An imaginary friend threatens you with imaginary consequences. Offers you riches beyond belief but you have to wait until you die to get them. "Nice soul you got there, it would be a shame if something were to happen to it." #religion #atheist #protectionRacket
@scottyorange It does sound sort of questionable, when you put it that way, doesn't it.
It's odd how much that sounds like a grift that people are only likely to fall for when indoctrinated while young or vulnerable.
And I'm _not_ just saying that because I didn't like how my character is treated in the book.
@AskTheDevil your kill rate was vastly outdone by the supposed god character. And honestly who is the bad guy in comparison to the god character? We all know who the good guy is.
@scottyorange The big thing that's true for both the old and new testament is they declare that the creator is a King, and everyone owes them obeisance and fealty, and by extension, the other leaders and authority figures.
Who's jealous? Who tells us to obey Caesar and themselves? To bow? To fear? To treat pride as a sin, condone slavery, to pluck out our eyes and those of others?
@AskTheDevil whatever the hell is supposed to be can be a paradise if you want. If the god person put you to rule over a place that has literally infinite thermal energy what more could you ask for?
@scottyorange It had little or nothing to do with "Going someplace" (Wooooo!) after you die, even though there was a concept of an essence that was not merely of the flesh. It was thought that unless their god decided to bring you back for some reason, you were just dead. The place of just being dead when you die is Hell, as opposed to eventual membership in his kingdom if he decides to resurrect you or otherwise allow you in.
"Hell" is literally just the Earth in the old stories.
@scottyorange My personal feeling is that the Earth has got quite a lot going for it, and we ought to be making it more alive and wondrous, rather than a worse place to live, or where nobody gets to live.
There is absolutely nothing stopping us from building in hell a heaven, but the wit to find a way and the will to do it, and love as a compass.
It doesn't matter what gods or myths are "real" or not, myself included, we've got the land, the tools - those are real. We could build cool shit.
@scottyorange I really am not entirely sure how that got started.
But Right?! If I had access to a hell, I wouldn't put _people_ in there, that would be horrid! I'd have that hooked up to turbines and shit so fast! Free lights and HVAC for all.
I think in the early conception in the early understanding of the stories, hell was just the place of the grave. Here on earth, where you can be mortal and die. It wasn't some kind of inane torture-furnace.
Sposed to be a whatsit. Metaphor or allegory.