Heaven and Hell

Heaven is a bribe and hell is a punishment. Be good and act a certain way and you will be granted admission to heaven and not be condemned to burn forever. Does it seem fair that entrance to heaven is determined by the location of a baby's birth? If a baby was born into a God fearing Christian society then he would be rewarded with everlasting bliss. If he was unlucky enough to be born into an African tribe or an Asian village than immediately upon death he would head below to burn for an eternity. Believe like me or go to hell? It is beyond belief that some people actually believe this.

Heaven and hell seem to be based on fear. Fear controls people's actions and makes them do things they would not normally do. Fear brings cruelty about. Organized religion and cruelty seem to go hand in hand. Although organized religion has many benefits, I feel that the absolute truth thinking that goes along with many forms of religion including Christianity is wrong.

It seems foolish to think that God has a list of ten things he does not want us to do. If we mess up and do not ask for forgiveness after we break some of these rules, we will be sent to hell to be in misery forever and ever. Believing in hell is simply a mild form of insanity.

Do these Catholic priests that molest young boys go to hell? Or does their position within the church automatically eliminate them from the hell registry?

Jackie Wellman, author of Spiritual Clarity, http://www.hoppy.bravehost.com,http://spiritualclarity.blogspot.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Group Sues Bush Over National Day of Prayer - Christian Broadcasting Network

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/459088.aspxcid=1253919734ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNFz70FjLmtkN45uhW86H2nlxGT58gGroup Sues Bush Over National Day of Prayer/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fChristian Broadcasting Network,nbsp;VAnbsp;-/font nobr8 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1The Freedom of bReligion/b Foundation filed suit last week, claiming the president#39;s call to Americans to pray violates the constitutional ban on government b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jx_1ONlKrjl6772IYzxULImuf1_AD93JCE6O4cid=1253919734ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNHqOR8BroAjcyDoAhq2Zjbo5AVyLgAtheist group sues Bush over national prayer day/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrThe Associated Press/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-2fd=Rurl=http://www.weyi.com/news/story.aspx%3Fid%3D201966cid=1253919734ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNFbqCq7T2CVQrDCeG9oJ5FWRk3_RgGroup sues President Bush/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWEYI NBC25/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-3fd=Rurl=http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/30465259.htmlcid=1253919734ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNEyBHLF6o8F0u4Jtowdi_Fse_ENGQFederal Lawsuit Filed Over National Day of Prayer/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWSAW/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-4fd=Rurl=http://online.worldmag.com/2008/10/03/litigious-atheists-and-agnostics/cid=1253919734ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNH62kTM2jKbSJQJ6MyIh2XqmdY9cgnobrWorld Magazine/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-5fd=Rurl=http://www.wtte28.com/template/inews_wire/wires.national/3257b8a4-www.wtte.com.shtmlcid=1253919734ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNFR7smWplms1ZDd0pf57cgzGoK8qQnobrWTTE/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1253919734hl=ennobrall 244 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Rain Forest Tribe’s Charge of Neglect Is Shrouded by Religion and ... - New York Times

Law, religion symposium opens - BYU Newsnet

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2i-0fd=Rurl=http://mormontimes.com/around_church/worldwide_church/%3Fid%3D4027cid=1254709406ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGR0-APqecARzyNTEz5cVBGK9A2GQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=0CDH4pSOrQAJimgurl=mormontimes.com/images/headerGraphics/1223270512.jpg width=80 height=69 alt= border=1brfont size=-2Mormon Times/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-0fd=Rurl=http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/69676cid=1254709406ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGi0_afj8NjY2quNcdMNTEBZywGzALaw, breligion/b symposium opens/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBYU Newsnet,nbsp;UTnbsp;-/font nobr13 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By Kevin Earl - 6 Oct 2008 The protection of religious freedom was the theme of speeches opening the 15th annual Law and bReligion/b Symposium. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/2-1fd=Rurl=http://mormontimes.com/around_church/worldwide_church/%3Fid%3D4027cid=1254709406ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGR0-APqecARzyNTEz5cVBGK9A2GQLeavitt lauds faith-based initiatives/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMormon Times/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254709406hl=ennobrall 4 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Rethink religion - University of Colorado The Campus Press

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/10/religulous_challenges_preconce.htmlcid=1254540502ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNG29PAiXw4EKLlmaRopboX_qhZ4eAimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=8JP62T_zT-MJimgurl=blog.pennlive.com/pa-entertainment/2008/10/large_religulous.jpg width=80 height=53 alt= border=1brfont size=-2PennLive.com/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-0fd=Rurl=http://www.thecampuspress.com/news/2008/10/06/Entertainment/Rethink.Religion-3471110.shtmlcid=1254540502ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGG-CJKqZU6AihH3FGT9os0AH9PPwRethink breligion/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fUniversity of Colorado The Campus Press,nbsp;COnbsp;-/font nobr20 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Whether its Jesus, Mohammed, Allah, Buddha, or the Fonz, breligion/b is a big part of American society and Bill Maher is about to explain why. b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-1fd=Rurl=http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/letters/story.html%3Fid%3D724024ff-3641-4a66-a5f1-2467c904640acid=1254540502ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGElhM7q9rJ4m9_EBkuzegr4L9TaAReligulous fails with its doctrine of doubt/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrOttawa Citizen/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-2fd=Rurl=http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-10-05-religulous-commandments_N.htmcid=1254540502ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNF7vtSl5fmlHJ5XaFQvqCXSr6SyxwCovet this: The new rules for #39;Religulous#39;/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrUSA Today/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-3fd=Rurl=http://www.pennlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/10/religulous_challenges_preconce.htmlcid=1254540502ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNG29PAiXw4EKLlmaRopboX_qhZ4eA#39;Religulous#39; challenges preconceived notions about science and b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrPennLive.com/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-4fd=Rurl=http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/article.php%3Fid%3D37332cid=1254540502ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNHgHhkF6erQXiJW_WhU1B-dAYwdxAnobrUniversity at Buffalo The Spectrum/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/3-5fd=Rurl=http://townhall.com/Content.aspx%3FContentGuid%3Dffe78649-7c90-404b-bb75-fde20817cee0cid=1254540502ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNHI2vmvCIBWwcCeJpJuI47HjNaocQnobrTown Hall/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254540502hl=ennobrall 17 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Religion and presidential politics: Godtalk in the debates -- or not - Dallas Morning News

Pope: Millions are losing their religion and declaring God is dead - Scotsman

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-0fd=Rurl=http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/Pope-Millions-are-losing-.4560395.jpcid=1253782366ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNF1yaMdeRNQ_U0HHnaA-al93nfS-wPope: Millions are losing their breligion/b and declaring God is dead/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fScotsman,nbsp;United Kingdomnbsp;-/font nobrOct 5, 2008/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Pope Benedict is particularly worried about a growing indifference to breligion/b in Europe. Speaking at the Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-1fd=Rurl=http://www.iol.co.za/index.php%3Fset_id%3D1%26click_id%3D24%26art_id%3Dvn20081006082642884C752337cid=1253782366ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGIzqyiziC1YHP7o8LziqAVvgFH9APope calls for more room for breligion/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrIndependent Online/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-2fd=Rurl=http://ncrcafe.org/node/2152cid=1253782366ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNG6wxu-jXc7P4ixZc5gomJk7sVJXQSynod: The Bible beyond empty piety and parsing to death/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrNCR Conversation Cafe/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-3fd=Rurl=http://www.catholicculture.org/news/features/index.cfm%3Frecnum%3D60201cid=1253782366ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGVu3mqv_pDBe39kAJyB_ONMIkZFgThe Word of God is the ultimate reality, Pope tells opening Synod b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrCatholic Culture/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-4fd=Rurl=http://news.theage.com.au/world/money-flees-but-not-gods-word-pope-20081006-4v3g.htmlcid=1253782366ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNEvE-ShBpapxaK0mBEMQNHOZsJilgnobrThe Age/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/5-5fd=Rurl=http://www.indcatholicnews.com/synod890.htmlcid=1253782366ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNEGO96w6VEslpHfFX4z_0J6CCDszAnobrIndependent Catholic News/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1253782366hl=ennobrall 692 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Nepal Maoists ignore religion at own cost - Times of India

Despite Protests City Stands By Inmate Haircut Policy - News4Jax.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-0fd=Rurl=http://www.news4jax.com/news/17636595/detail.htmlcid=1254760544ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGragY5Pjy54NJkevxgl9BG31-EFQDespite Protests City Stands By Inmate Haircut Policy/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fNews4Jax.com,nbsp;FLnbsp;-/font nobr6 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Members of the Sikh breligion/b and the America Civil Liberties Union marched outside the Duval County Jail Sunday, claiming an inmate#39;s religious rights were b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-1fd=Rurl=http://wokv.com/localnews/2008/10/man-unhappy-with-jail-haircut.htmlcid=1254760544ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNHcJirflswhVguXrsqX0dt5GK0SAAMan Unhappy With Jail Haircut Sparks Protest/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrWOKV/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-2fd=Rurl=http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/story%3Fid%3D5966130%26page%3D1cid=1254760544ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGYOO-HUq6-Qlh6yhVpH-YvemnwOgSikh Activists Upset Over Florida Inmate#39;s Haircut/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrABC News/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-3fd=Rurl=http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx%3Fstoryid%3D120441cid=1254760544ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGihalwjdn0-PSBfW4gyKV85Qz0vwReligious Group Protests Jail Policy on Hair/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrFirst Coast News/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-4fd=Rurl=http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/8984.htmlcid=1254760544ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNFKbVq15_KNCu_cnSSJxaeJczFO2AnobrTimes of the Internet/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/7-5fd=Rurl=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/fringe/sfl-1006-floriduh-haircut,0,6918448.storylinkcid=1254760544ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNG1MjKdq1SwN3wFqP7FGLW1vMgxXwnobrSun-Sentinel.com/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254760544hl=ennobrall 57 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The 404 199: Where we#39;re losing our religion - CNET News

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8i-0fd=Rurl=http://www.cnet.com/8301-13952_1-10058916-81.htmlcid=0ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGqYE8mIDCGScbW7o8oG9z-HL1wFQimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=OnI_quANy8UJimgurl=www.cnet.com/i/bto/20081006/wesuck_270x202.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2CNET News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/8-0fd=Rurl=http://www.cnet.com/8301-13952_1-10058916-81.htmlcid=0ei=4eTqSIzdBqSeygT4qeyOCQusg=AFQjCNGqYE8mIDCGScbW7o8oG9z-HL1wFQThe 404 199: Where we#39;re losing our breligion/b/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fCNET News,nbsp;CAnbsp;-/font nobr11 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Today#39;s 404 is filled with information you can#39;t live without. Apparently overeating does terrible things to your brain, Americans love talking animals, b.../b/font/div/font/td/tr/table

ChiTrib Religion Blogger: Palin Should Have Talked Pentecostalism ... - NewsBusters

Religion - Google News

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