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jca's avatar

Hypothetical: If there are such places as Heaven and Hell, which do you think you will go to when you die?

Asked by jca (36062points) October 26th, 2014

I was watching the CBS Sunday Morning Show this morning and the segment was about frescoes on church ceilings in Europe, and how they have formed our ideas of what heaven and hell look like. They said that in the United States, ⅔ of people believe in heaven and hell. When those people are asked where they think they will end up, only 2% say they will end up in hell.

This is a hypothetical question. I am hoping it does not turn into a rant about religion or bashing any particular religion. I am just curious where they think they may end up, heaven or hell, if such places exist. Requirements for entry to heaven or hell are totally up to the Jelly who answers, and if you want to discuss what you feel the criteria are, please feel free. Of course, there’s no proof of anything until we die, and dead people are not talking…..

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27 Answers

ragingloli's avatar

Depends on which version of “heaven” and “hell” you mean.
If it is the christian version, I would definitely go to hell, together with 99 percent of people on earth, of which 99% will be suprised to be there.
If it is the Norse version, I would end up, most likely, in Hel, because I probably will not die in battle.
If you mean the Greek version, I could end up in Elysium, depending on what the Gods see as qualifying as “righteous”. Otherwise, it is Hades for me.

kritiper's avatar

Almost everybody thinks they will get to heaven. (chuckle!)
I think I could make it but might get sidelined in Purgatory for a very short stay before moving on to the big bachelor pad in the sky.

ZEPHYRA's avatar

Somewhere in between Heĺleaven.

Pachy's avatar

My heaven is to be remembered lovingly by my friends.

Winter_Pariah's avatar

Hell. I’m at a point where even if there was a God or more, I wouldn’t believe it, rather I’d assume it was something alien trying to take advantage of the widespread beliefs of man. I would be against it til the bitter end.

Pandora's avatar

I question the fact, that earth may not be hell already. So I’m hoping that leaves me with Heaven. When they say that Lucifer was cast down, I think it mean he was cast out of heave to earth. Earth has to be his domain. Just look at the wars and the starving and the sickly and the victimized people.
Reincarnation would be my hellish punishment.

Bill1939's avatar

I am unable to accept the notion that in an afterlife (presuming there is an afterlife) that two physical locations in which one may reside exists. Assuming that after death one becomes free of physicality and becomes a wholly spiritual being, that being united with God (the ultimate spiritual being) would be the equivalent of being in heaven, and that being denied oneness with God would be hell. However, should one exist as a spirit after their physical death I expect that they would be subsumed into the ultimate spiritual being; heaven is guaranteed to all.

El_Cadejo's avatar

I’ll just leave this here….
Sums up how I feel on the whole heaven/hell thing

LuckyGuy's avatar

Even though right up until the very end I’ll deny its existence, I’ll make a guess.
I’d likely end up in heaven – only because someone would likely find my engineering skill set useful.

filmfann's avatar

I am saved, so Heaven bound am I. To me, Hell would be away from the presence of the Lord.
I would hope that those replying “Hell” would reexamine their lives, and their beliefs. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect to go to Heaven. You just need to love the Lord, and accept His forgiveness.

SQUEEKY2's avatar

You mean to say there is more to go after this life? SHIT, I was hoping for a nice long rest, but if I had to guess I would hope neither , I really don’t like harp music ,and dislike gardening.
I really don’t like heat either.
But with my luck I would probably go to hell and be stuck shovelling coal into the furnaces ,till the end of time.

fluthernutter's avatar

I think it is very cute that @LuckyGuy thinks that engineering skills will be useful in Heaven.

@filmfann The crux is that you have to believe in him before you can love him and accept his forgiveness. In which case, I’m doomed.

LuckyGuy's avatar

@fluthernutter Hey, Someone has to keep the moisture evaporators running. Those clouds don’t make themselves.

chyna's avatar

Not to bash on @LuckyGuy but I think the ultimate engineer is already in heaven. :-)

I will be in heaven.

ragingloli's avatar

@filmfann
About as likely as “reexamining my beliefs” to avoid being shipped to the concentration camps in the 3rd Reich.

tinyfaery's avatar

“Go to heaven for the weather. Go to hell for the company”
Twain

I’m a good person. I think I’d go to heaven. I’d be on the outside of the walls made for Christians to keep them thinking they were the only ones in heaven.

LuckyGuy's avatar

@chyna I’‘m not so sure about the “ultimate engineer” part. From my limited experience even the most rudimentary FMEA (Failure Mode Effects Analysis) would have indicated the folly of routing fluids from two key bodily functions, reproduction and liquid waste elimination, through one common device. While I agree is does save resources it affords an unnecessarily high risk. If I were in charge I would have separated the two functions and installed a redundant pump, (MIL spec, of course) to ensure years of trouble free operation. :-)

jca's avatar

One of my high school friends presented an idea once: If there is a hell, maybe it’s really freezing instead of hot?

dappled_leaves's avatar

Since heaven and hell are basically Christian concepts, and the only way to enter the Christian heaven is to accept Jesus as saviour, then I could not possibly be admitted to heaven. It’s not more complicated than that.

Show me a different religion with a heaven and hell, and I’ll let you know whether I fit the criteria.

@filmfann No. Thanks. I’ve already drunk that Kool-Aid and spit it out.

jerv's avatar

I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints :)

flutherother's avatar

I don’t deserve to go to Hell but then who does. If there is a God I can’t see why He would tolerate it.

rojo's avatar

What @flutherother said. I cannot express it better.

Darth_Algar's avatar

Assuming the Christian cult’s myths are true – Hell, with any luck. An all-knowing, all powerful being who is petty, jealous, who at best allows suffering and atrocity, at worst calls for them, and who demands slavish, unquestioning fealty from those he ignores is not a being I’d care to be associated with.

Inspired_2write's avatar

I somewhat agree with Bill1939 ‘s comments.
As we are made up of Spiritual and Physical forms we will return to the Spiritual form when our physical bodies die on Earth.
And since Spiritual is snonymous with Heaven then I assume that we all go back to where we originated to the Collective place called Heaven.

fluthernutter's avatar

I don’t believe in heaven.
But I do believe in Physics.
Seemed appropriate to capitalize that.

As we are made up of Energy and Physical forms, we will go return to the Collective Energy when our Physical forms can no longer be sustained.

Does it really need a name? I think Physics is pretty beautiful as is.

cazzie's avatar

I’d be going to the very special kind of hell; the one reserved for people who talk at the theatre.

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