I am a new ex muslim and I am still afraid of hell. I know that God doesn't exist so logically hell doesn't also exist but I can't help it and it keeps me up at night. Did anyone else go through this and if yes how did you get over it?
Subscription Note:
Choosing to subscribe to this topic will automatically register you for email notifications for comments and updates on this thread.
Email notifications will be sent out daily by default unless specified otherwise on your account which you can edit by going to your userpage here and clicking on the subscriptions tab.
Sorry, I have never gone through such a fear. I have been atheist since I was born. Never could believe the lies of religion. Just never made any logical sense. Still doesn't. There are others here who have and can/will give you their stories/advice.
Just know this. Why fear something that does not exist? Any ALL-loving god who condemn non-believers to eternal (infinite) torture and torment is not worth worshiping. Thus, why worry?
rmfr
Look at all the different versions of hell. They all reflect the local of cultures of the people who invented them. If there was one, real hell, it would have the same characteristics in all cultures. Do your nightmares of hell include mountains of needles and lakes of blood? That's the Japanese vision of hell. There's also a version were people are chained up their necks in water and devils are racing around in a speedboat while everyone screams "Don't make waves".
My suggestion to you is to study all the different versions of hell from different cultures. See how ridiculous they are, and how they reflect both local cultures and the warped, sadistic minds of the men who dreamed them up to keep your ancestors and you in line. They are just ridiculous stories used by liars and bullies to frighten children.
Thanks this is really helpful
I mean what kind of a benevolent God condemns his creation to eternal suffering ?!
_________________________________________________________________
Skeptic Heretic
The Islamic Hell
I am a new ex muslim and I am still afraid of hell. I know that God doesn't exist so logically hell doesn't also exist but I can't help it and it keeps me up at night. Did anyone else go through this and if yes how did you get over it?
_________________________________________________________________
It will probably take a long time, and a lot of sensible thinking. I'd actually recommend watching
"The Atheist Experience" on YouTube. They have covered the topic of the lingering fear of hell
for new atheists. Here's a link to part of one episode. It may help you to watch it . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dN0kyoPFzIE
"The Atheist Experience" deals with Christian beliefs mostly, but fear of hell can be a problem for new atheists of all origins, Muslim or Christian or any other, if there are any.
@Skeptic Heritic: Islamic Hell???
Isn't that just being a woman and having to cover yourself from head to toe? Okay, snide comments aside. You are afraid of hell because it is something that was drilled into your head as a child. No other reason. Always remember that KNOWLEDGE is the bane of religion and all religious ideas. You are afraid of hell because you think it might be real. Any inquiry into the history of Satan and Hell would demonstrate to you that it is a made up myth. There is no Hell in the old testament. The idea of eternal torment only occurred when the Christians began talking about having an eternal soul and that was in the 4th Century. This shit is all made up bullshit.
When you talk about Islamic hell it is a 9th Century copy of a 4th Century belief system that was stolen from the Christians. "If you do not know it yet, the Holy Quaran was written 200 years after the death of Muhammad. Around 840 CE. For 200 years is was compiled, altered, recompiled, changed again, destroyed, and finally canonized. It is not only a work of man but a work of many men. We have the manuscripts and evidence to prove it. Hell is a man made invention.
There is an author who has written about the origins of Hell and Satan. Elane Pagels. You can find some of her stuff on PDF online. THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE LESS FEAR YOU WILL EXPERIENCE. You have been lied to and the only problem is that you have not yet recognized the lies as lies.
Thank you this has helped me a lot ! Also I agree covering one's self from head to toe is one of the many hells of Islam. I am glad I get to see past these lies now.
Welcome to the forum Skeptic Heretic.
The only real hell is the hell of being trapped and forced into believing made up religious bullshit.
You're out of it now and I wish you well on your journey back to the land of reality and knowledge.
Cognostic,
I'm confident that some research will show that the idea of hell existed in other religions long before Christianity came along.
Diotrephes: Yes, That's the point. Hell is a borrowed concept to the Christian faith just as it was borrowed by Muhammad for Islam.
A number of ancient civilizations, including those of Mesopotamia, India, Egypt and Greece, held as part of their mythology the concept of an underworld—the realm of the dead. The first-century-B.C.E.
Hell in the Old Testament - Hebrew Israelites who wrote the Old Testament had a vision of the afterlife that was very different from what Christians living in a society filled with Hellenistic and Roman influences would have pictured.
While some people claim that the Sheol of the Old Testament is simply an older word for the same place as the modern understanding of hell, there is evidence that the concept of hell is actually a more recent invention. Sheol as described in the Old Testament seems to be less of a place of torment and more of a general underworld. For example, when Joseph's brothers lie to Jacob and claim that Joseph is dead, Jacob states that he "shall go down to my son a mourner unto Sheol." It seems odd that a father would automatically assume that his son had gone to hell or that he would take the idea so calmly if Sheol truly corresponded to the modern concept of hell. Similarly, Ezekiel seems to describe Sheol as a place, a location, rather than a threat. The "mighty chiefs...[have] helpers...[in] the midst of Sheol" and Isaiah describes Sheol as a place that could be visited. In this way, Sheol sounds far more like the Greek understanding of the Underworld than the modern concept of a fiery hell. In such a case, it would be best to translate "Sheol" as "the grave," and some translations do exactly that. They recognize that translating Sheol as "hell" or even "Hades," given the latter's modern association with the former, would give a very different picture than what ancient writers probably intended.
Read more at https://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/christianity/what-does-the-old-testamen...
Christian Authors obviously want to assume the place in the Old Testament and that in the New Testament are the same. Just reading the differences in the books, this is not the case.
The OP is concerned with FEAR OF HELL. The Islamic Hell. Not the Old Testament hell. Not the Zoroastrian Hell. Not Hades. So where did the Christians get their version of hell? Not from the Jews (Old Testament) Christian Hell is in fact a Christian Invention. Muslim hell is a Muslim Invention.
So a simple Question: Do you fear Hell? Why not? Why do you reject the Islamic and Christian versions of hell? Why not help out the OP? Or do you want to argue for the existence of a hell.... and which one?
Cognostic,
"So a simple Question: Do you fear Hell? Why not? Why do you reject the Islamic and Christian versions of hell? Why not help out the OP? Or do you want to argue for the existence of a hell.... and which one?"
As I've written before, religions are just extortion rackets operated by "nice" people. They get gullible people to buy into their delusions in order to get thier money and to gain power, status, and influence over them.
In the case of Islam it uses a big stick and a big carrot as incentives. The Islamic hell is depicted as a very bad place. Christians even believe in it rather than the biblical hell. More women end up in the Islamic hell than men. The hell is the big stick along with whippings and death penalties for assorted religios "crimes". The big carrot is various paradises for the guys. Women and boys end up as eternal sex slaves.
The bottom line is that all religions are just "nice" criminal enterprises with no real basis in fact. People who believe in them are just accepting con mens' delusions. The only heaven and hell anyone will ever experience is here on this planet when they are alive.
I forgot to mention. Look for some of the past threads in the Debate Room. If memory serves, there are some in there covering this topic. Unfortunately, you may have to dig several pages back.
rmfr
I have always asserted, aside from the fact that we have early copies of the Qua'aran that do not agree with our modern versions, that one of the most damning criticisms of Islam is the fact that all of the earliest Mosques face the birth place of Muhammad. The Qua'aran itself describes the birth place of Muhammad. ITS NOT MECCA. Go look for yourself. Muhammad was born in Petra. All early Mosques face Petra. The Quaran describes Petra. Muhammad visits all the cities around Petra. The Islamic history of Mecca is mythology and nothing more.
@Cognostic: The Quaran describes Petra.
Yes. Mo's birthplace is described as a place with olive groves and vineyards, isn't it? Mecca's always been in the middle of a desert.
I'm sure the open-minded and progressive religious leaders of Saudi Arabia will recognize their error and redirect all the pilgrims to Jordan. Or not.
@Algebe:
I'm sure the open-minded and progressive religious leaders of Saudi Arabia will recognize their error and redirect all the pilgrims to Jordan.
I'm sure you are right. All we need do is send them a quick text informing them of this error. HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA ! ROFLMAO!
Hey there, Skeptic. Welcome to the AR. Sorry I'm a little late to this party. So, I see you are worried about hell and are wondering how best to get over that fear. Well, lucky for you I just happen to know it is very possible to get over that fear. I know this because I was once in your shoes about having my concerns over eternal damnation and all the nasty nightmarish bullshit that went with it. Having been raised in a Baptist/Methodist family in a small town Christian environment, I had the bible/God/Jesus/Devil/Heaven/Hell all crammed into my little noggin from the moment I was able to speak/read/understand English. Interestingly enough, however, none of that stuff ever made any sense to me. Too many contradictions and inconsistencies for my young little mind to process. But, I was an obedient and trusting child, so I simply believed what the adults told me. And one of the more damaging things I was told was that, "It is WRONG to ever question God or the bible. If you have any doubts, that is only the Devil trying to control your mind. Do not allow mean ol' Lucifer to lead you astray." The threat of Hell was very real to me as a child, and that fear stayed with me well into my aging adult years, regardless of the fact the whole religious concept made less and less sense to me the more I learned and experienced as I got older. Long story short, I finally got the nerve to join this site about a year and a half ago. I'll be honest, I was as nervous as a schizophrenic cat high on meth-laced catnip when I first logged on here. In my world at that time, the term "atheist" was basically equal to communist demon-worshiping kitten killers, because I was raised to believe such things. Plus (and more importantly), it also meant that I was directly and publicly coming out and outright questioning everything I had ever been taught. And, remember, that was THE big no-no that was to never be done. But I had finally gotten sick and tired of living my life with constant uncertainty, self-doubt, and always second-guessing most everything I did/said. So, I tentatively clicked the "Join" button, and it has been the best decision I have ever made. (Aside from marrying my wife, of course.... *chuckle*...)
Basically, what happened was that I started LEARNING. There are many fantastic people on here, and some of them have even become good friends. Ask questions. Follow up with your own research on answers you are given. I guarantee you it will not take very long for you to realize just how incredibly absurd the entire premise of heaven and hell truly are. And gradually, before you even know it is happening, that disturbing little voice of doubt in the back of your head will start to fade away. Then, one day when you are maybe washing your hair or perhaps driving down the road listening to the radio, it will dawn on you that you have not heard that nagging little voice of doubt in quite awhile. And that is when you know you are totally free. Matter of fact, to this day, I cannot tell you exactly when that happened to me. It is as though I simply woke up one morning and my mind was clear as if it had been that way my whole life. No more doubts. No more indecision. No more second-guessing myself. A fantastic feeling, to say the least. That same thing can happen for you. Just keep questioning and learning. You are in a great place here to do exactly that. The rest will follow...
What a fantastic post !
That was a pleasure to read Tin-Man and I'm glad you were able to break free from the darkness of religious bullshit and into the light of knowledge and reason.
@MarylinC
Thank you, good lady.... *bowing respectfully*... It truly is difficult to describe the freedom I have felt since finally cutting loose from those religious bonds. What is even more interesting to me, however, is that I sometimes look back now and have to shake my head in bewilderment while thinking to myself, "How and why did I ever believe any of that nonsense?" Even beyond that, though, I find myself on this site getting totally baffled as to why some of these theists are so dead-set in clinging to their particular faith. Then I have to remind myself I was once in their shoes to a certain degree (even though it never made sense to me). Yet, that fear of hell/eternal punishment is incredibly powerful and is insanely difficult to escape. And, thankfully, it is so far gone from me now that it is difficult for me to remember what it was like before. Therefore, when somebody comes in here expressing their fears and doubts, I can totally relate to the struggle they are having. Makes me sad people still teach such things to their children in this day and age.
Understanding that the Muslim Hell was stolen from Christianity 500 years after the Christians began talking about it. You might want to know how and why the Christians invented it. Hell is not in the Old Testament. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SF6I5VSZVqc
It was invented by the ancient Greeks and Scandanavians, not Christians. They copied their Hell from the pagan ones.
Skeptic Heretic,
Most of the people in the Islamic hell will be women. So if you are a guy your chances of going to hell are reduced.
Too bad I am not lol
Yep!
Only yesterday I was hearing the story of a Saudi woman who is in hiding because her own brother wants to kill her for becoming an atheist.
@MarylinC
I didn't really want to kill her. Just chain her to the bed and read the Quaaran to her 24/7 for a year. She is a grown up woman and can make up her own mind. If she chooses wrong after the year is up, welllllll..... Allah will decide then.
In the very very small off-chance that Hell does exist, then eventually its excruciatingness would die down and it would start to feel "meh". And besides, if this imaginary tyrant really did want to make you suffer for not believing in him, then why not deny you every last thing in the real world that brings joy to you, as is promised by many a preacher?
Thank you all ! Your comments have helped me and I think I am starting to make progress. Little progress yes but nonetheless progress.