Heaven and Hell, or where do we go from here?

[illuminator]

I know the coc has been trying to bring in crowds with their "Gospel Seminars" (apparently "Gospel Meeting" is passee) with enticing bylines about The "Real" Walking Dead. I was intrigued, but it was a total waste of time. What was "revealed" is if you're lucky enough to make it to heave, it's a large apartment complex, or dormitory, and you get a room to await the world's longest, boringest church service ever.

What were you taught about heaven and hell? With all the scientists going to hell, would hell have air conditioning by now?

[FinallyFree]

Growing up in the CofC, I was always taught it was like in the rich man and Lazarus parable. You went to a waiting place for heaven or a waiting place for hell. This makes no sense, though, because you are already judged, if this is true. And, to me, the thing that really makes no sense is that if all the dead people are off somewhere else, why do they need to come back at the end of time to be reunited with their bodies, most of which would be decayed and gone. Several years ago, I learned that the Old Testament does not teach that you have an immortal soul, so that really further complicates things. (There was a big discussion about this in the "some Jehovah's Witnesses knocked on my door thread", which is in this section.

[Ivy]

"Gospel Seminars"

it's a large apartment complex, or dormitory

What a rip-off!! What happened to the mansion just over the hilltop? Leave it to the
cofc to make their buildings austere and tacky....even in heaven.

[OneStrike_ur_out]

I was always told that only those in the "one true chruch" were headed for Heaven and not those in the denominations. But, to be certain, not everybody in the one true church was going to make it to Heaven. Only a select few. Now, this is where it gets very confusing. I was taught that there were but TWO eternal destinations. Paradise (Heaven) or Lake of Fire (Hell). There is no third place. There is no in between. The saved go to Heaven, and the lost go to Hell. That simple. Right? Well........I was in the "one true church", however, I was not good enough to be among the select few who were going to Heaven. So, I was in essence, lost. But, not just plain old lost, like people who had never spent so much as one second of their lives in church. Oh no. I was WAY more lost than them. They were just lost due to ignorance. As a matter of fact, it was even possible for them to be forgiven for ignorance and perhaps even get a pass of some kind. Because they truly "didn't know", they could get by on a loophole. Me? Oh, hell forget it. I had heard the truth from day one. I had NO excuse, whatsoever. So, even being in the one true church and towing the line may still not be enough for some people to make it to Heaven, but yet someone who ran wild all their life could plead guilty to ignorance and get a pass. Not a pass into Heaven, mind you, but a pass nonetheless. Because they simply never knew. Makes sense,LOL. Then you had the denominational folks. They were lost too. But, again, they were not as lost as me. They were, in all likelihood, headed to hell, however, they too may somehow get a pass. They could just say that they did what they thought was right. They had a little wiggle room, but not much. And of course, I was that third, and worst level of lost. I was toast. I had no margin for error. I could not claim ignorance, and I sure as shit could not leave and join a denomination. I was privy to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth from the day I came into the world. So, let's see if I've got this right. Everybody who ever lived gets an afterlife, no exceptions. There are only two possibilites. Heaven or Hell. Only those in the one true church can get in to Heaven, but not even all of them will make it, in fact, it is certain that most will not make it. Most in the one true church are lost. But, because there are different levels of lost, those in the one true church who are lost are like, seriously lost. Denominational people and those who have never been to church are lost as well, but it's not that bad for them. They still won't make it to Heaven, but they could avoid hell due to technicalities. So, where do they go then if there is no third choice? And is Hell just reserved for lost cOCers and serial killers?

[agricola]

OneStrike -

oh gee can I quote you??? Can I quote you on other sites??

Seriously, you have just articulated a teaching of the coc which (really) I don't think they actually INTEND to teach, but it is certainly what we LEARN!!

That was great, and so absolutely accurate.

[OneStrike_ur_out]

OneStrike -

oh gee can I quote you??? Can I quote you on other sites??

Seriously, you have just articulated a teaching of the coc which (really) I don't think they actually INTEND to teach, but it is certainly what we LEARN!!

That was great, and so absolutely accurate.

Yes! Quote me anytime, anywhere!

[B.H.]

and serial killers

A lot of Church of Christ preachers, elders, and members are spiritual serial killers.

[GuitarHero]

I never understood why they thought you had to go to Eternity's waiting room and hold off until Judgment Day before you got to go to Heaven. I think it's just that COCers are so jealous. They don't want anybody to get to be in Heaven longer than they get to be there, just because they happened to die first. That wouldn't be fair, so everybody has to start at the same time, or some inane bullshit like that.

[agricola]

OneStrike -

oh gee can I quote you??? Can I quote you on other sites??

Seriously, you have just articulated a teaching of the coc which (really) I don't think they actually INTEND to teach, but it is certainly what we LEARN!!

That was great, and so absolutely accurate.

Yes! Quote me anytime, anywhere!

thank you!
There's this poster on the dialog board ('the other side') who is a long term coc guy, who keeps claiming that 'no coc teaches that! I never heard that!' (the teaching that only coc'ers and just the good ones, will get to heaven). He's also very good at claiming that a personal account (like for instance, me) of such a teaching is unreliable because it is 'just one' coc and not all of them. I'm pretty fed up with the guy, to tell the truth.

[Pitts S2C]

The coc teaches that if you die as a baby (or young person under like 11 years old--essentially pre-baptism) you automatically go straight to heaven. No further judgement needed. That really is your only true hope and option within the coc. The longer one lives the higher the odds of going straight to hell. Moral of the story is to die young. Sorry elders you too are at high risk.