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Just wondering
I don't know, I've just been thinking about this alot lately. Okay, you know how people always say that to go to Heaven you have to believe in God and be religious and such? Well, what about a person who is kind and selfless and is just a good person in general and is an athiest? Does that mean that they wouldn't go to Heaven even though they were a good person who did good for other people? Because if you think about it, not every person who is religious is good. Like the terrorists who flew the plane into the World Trade Center, causing the deaths of all those innocent people. They claimed that they were doing that for God and their religion. I mean, wouldn't it seem wrong for a person just to go to Heaven because they were religious even if they weren't a good person, and a person who was a really good person not going to Heaven because they weren't religious? I was just thinking about this and wondering if anybody had some answers, perhaps?
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Want to answer more questions in the Miscellaneous category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Spirituality?
well, to answer your first question about the good Athiest, Dante (that guy who wrote The Divine Comedy [not Comedy as in joke]) thought and wrote that if you are not baptized, you get sent to Limbo, which apperently isn't that bad of a place, so it is not a Christian belief that all Athiests go to Hell.
It is important to realize when dealing with figures such as God, that our moral standards may not be His. Good is relitive, an opinion on which many people disagree upon. Just because you or I happen to think something is "bad" does not mean that the Lord belives that it is "bad"
In other words, who knows? I don't. and I sincerly doubt anyone truly does.
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Even though a lot of people have answered this, I KNOW in my heart, the true way to get to heaven. And I hope sooo much that I will get through to you. And not as just "another answer." I will quote in the bible what it says. "The only way to God is through Jesus." You have to accept Jesus into your heart to go to heaven. Just because someone is a good person and they have good morals absolutely DOES NOT mean they are going to heaven. If you do not belive(and I agree with the other columnist who said this)God, and not just in him, you cant get into heaven. Heaven is a place where you are reunited with God, it is his house, and you have to be a person OF him,and love him, to be there for eternity. The Islams have a completely different outlook on religion. They belive in Allah, and not in "God" I personally do not think that Islams will go to heaven because you have to belive in Jesus to get there, and they do not. Some people just are good people because they dont belive in being a bad person. But trust me, I know what I am talking about. And there is a way to know if you are going to heaven or not. If you have any questions on how any of this works, PLEASE message me, and if you want I can pray with you.
Have questions?
Ask Keri!
kerizimmerman14@hotmail.com
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ok you already have alot of answers for this one but i wanted to tell you what i know. Going to heaven or hell is NOT about how "religious" you are. Religious is just doing all the right deeds..which in itself isnt a bad thing..but it doesnt get you to heaven. Its also not so much as believing IN God but believing God. If you think about it really..the devil believes in God..he knows he exists..but hes definitely not going to heaven. Thats because he doesnt have faith in God and he doesnt follow him. To know you are going to heaven you need to accept that you arent perfect and that you need Jesus in your life. Going to church being nice to people and just those things that ARE really good things..they jsut dont get you into heaven. Heaven wouldnt be as great if we could work are way to it. It is a gift and we have to accept it. Religion has nothing to do with it, its the choice that you make in your heart, and hopefully the choice you make will affect your deeds but either way the things that you do wont get you into heaven. Only Jesus can.
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you're going to get a lot of answers on this one, so i'll just give my personal opinion. i agree with you. i am methodist, but many of my friends believe that you HAVE to be baptised to go to heaven. on the other hand, i have never been baptised. i am 15. does that make me a bad person? no. and there are plenty of people that are horrible people and have been baptised. in my personal opinion, no matter what religion or anything, if you are a good person, you will go to heaven (or the equivalent). whatever the religion teaches about eternity (or the idea of heaven), i believe that a good person of that religion will go there after death. i have a jewish friend. she is a great person. one of my baptist friends was telling me, "don't you feel bad that sarah isn't going to heaven because she's a jew?" but i don't believe that because she's a jew, she won't go to heaven. i believe that because she's a good person, she will go to heaven (or if jewish people believe in something else besides heaven, then she will go there, i'm just not familiar with judaism). anyway, i just believe that as long as you're a good person, there's something good in store for you in eternity. but people shouldn't really worry about whether or not OTHER people are going to heaven/hell, because that's the same as judging people. see what i'm saying? it's kind of like, mind your own business. anyway, i hope i helped you a little bit.
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Hmm some of these answers here are pretty good. Allow me to make my opinion which I believe is based off of fact, since it is written in the Bible. Being a good or bad person does not determine who gets into Heaven or not. Faith in Jesus Christ is what determines it. Look at the man on the cross next to Jesus. He was a murderer and a thief and a rapist and many other things. Based on the good person/bad person idea this man is going to Hell. However, he told the other prisioner being cruxified that he (the man) deserved to be on the cross and not Jesus, and believed Jesus was God the Messiah. The he asked Jesus to remember him when Jesus enters heaven. Jesus promptly told him Today you will be with me in paradise. This man was forgiven and let into heaven for believing in God. Not what he did.
Second Jesus said "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live." John 11:25
He also said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6
These are just two of the passages amoung many.
Being a "good" person is not going to get you into Heaven. In God's eyes we are all sinners and all fall short of the glory of God. Our sin is the never ending ocean between us and God. Jesus is the only bridge to God. What he did on that cross took our sin away from us so long as we believe that Jesus Died for us on that cross, and was resurrected on the third day to show that life does exist after death. God is ready to accept all people over the whole earth, we just have to believe. Not just think that helping an old lady across the street is enough for God to go "Welcome aboard!"
Your sin has been paid for by Jesus. All you have to do is get the reciept from him.
*ADDED* If a person believes in God and does terrible things in his life then does he really believe in God? Believeing causes a change in someone, and someone who says "I believe in God" but then kills someone, is not someone who really does believe in God.
No matter how "good" someone is they still do something against God in their life. The very first sin you've ever done was enough to kick you out of Heaven. Heaven is perfect. Man-kind is nowhere near perfect. SO if you were 5 years old and lied to your parents, but then at age 16 decided to help thousands of people and did so, but did not believe in God, that lie you told when you were 5 was enough for Heaven to shut its doors on you. Thats why the Bible says all you have to do is believe in Jesus Christ and follow his call. Saying you believe and hurting someone intentionally later on is not really believeing.
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I have the answer to your question-
this all depends on what religion you are. there are many religions out there, but the main religions in american are catholics, christians, and lutherans. I am a christian. Christians, lutherans, and catholics (and every other religion out there) believe different things. Christians catholics and luthrans all believe there is a God. some other religions believe in different Gods. All i know is there is only one true God, who of course, created everything and is in heaven. Christians believe everything out of the bible. not a word changed. catholics change the bible, and add and remove to and from it. in the bible it explain how there will be a time for every living person to get saved. salvation (if you didnt already know) is when you pray to God that you believe that his son Jesus christ died on the cross for our sins, that you want to go to heaven when you die, and that you believe you are a sinner. once you pray that prayer, and you believe it with all your heard you go to heaven and theres no turning back. when your a young kid, and your raised into a religion.. there is still atleast one time.. where God allows you to see the real religion and the opportunity for salvation.
TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION:
there are many good people in the world, but that doesnt mean they believe in God. Just because they are good doesn't mean they believe Jesus died on the cross for their sins, and that they want salvation. As for the terrorists, yeah, they said they did everything for their religion. but they still had atleast one chance to get truely saved. its hard to determine what relgion is the correct religion because there are so many. but the bible tells us.
this is all very confusing.. especially to type it out on the computer..but i hope i helped atleast a little bit?
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I'm sure everyone has a different answer to this question, but this is aside my opinions and what I think is the facts.
If a person is an atheist, then it would not be in their morals to believe in a heaven. Heaven is an afterlife in which you are reunited with God and your fellow deceased brothers and sisters (figuratively). If you don't believe in God, then you should, technically, not believe in heaven or hell.
And yes, you're right, not everyone who is religious is a good person. I am not sure if Muslims believe in heaven, but those terrorists believe that their god, Allah, told them to kill people from the U.S. If heaven fits into the Islam religion, then most Muslims (the Sunnis, at least) would think that those terrorists did go/are going to heaven.
If those un-religious people did not go to church but were still good people, they may or may not go to heaven. If they believed there was a heaven, then they would probably go, but if they didn't care either way, I don't see why they would want to. In the example that you stated, those children could change their lifestyles. I did. My parents had stopped going to church over the years, and when I got old enough I started making my parents drop me off at church and pick me up. These are the acts that I know make God proud and will hopefully let me into heaven.
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that is what deceives sooo many people...they think that they can get into heaven simply because they were good. that is not true at all. if that were the case, a lot more people would be in heaven who never believed in God, and why should He let people enter who don't believe in Him? the Bible says that they way to destruction (hell) is wide and many people follow it, but the way to heaven is narrow and hard to follow. yes there are religious people who are bad...but the question is, are they being religious because they want to and sincerely want to learn about God and serve Him, or do they do it for the sole purpose of receiving a reward. the terrorists on 9/11 or any other time, i can guarantee you, are not in heaven. they worshipped a false god and they had to find out the hard way that their souls will be forever separated from the LIGHT. yeah they were religious, but it was a man-made religion and a false god they served. and the subject of children going to heaven is very hard to debate and i honestly do not know the answer. especially for infants because they have no knowledge to believe, but at the same time, they don't know any better. it's very debateable.
i hope i helped! if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask! =]
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You have to beleive in God and our savior Jesus to go to Heaven. And ask forgiveness and that such.
hope i helped:)
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okay. i really don't know much about people like that and who goes to heaven. but i think you should just give yourself to the Lord. I mean what is holding you back from him. You obviously belive there is a God if you wanna go to heaven. but i would dedicate my life to God because it has a lot of benifits. but you are right all people who go to church aren't godly, but some are. but God knows your heart adn theirs too. but when we turn 12 everything we do is our own fault. you don't have to follow God because your parents did, be better then them. my parents didn't but i do. so just give yourself to him.
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I know you probably dont want to hear this but I believe that the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. This is because no one is perfect and heaven is nothing but perfection. Therefore the only way to get into heaven is to admit that you are not perfect and that Jesus died to forgive and whipe us of thoses sins. Thats it!
I have to disagree with you on that second part though. People have a right to choose which religion they choose and although their parents DO HAVE A BIG EFFECT on the religion their child has, it is important for the child to choose their own religions and beliefs
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thats an interesting one there, and different than what is usually posted on here too so thanks for the change!
i kinda had to think about that one for a second, and i decided (this is just what i believe) whether you belive in god or not i dont kno..
but to go to heaven you have to have been a good person and done good for others and all this. those people who seem to be religious but are really bad people, probably wont be going to heaven if they keep their lives that way, no. but i think that as long as your a good person you probably will make it to a good place after you die. xoxo helpachick
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