Can good atheists go to heaven??

[Lyndon]

If an atheist lives a good life, caring about people, friends and family, expresses love and compassion for the people he/she meets do you think they can go to heaven just like we may think good Christians, Muslims, and Jews can??

I happen to believe yes, but that's just one man's opinion, what do you think, and what are your reasons.

Remember this is the Abrahamic DIR for followers of Abrahamic religions.

 

[danieldemol]

I believe a compassionate God would not overlook the good deeds done by anyone so yes, I believe they would be reunited with God in the afterlife (ie allowed into heaven)

 

[Misunderstood]

Yes, I do believe they can. I also believe it is possible even if you are not perfect, as long as your are willing to admit your faults and believe in doing what is good for others along with yourself.

 

[Lyndon]

Jesus actually states in the gospels that at the time of judgement, we are judged by our works, Paul preaches just the opposite, that beliefs and faith are more important than works. I happen to think its more what you do than what you believe. People have all kinds of ability to believe wacky things, but beliefs never helped anyone unless they led them to do something of merit, Christians often even believe they are saved by simply accepting Jesus into their heart, but if that doesn't translate into some serious positive actions, I for one don't think it amounts for much. Likewise with atheists, some Christians actually believe that by denying God, they are instantly damned no matter how much good they do. This does not seem to me to be the position of a kind and loving God. Surely God can understand that not everyone has enough solid evidence to believe in him/her, but if their good actions speak louder than their beliefs, I couldn't accept a God that denied salvation to truly good non believers, well that's just me. But seriously, by definition, God has to be a reasonable entiity, and cursing people eternally just because they happen to think or believe God doesn't exist does not seem like a rational entity to me.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

None is good, except for God. However, if a person doesn't outright reject the Lord (say, by maintaining a sense of agnosticism), earnestly ponders the question of what truth is and tries to live as virtuous a life as they can, they may be saved. Only God knows the heart.

Many people in the West are atheists or rejecting Christianity due to never having been exposed to the authentic Gospel in the first place. Many have been harmed by those who claim to be religious. There have been many horrible scandals tarnishing the good name of religion. So this must be taken into mind. All due compassion should be shown to people for whom this is true. Surely those who tarnish the image of the Lord in others will be chastised a hundredfold compared to any atheist who simply finds belief in God perplexing.

 

[Misunderstood]

I agree that without works faith is dead, but that faith is the foundation. I will go over some of what I have come to believe. Most people believe something, about politics, where did I come from, how you should live your life and is there a God and if so which one.

I am Christian so will explain from my beliefs and views. I have come to the conclusion (my own view) even if you do not believe in God or a god, or even much of what is in the Bible; you can still be a Christian. I will try to explain. If you do believe in the Bible it is pretty clear Satan knows God is real, he was in heaven with him, so Satan must know for sure that God is for real. But it seems as though he will not be saved. So just believing that God is real is not going to save you. Basically the same logic goes for believing the bible, believing the stories will not save you either, if you believe the bible is true or not.

To be a Christian you need to have a set of values as defined by what Christ says in the New Testament; that is what a Christian is. Let me try to explain that. If you have a political view be it Socialism, Communism, or Capitalism. These are political views that can be defined, they are not really based on a person they are just a defined political view. If you say you are a Socialist, that is what you believe is the best government system and you would have faith in that system. I feel that to have faith or believe in Christs teaching makes you a Christian. I also feel you can be a Christian without knowing it. Just the same as you may have certain political views and not know what it is until someone gives you a definition. That is why I feel anyone can be a Christian and be saved as long as their beliefs are the same as Christs.
Now, for the doing good. I feel if you have the beliefs and values Christ teaches, you will follow this and do good and right. But making a mistake alone the way will not keep you out of heaven if good is in your heart. You mention Paul teaches faith and Christ teaches works. I feel they both teach the same, one may talk a bit more of one than the other. I think John 3:16 is all about faith. Also, David did some pretty bad things but God loved him, and the sinner on the cross was saved and never had a chance to do any good works. By saying this last part about the sinner on the cross, does not mean I feel just professing Jesus Christ will save you, I feel God can see into you heart and know what you believe for real.

That is a lot to try to get down in one post, so it may not be to well explained. I will try to do better if you have questions, or even if you feel I am a bit cracked in the head.

 

[Kemosloby]

Not because they are good, as the bible says "none are good", but maybe because everybody is bad. As the exchange went in the bible, I will use for example :"let him who has no sin cast the first stone" then he says "none have condemned you, neither do I condemn you" So who knows...but the bible says only those who believe in the Son will be saved, Along the same rationale, if all Christians are hypocrites and none do everything Jesus has said to do, who could condemn the Atheist. And if we are all headed to the pit i'm glad the atheists volunteer to go first, maybe it will get filled up.

 

[Dawnofhope]

Only God who is Omnipotent, All-Knowing, All-Wise, and All-Compassionate can judge our souls and determine our progress in the next world. My understanding from a study of both the NT and Baha'i writings is that God requires us to have both Faith in Him and good deeds. Neither is acceptable without the other. However its hard to imagine a loving, just, and compassionate God withholding His Mercy on those who have not had the opportunity to properly learn from His chosen messengers.

 

[Enoch07]

If an atheist lives a good life, caring about people, friends and family, expresses love and compassion for the people he/she meets do you think they can go to heaven just like we may think good Christians, Muslims, and Jews can??

I happen to believe yes, but that's just one man's opinion, what do you think, and what are your reasons.

Remember this is the Abrahamic DIR for followers of Abrahamic religions.

Yes, it is possible.

The key thing to remember is that God has the final say in someones judgment. What he decides is final.

Jordan Peterson from the University of Toronto would say that if you live as you said a "good life, caring about people, friends and family, expressed love and compassion for our fellow man". That you are living as a christian. And I agree with him.

90%+ of being a christian is living your life everyday in this way. This is no way guarantees anyone access to heaven, but I do believe it is taken into consideration.

There are other rules and stuff to take into consideration and various nuances, that could be described/debated until the end of time. But the it really is simple. The answer is Yes, it is possible, I would say it is a smaller chance than someone who did identify and live as a christian of course. But because judgment is ultimately up to God, everyone else opinion is irrelevant.

 

[TransmutingSoul]

If an atheist lives a good life, caring about people, friends and family, expresses love and compassion for the people he/she meets do you think they can go to heaven just like we may think good Christians, Muslims, and Jews can??

I happen to believe yes, but that's just one man's opinion, what do you think, and what are your reasons.

Remember this is the Abrahamic DIR for followers of Abrahamic religions.

We are told that we all pass from this world into our next life.

Heaven is closeness to God and Hell is remoteness.

Our purpose is to obtain the virtues, so yes Athiests with many virtues will outshine a beleiver with very few virtues.

But there is and important aspect and that is Gods Covernant with Man. God will always send His Messengers to guide us, we in turn are to recognise them and follow the laws for the age we live in. Good deeds without recognition of God is thus a deficiency for our next life, it will hold back our progress.

There is a lot on this topic in the Baha'i Writings.

Regards Tony

 

[Muslim-UK]

If an atheist lives a good life, caring about people, friends and family, expresses love and compassion for the people he/she meets do you think they can go to heaven just like we may think good Christians, Muslims, and Jews can??

I happen to believe yes, but that's just one man's opinion, what do you think, and what are your reasons.

Remember this is the Abrahamic DIR for followers of Abrahamic religions.

Allah swt tells us, If they have never heard of God or been exposed to Monotheism. In that respect they will face a test on the Day of Resurrection, which will determine their place in the hereafter.

 

[Lucian Hodoboc]

Allah swt tells us, If they have never heard of God or been exposed to Monotheism. In that respect they will face a test on the Day of Resurrection, which will determine their place in the hereafter.

What if they have heard of God and have been exposed to monotheism?

 

[Muslim-UK]

What if they have heard of God and have been exposed to monotheism?

Then in reality, this is there Heaven. God still bestowed his favours upon them, health, wealth, women, children etc

They will be questioned when they return to God and judged accordingly, and like the Christian position, God is Most Merciful, Most Forgiving and we pray He makes allowances and permits them into Heaven, of which there are Seven Levels.

 

[Lucian Hodoboc]

Then in reality, this is there Heaven. God still bestowed his favours upon them, health, wealth, women, children etc

There are plenty of disabled sick single homeless atheists out there who have heard about Islam and rejected it. Considering that they sleep on the streets, have very little to eat, and various health problems, this life is definitely not heaven for them.

 

[Muslim-UK]

There are plenty of disabled sick single homeless atheists out there who have heard about Islam and rejected it. Considering that they sleep on the streets, have very little to eat, and various health problems, this life is definitely not heaven for them.

It's still better than what awaits in the hereafter.

They heard about Islam and rejected it. They could still walk into any Mosque and get help with food, clothing and a place to sleep. Similarly, they could reach out to any Synagogue, Church, Hindu Temple etc. Not do so so is using their own free choice.

Remember if we spent our whole lives worshipping God alone in seclusion, we would not have done enough to repay Him for the gift of sight, so having that gift here on Earth is a heavenly reward in its own right.

 

[Super Universe]

If an atheist lives a good life, caring about people, friends and family, expresses love and compassion for the people he/she meets do you think they can go to heaven just like we may think good Christians, Muslims, and Jews can??

I happen to believe yes, but that's just one man's opinion, what do you think, and what are your reasons.

Remember this is the Abrahamic DIR for followers of Abrahamic religions.

No, but heaven is not the next step. You will be allowed into the next level and, at first, you don't have to believe but you do have to learn the information presented to you by the angels and be respectful. If not, you're done, you will cease to exist and it will be that quick. Why waste time on someone who won't even try?

If you learn the information and are respectful but you still don't believe you can move up through the levels but at some point you will have to choose to have faith (faith meaning to accept without indisputable evidence).

Before you can enter heaven you have to be willing to do the will of God. It doesn't matter how good, caring, and compassionate you were as a human. You don't get into God's house unless you have faith and agree to do God's will. No one, not even God, will prove God exists to you. The angels will present a lot of evidence but if you are stubborn or angry then there is nothing that can be done with you.

Would you allow someone to come and live in your home who doesn't want to believe in you or doesn't like you and just wants to argue with everyone about whether you really exist or not?

 

[Dantedeven]

It is based on Karma, Karma is action or whatever causes anything to happen.
Something with free will has freedom to act but any action carries some consequences.
Any Karma based on the Seven Sins are bound to have negative consequences over time.
Pile those up over a long period of time and you will always end up in desolation.
Not only will the Lord judge you for your Karma, other people will also judge you based on your Karma.
But surely, the Lord shall remind you of your Karma.

 

[outlawState]

If an atheist lives a good life, caring about people, friends and family, expresses love and compassion for the people he/she meets do you think they can go to heaven just like we may think good Christians, Muslims, and Jews can??

I happen to believe yes, but that's just one man's opinion, what do you think, and what are your reasons.

Remember this is the Abrahamic DIR for followers of Abrahamic religions.

Nothing you have described even denotes a "good life." Jesus acknowledged that pagans love those who love them and in that we can include a bit of charitable expenditure on those whom they happen to especially empathize with, and who are not immediate family and friends.

I think your premise relies on semi-deliberate confusion between people of different beliefs appearing to do similar things. Muslims will invariably aid fellow muslims when it comes to building mosques. That does not mean that the enterprise of Islam is not fundamentally anti-Christian and away from Christ. There is honour amongst thieves. Thieves don't often steal from each other. A news item recently of an obnoxious thief killed during the course of his profession in the UK demonstrated that he had loads of friends prepared to fork out good money for funeral flowers. As the apostle Paul said, "It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you." Gal 4;18.

Is the purpose of your charity "good"? Is your "good life" aiding the "good" or the "bad"? Is it morally a fine thing to do to help another atheist in need so that he may continue his atheism better? What happens if that was at the expense of furthering the kingdom of God?

It to be expected that an atheist will devote his life to promoting atheism, whatever else he does or does not do, and so he should not expect to go to heaven where the only criterion for admission is "does Christ know you?"

 

[Lyndon]

so everyone's going to hell but you?? must be nice to think that way.

 

[outlawState]

so everyone's going to hell but you?? must be nice to think that way.

"Everyone" is not an atheist. If you think that you are most deluded.