Dr. Watson said:

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So a brilliant person who contributed to society and suffered immensely on earth is now in Hell because of his religion. The older I get and the more of the world and it's suffering I see, the more abhorrent I find a lot of these beliefs.

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I said we do not know for sure, as my first line in my response said. God knows the heart of Stephen and it's possible he did all his life's work to truly show love to others. It's possible he sacrificed his lifelong pain for the good of others also.

If Stephen was consistently misled about the true nature of God his entire life despite genuinely searching the truth about Him out, then I can understand his decision to turn to atheism (although I don't justify it).
The key question though is if he knew the truth of Jesus and still rejected it, because if so then he's in trouble despite the good that he did.

A vast majority of those that reject God simply do not understand the truth of God. They have a misinformed, indifferent, or twisted version of who God is, so they cannot be held fully accountable for that. Those that do not know God through no fault of their own, but still live a life of true love towards others are still responding to the love God has put inside them. The problem is when people know full well the nature of God, and still live their life in continual rejection of Him.

Tamu_mgm said:

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Dr. Watson said:

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So a brilliant person who contributed to society and suffered immensely on earth is now in Hell because of his religion. The older I get and the more of the world and it's suffering I see, the more abhorrent I find a lot of these beliefs.

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I said we do not know for sure, as my first line in my response said. God knows the heart of Stephen and it's possible he did all his life's work to truly show love to others. It's possible he sacrificed his lifelong pain for the good of others also.

If Stephen was consistently misled about the true nature of God his entire life despite genuinely searching the truth about Him out, then I can understand his decision to turn to atheism (although I don't justify it).
The key question though is if he knew the truth of Jesus and still rejected it, because if so then he's in trouble.

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what if he found the story of Jesus' resurrection to not be convincing?

Tamu_mgm said:

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Only God knows the heart of a person. Although it seems like a sure bet he is in hell due to his outspoken atheism, we just can't know 100% for sure. We leave all judgement to God.

That being said, I need to clarify that last line of what you said. Once someone goes to hell, there is no coming back; it is a fixed decision for eternity. All those that are in hell or will go to hell before the final judgement are locked in forever. They do not get a 2nd chance, because throughout the life they led and including up to and at their moment of death they chose to reject Christ. This is the reason for the famous saying "there are only volunteers in hell."

The same concept goes for those in Heaven. All those in Heaven are in perfect communion with God so they won't leave (even if there is hypothetically a "choice" to do so), even at the final judgement. This is because once someone receives the beatific vision of God (being in Heaven), who is all perfect, loving, almighty, and the absolute Truth - even the inkling of a consideration of being outside of communion with God does not exist in their consciousness. They are locked in to an absolute perfect state of love, adoration, and bliss.

The final judgement is for those still on earth at that time of the judgement.

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Do you think there is any possibility that your understanding of the nature of God, Heaven, Hell, etc. are not correct?

see my edited post above

In case folks don't know, Hawking was buried between Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.

Did Charles Darwin get the Darwin Award?

GoHomeLeg said:

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Did Charles Darwin get the Darwin Award?

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No, I believe he had children.

Solo Tetherball Champ said:

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GoHomeLeg said:

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Did Charles Darwin get the Darwin Award?

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No, I believe he had children.

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Did they evolve from apes?

GoHomeLeg said:

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Solo Tetherball Champ said:

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GoHomeLeg said:

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Did Charles Darwin get the Darwin Award?

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No, I believe he had children.

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Did they evolve from apes?

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Yes.

GoHomeLeg said:

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Solo Tetherball Champ said:

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GoHomeLeg said:

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Did Charles Darwin get the Darwin Award?

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No, I believe he had children.

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Did they evolve from apes?

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Yes. And so did you. Technically we are all still apes.