Hur kan en kärleksfull, barmhärtig, oändligt förlåtande Gud ordna det så att vissa människor drabbas av ett straff i helvetet, där de måste brinna i evighet? Hur kan han utmäta ett oändligt straff för en ändligt mängd synder?

Om det kristna kärleksbudskapet säger att man skall älska alla, t.o.m. sina fiender, och alltid förlåta den som gör ont, hur kommer det sig då att Gud själv inte handlar enligt sina direktiv utan tvärtom för all oändlighet straffar människor som begått onda gärningar?

En märklig inkonsistens i den kristna läran är det allt.

Så här beskrivs helvetet av James Joyce i "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" (saxat från http://www.vuletic.com/hume/at/journey.html)

"The torment of fire is the greatest torment to which the tyrant has ever subjected his fellow creatures...But our earthly fire was created by God for the benefit of man...whereas the fire of hell is of another quality and was created by God to torture and punish the unrepentant sinner...Moreover, our earthly fire destroys at the same time as it burns so that the more intense it is the shorter its duration: but the fire of hell has this property that it preserves that which it burns and though it rages with incredible intensity, it rages forever...And this terrible fire will not afflict the bodies of the danged only from without but each lost soul will be a hell unto itself, the boundless fire raging in its very vitals. O, how terrible is the lot of these wretched beings! The blood seethes and boils in the veins, the brains are boiling in the skull, the heart in the breast glowing and bursting, the bowels a redhot mass of burning pulp, the tender eyes flaming like molten balls...It is a fire which proceeds directly from God, working not of its own activity but as an instrument of divine vengeance...Every sense of the flesh is tortured and every faculty of the soul therewith: the eyes with impenetrable utter darkness, the nose with noisome odours, the ears with yells and howls and execrations, the taste with foul matter, leprous corruption, nameless suffocating filth, the touch with redhot goads and spikes, with cruel tongues of flame. And through the several torments of the senses the immortal soul is tortured eternally in its very essence amid the leagues upon leagues of glowing fires kindled in the abyss by the offended majesty of the Omnipotent God and fanned into everlasting and increasing fury by the breath of the anger of the Godhead. (...) Eternity! O, dread and dire word. Eternity! What mind of man can understand it? And remember, it is an eternity of pain. Even though the pains of hell were not so terrible as they are, yet they would become infinite, as they are destined to last for ever. But while they are everlasting they are at the same time, as you know, intolerably intense, unbearably extensive. To bear even the sting of an insect for all eternity would be a dreadful torment. What must it be, then, to bear the manifold tortures of hell for ever? For ever! For all eternity! Not for a year or for an age but for ever. Try to imagine the awful meaning of this. You have often seen the sand on the seashore. How fine are its tiny grains! And how many of those tiny little grains go to make up the small handful which a child grasps in its play. Now imagine a mountain of that sand, a million miles high, reaching from the earth to the farthest heavens, and a million miles broad, extending to remotest space, and a million miles in thickness; and imagine such an enormous mass of countless particles of sand multiplied as often as there are leaves in the forest, drops of water in the mighty ocean, feathers on birds, scales on fish, hairs on animals, atoms in the vast expanse of the air: and imagine that at the end of every million years a little bird came to that mountain and carried away in its beak a tiny grain of that sand. How many millions upon millions of centuries would pass before that bird had carried away even a square foot of that mountain, how many eons upon eons of ages before it had carried away all? Yet at the end of that immense stretch of time not even one instant of eternity could be said to have ended. At the end of all those billions and trillions of years eternity would have scarcely begun. And if that mountain rose again after it had been all carried away, and if the bird came again and carried it all away again grain by grain, and if it so rose and sank as many times as there are stars in the sky, atoms in the air, drops of water in the sea, leaves on the trees, feathers upon birds, scales upon fish, hairs upon animals, at the end of all those innumerable risings and sinkings of that immeasurably vast mountain not one single instant of eternity could be said to have ended; even then, at the end of such a period, after that eon of time the mere thought of which makes our very brain reel dizzily, eternity would scarcely have begun."

Long-Term Consumer Outlook For China Luxury| As investments by companies like Louis Vuitton (LVMH) Gucci and Chanel in China?s luxury market increase McKinsey continues their ongoing series of Chinese consumer surveys. Vinay Dixit senior director of Asia consumer centers whom I previously interviewed on The China Observer sent me their latest report entitled ?Understanding China?s Growing Love for Luxury ? which summarizes the results of an extensive survey of over 1 fake graham watches 500 Chinese luxury consumers during spring 2010. I do not necessarily agree with all of the report?s findings but McKinsey does provide an interesting framework to analyze luxury consumer behavior. The report highlighted the following three key findings: ?Rapid increases in wealth and shifting social mores that sanction the display of that wealth are driving a growing infatuation for luxury goods among Chinese consumers.? ?Access to an explosion of information on the Internet an increasing penchant for overseas travel and first-hand experience purchasing and consuming luxury goods are contributing to a substantial rise in sophistication among luxury consumers in China. Contrary to popular belief a growing number of Chinese luxury consumers are exhibiting a noticeable trend away from overt displays of wealth and towards more understated forms of luxury consumption.? ?Rapid urbanization and growing wealth outside of China?s largest cities is driving the emergence of several new geographic markets with sizable pools of luxury goods consumers. Over the next 5 years replica richard mille watches [McKinsey] expects that the number of such cities will double from 30 to 60.? In addition to these three trends McKinsey classifies Chinese luxury consumers into four broad categories as follows: 1. Core luxury buyers: Affluent households that spend 12 to 20% of their income on luxury goods per year ($20 000 to $60 000). 2. Luxury role models: Young and fashionable most are self-employed or corporate executives living in Beijing or Shanghai. They buy to indulge themselves and seek to feel unique rather than show off their wealth. 3. Fashion fanatics: Middle class typically in junior to mid-level positions; includes some housewives. They spend a disproportionate amount of income on luxury longines expeditions polaires francaises watches and have a stronger ?enjoy now? mindset willing to buy on credit. They also exert a strong influence on other consumers sharing their purchases and opinions in social circles and online. 4. Middle-class aspirants: Middle class living in Tier 2/3 cities. They are infrequent buyers of luxury products. Purchasing luxury goods makes them feel successful and fulfills aspirations of belonging in a higher social circle. They are also less knowledgeable about luxury brands and thus are more cautious spenders. I am always a bit skeptical of all-encompassing classifications of consumer groups. However three key areas to me signal long-term growth in China?s luxury market. The first is the ongoing rise of luxury spending in Tier 2 and 3 cities. The report found that one-third of luxury consumption in China today came from just nine markets: Chongqing Dongguan Foshan Guangzhou Hangzhou Nanjing Shenzhen Tianjin and Wenzhou. Second there is an increased willingness for people who can?t afford luxury items to spend a disproportionate amount of their income on luxury. According to the report 13 million upper-middle-class households (earning $15 000 to $30 000) are stretching their budgets to buy luxury watches baume mercier hampton replica watches jewelry handbags replica watches shoes and clothing. This form of consumption represented 12% of Chinese luxury consumption in 2010 but is expected to reach 22% by 2015. Lastly the relative youth of China?s luxury consumers. Approximately 73% of luxury consumers in China are under age 45 significantly younger than their counterparts in western nations or even nearby Japan. Should these trends continue to develop China may very well be the world?s largest luxury market by 2015; however as the events in Japan have dramatically impacted luxury retailers in the world?s current #1 luxury market unforeseen circumstances may alter future development in the Middle Kingdom. 0 comments 0 called-out