoid, or something? I merely discuss stuff. That can't help but involve further questions. If you have a difficulty with that, feel free to avoid "debating" with me. It wont put me up nor down.

  By way of answer:

  I don't know when I last heard a sermon on "Hell". Maybe a year ago, but without any of the alleged fear factor and emotion stirring. I've maybe heard 2-3 references to it in over four years of going to church. Hardly a case for "instilling fear"!

  You haven't been to church in a loooooong time, and/or have never been to church period, prefering to believe the WTS version of events, eh?

  There are similarities with many religions, hence my rhetorical question about archetypes.

  The words you quote from the Gospels are directed at hypocrites. It would appear that of all the "sins" that it was possible to commit, this one was the lowest, with the greatest repercussions. Whether an individual wants to live in a hell of his own making in this life or the next is perhaps up to themselves.

  And you answered nicely my last rhetorical question about avoidance of questions. Thanks anyhow.

  Your turn, should you choose to take it...
• 

  LittleToe

  Didier: I'm kinda partial to the Negative Confession of Maat, too
• 

  trevor

  Narkissos - thanks for the link.

  LittleToe - Thanks for your reply.

  This thread is not aimed at you personally. People are entitled to believe what they want to but I am bemused by the way Christianity has been slowly dismantled, in some churches, until it bears no resemblance to the religion pioneered by Jesus and his apostles.

  I have attended many churches and live next door to a vicar. I even have him and his gay partner to dinner. He tells me that the whole Bible is a metaphor or an ideal but not to be taken literally.

  So many inconvenient Bible references are dismissed and air brushed away, in an attempt to make the Christian religion appear to be a political correct modern movement. I might be easier and more honest to throw the Bible away and make a fresh start based on a nice man in sandals from Galilee, who loved the poor and only spoke of love.

  Eat your heart out John Lennon.