I am confused about what CHRISTIANS consider ETERNAL LIFE?

Question

I asked a question about heaven and hell days ago, and several christians answered back that they would rather have eternal life in heaven, over an eternity in hell, but they don't call this eternity in hell "eternal life". Now mind you when they speak of heaven it is all in terms of eternal life. If these places did exist, and you have to spend an eternity in one, or the other, wouldn't this be eternal life in hell also? Now I know all you Christian hypocrits will bend the words of your sacred text to mean whatever you desire, but lets use our brains on this one. No quoting books of mythology, just simple logic, does an eternity in hell and an eternity in heaven both count as eternal life?

Answer 1

Christians ( by title) consider Eternal Life to be what ever ends their personal fairy tale in a

"Happily Ever After".....

also, most who profess to be Christian believe that they are the only one who gets to go to Heaven because they are keeping track of everyone else's "sins".

Logic---how could God, who is supposed to be loving, forgiving and merciful banish His "children" to "hell" forever?????

Logic---if fishing is "Heaven" to someone and

a library is to another, which one is really Heaven?

I wouldn't be in Heaven if I had to go fishing all the time.

Satan was created by man in order to give themselves some one to blame for any bad in this world because a "Christian" wouldn't dare

work their mouth up to blame God.....lightening might strike or something.

Answer 2

I don't believe that "hell" as a place where people are tortured for eternity for sins comitted in less than a century, exists. The Bible also does not support this theory of an eternal hell. You are right, living in hell forever would be a form of eternal life, but again, the Bible doesn't support this and in fact speaks of death as a state of "sleep" and non knowing. No wonder you have the question!

Answer 3

When Christians say eternal life in heaven they mean life eternally with God, Hell is also eternal life, but you want death or escape always, it would be better not to exist than to be in Hell, that why we dont call it eternal life, because you may around but you are not living an enjoyable existance.

Answer 4

eternal life whether Christians want to agree on this or not...is where they'll spend their lives after the judgement day based on their actions...and some will live eternally or their eternal life in Heaven and others in hell...now that said....1Corinthians 15:40-42 says there are degrees of heaven...Just because your body has perished doesn't mean that your soul dies...it lives on and goes on to Paradise or Spiritual Prison where the murderers and hard core sinners go..



40 There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.



41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.



42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:



but yes...an eternity in hell and in heaven are both the same..the key word is "eternity"...is the adjective defining how long you'll stay....but to go to Hell...is something that is tougher than you think...Those who go to Hell(Outer Darkness) are those who know Christ's gospel and CHOOSE consciously to deny it. Most will go to the glory of the stars which is known as the Telestial Kingdom which is better than anything here on earth...but no where near as good as the Terrestrial Kingdom(Glory of the Moon) or the Celstial Kingdom(Glory of the Sun) in which you are actually living in God's presence.

Answer 5

Well the Bible says that going to heaven is eternal life, and going to hell is eternal death.



"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Matthew 25:46



No matter what you do in this world your soul will live on forever. You are right in saying that, it's just a matter of where you spend it. If you have sinned only once, you can not go to heaven and will go to hell. Jesus Christ; however, paid the price for our sins and took the punishment so we can go to heaven. God loves us so much that He took the punishment for us. You can't do anything on your own accord to get into heaven.

Answer 6

Obviously, it doesn't matter what I say because you will believe what you want, but as long as you ask........

Eternity in heaven is eternal life. Eternity in hell is eternal death.

God is the source of life, so spending an eternity without Him is eternal death.

Answer 7

I'm not going to slam you, I just mean to explain your question, that's it, and you don't have to agree with the conclusions.



The Bible talks of "life" as more than just existing, but as a fullness of experience. Jesus says "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10). Everyone he was talking to was obviously already alive, so when he says "life", he means something more than that. So in the Bible's language, eternal life doesn't mean eternal existence, but eternal fullness of experience, fellowship with God. Therefore, eternal life begins when you become a Christian, not just when you die.



Christians would agree that eternity in hell is eternal existence, but would call it eternal death - like the word life in the Bible, death means something slightly different than just not existing - it means separation, namely from God.



In short, you would be right in saying it's illogical if eternal life only meant eternal existence, but that's not what it means. You don't have to agree with it, and that's fine, but that's what the Bible means when it talks about "life" and "death"; it's not defined solely in terms of existence. And that's why it's logically consistent. Heaven is eternal life. Hell is eternal death. Both are eternal existence.

Answer 8

Would any answer suit you? No.

You believe that you know the answer but you do not care to listen. Because we believe in a good and great god that wants only the best for us that makes us hypocrites? We believe that if you are good to your fellow man, ALL Man kind not just those that believe the same as I do. You will go to heaven. for ever. If you are bad you go to hell for ever. Do you prefer the words for ever to eternal life? Probably not But I have tried to open your eyes.

Answer 9

Well, if I have to be literal, in answer to your question then yes, it would.



However, (ha, ha, you didn't think I was just going to leave it at that did you??) I don't believe that physical places called heaven and hell exist, except as states of mind. You can experience hell if you believe in it, but you won't go there or get sent there. You send yourself there. It is a temporal state of mind.



Heaven is the expansion of our consciousness which occurs at the death of this physical incarnation. Eventually, we all get to this higher state of consciousness and return to the spiritual beings that we truly, eternally are.

Answer 10

Your use of "Christian hypocrits" just tells me that you don't really care about the answer. Just a little word game to amuse yourself. In any event, the opposite of eternal life is death. Jesus conquered sin and death so that we could have eternal life through and with Him. You view life and death only in earthly terms, breathing or not breathing for example, so that for you life continues while death is finite. That's why you don't understand "eternal death." If you're unfortunate enough to earn Hell, your soul will exist in death, evil, despair and darkness infinitely and for all eternity.

Answer 11

Yes, you can call eternal life in hell, cuz, christians believe that, when you die, you can go to hell or to heaven. In either places you'll live forever. You can live FOREVER in hell, burning and yelling, or FOREVER in heaven, happy and smiling, but, even though you're not happy in hell, you'll still be living (on a spiritual sense, of course), so you can call it eternal life, because it doesn't matter where you are, it matters that it'll be forever!!!!

Answer 12

God's Promise of eternal life is in the Bible. And that is proactive, you must DO something to obtain it. (Repent and ask forgiveness) Hell, which God creates for Satan, was never intended for man to go there. Is where you end up IF you chose not to accept the gift Christ has made possible, and freely given to all mankind. At the 2nd death, you are dead gone, no more. That also is eternal. And there is no life in it.

Answer 13

First off, a hypocrite is someone that professes to be something that they're not. Granted that there are those that say that they are Christians that are not. It's a shame that you've evidently had some bad experience to taint your view of all Christians.

I actually agree with you, we will all have eternal life, but will it be in heaven or hell?

Answer 14

When someon "dies" it is a death of the body, not the soul. The soul, which is who we are, is "put to sleep" and will "awake" at the Great Judgement. My God is a loving God, who doesn't want anyone to suffer. Heaven is eternal, and it is a beautiful, glorious life in the presence of God. Hell is not eternal. Those who go to hell will not suffer eternally. Their souls will perish, and they will be no more aka this is true death. This is God's final act of loving kindness to those who reject him. However, He is a just and righteous God, and that is why the souls die.

Answer 15

Yes you will live forever in one of two places based on how you lived on earth. Except eternity in Hell will not exactly be much of a life if you would like to call it one.

Answer 16

It would, but they call it eternity in hell because they wouldnt want to live there, like they would in Heaven.

Answer 17

Yes, I think you are right, I am a christian, and yes, you can spend eternal life in heaven or hell. The bible tells us that if you die in christ, with him you will have eternal life, and if you are not in christ, you will have eternal damnation. Now as you asked, I won't go into the bible, but if you read it for yourself, it will tell you this. My grandfather was a pastor, and one thing he always told us, to read the bible for our self, and ask God for wisdom, and understanding of his word, and he will direct your path, so I'm saying to you, read, and ask God for the understanding, and believe me, he'll give it to you.

Answer 18

the bible is very clear, you will spend eternity in either heaven or hell...



there is no difference in time, because time stops in a sense because there is no going back once you die.



the only difference is hell is a place of suffering and heaven is not.

one thing you need to know is that hell was NOT made for man, we choose to go there...

Answer 19

eternal life is when you dont die. your earthly body dies but you go to heaven to live forever. where there is no death and no pain. if you went to hell would you really consider that life. i wouldnt because hell is what it is. thats not living.go find a bible and find John 3:16. you will find the answer there.

Answer 20

I think the problem here is one to do with TERMINOLOGY.



Eternal LIFE is not the same thing as an eternal EXISTENCE.



We are born spiritiually DEAD, and we can live a life and die a physical death, while remaining spiritually DEAD throughout, without the GIFT that God affords us through CHRIST.



What is spiritual DEATH? According to some, it is simply nothing more or less than SEPARATION from God, who is so full of LIGHT and LIFE that mere separation from him is enough of a 'death' in itself.



So eternal LIFE is about being TOGETHER with the AUTHOR and GIVER of life. And it starts the moment one accepts JESUS Christ as one's SAVIOR.



(The caps are meant to add scanning value not attitude.)

Answer 21

well i'd like to apologoize for those christians who were probrably trying not to scare you away from the faith or argue.. ..but according our bible people will either spend an eternity in hell or heaven. and yes if people aren't saved (believing that Jesus died for our sins;according to the christinan Bible)then those particular people will spend eternity in hell with satan and his demons. i mean being damned to hell isn't really a life its hot, and worms eat your flesh, you feel all of it and never die....its more like eternal damnation not a life really ...hope i cleared that up for you.

Answer 22

Well Biblically speaking, hell is an eternal death, or the act of dying forever.

Answer 23

An eternity in Hell (a.k.a. the Lake of Fire and Brimstone) is referred to as the second death. An eternal living death its an oxymoron i know .

Answer 24

Well, when people say eternal life, they mean life as something enjoyable.... in hell your just exsisting.







If that makes any sense.

Answer 25

Well, Life is enjoyable and fulfilling in the spiritual sense (I believe). And Hell is neither, so I'd call that eternal damnation.

Answer 26

I don't think so... because the devil is deciteful, and will find a way to make hell truly miserable. Maybe if we go to hell we become lifeless, as in our spirit is tweaked and imprisoned, and maybe hell is what they call the unexplainable evil on Earth.

Answer 27

I do not often answer stupid questions. But you are so confused about life and death you are truly lost. There is no way a Non-spiritual person will ever understand a Spiritual life. If Flesh is all you are about, you are asking questions you are not intelligent enough to understand. "So study or give it up."

Answer 28

Ok...eternal life is living forever. LIVING. but in hell you burn forever. You live in hell but you basically die in there. Hell is kinda like a living hell...

Answer 29

Well do you call being burned over and over living??? In any context. Hypothetically. If somebody was standing in your house burst into flame burned up and kept continuing in that cycle and never stopped would you say they were living? As opposed to enjoying paradise? Now that is living.

Answer 30

Eternal 'life' is being eternally in the presense of God. Death is not life...it is eternally seperated from God.

Answer 31

Maybe there is more to life than simply spending time some place.

Answer 32

life is living, you won't be able to live in hell.

Answer 33

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