Did'nt you just show me something I should look at?

In your eyes what do you think or know is?

I don't think God, Heaven, or hell exists. In fact I think when you are dead you will experience..... nothing... which in a strange way is an experience. HA!

So... ask yourself THIS question, which I personally find very interesting.....

Would you rather cease to exist? OR
Would you rather suffer in the pits of hell?

I would take hell over ceasing to exist. Maybe you can buddy up with Satan enough to get on his good side and help torture and get an air conditioned apartment or something...

lol Don I think you hurt his feelings.. he erased his account!

Given the limited imagery for Hell available in the first century, I think the biblical view of Hell is rather compatible with Bruce Moen's astral perspectives.
Here are 9 neglected points about the biblical imagery:

(1) Jesus' primary term for  Hell is "Gehenna," a reference to the ancient trash dump just outside Jerusalem.  Gehenna is an ancient symbol for wasted lives.  Ancient Jewish rabbis taught that Jews with mediocre spirituality might spend a year in Gehenna.  So it does not need to be construed as a place of eternal torment. 

(2) Jesus teaches that souls are attracted to Hell based on a principle akin to like attracts like: "For with the judgment you make you youself will be judged, and the measure you dish out will be dished out to you (Matthew 7:1-2)."  In an sense, Jesus seems to imply that Gehenna is a self-chosen condition--a teaching tool that asks the question: "What would a world be like if everyone's spiritual condition were just like yours and if your could not conceal your true thoughts from your neighbors (Luke 12:2)?"

(3) In Matthew 5:25-26 and 18:34-35, Jesus uses the image of a debtor's prison for Hell and implies the possibility of paying off the debt (= growing spiritually and reforming) and gaining release.

(4) In Luke 12:47-48, Jesus employs the poetic image of "few stripes" to refer to the trials of Hell.  "Few stripes" is a finite image that implies the possibility of ultimate release.  Jesus makes it clear that people are judged fairly on the basis of the limited spiritual light they have received. 

(5) In the Bible, the Hebrew word ("olam")often translated as "forever" just means "for a long time"
and the Greek word ("aionios") just means "age-long" or "for an indefinitely long period of time." Thus, Judaeo-Christian writings from the New Testament period can speak of what transpires after the "aionios" period ends!

The New Testament and early Christianity often imply the possibility of release from Hell and even soul retrievals. 

(6) The prophet John teaches that the gates of heaven {= "the new Jerusalem") are eternally open (Revelation 21:15) and shares his vision of a possible future in which every human who has ever lived in heaven, in hell and on earth worshiping God in heaven (5:13).  Paul share the same vision in Philippians 2:9-11).  I say "possible future" because God never forces anyone to worship Him.

(7) In the next 2 generations after the Book of Revelation, new Christian apocalypses make explicit what is only implied by John: that prayer and soul retrievals can rescue souls from Hell (Apocalypse of Peter 14; Sibylline Oracles 2).   

(8) Paul's churches practice proxy baptism for the unredeemed dead (1 Corinthians 15:28-29).  tHIS practice builds on the Jewish practice of offering sacrifices and praying for the evil dead (1 Maccabees).  Such practices are intended as a form of soul retrieval from Hell.

(9) Peter teaches that Jesus and the saints preach to the evil dead in their hellish prison (1Peter 3:19-21; 4:6).  Such preaching is pointless if these souls don't have an opportunity to respond and be retrieved.

Don

However.....I will say one more thing. When visitors to this site are treated as if they must live up to some kind of particular 'academic' standard here before writing an opinion, I think that's a little off-putting. There is no rule here that someone must take a scholarly approach to any subject on this forum. People contribute to discussions by virtue of their presence and their curiosity and their willingness to hear us. We don't own this board.

This is really quite interesting information. Thanks for putting this together.

Berserk2 wrote on Nov 4^th, 2009 at 5:37pm:

Pratekya:

First of all, I don't believe all New Age people reject the gospel completely. It is more of a matter of their wondering if the gospels accurately reflect what Jesus said.

It is also a matter of many people presenting the gospel in a manner that is too fear and guilt based. I don't believe Jesus was a fearmonger, even though he did warn people at times.

One of the reasons people like to read things outside of the gospels is because the gospels don't provide a lot of information of what the afterlife is like. Parables are given, but these are cryptic.

I like to read NDEs because they provide descriptions of what the afterlife is like. These descriptions can be very inspirational.

When it comes right down to it each of us has to listen to our common sense, heart and conscience, because even when it comes to people who believe in the gospels, people interpret them in different ways.

There are many Christians who don't support gay marriage. It is hard for me to believe that these people listened to their common sense, heart and conscience when they considered whether homosexuality is a sin. Rather, fear prevented them from questioning what a few verses in the Bible say.

Certainly it is understandible why many people including New Agers get turned off by how some Christians view homosexuality. Perhaps if Christians don't want to lose followers, they should remember how Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself and not be judgmental, and consider the possibility that the "men" who decided to add homophobic verses to the Bible might've been wrong. Of course, if a person is restrainded by fear, how will he or she ever question whether homosexuality is a sin. Perhaps people who listen to their common sense, heart and conscious decided to love homosexuals rather than judge them.

Also, perhaps the love in their hearts cause them to believe it isn't right to send souls to hell for all of eternity. I know that somebody such as Don will say that the Bible doesn't support this premise, BUT, many Christians say it does. Therefore, people get turned off. It as if Christians shoot themselves in their own foots when they try to fear people into believing as they do.

I believe a lot of new agers are wonderful people with good intentions. They accept fraudulent sources of information "not" because they are dumb or don't have good intentions, but because their hunger for information and trusting nature makes it so they sometimes accept too easily.

I really doubt that Jesus views new age people as if they are contemptible. He sees their light and knows their hearts.

This World is going to have a hard time coming together as long as Christians and New Agers are oppossed to each other.  For the most part, each group of people want what's best, it is just that their paths don't completely agree with each other.

I believe we can be discerning without being afraid.

If we understand that moving heavenward is a glorious and wonderful thing, we don't need fear to keep us in line. If anything, fear will prevent us from discriminating things in an accurate manner.