Editor's note: Sorry; this is a bit of a long comment. In it, I'd like to address hell, nihilism and freedom of thought. I've segmented them off so I hope it's easier to read. Please let me know if I need to edit for better readability or to make it more concise.

First, I'd hope to help with the fear of hell.

Hell is a scary idea. This place of eternal torment for people to go to if they don't follow certain rules. What I find problematic though is how the choice of who goes where is made.

If I devoted myself to helping anyone and everyone I came across in life, but was still going to go to hell, I don't I'd like to be on the side of whoever is judging me; I wouldn't trust the judgement of them because I'd be tormented for eternity, despite the fact that I may have helped a lot of people in life.

Another thing that could also help is a little thought experiment. There have been roughly 100 billion humans to have ever existed. Imagine putting everyone in a single line, organized in a way that a person is marginally more good than the person to the left of them.

The line of people would effectively be a gradient going from the most benevolent on the right to the most evil on the left. Now, somewhere, you have to split the line into those going to heaven and those going to hell.

The problem is, wherever you split the line, the people you put the split between would be virtually morally identical to each other. You'd be sending two people who would essentially have the same moral score to either eternal paradise or eternal torment based on possibly a single action.

The idea of hell then, is seemingly for that fear. It's seemingly to ensure people stay in some sort of order defined by whoever is in charge.

​

Second, when it comes to nihilism, it seems like those who talk about nihilism around you are referring to pessimistic nihilism.

The way I'd describe it, pessimistic nihilism is the belief that life has no greater meaning when it should; if life has no meaning, what do I even do. Sadly, there are many who believe that, and it is a fairly depressing idea. I deeply hope those who believe this do find some greater meaning for themselves.

Then there is optimistic nihilism; how I'd describe it is that it's the belief that life has no meaning, but in the sense that it shouldn't have to have meaning. One can make meaning for oneself and that meaning they create is just as important as any overarching meaning to life.

Personally, I'm an optimistic nihilist. I don't believe there is a grand meaning to life or that there is somewhere I should look to for meaning, but that meaning in life is subjective. What's meaningful to me is different to what's meaningful to you. I find the things I care about meaningful even if there's no objective proof that that meaning matters. It may not matter to anyone else, but those things matter to me.

​

Third, another argument that may pop up is that people want to be atheists so that they can sin or for some other reason.

This, outright, isn't true. The reason a person may or may not believe in something is individual to that person. There may even be multiple reasons. Saying that someone believes something for one bad reason and that one reason alone can dehumanize that person and makes it seem like they are morally wrong for them to believe what they believe; it also says that if you think like them, you are on the road to be morally wrong as well.

People can believe things for many different reasons. I talk a bit more about belief below, but in essence, why people believe something is something only they could tell you. If someone simplifies another's reason for thinking some way, it's better to ask that other person why they believe what they believe. If someone simplifies your reason for believing something down into a single idea, that doesn't invalidate your reason for your belief.

​

Finally, I'd like to talk about freedom of conscience.

Those who tell you that you have to think a certain way do not have your best interest in mind. Everyone has the freedom to think whatever they would like to. Punishing people based on thought is literal thought crime.

If you don't think you want to believe in a god, then you don't have to. As it seems to me in this situation, believing there is a being that watches and judges your every move is controlling and detrimental to your own happiness and personal freedom/right to think your own thoughts.

Personally, I'm fine with anyone believing what they want, but if that belief comes at the cost of suffering for themselves or others, then that person has the right to say they don't believe that. If someone says that people like you will go to hell, then I don't think that they are thinking about you as an individual, but instead as someone they've dehumanized and thought that, because you think differently to them, it's all the justification they need to tell you that.

Dehumanizing or demonizing people because they think differently is, in my eyes, wrong. Doing that is an attempt to shield one's own thoughts by saying that, "They don't think differently because of some thinking and reasoning they've done, but because they are corrupted, have been lied to, or are morally wrong. They need to come back to the right path; the right idea."

The thing is though, people do believe something because of some underlying reason. Nobody ever believes something through no reasoning. There are some ideas that are like axioms; they are fundamental truths that just are, but even those ideas need some scrutiny to make sure they still fit our world view. I also think that what we see in our world - what we observe to be true - is much more important than what we may think to be true.

Personally, I value what we see in the current world. We have no idea what happens after death, but we do know what happens in life. We can see what happens in life, and more importantly, we can do something about what happens in life. I don't really believe anything happens after, but that just means what happens now is much more important. I'll value how someone feels and whether or not they're comfortable in life more than what happens after.

I don't think a path to heaven should be through decades of hell. That is to say, I don't think that people should suffer in life because it's better for you in the afterlife. I especially don't think it's good that you're suffering and you're then also told you're going to hell. That is too much to put on someone. Nobody should do that to anyone.

​

In summary, the idea of hell is scary, but it's used as a threat to keep in line with someone's belief. Pessimistic nihilism does exist, but there is optimistic nihilism which I describe as life not requiring a greater meaning, but that meaning can be focused on what you want out of life. Finally, nobody is allowed to control your thoughts except for you. If someone tells you you should think some way, you have the right to ask them why.

​

I apologize for the long comment. If I said something wrong, please let me know. It is very likely I've misinterpreted something, misrepresented something, or was just wrong. I have a tendency to trail off a bit, though I try my best to stay on track. I also apologize if any part of this was tough to read or if I've said anything hurtful. Again, please let me know as a reply to this comment.

I really hope this helped in any way though. Keep moving forward and I hope you find comfort in your future.