December 21, 2012 - Doomsday?

[Jack Skellington]

You might not meet anybody at all. In Christian theology, Hell is the separation from God. I sometimes think that a person might just be alone in the dark, forever.

That's an interesting thought Murf.

[Rising Dead Man]

That's kind of a pointless eternity. But I was thinking for a while of writing a fantasy series all about matters like the meaning of life and the after life. This isn't a Christian view of it though, it would involve a lot of gods. My idea of hell for it was pretty much like yours. They stand around in the dark, their souls festering until they go madder than they already were in life.

I Imagine you would meet a lot of bad guys down there. Adolf Hitler, Al Capone, John Wayne Gacy, Geoffery Dalmer, Sadam Husane, Osama Bin Laden, Ted Bundy, just to name a few.

I don't even like to think about hell, though.

Mike

I think that would actually be pretty awesome, getting to meet some of these guys.

[Jack Skellington]

I think that would actually be pretty awesome, getting to meet some of these guys.

It'll be pretty frightening too! Well, for me anyway!

[Pumpkin_Man]

Folks, hell is nothing to joke about. I know that many of you don't believe in it, and are nog religious, but it's a very real place none the less, and I would NEVER want to go there, or even see what it looks like. I knwo some of you like to joke around about it. I did the same thing with my rererences to the guys I mentioned in the above post, but truth be told, I had enough suffering in this life. I don't want eternity to be more suffering. I also would not want to meet Hitler or Dalmer, either. The creeps I mentioned above brought nothint but misery and unhappiness to this life. They weren't heros, they were monsters.

Mike

[Jack Skellington]

Folks, hell is nothing to joke about. I know that many of you don't believe in it, and are nog religious, but it's a very real place none the less, and I would NEVER want to go there, or even see what it looks like. They weren't heros, they were monsters.

Mike

Don't watch South Park then. They're always joking around with Satan & Saddam in that!

I'll admit that i'm not religous anymore, but I have respect for people that are. My parents were, but I went through a lot of bad times (they passed away within 7 months of each other) that caused me to question my faith. I was never deeply religous, but I believed. Perhaps one day i'll rediscover it? Who knows.

When I hear stories about Hell though, it does give me the creeps!

You're right about them being monsters. It does fascinate me though about what makes people to be that evil towards a fellow human being.

[Murfreesboro]

My thought about being "alone in the dark" wasn't altogether based on theology, but rather a nightmare I had when I was in my early 20s. I dreamed that I'd died in an earthquake. Now, they say you never actually die in your dreams, or that, if you do, you will die for real. But I know that's not true, because in this dream, I experienced the moment of my death. And then, it just got really, really, quiet. I woke up, but my room was completely dark (I was living alone), and for a few minutes, I thought I really had died, and that this was what eternity was, being alone in the dark. And it scared me worse than anything else I have ever experienced. So for me, I guess, that would be a preview of what would make Hell for me. Later on, I recalled or learned the Christian definition of Hell as being "separation from God, " and it just fit into that nightmare experience I'd had.

If meeting a celebrity criminal is interesting to you, I 'd bet that would be one thing that would never happen for you in Hell. I believe that whatever happens there, it is never anything that would be remotely interesting or entertaining. It is whatever would be genuinely terrible for you.

As for making jokes about Hell & the Devil--actually, the Devil was regularly a figure of fun in the very Christian Middle Ages. The point of much literature of that time was that the Devil had tried to trick or cheat mankind out of his inheritance with God, but Jesus had tricked him, so he was ultimately powerless. One of my professors years ago pointed out that the Devil became scary again when the Protestant Reformation happened, because it challenged and broke up the consensus of belief that had prevailed in the centuries prior to that time. He even went so far as to say that the witch-burnings were not a phenomenon of the Middle Ages, but the Renaissance/Reformation.

Of course, there is a difference between poking fun at such things because you believe so strongly in the Christian plan of salvation, and poking fun at them because you don't believe in any of it at all. And I do appreciate the difficulty many people have with any religious belief system, due to the existence of evil (in all its forms) in the world.

[NeverMore]

Ahhh goody, another armageddon show on History Channel.

Maybe that's why my thoughts seem to turn to the subject so often. They sure have been concentrating on that subject a lot over the last few years. At least the satellite didn't drop on our heads.

One thing I did see on History Channel that I thought was excellent information was a show called 'After Armageddon'. They had a panel of experts describe the most likely scenario of what would happen if society collapsed. The show followed a single family though their experiences. One example of what they showed was, if you're ever in a situation where looting is occurring around you, make your house look like it's already been hit. Break some windows, throw clothes in the front yard, ect. Personally, I don't want to stay in the city if a major earthquake or something hits.

If you are interested, you can watch that show on Youtube. Lots of good info. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... re=viewall

[Jack Skellington]

Ahhh goody, another armageddon show on History Channel.

Maybe that's why my thoughts seem to turn to the subject so often. They sure have been concentrating on that subject a lot over the last few years. At least the satellite didn't drop on our heads.

One thing I did see on History Channel that I thought was excellent information was a show called 'After Armageddon'. They had a panel of experts describe the most likely scenario of what would happen if society collapsed. The show followed a single family though their experiences. One example of what they showed was, if you're ever in a situation where looting is occurring around you, make your house look like it's already been hit. Break some windows, throw clothes in the front yard, ect. Personally, I don't want to stay in the city if a major earthquake or something hits.

If you are interested, you can watch that show on Youtube. Lots of good info. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... re=viewall

You're right, they sure have been showing many shows lately on the subject. I've seen so many myself, that I can't remember what they were called!

I haven't seen 'After Armageddon'. Thanks for the link, i'll give it a watch. It's best to be prepared. I wouldn't stay in the city either though.

[NeverMore]

I guess, when it comes down to it, I don't really believe anything is going to happen. I just like to be aware of the possibilities. I just went down to the store to get water, in case there is an earthquake in the next few days. While I was waiting for the jugs to fill up I realized I wasn't even all that worried. If Elenin really is stressing the Earth there's no guarantee it will even be our fault that goes off. Anyways, would the President come here of all places if there were the possibility of an earthquake happening? You'd think he'd head to Denver, where they have those underground bunkers Jack was talking about.

[Jack Skellington]

I guess, when it comes down to it, I don't really believe anything is going to happen. I just like to be aware of the possibilities. I just went down to the store to get water, in case there is an earthquake in the next few days. While I was waiting for the jugs to fill up I realized I wasn't even all that worried. If Elenin really is stressing the Earth there's no guarantee it will even be our fault that goes off. Anyways, would the President come here of all places if there were the possibility of an earthquake happening? You'd think he'd head to Denver, where they have those underground bunkers Jack was talking about.

Yes you'ld think he would. Those bunkers are a "conspiracy theory" though. You might get labelled a nutter talking about them!

It really was an interesting TV show I watched on the Denver Underground Bunkers though.

What fault line is it you live close to?

[NeverMore]

What fault line is it you live close to?

San Andreas. California is a well known earthquake zone.

[NeverMore]

WHOA mama! Check out this video of the Washington Monument during the earthquake in August. Those people had to think it was an attack since earthquakes aren't very common there. The monument is closed indefinitely.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRiOlPPcIPo

[Murfreesboro]

In Tennessee, we have to be aware of the New Madrid fault. It rarely "goes off," but it went off in a major way back around 1811 or 1812. They say it even made the Mississippi River flow backwards! And it changed the river's course, and created Realfoot Lake, etc. Over here in the Nashville area, we probably wouldn't get hit as hard as Memphis. But I think about that every time I go to Arkansas, where I have relatives. What if it were to hit while I was crossing the river?

[Jack Skellington]

What fault line is it you live close to?

San Andreas. California is a well known earthquake zone.

Ahh yes. I've heard of this fault line before.

I've read that if it goes off in a big, big, way, then California will fall into the Pacific Ocean!

Murf, i've also heard of the New Madrid fault line too.

[Murfreesboro]

I don't think CA can literally fall into the ocean. It might create a gap, though, like a gulf or something, between CA & the mainland.