Belkin Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 This question has been on my mind lately... I'm wondering how others think about it. Basically, there are quite a few religions out there, but most share the concept of Heaven, a place where those that lived a life of good according the the laws of their particular religion end up after death. The problem is that what is considered a terrible sin in some religions is benign in others. So how is it all supposed to match up? Do only a very small percentage of the human race get to go to Heaven (ie those of the "right" religion,) or does everyone go as long as they lived what they believed to be a good life? or what else? Link to post Share on other sites
Tony T Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 There is no right or wrong religion. God gave man a free will to believe what he wants. God forgives sins and doesn't hold grudges. He understands that his creatures are fallible human beings. However, God does not like second hand smoke. Therefore, most people get into heaven unless they refuse to quit smoking. Link to post Share on other sites
Citizen Erased Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I was brought up to believe only Catholics go to heaven. So my answer would be no Link to post Share on other sites
andysw Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 The only way into heaven is by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour into your heart. There is only one religion and that is Christianity. Anyone who believes that Jesus came to earth and died for our sins shall go to heaven. Anyone who doesn't go to hell. Jesus is the only bridge to heaven and no other religion contains the Jesus concept. Link to post Share on other sites
malaclypse Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 but most share the concept of Heaven, a place where those that lived a life of good according the the laws of their particular religion end up after death. No, most religions don't share this concept. Link to post Share on other sites
Tony Posted March 15, 2008 Senior Moderators Share Posted March 15, 2008 If you're going to post in this thread, kindly express your own opinions without belittling or ridiculing the beliefs of others who post in this thread. There are many ways of expressing how you feel about a subject without putting others down for what they sincerely believe. Thank you! Link to post Share on other sites
SpanksTheMonkey Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 The only way into heaven is by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour into your heart. There is only one religion and that is Christianity. Anyone who believes that Jesus came to earth and died for our sins shall go to heaven. Anyone who doesn't go to hell. Jesus is the only bridge to heaven and no other religion contains the Jesus concept. And people like that are exactly why I don't get into religion much and cirtinaly not christianity or the sort! There is many religions and no which one is better then any other! Link to post Share on other sites
Tony T Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I was brought up to believe only Catholics go to heaven. So my answer would be no I think the Catholic religion has eased up on this belief, just as they now eat meat on Friday (something that would have gotten you into purgatory 40 years ago); they now have services in English (it was in Latin 40 years ago); a Catholic could get excommunicated for getting a divorce 40 years ago, not anymore); taught that the souls of babies that died at birth or before being baptized would go to Limbo, a nice place but where they would not see God, ...etc. Religions change all the time. I had a CATHOLIC PRIEST one time tell me that beliefs and life and sin were a matter of conscience and intuition. So much for hijacking this thread, back to the subject. I would resign from the human race if for a minute I thought God would prohibit souls from entering heaven because they chose another avenue for pursuing spiritual growth. I believe there are many great people with kind hearts who don't attend church who are much more deserving of heaven than some *******s who go around toting the bible, preaching and stealing money from their congregations in the name of Jesus to pay for prostitutes (Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, etc.). Link to post Share on other sites
malaclypse Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 There is only one religion and that is Christianity. Do you realize that this statement is very offensive to all non-christians? Link to post Share on other sites
Trialbyfire Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 The base premise of all religion, is belief. In order to get to the ultimate payoff aka Heaven/Nirvana/whatever, you have to believe in what is taught to you. If you don't, there's no payoff. Based on this premise, fundamentally speaking, no, people who don't believe in the same man-made structure as your religion dictates, won't go to Heaven/Nirvana/whatever. Link to post Share on other sites
JamesM Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 Do you realize that this statement is very offensive to all non-christians? There are a lot of true statements that are offensive. This does not mean that they should not be said. I think one part of the question in the original post should be fairly easy to answer. If an atheist does not believe in a God or Heaven, then it would be highly unlikely for said individual to reach Heaven when they find out there is one. As for anyone but Christians reaching Heaven, I would go with Andy's answer. Not all who call themselves Christians would agree with it. Even C. S. Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia and a great apologist) believed that others wold reach Heaven despite their belief in other gods or rather a false belief in the one true God. Link to post Share on other sites
Storyrider Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 As for anyone but Christians reaching Heaven, I would go with Andy's answer. Not all who call themselves Christians would agree with it. Even C. S. Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia and a great apologist) believed that others wold reach Heaven despite their belief in other gods or rather a false belief in the one true God. My H believes some of us are praying to God through Jesus and don't realize it, such as Jews for example. He believes we are unaware of the mechanism, but that it is still the reality of the situation because Christ is always the conduit between humanity and God. Because of this "loophole" he believes some of us who are not professed Christians will still go to heaven. ?? Link to post Share on other sites
Moose Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 The problem is that what is considered a terrible sin in some religions is benign in others.This is precisely why I personally believe in Christ as my Saviour. It really doesn't matter to me what religion anyone else is. Yes I care if they don't believe in Christ, but not all will. To me, Christ or Chritianity is the only Truth that admits man is a sinful creature by nature. We, as men and women can't avoid sin no matter how hard we try. I believe this because it's well documented that Christ is and always will be the perfect sacrifice. Other sects of Christianity believe what they may, to me Christ's message is very clear that through Christ is the only way to God, and ultimately His kingdom. my .02 Link to post Share on other sites
Citizen Erased Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 I think the Catholic religion has eased up on this belief, just as they now eat meat on Friday (something that would have gotten you into purgatory 40 years ago); they now have services in English (it was in Latin 40 years ago); a Catholic could get excommunicated for getting a divorce 40 years ago, not anymore); taught that the souls of babies that died at birth or before being baptized would go to Limbo, a nice place but where they would not see God, ...etc. Religions change all the time. I had a CATHOLIC PRIEST one time tell me that beliefs and life and sin were a matter of conscience and intuition. So much for hijacking this thread, back to the subject. I would resign from the human race if for a minute I thought God would prohibit souls from entering heaven because they chose another avenue for pursuing spiritual growth. I believe there are many great people with kind hearts who don't attend church who are much more deserving of heaven than some *******s who go around toting the bible, preaching and stealing money from their congregations in the name of Jesus to pay for prostitutes (Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, etc.). All of what you say is true. I was actually being sarcastic in my response, as an intelligent adult I find it incredibly stupid for me to expect that because my parents chose to have me attend a certain church that will get me into heaven. But most people choose to believe the most archaic beliefs of the Church are still in place and choose not to believe change is possible in an institution as old as the Catholic Church. I'm glad to see you are not one of them Link to post Share on other sites
Author Belkin Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 Careful with sarcasm there! It's a dangerous tool to use if not explicitly mentioned Anyways, my question stems from a discussion I had with a Muslim friend of mine, during which I told him (joking of course) he should convert to Christianism for the sake of wine and bacon. Then we got serious again and talked about my thread title. The basic assumption being that there is only one truth (albeit unknown to us) about what happens to us after death, and this truth is valid for all human beings, whatever their religion or personal beliefs. So if a superior entity were to judge us after our deaths, then the only thing that would matter would be whether or not we tried our best to do good, rather than behave selfishly. From there we decided that "good" was extremely subjective, and depended on each person's personal beliefs (ie, if he were to consciously drink alcohol or eat pork, it would be "bad" because that's how he sees it, but it wouldn't mean anything for me. If you see where I'm getting at...) So following the religious principles you sincerely believe in are actually necessary to earn your place in Heaven, but these principles vary from one person to another. Link to post Share on other sites
OpenBook Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Do only a very small percentage of the human race get to go to Heaven (ie those of the "right" religion,) or does everyone go as long as they lived what they believed to be a good life? or what else? Whenever I ponder questions like this, I remember a scene in "The Stand" where Rob Lowe's character tells the old woman in Nebraska that he doesn't believe in God. She throws back her head and has a good belly-laugh, then says to him "Son it doesn't matter. He believes in YOU." All I can say is, thank GOD it's not my call who gets into heaven and who doesn't!! I'll leave that up to Him. Link to post Share on other sites
Enema Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 (edited) I think the only one who can answer this question is god himself... What you'll get here are opinions tilted by the posters own religious views and personal desires. I think it would be moral and just to send people to heaven who led good lives but who happened to be indoctrinated into the "wrong" faith, or were completely ignorant of the "right" faith, or simply weren't convinced god existed at all... (is blind faith really a good thing?) Unfortunately, most of the common gods we know can't really be described as just or rational... so it really has no solid answer. Edited March 16, 2008 by Enema Link to post Share on other sites
sally4sara Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 There are many conflicting religions while still sharing a common belief in an afterlife. That afterlife differs somewhat like a continuation of the soul versus say...reincarnation for example. The correlation is supported based on two facts: we all die and we all house energy. Seeing as how energy cannot be destroyed; only changed. I see this as a indication that no matter what you believe you will continue in some fashion after your death. So then there is the question of where our energy goes. Heaven in its different descriptions or Hell in it's own. Where we devout or had enough faith? Did we do as little harm as possible? Contribute something? It all depends on your belief when it comes to these things and no one finds out till their death. We make judgments or guesses while we are alive about ourselves and others. And it is here where I get confused. Because what one person might do in the name of their faith may result in horrible suffering for others. Do they go to their heaven for their devotion or do they go to hell for their harm? I cannot think of a religion that has no history of bloodshed or force. And while I think I live a fairly harmless life in comparison, I can think of things that would push me to harm others for what I believe in despite not adhering to any particular faith because I believe they would be the right things to do. But the persons I would harm might be doing something in the name of their faith. Who would ascend? Me? Them? Neither or both? What if none of these promised heavens and fore-warned hells existed and we simply become a different form of energy and possibly no longer self aware? Is that so bad? I think humans need to believe in something to not go crazy or feel unimportant in the realization of how little we are in the grand scheme of things. I believe WE created the face of our Gods in the image of our own expectations. Link to post Share on other sites
Siciliana Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 How does one determine what is the "wrong" religion? Link to post Share on other sites
Rooster_DAR Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 I think humans need to believe in something to not go crazy or feel unimportant in the realization of how little we are in the grand scheme of things. I believe WE created the face of our Gods in the image of our own expectations. Very good observation. I'm on the same page as you, but you will find most religious people cannot accept any other possible answer except the one they chose to believe. I believe the fear of the possibility of no God or higher power is part of the force that keeps these people from embracing any other possibility. Fortunately, there are a few people that can think outside the box they live in and deduce other possibilities besides some divine entity. I'm not trying to imply religious people are closed minded and wrong, I'm just observing what I have interpreted through my life. Cheers! Link to post Share on other sites
sally4sara Posted March 16, 2008 Share Posted March 16, 2008 Very good observation. I'm on the same page as you, but you will find most religious people cannot accept any other possible answer except the one they chose to believe. I believe the fear of the possibility of no God or higher power is part of the force that keeps these people from embracing any other possibility. Fortunately, there are a few people that can think outside the box they live in and deduce other possibilities besides some divine entity. I'm not trying to imply religious people are closed minded and wrong, I'm just observing what I have interpreted through my life. Cheers! I do believe in a creator Rooster. I just doubt that we or the things we do are the big deal we think we are to that being. Link to post Share on other sites
disgracian Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 There is no such thing as a "wrong" religion, there are just different shades of silly and superstitious. This obsession with binary thinking is dangerous and holds back progress. Cheers, D. Link to post Share on other sites
Pyro Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Only one person/thing/being who can answer this truthfully. Everything else is just an opinion or a guess. Link to post Share on other sites
shadowofman Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 That would be me, and yes, you are all going to hell. Link to post Share on other sites
Citizen Erased Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 That would be me, and yes, you are all going to hell. I knew there was something special about you... Link to post Share on other sites
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