leviathanken

Most religions have some type of hell or purgatory.Lots of them believe that just because you didnt believe and follow their religion you will go to hell when you die, even if you were a moral caring righteous person who never really did anything that bad.So hypothetically lets say there was one true religion, nobody knows which one it is.People will truly believe their religion is the right one even though it probably isnt.So except for a few lucky people we are all going to hell.Yep maybe even you christians.No one is safe!

what do you think?

Thomas II

But you are assuming...:huh:
Besides,there is no "one true religion"...

Amaleq13

I think this thread belongs in GRD.

Pyrrho

You have just given one of the reasons why Pascal's wager fails miserably. He, of course, assumed that it is either his brand of Christianity or nothing, which is the kind of assumption that most religionists seem to make when they accept his reasoning, even if they don't accept his exact religion.

Spitfire

Obey your conscience. Pray to know the truth. Seek truth above all else. That is all you can do. And, if you make a truly honest mistake and die while in error, God will judge you according to your intentions.

Selsaral

To my uneducated eye (I know little about biblical studies and theological history), this idea that God won't punish you for not believing in him sounds like a recent perversion of christianity (that happens to mirror the changes in greater society). Am I wrong? Doesn't the catholic church still hold fast to this idea? Didn't all the first protestant groups believe this? Isn't this what the bible clearly teaches?

I tried doing some searches and couldn't get any good information on this.

Spitfire

This is what the Catholic church calls "baptism of desire." This is not a new idea, it appears in chapter 2 of Romans. "When the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature those things that are of the law, these having not the law are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness to them."

The Catholic Church teaches that baptism and subsequent adherence to the Church is absolutely necessary for salvation, but, ultimately, only God judges who goes to Heaven or Hell. When someone who doesn't believe in God or is not in possession of the full truth faces judgement, God will know all the reasons for their particular situation and judge them accordingly.

Some Catholics (and other Christians) have taken this idea a little too far in recent decades, however.

MadPhatCat

And you know this because you made an honest mistake and then died?

fromdownunder

Of course another option is that there are multiple gods up there who have all designed the separate heavans and hells that each one espouses for our eternal pleasure. Just think of the fun they must have every time someone dies, or agreeing on judgement day. (Perhaps that it why we are still waiting for the end. The Gods are still at an Executive Committee meeting, and for anybody who has attended one of these, there is no escape.)

(See also Robert A Heinlein's "Job A Comedy of Justice)

Norm

David B

If in fact there is a god. The evidence points against, IMV. Still, if you are right, the fact that I mean well by pointing out to people that the biblical god is, as a character in fiction, a genocidal asshole, will mean I'll be fine.

Very comforting.

David B