re atheists and hell in article apr athos rutgers edu atterlep vela acs oakland edu cardinal ximenez writes i don t see what the problem is to christians hell is by definition eternal death exactly what atheists are expecting when they die there s no reason hell has to be especially awful to most people eternal death is bad enough literal interpreters of the bible will have a problem with this view since the bible talks about the fires of hell and such personally i don t think that people in hell will be thrust into flame any more than i expect to jesus with a double edged sword issuing from his mouth i treat both these statements as metaphorical phew that takes a load off i don t want to live forever i wish most christians held this view you can t walk across campus in spring without being assailed by fire and brimstone preachers i really think the metaphor should be limited at least with respect to teaching our children it s criminal to put these ideas into a young and trusting mind besides why not rely on the positive aspects of your religion to win their faith tim timothy j brent a man will come to know true happiness brent bank ecn purdue edu only when he accepts that he is but a small part of an infinite universe purdue university spinoza materials science engineering paraphrased
