Heaven and Hell

A:

The earliest known religion to teach of hell as a place of punishment is the Zoroastrian religion of the Persians who liberated the Jews in Babylon.

Judaism adopted concepts that parallelled Zoroastrian thought of heaven as a place of reward and hell as a place of punishment, but fairly soon afterwards began to drop the notion of hell, as it was inconsistent with Jewish thought. However, hell found its way into Christianity and subsequently into Islam.

When the notion of hell was being developed, it was assumed to be a physical place, just as heaven is a physical place just above the sky. Gradually it was perceived that hell was a place of eternal fires, searing the souls condemned to hell. Science has shown that heaven and hell can not be located in any physical location in the universe. Religion has therefore adapted by saying that hell is not so much a physical place, but a spiritual state of eternal torment. If recent religious belief is true, then the dead can not suffer from heat, cold, pain, hunger or any other physical form of punishment.

Heat is a physical attribute that would have no meaning in a spiritual state. To be meaningful, we have to come up with new kinds of punishment for the condemned.

Daniel 12:2 proclaims "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Judaism describes Gehenna as a purgatory in which one is judged based on his or her life's deeds. The overwhelming majority of rabbinic thought maintains that people are generally not in Gehenna forever: except for exceptional cases, the longest that one can be there is said to be 11 months. Some consider it a spiritual forge where the soul is purified for its eventual ascent to Olam HaBa (heb. עולם הבא; lit. "The world to come," which is analogous to heaven).

Answer:

There is really no Jewish doctrine about Hell, and no Hebrew word for Hell.

Answer:

The above (second) answer is non-traditional.

Hell is called Gehinnom in Late (Misnaic) Hebrew and is not specifically named in Early Hebrew.

Before this is answered, consider that under the various Christian denominations, Christ as God is all-powerful. Yet, he permitted the children of his creation to take his life. In essence, as horrifying as it might seem, Christ commuted suicide. "No greater love can be seen than he who lays down his life for another." Now, the answer of sorts. The only sin that sends a sole to Help is the denial of the Holy Spirit, others may say firings out of a state of grace. That being the case, despair might put one in such a state, provided the doctrine of eternal salvation is a myth. The fact is that sunset the concept of Help and eternal damnation are matters of faith and cannot be proven,, and this question cannot be answered.

Another Answer:

First, the Sixth Command is quite clear that mankind is not to kill/murder mankind and this includes suicide. Only God who created can rightly destroy.

Second, the Bible never teaches 'eternal damnation' but plainly teaches the 2nd Death - total physical cessation and ashes from the Lake of Fire. Only spirits who became demons will be eternally tormented for their sins.

Finally, the Bible uses the Hebrew term 'Sheol' and the equivalent Greek term 'Hades' for the grave or pit. This translate to the English term 'hell' and is the common resting place of all mankind - Even Jesus was in 'hell' 3 days and 3 nights. Death is commonly associated with 'sleep' in the Scripture and all who die sleep and await their call to the Judgement process by Christ. Only those incorrigibly unrepentant with those who were previously called in life but rejected the gift of God's Holy Spirit (aka the Spirit of Christ) - the Unpardonable Sin - will be cast into the Lake of Fire. All who never understood or never had their call to eternal life, will receive their chance during this process (it is not a sentencing for the majority of mankind). God is equally fair to everyone.

Job:14:12: So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.

Psalms:13:3: Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

Matthew 10

28And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Mark 9

43And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

44Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

45And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:

46Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

47And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:

48Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Acts:24:15: And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

John 11

11 These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

12 Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

13 Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

Romans 8

23And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

1 Corinthians 15

51Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

2 Corinthians 5

8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4

13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Revelation:20

4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5: But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6: Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Revelation 21

8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

John:5:29: And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Mal:4:1: For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

Ps:68:2: As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: as wax melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

Isa:47:14: Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.

Jude:1:7: Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

Rv:20:14: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Rv:21:8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Mt:3:12: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

Lk:3:17: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

Job:20:26: All darkness shall be hid in his secret places: a fire not blown shall consume him; it shall go ill with him that is left in his tabernacle.

Job:22:20: Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumeth.

Ps:106:18: And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked.

Isa:10:17: And the light of Israel shall be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame: and it shall burn and devour his thorns and his briers in one day;

Jer:4:4: Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Ezek:18:20: The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Mt:10:28: And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Ezek:18:4: Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

1Timothy:6:14-16: That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

15: Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;

16: Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

Jn:3:15: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

1Cor:15:53: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1Cor:15:54: So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Rom:2:7: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

"Shall mortal man be more just than God? shall a man be more pure than his maker?" Job 4:17

According to the Bible, this is false. God will not grade you on a curve. Put yourself in a courtroom, and you're guilty of breaking ten laws. You tell the judge "I did the best I can!" If the judge lets you go, and "grades you on a curve" he is corrupt. According to the Bible, "there is none good, no not one" (Psalm 14, 53; Romans 3). The Bible says that anyone who is guilty of breaking one part of the law, is guilty of breaking it all (James 2). Just bring yourself through the ten commandments. If a person has lied, "all liars will have their part in the lake of fire." (Revelation 2).

"Hell will have an end. Viewing future events, John saw " that death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Rev. 20:13)"

Jesus makes it very clear that hell is forever (Revelation 14). Jesus describes it where the worm doesn't die, and the fire isn't quenched; weeping and gnashing of teeth; outer darkness. Revelation also states that death and Hades (some believe this is the 'temporary hell' ) will be cast into the lake of fire as well (Revelation 20).

"According to Romans 6:7 "For he who has died has been acquitted from [his] sin." If people are acquitted of their sins at death, why would they go to hell. If there was such a place, which there is not..."

Perhaps the person who wrote this should read ALL of Romans 6. It talks about people who have "died" to their old selves by repenting and trusting (Mark 1:15) in Jesus Christ. Not a literal death, but a death to self and all of self's desires for sin. This person "dies" to self and becomes born again (John 3) and he/she is "aquitted from sin". This is why Romans 6 also states "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." and "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin".

Now, pertaining to your question specifically, I want to make something very clear. The Bible is crystal clear that there is eternal torment. Where Christians disagree is what Hades, Hell, and Lake of Fire is. Here is my view. I believe that when an unsaved person dies, he/she consciously awaits judgment in Hades, the holding place (Luke 16, 2 Peter 2).

The Bible also says that true Christians (not every who professes to be a Christian is a Christian... see Matthew 7) go directly to be with Jesus Christ (Phillippians 1).

Then there is the resurrection of the dead, and the people will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment. There is some disagreement over whether or not Christians will be at that specific throne, but we DO know that anyone who is not found in the book of Life is cast into the Lake of Fire. The bible calls this the "second death" (Revelation 20). Christians will be judged, but not for their sins. They will be judged for their works. I believe that this is what the bible refers to as hell (lake of fire).

See http://www.thegoodpersontest.com to get a thorough understand on who goes to hell, why, and how not to.

.......................

That part of the spirit world inhabited by wicked spirits who are awaiting the eventual day of their resurrection is called hell. There they suffer the torments of the damned.

Hell will have an end. Viewing future events, John saw " that death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. (Rev. 20:13)

I suppose that it is some form of hell when the spirits in the spirit world are waiting to be reunited with their bodies. until that time they cannot progress.

My beliefs on this topic are deeper having an understanding of the laws of God.

Its like this you take an exam you decided not to study for and you wait for the results. Or you studied hard did your best and then the teacher grades on a curve based on each individuals abilities and whether they asked for help. one person sits biting nails waiting for the grade the other rests.

Jesus was very clear in the Parable that the Rich Man could SEE Lasarus and the RICH MAN was in torment and Lasarus was resting in "Paradise" or "Abraham's Bosom". They had full consciousness YET WERE DEAD PHYSICALLY. BOTH were UNDER THE EARTH. BOTH were in separate places YET fully aware of the other.

Your "spirit man" cannot die. While the body "sleeps" in the earth your soul and spirit leave your body upon your death and EVERYONE goes to a holding place until JUDGMENT. SOME CALL IT HELL for those who are wicked and / or reject Christ. Some who are righteous and / or received Christ. HOWEVER, judment has NOT happened YET.

HELL IS NOT THE LAKE OF FIRE. Please understand that HELL is not your eternal place but THE LAKE OF FIRE is. Hell is a holding place until judgment. THE LAKE OF FIRE is prepared for those whose names are NOT written in the Lambs Book of Life and for Satan and his angels.

I call this an opinion only because it is impossible to prove that something doesn't exist. By simple logic it is only possible to prove that something else does exist, which may or may not contradict the initial theory. Since the alternativcve to afterlife is no afterlife, and the existence of nothing cannot be proved, then it will never truly be a 'fact' that there is no life or existence after death.

I do not think that I am allowed to alter the question, so I suggest that that it might read "Why do some people believe in heaven and hell?". The original seems to say that all did at one time believe.

Now to answer as best I can. Because all men have been given the spirit of Christ, that is to know right from wrong. Also because Christ and Satan teach contrary to one another, one representing the blessings of heaven, the other representing that state He is in, that of unhappiness or Hell. Both places do exist, the one to ever lasting happiness, the other to ever lasting misery. The wise person believes that both are real, and they will be subject to either one.

We don't believe in the existence of either heaven or hell. Judaism barely spends any time discussing what may or may not happen when we die, in fact, there's barely any mention of this subject in the Tanach (Jewish Bible) at all.

There are some loose theories of what might happen though:

* When we die, our souls are cleansed of any wrongdoings. This is done by our accounting of every action done in life. It's believed that this process takes no longer than 12 months but most people don't do enough bad in life to warrant it taking a full 12 months.

* Our souls return to HaShem to wait for the world to come.

* Our souls may be reincarnated into different people so that we have additional chances to work to become closer to HaShem.

* Those souls that choose to be truly evil in life, cannot survive the process of cleansing and cease to exist.

God does not want to send his children to hell . God loves his children more than any other thing of his creation. That's why according to to John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life" this is how much God loves us . He gave his only begotten son for us not to go to hell or perish. Now the next question would be which is the true religion? There is no question of doubt, it's the true believers of christ and true followers of the bible not Christianity because believers in christ are not a religion it is truth but Christianity is a religion because it is made by man. So are religions. All other superstitions and religions are made by the devil and man kind to divert you away from the truth. Trust me this is the truth. Believe it please it's for your sake. The ball is in your court.

However I feel religion is just a load of supersititious paranormal nonsense made by some guy a couple of thousand years ago who made a short story and needed it to sell. "It's proven that there is a guy called Jesus in Jerusalum 2000 years ago!" they say. Then again, there's also a town called Barnum. Doesn't mean fable 2 must be truth. If god is so loving and caring, do you think he would ask us to basically sacrifice our beliefs and lives to follow him like sheep to the shephard? It's all rubbish, I reckon.

And to answer the original question from a non-biased point of view with another question - How do you know god, should he exist or not, sends anyone to hell?

I`m a Muslim .. and I`m Arabian

first I want to apologize for my bad English

we Muslims believe that the things in quran and what Prophet Muhammad asked us to do

will get us into heaven

for example : don`t lie , don`t kill , don`t steal ,

don`t have sex ( exept your wife ) , treat people in a good way ( if they are none Muslims treat them better that you treat a Muslim ) , smile to people , don`t hurt their feelings , don`t talk about someone in a bad behind his back , don`t forget your parents and make them happy

pray 5 times , fast in Ramadan , help the poor people give them money

well there is alot of things we get us into heaven

but that doesn`t mean that 100% we will get inot heaven

if a Muslim doesn`t do these things .. he will be pushe to Hell; unless being forgiven by Allah (God in English).

== == Before trying to figure out if homosexuals go to hell, we first need to understand Biblical translation and the Greek language.

The New Testament is mostly written in Koine Greek, which was the common form of Greek. In Greek, as with English, one word can have two completely different meanings depending on the context. You also must realize the Bible you read is going to be directly affected by the translator and his own beliefs about the church. If a translator is a Calvinist, he will translate words and order words in a way to reflect his own views. For example, the translation of the word "adelphos" is the cause of a lot of debate between Christian denominations. Adelphos can either be brothers or a close relative, namely cousins. The word is translated by Protestants to mean "brothers," though since Mary is believed by Catholics and Orthodox to be an ever Virgin they believe that adelphos is to be translated to mean cousins. Protestants will argue that there are better words that can be used to mean relatives and that -delphos means womb, thus it should be translated to mean blood brothers. Catholics counter that it is sometimes used to mean cousins, so it can be interchanged to mean brothers or cousins. Thus in a Catholic translation you will find the verses to say cousins instead of brothers, and in a Protestant translation you will find the word brothers being used instead of cousins. There is a huge debate as to whether or not homosexuality how we know it (consensual love between two people of the same-sex) is even referenced in verses such as Corinthians 1:8-9. There are two words at the center of this debate: arsenokoitēs and malakos. Malakos has been translated to mean effeminate or soft. In Greek society men were supposed to be strong, masculine characters. Anything that was feminine was seen as being bad, even as being immoral. The reason femininity was looked down upon was because woman were seen as only being good for child-bearing. They were second-class citizens to men. But some fundamentalist Christians have taken malakosto mean homosexual, since often times in our society some homosexual males are feminine. This is no doubt a wrong translation. Homosexual sex was not looked down upon by the Greeks, it was even encouraged at times, thus a negative term like malakos would not refer to the encouraged act of homosexuality. The next debated term is arsenokoitēs. Arsenokoitēs is probably the most debated out of the homosexual terms. It only appears twice in the Bible and neither appearance gives what it actually means. Arsenokoitēs is not used in any Greek texts before the NT, though it was used after the NT, but since Greek is an ever-changing language no one is for certain what it actually meant in the Bible. Some scholars believe that Paul actually made the term up by combining words. Many scholars think that the term may have something to do with homosexual rape. They also have picked the word apart and have tried to explain its' meaning that way. But ultimately no one is sure what exactly the term means. Thus no one can really know if 1 Corinthians 6:8-10 is really talking about homosexuality as we know it.

The main argument is that the Paul spoke in a learned form of Koine Greek. He was a Roman citizen, though he was a Jew, which in those times was an extremely rare occurrence and seen as being an honor. Since he was considered a Roman citizen he probably had a good status. He probably had the best education (in Acts it said he had studied under a well-known rabbi) and probably came from a fairly wealthy family. Paul used words such as arsenokoitēsand malakos when there are better words that can describe homosexuality. Such an educated man as Paul would most certainly have used the more distinct words for homosexual (for example the word paiderasste which clearly is translated to mean relations between men).

Also note that when dealing with homosexuality there is a difference between, as B. A. Robinson puts it, "behavior (engaging in same-sex activity) or as a sexual orientation (being sexually attracted only to members of the same-sex)." B. A. Robinson goes on to state that "Most of the biblical translations appear to refer to behavior rather than orientation."

These are perhaps the two most widely quoted verses that deal with homosexuality. First let's look at Leviticus. * English Standard Version: "You shall not lie with a man as with a woman; it is abomination."

* Living Bible: "Homosexuality is absolutely forbidden, for it is an enormous sin"

* New International Version: "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."

* King James Version: "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination."

* New Living Translation: "Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin." You'll notice that the more conservative translations automatically change "You shall not lie with a man as with a woman" into homosexuality. They also broaden the term homosexuality to refer not only to men with men but to also refer to women being with women. If you refer back to the above paragraph above the Greek terms used, you'll notice that to automatically change the first part into homosexuality is a error in translation.

Now let's look at Romans 1:26-27:

26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

A conservative Christian interprets these verses to mean that homosexuality is condemned. But there is another explanation for this. Greeks would often have orgies within their temple services. Greeks were usually often very open with sex in general, even homosexual relations. It is questionable as to whether Paul was condemning the practices of homosexuality in general, or condemning the practices of Greeks in their worship. Paul is known in his letters to write to churches and people to express his concerns of their practices, so it would make sense that he is writing this letter to warn them to stop acting inappropriately during their worship. There are two general ways to interpret the Bible: eisegesis and exegesis. Eisegesis is when you look at the Bible through your own views and try to find ways to make the Bible match your own views. Exegesis is taking truth out from the Bible without putting your own biased views into it. Biblical scholars agree that exegesis is the best way to read the Bible. Most people commit eisegesis without even knowing it. They read the Bible and think "I don't believe in homosexuality. I'm going to find a verse that talks about homosexuality." This is a wrong way since we should look at the Bible saying to ourselves "What does the Bible say about homosexuality?" We should also note the Bible's context. As stated before, Greek were known to have orgies in temples and homosexual relations would take place in these services. Knowing this, we may be able to better understand why Paul mentioned this in Romans. If the church is God's temple, Paul certainly would not want orgies taking place within it. And if Paul was trying to convert people and expose their errors, he certainly wouldn't want sexual relations taking place in a church. Even if homosexuality was considered a sin, there are a lot of other things in the Bible that are considered to be sins as well. The reason people proclaim to be a Christian is because they acknowledge they've sinned and they need help in order to be a better person. Thus, all Christians are unrighteous people, because all Christians commit sins even if they don't commit homosexuality. So according to 1 Corinthians 6:8-10 the unrighteous can't enter heaven. We have a problem if indeed Christians are all unrighteous people and unrighteous people can't enter into heaven. That's where God's grace comes in. Ephesians 2:8-9 says 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - 9not by works, so that no one can boast. No Christian could ever be perfect or sinless, so God's grace makes up for what we lack. Jesus was quoted as saying "Let he with no sin cast the first stone." Christians are sinners and because of this should never judge anybody based upon the lifestyle they lead, even if it the lifestyle is questionable. Who is to say one lifestyle is better than another one? Jesus hung out with the prostitutes, thieves, and other various outcasts because He loved them unconditionally even though He didn't agree with the lifestyles they may have chosen. He never told any of them that they were going to hell because of the sins they did. So why should we judge if someone is going to hell? The simple answer is that we shouldn't. Just as the thief on the cross next to Jesus didn't go to hell, neither will a homosexual go to hell. * While some confessing Christians will answer this question with an emphatic "yes," as a Christian myself I prefer to practice allowing God to judge the hearts of people and do what He has commanded me to do. That is, to practice a non-discriminating policy of loving and accepting people regardless of their race, religion, gender, national origin...and yes, sexual orientation.

Do I personally believe that homosexuality is a sin? Yes, based on what I have read and understand from the Bible, homosexuality is a sin. However, based on the Bible I also believe lying, sex before and outside of marriage, murder, stealing (for any reason), and a whole lot of other things are sins. According to the Bible, all those who practice what I've listed, as well as a whole list of other sins, are not going to enter the Kingdom of God.

Now, before anyone gets angry at me, let me sum all this up like this: Whoever is asking this question should do whatever is necessary to work out the answer for him or her self. While you will get Bible verses quoted and people's opinions in an answer here, only you can decide what answer you believe.

* In fact, no. Gays will NOT go to hell. God did not make people he would hate. Many say that the Holy Bible says that gays will go to hell if they have orgys, but however-

1. It doesn't say anything about gays that truly LOVE others of the same sex will go to hell.....AND...

2. The Holy Bible was not written by God or Jesus, they were written over time after his death by people that believed what he views on things.

I also have a hairdresser that is gay and had a heart attack. He was "dead" for nearly 15 minutes and when they shocked him back to life, he said that he talked to Jesus and told him how he was ashamed of being gay. And Jesus said to him "It is better to have love for someone then have love for nobody." There are a lot of immature people in this world who can't see that being gay is GOD'S choice for his people AND it was proven by doctors studying DNA cells that being gay IS genetic. It isn't a choice. I am also gay and I know God made me this way and loves me the way I am. He is very forgiving, I turned to God to help with my life and I am very successful so far.

The Main point is: no GAYS will NOT go to hell.

* Yes, they will, unless they believe in their heart and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, then, unfortunately, they will go to hell. Romans 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. (TNIV) Allow me to explain and dispel some of the arguments the other contributor has put in.

The Bible has been written over thousands of years, both before and after the death of Jesus Christ. It is true that neither God nor Jesus directly wrote anything but the Ten Commandments, but the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament were written down by people commanded by God, and the New Testament was written by many people as first-hand accounts of how things happened (gospel and Acts) and as guidance for believers (Paul's letters) and were also inspired by God.

God does not hate anyone. He loves everybody - it is the sin He hates. But just because he loves someone does not mean He will not send them to Hell. Mark 9:43-47 says:

Mark 9:43-47 (New International Version)

43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell

Having said that, the Bible DOES say that homosexuality and sodomy is a sin.

1 Corinthians 6:8-10 (New King James Version)

8No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! 9Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God
If you are a person that believes in divine judgement, you must also believe that punishment can only happen when people make the wrong choices. Since being gay is not a choice, and since the drive for companionship and love is strong in all people, there is no possible way that a just God could condemn a person for trying to find love.