Baha'i hell, Christian hell

[Popeyesays]

Actually, we believe in p[raying for the advancement of the souls of those who have passed on. We also believe that they pray for us.

Regards,
Scott

[Dah-veeth]

I love the topic of the afterlife and have read a lot about near death experiences. I personally like to say there are seven heavens... although there are as many unique spiritual levels as there are people, I believe. People with similar "vibes" will be together, I believe.

"They that are of the same grade and station are fully aware of one another's capacity, character, accomplishments and merits. They that are of a lower grade, however, are incapable of comprehending adequately the station, or of estimating the merits, of those that rank above them. Each shall receive his share from thy Lord. Blessed is the man that hath turned his face towards God, and walked steadfastly in His love, until his soul hath winged its flight unto God, the Sovereign Lord of all, the Most Powerful, the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Merciful." -Baha'u'llah

I love this topic so much I have to add these two quotes, also:

"As to Paradise: It is a reality and there can be no doubt about it, and now in this world it is realized through love of Me and My good-pleasure. Whosoever attaineth unto it God will aid him in this world below, and after death He will enable him to gain admittance into Paradise whose vastness is as that of heaven and earth." -Baha'u'llah

"Worlds, holy and spiritually glorious, will be unveiled to your eyes. You are destined by Him, in this world and hereafter, to partake of their benefits, to share in their joys, and to obtain a portion of their sustaining grace. To each and every one of them you will, no doubt, attain." -Baha'u'llah

[Bruno's logic]

Fear is hell but you don't have to live in fear forever.
God is existence.
God is eternal.
God is infinite.
God is an atom and a universe all at once.
God is every thought, every action, every memory, every future…
There’s only one thing existing, and it is God…

To have experienced existence even for an instant is to have known God….
If there’s only one thing existing, then there is no other place to come from, no other place to go….
Hell is the absolute absence of God…. But there is no other existence other than God…
How can this be?
These things, worry and fear, hatred and cruelty, are signs that one is lost in the vast existence of space, that is, the one God existing. To exist in fear is to experience an aspect of God that may very well be a hellish place, but this is not, the absolute absence of God. You may feel alone, that all hope is lost, but you’re still here and you're definitely not alone… It's always your choice to either experience fear or to experience love. To continue on with the rest of us, all of us, in this vast heavenly realm that is Gods space, the one infinite existence, is to experience love .

If you're in hell, look up out of your misery, your guilt, your shame, your fear. The light is all around you, it has always been within you, let your lovelight shine for you are the light of this world. You're missed when you're bound up in the darkness of fear. God is with you even in your most darkest place…. Look for the light.

Hell is temporary blindness, temporary numbness, and temporary foolishness of your own choosing.

Lighten up...
~G.Bruno

[Dah-veeth]

Baha'is often say heaven is nearness to God and hell is remoteness from God. Another way of saying that is heaven is the love of God and hell is the opposite. Angels love God, and are thus in Paradise, no matter where they are, because God is Omnipresent.

"Consider, moreover, how frequently doth man become forgetful of his own self, whilst God remaineth, through His all-encompassing knowledge, aware of His creature, and continueth to shed upon him the manifest radiance of His glory. It is evident, therefore, that, in such circumstances, He is closer to him than his own self. He will, indeed, so remain for ever, for, whereas the one true God knoweth all things, perceiveth all things, and comprehendeth all things, mortal man is prone to err, and is ignorant of the mysteries that lie enfolded within him...." -Baha'u'llah

[Netti-Netti]

Originally Posted by Seeker_of_truth

It is confusing to me why the Bible suggests that punishment is eternal (2 Thes. 1:8-10, Jude 1:7, Luke 16:24, Matt. 25:30,46) while the revelation of Baha'u'llah says the opposite. Why is the idea of a "temporary hell" so to speak or the idea that others can pray for people in "hell" to help them get closer to God alien to a common Christian?

Howdy Seeker,

I think your original question might suggest that the two views being compared are fundamentally different or even irreconcilable. I don't know if they are.

Some views on Karma (e.g., Krishnamurti) focus on the here and now effects of moral causality rather than future incarnations. Maybe some interpretations of Bahai' doctrine are similar to that in terms of emphasis on the immediacy of moral causality and the ongoingness of spiritual progress through ongoing efforts to become closer to G-d.

Interestingly, though, I had no trouble finding a passage describing the Bahai' idea of Paradise as a place inhabited by the soul in the afterlife: "Whosoever attaineth unto it God will aid him in this world below, and after death He will enable him to gain admittance into Paradise whose vastness is as that of heaven and earth.... Likewise apprehend thou the nature of hell-fire....."
~ Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, "Súriy-i-Vafá", p. 189

I'm certainly no expert on the Bahai' faith, but the above description could be interpreted to suggest that Paradise and the state of Hell Fire are permanent and final end state. So far I have not seen any passage that specifically rules out hell as a permanent and final end state.

In this context, don't think the Christian view of (heaven and) hell is necessarily irreconcilable with an emphasis on virtue and resultant divine blessings in the here and now. I think it probably is true that the normative view is that the Bible supports the notion of permanence ("eternal damnation"). However, be aware that there is some question about the adequacy/accuracy of translation of the Bible dealing on what it says about "everlasting punishment." Check this out....

http://www.tentmaker.org/books/asw/Chapter10.html