a critical assessment of Christianity

[Anonymous No.13552927]

To me the Christian religion seems to be lacking in any basic dignity. To actually believe that there is a Hell where people suffer for all eternity, sometimes for the most inconsequential of reasons, and to accept this fact simply, is just horrid. It seems like the main motivation of Christian (and Muslims, for that matter) life is to avoid the suffering of Hell and attain the delights of Heaven. Can anyone really be decent with such petty motives? In the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, Yudhishthira, a just king, was travelling with his family and wife in search of a gate to Heaven. By the time he had found it all his family had perished in the journey. All that was left was a dog that had faithfully followed him out of the nearest town. He finally reached the gate and a being descended telling him that the way to Heaven was open to him, only he could not bring the dog with him. He refused and said that he could not abandon this dog who was so faithful to him. Now, that's dignity. Can you imagine a Christian or a Jew in that situation? If one of God's angels comes down with orders they'll do whatever song and dance is asked of them without any critical reflection. Anyway, he was then informed that it was just a test and so he ascended to Heaven. When he got there he saw some wicked people that he had known during his Earthly life. Completely repulsed by this he asked where his friends and family were. He was led to a dark and abysmal place deep in the Earth. He was told that he could return to Heaven if he wished, but he damned the Gods and chose to remain. What would Yudhishthira have done if one of God's angels came down and told him to sacrifice his favorite son? I don't think he would have acted like Abraham.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xOOt60XgK5E

[Anonymous No.13552958]

>>13552927
"Wherefore in order that thehappiness of theSaints may be more delightful to them and that they may render more copious thanks toGod for it, they are allowed to see perfectly the sufferings of the damned."
Aquinas literally states that one of the joys of heaven is observing the suffering of those in Hell.

[Anonymous No.13552965]

>>13552927
when you restrain yourself from doing something dissolute and injurious: is the end not heaven?

when you succumb to the urge to do something that is pleasurable at first, but twofold that pleasure in pain last: is the end not hell?

[Anonymous No.13552970]

this guy raises a lot of good points on some of the flaws of abrahamic religion, or at least their exoteric theological premises
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pSz64rIb6sE
>>13552958
yeah, that’s exactly what I mean. This is not the way a dignified human being conducts himself.

[Anonymous No.13552974]

>>13552965
That seems like a non sequitur to my post. what is the connection exactly?

[Anonymous No.13552975]

Literally everything you just said is subjective and from your own baseless opinions.
>"It's just horrid."
>"Can anyone really be decent with such petty motives?"

[Anonymous No.13552979]

>>13552975
So, if God sent an angel down and he told you to douse your family in gasoline and set them on fire would you get down and grovel “th-thank you master, I will do as you command. Ooh you are so great and holy and wonderful, oh blesss you Lord”?

[Anonymous No.13552982]

>>13552927
You misunderstand because you're treaty the Bible as a rule book and not as an expression of the spirit of Christ. No one goes to Hell for masturbating or stubbing their toe and using the Lord's name in vain; they go to Hell for LIVING IN CONTEMPT OF GOD. Let me stress the LIVING there. It has nothing to do with one's individual actions and all with the pattern of one's actions. A truly repentent person who can't help but sin every day will enter the Kingdom of God. A person who is not repentent and actively resents the notion of sin (i.e. someone who denies life itself) while having only committed one minor sin in their entire life--this person might not get into the Kingdom of God so easily. That is mercy and justice, and I say that as a Christian with an enormous admiration for the Vedic faiths (Gita is my jam).

[Anonymous No.13552990]

>>13552982
The whole one shot deal thing is incredibly arbitrary. Some people are going to be born into circumstances that make them more likely to be saved and others for damnation. And repentance is an emotive response, not everyone os going to feel that way because some people have different psychologies. There are probably many people who can’t even feel “truly repentant”. It seems Christianity is only catered to a specific psychological type yet it makes claims to be a universally valid faith. It is clearly a very restricted type that isn’t suited for everyone.

[Anonymous No.13552993]

>>13552979
Give me one reason I shouldn't. God is all-powerful, so that means both me and my families existence are directly dependant on Him. He could kill both me and my family easily. Also you dont cease to exist when you physically die.

[Anonymous No.13552996]

>>13552927
Which sects of Christianity actually believe in hell? I thought that was just a trick to get kids to behave. It's not in the Bible

[Anonymous No.13552998]

>>13552974
Hell is prostituting the soul for worldly bullshit id est: "lacking basic dignity."

Heaven is the culmination of a dignified life.

[Anonymous No.13553011]

>>13552993
You shouldn’t because it’s indecent. better to be noble and damned than a scoundrel and saved.
>>13552998
>Heaven is the culmination of a dignified life
yes, but not in abrahamic religion

[Anonymous No.13553018]

>>13552927
>>13552927
>The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
- Proverbs 9:10

endless Hell isn't strictly a dogma, the Church tolerates a plurality of thought to a degree

[Anonymous No.13553026]

>>13553018
That’s not the point. The point is the fundamentally groveling and indecent attitude. If God says jump they say “how high?”, if he says “kill your kids” they say “Yes sir, thank you sir”