Other Religions who don't believe in Jesus Christ

davebloggs

Can you get into heaven without belief in Jesus, just wondering about all the good devout persons of a different persuasion who never saw the light due to the circumstances of their upbringing.

Jester Minute

Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation.

—Catechism of the Catholic Church, 847

Note the word may. If these persons in the rainforest or wherever do reach heaven, it will be through Christ.

There is a pressing need to proclaim the Gospel to all people.

Fanny Cradock

We've had this asked before quite recently. I'm not sure what the title was but I think it was something similar to this one. Perhaps somebody with a better memory can recall the details.

As for other people "getting into heaven" - which isn't actually the end goal of Christianity, BTW - there is mention of people in the Old Testament who were saved or "justification by faith", if you will. They weren't Christian because there were no Christians.

I really don't know what God will do with a faithful Muslim, Jew or Hindu. I don't see why God wouldn't be pleased with a faith Muslim over a feckless Christian. But it's really up to him. You wont get any consensus on this.

davebloggs

Jester Minute wrote: »

Note the word may.

That's Catholic teaching though isn't it, as in man made, is there any Biblical backing to this.

greenmachine88

Don't Muslims believe in Jesus to an extent?!

davebloggs

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

As for other people "getting into heaven" - which isn't actually the end goal of Christianity, BTW

What is the end goal ?

Fanny Cradock

greenmachine88 wrote: »

Don't Muslims believe in Jesus to an extent?!

They believe that he was a prophet of Allah. They do not believe that he died on a cross and was resurrected.

davebloggs wrote: »

What is the end goal ?

An easy answer (in theory) would be "a relationship with God".

A more complicated answer would be "new creation".

strobe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_universalism . I like these guys. They seem chill. Don't quite have the pulling power of other branches of Christianity though, for obvious reasons.

Jester Minute

God can raise up children to Abraham from stones, but he also said that the way was narrow and few find it. While we can't limit God, we do know what he told us in the Gospels.

davebloggs wrote: »

That's Catholic teaching though isn't it, as in man made, is there any Biblical backing to this.

The Catechism is based on Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. I wouldn't call that man-made, but you are free to disagree of course.

davebloggs wrote: »

What is the end goal ?

To see and know God and to be in a communion of love with the Holy Trinity forever. To behold the beatific vision forever. That's heaven!

davebloggs

Jester Minute wrote: »

To see and know God and to be in a communion of love with the Holy Trinity forever. To behold the beatific vision forever. That's heaven!

But I was asking if it was possible to be saved ie get to heaven if you do not believe through no fault of your own but merely by personal circumstances to have never heard the word.

If being saved is not the end goal, but a communion of love with the Holy trinity then those who have had no exposure to the word will have neither.

Soul Winner

Romans makes it clear that God's wrath is already revealed against certain people and the people it references have the wrath of God on them because they cannot recognize God simply by being exposed to the general revelation of the creation itself.

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." Romans 1:18-20

If God's wrath is being poured out on people because they simply cannot recognize the hand of the creator in creation and give thanks and praise to Him for the life they have because of Him, then what hope have people got who have the special revelation of the Gospel and neglect to acknowledge that and thank Him for that?

What people fail to recognize about the truth of God is that before He gave us the Gospel His wrath was being poured out on people and that it still is. It is not a just a future event, its happening right now. And the fruit of that happening is manifest in those who don't seem to have any God sense at all. They couldn't recognize Him if He manifested in front of their eyes. They'd just put it down to something else. The reason for this is given in the proceeding verses in Romans.

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools..." Romans 1:21-22

Darkened hearts have no capacity to see God at all. Part of the wrath that is being poured on them is to take this faculty away from them. So people who don't go to heaven are not people who don't accept Jesus per se, for them it starts much further back than that. They're not even to the level of recognizing God's hand in the creation and giving Him thanks and praise for just that. At least Muslims and other religious people have this capacity and it will be better for them at the time of judgment than it will be for smug imbeciles who actually pride themselves on not having a capacity to recognize God's hand in anything, no wonder they hope He doesn't exist and will fight tooth and nail in order to rationalize their pathetic little dark world, the safety of which is just an illusion of their own making.

PDN

davebloggs wrote: »

But I was asking if it was possible to be saved ie get to heaven if you do not believe through no fault of your own but merely by personal circumstances to have never heard the word.

We've had similar threads to this at least a dozen times over the last couple of years.

Without typing out a load of stuff again, the short answer is that we don't know, but that we trust God to be both merciful and just.

Festus

answered

Zombrex

Soul Winner wrote: »

than it will be for smug imbeciles who actually pride themselves on not having a capacity to recognize God's hand in anything, no wonder they hope He doesn't exist and will fight tooth and nail in order to rationalize their pathetic little dark world, the safety of which is just an illusion of their own making.

I think someone needs a hug

antiskeptic

davebloggs wrote: »

Can you get into heaven without belief in Jesus, just wondering about all the good devout persons of a different persuasion who never saw the light due to the circumstances of their upbringing.

I wouldn't have thought those who lived before Christs incarnation - but who would undoubtably be considered 'saved' - would have adhered to a "must have believed in Christ per 20th century evangelicalism" doctrine.

antiskeptic

soulwinner wrote:

At least Muslims and other religious people have this capacity and it will be better for them at the time of judgment than it will be for smug imbeciles who actually pride themselves on not having a capacity to recognize God's hand in anything, no wonder they hope He doesn't exist and will fight tooth and nail in order to rationalize their pathetic little dark world, the safety of which is just an illusion of their own making.

There are a multitude of ways of refusing to bow one's will to God's will. Atheism is one way, false religion is another. I can't say I see God splitting hairs.

Rebellion by any other name...

I agree with Wicknight on this one