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Do other religions go to hell?

Andalublue said:
Really, none? Not John 14:2 "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."
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"to speak of"... its rather thin compared to what can be used in support of the other two viewpoints... but you'll notice I declined to nail my name decisively to any of the three options.


"There is a God, and I am not Him."
 
Goshin said:
Not necessarily, if they truly repent. See King David.
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I suppose I should have said "does a murderer commit a mortal sin".
 
Quote Originally Posted by Risky Thicket View Post
Many paths, one destination. There is no eternal hell.

RogueWarrior said:
difficult to prove either assertion
too bad most religions don't feel that way.
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Actually only two religions feel that way, Christianity and Islam, and Islam is less strict than Christianity. They are the only two religions I am familiar with (admittedly I have only studied a dozen in real depth) where on's afterlife is determined by BELIEF rather than ACTION. Christianity states that your afterlife is determined by who you pray too, therefore only Christians go to heaven. Islam states that all "Peoples of the Book," which would include Christians and Jews, will go to heaven.

Judaism states that the righteous of all faiths have a share in the World to Come.

But in all polytheistic religions, classic and current, that I am familiar with, it doesn't matter if you are praying to the right god(s) or not, if you screw up in life, you're going to pay for it after death.
 
RGacky3 said:
Monotheism, does not mean nothing else can be called a god. It never has, it means only one entity may be worshiped exclusively as god, and is the creator of everything and supreme moral authority and so on.

There was no such thing as Judaism prior to the Return from exile in the 400s BC, the majority of the hebrew bible talks prior to that. Before then, what People Call Yahwehism WAS a monotheist religion, HOWEVER, Yahweh as a God was worshiped by People who also worshiped other Gods, but the temple cult, was always exclusivist.
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Technically Monotheism does mean belief in only one deity. Those who became Jews were originally Henotheists, which means dedication to, and worship of, only one God, while accepting that there might be other deities.
 
Phoenix_M said:
Quote Originally Posted by Risky Thicket View Post
Many paths, one destination. There is no eternal hell.



Actually only two religions feel that way, Christianity and Islam, and Islam is less strict than Christianity. They are the only two religions I am familiar with (admittedly I have only studied a dozen in real depth) where on's afterlife is determined by BELIEF rather than ACTION. Christianity states that your afterlife is determined by who you pray too, therefore only Christians go to heaven. Islam states that all "Peoples of the Book," which would include Christians and Jews, will go to heaven.

Judaism states that the righteous of all faiths have a share in the World to Come.

But in all polytheistic religions, classic and current, that I am familiar with, it doesn't matter if you are praying to the right god(s) or not, if you screw up in life, you're going to pay for it after death.
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Hello Phoenix

Welcome to the forums:2wave:


What I should have said is most religious people feel that way.
 
RogueWarrior said:
Hello Phoenix

Welcome to the forums:2wave:


What I should have said is most religious people feel that way.
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Thanks for the welcome, I've been enjoying what I've seen so far.

I can certainly agree with that, especially in the US. I can be a bit of a pedant at times, sorry. Comparative theology is a particular favorite of mine.
 
Paleocon said:
I suppose I should have said "does a murderer commit a mortal sin".
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In Catholic teachings it would most likely be one. But that does not mean that it cannot be forgiven. However, if a murderer dies before confessing in the sacrament of penance, they would not go to heaven.
 
Phoenix_M said:
In Catholic teachings it would most likely be one. But that does not mean that it cannot be forgiven. However, if a murderer dies before confessing in the sacrament of penance, they would not go to heaven.
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Of course.
 
Goshin said:
There are three primary schools of thought among Christiandom.


1. "Those nations that forget God will be cast into hell"; therefore those of other religions are damned, if they never repent and accept Jesus.

2. People are not judged on what they were in ignorance of; we are only responsible for what we are aware of. Therefore those who grew up among other religions and don't know any better will be judged based on 'what they did with what they knew.' There is some scripture that can be used to support this argument, but it is a matter of much debate.

3. 'All paths lead up the same mountain.' This view doesn't really have any scriptural support to speak of, but enjoys a certain popularity anyway.


Take your pick. I don't know, that is for God to say.
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Goshin, that was very well put. And like you, I believe it isn't for me to say.... it's God's business.
 
Anyone who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ will have eternal life.

Good thing the teachings of Christ are so universal, that many people from all walks of life, including those of other faiths, abide and live by these teachings.... even if they don't know it.

For example, forgiveness. Turning the other cheek. Loving your enemy. Having the desire to do good. These are all universal ideals which Christ taught.
 
Peter Grimm said:
For example, forgiveness. Turning the other cheek. Loving your enemy. Having the desire to do good. These are all universal ideals which Christ taught.
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Those are all teachings of the Lord Buddha too. “Hate is never overcome by hate. Only by love is hate overcome. This is a law eternal.”
 
Not a single response on the question asked. Way to go stooges. If I knew the answer I would offer it but go to ask.com and maybe you can get an answer. I know of no other religion that professes hell but that does not mean I am credible. I would be interested to learn that my self.
 
X Factor said:
In all honesty, I have encountered some Catholics that believe that accepting Jesus is not enough, you have to believe in the Church too and failure to do that leads to damnation. I mention that only to say that it does not concern me if people who have a different belief think I'm hellbound and I do wonder why something like that seem to bother other people so much. If it's not my belief, why should I care?
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Oh, I had my financial adviser sit at my kitchen table and tell me, point blank, that Catholics, and ONLY Catholics, are going to heaven. That did not bother me too much because all that heaven and hell baloney don't bother me anyways. But what DID raise my eyebrow was the thought, "And I'm letting this idiot manage my money?"
 
rhinefire said:
Not a single response on the question asked. Way to go stooges. If I knew the answer I would offer it but go to ask.com and maybe you can get an answer. I know of no other religion that professes hell but that does not mean I am credible. I would be interested to learn that my self.
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There is no comparable concept of Hell in the Buddhist belief system, so we don't really fear the idea of non-Christians being condemned to somewhere that doesn't exist. In most Buddhist teaching, the destiny of those who behave with bad intentions is to be caught in a repeating cycle of birth, suffering and death until they learn better. The worse their karma, the more likely it is they will be reborn as a being with a more difficult path out of samsara, for example as a hungry ghost. It's a quite different idea than a place such as the Christian idea of hell.

If a religion portrays itself as an exclusive club whose benefits accrue solely to an exclusive membership, then that's a club I don't hink I'd want to join. Obviously, not all Christians push such a concept, and those are people I'd take more notice of what they say.
 
Peter Grimm said:
Anyone who follows the teachings of Jesus Christ will have eternal life.
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Here's some of Jesus' teachings that attention needs to be paid to:

"Unless you repent (of your sins), you too will perish." - Luke 13:3

"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." - John 6:29

And the one the Father has sent is Jesus.

People can mimic the teachings of Jesus and still perhaps not repent of their sins and receive Christ as their Lord and Savior for the remission of their sins. The person who looks at Jesus as simply a teacher and not as Savior may very well not be saved.

Because Jesus said, "Unless you believe that I AM the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins." - John 8:24

Who did Jesus claim to be? God, and the Messiah.
 
Logicman said:
Here's some of Jesus' teachings that attention needs to be paid to:

"Unless you repent (of your sins), you too will perish." - Luke 13:3

"The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent." - John 6:29

And the one the Father has sent is Jesus.

People can mimic the teachings of Jesus and still perhaps not repent of their sins and receive Christ as their Lord and Savior for the remission of their sins. The person who looks at Jesus as simply a teacher and not as Savior may very well not be saved.

Because Jesus said, "Unless you believe that I AM the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins." - John 8:24

Who did Jesus claim to be? God, and the Messiah.
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But what does it mean to "believe in" Jesus?

What is in a name?

The bible tells is that in the end of days, many will cry out the name of Jesus and he will say he never knew them. Because saying the words "I accept Jesus" don't mean anything, you accept Jesus by accepting the WORD of Jesus, ie his teachings.

In the beginning there was the word, and the word was god.

The word of god is god.
 
Peter Grimm said:
But what does it mean to "believe in" Jesus?

What is in a name?

The bible tells is that in the end of days, many will cry out the name of Jesus and he will say he never knew them. Because saying the words "I accept Jesus" don't mean anything, you accept Jesus by accepting the WORD of Jesus, ie his teachings.

In the beginning there was the word, and the word was god.

The word of god is god.
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Yes, Jesus is the Word / God.

Personally what I think it means to believe in him is to believe in who he is - Messiah, and divine, resurrected Savior - and to believe he can save us from our sins, assuming we repent like he says.
 
Logicman said:
Yes, Jesus is the Word / God.

Personally what I think it means to believe in him is to believe in who he is - Messiah, and divine, resurrected Savior - and to believe he can save us from our sins, assuming we repent like he says.
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It's not enough to believe that some man named Jesus was/is the Messiah. Who is this "Jesus," that is the messiah?

The only way to KNOW Jesus is to know what he taught. You know the tree by the fruit it bears, as he would have said.

If what Christ taught is in your heart, then the Spirit is with you. Even if you don't know Christ by name, the Spirit of christ is with you every time you turn the other cheek, forgive someone for wronging you, love your enemy, repent of your sins, all of that.
 
Peter Grimm said:
It's not enough to believe that some man named Jesus was/is the Messiah. Who is this "Jesus," that is the messiah?

The only way to KNOW Jesus is to know what he taught. You know the tree by the fruit it bears, as he would have said.

If what Christ taught is in your heart, then the Spirit is with you. Even if you don't know Christ by name, the Spirit of christ is with you every time you turn the other cheek, forgive someone for wronging you, love your enemy, repent of your sins, all of that.
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Jesus is God, the divine Savior. As the scriptures say, whoever believes in him will receive eternal life (John 3:16).

Works (just following Jesus' teachings) do not necessarily save someone. What I'm saying is some might think it's possible that they can follow the teachings of Jesus and still deny him as one's savior.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

Initial saving faith is the precursor to works. Abraham was not saved (justified righteous - Genesis 15:6) by performing works, he was performing works (later, in Genesis chapter 22) of A Godly nature because he first was saved and regenerated by faith. Works of a Godly nature are the result of our regeneration and salvation, not the cause of it. Faith by grace is the antecedent of works. It chronologically occurs first. Once the Holy Spirit indwells a believer at the point of salvation, He starts the process of Progressive Sanctification, and one of the effects of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5-7) is that of causing, or compelling a person, by a change of heart and mind and with the believer’s cooperation, to perform works of a Godly nature. James’ argument addresses that time period of a person’s life, following true salvation and regeneration, when good works are supposed to be in evidence. He is saying, “Now that you claim to be saved, we should be seeing some good works out of you. However, if these good works are not apparent, then your initial faith was probably not genuine, and you were never, either in the eyes of God, nor in the eyes of man, justified righteous.”

Justification by Faith – How believers are declared righteous by God « The Righter Report

God bless!
 
Logicman said:
Jesus is God, the divine Savior. As the scriptures say, whoever believes in him will receive eternal life (John 3:16).

Works (just following Jesus' teachings) do not necessarily save someone. What I'm saying is some might think it's possible that they can follow the teachings of Jesus and still deny him as one's savior.

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

Initial saving faith is the precursor to works. Abraham was not saved (justified righteous - Genesis 15:6) by performing works, he was performing works (later, in Genesis chapter 22) of A Godly nature because he first was saved and regenerated by faith. Works of a Godly nature are the result of our regeneration and salvation, not the cause of it. Faith by grace is the antecedent of works. It chronologically occurs first. Once the Holy Spirit indwells a believer at the point of salvation, He starts the process of Progressive Sanctification, and one of the effects of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5-7) is that of causing, or compelling a person, by a change of heart and mind and with the believer’s cooperation, to perform works of a Godly nature. James’ argument addresses that time period of a person’s life, following true salvation and regeneration, when good works are supposed to be in evidence. He is saying, “Now that you claim to be saved, we should be seeing some good works out of you. However, if these good works are not apparent, then your initial faith was probably not genuine, and you were never, either in the eyes of God, nor in the eyes of man, justified righteous.”

Justification by Faith – How believers are declared righteous by God « The Righter Report

God bless!
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Still doesn't answer the question of Jews, though. They don't believe Jesus was the son of God and therefore don't believe in the "salvation" he offered. Yet, they are the chosen people. Is God going to condemn Jews to hell because of their lack of belief in Jesus?
 
DashingAmerican said:
Still doesn't answer the question of Jews, though. They don't believe Jesus was the son of God and therefore don't believe in the "salvation" he offered. Yet, they are the chosen people. Is God going to condemn Jews to hell because of their lack of belief in Jesus?
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Maybe their god created jesus as a test for jews and those that strayed from judaism failed the test.
 
No religious group is immune from judgment....especially not Christians (or "so called" Christians, rather). Even Christ himself says that in the end many will come claiming that they've preached and prophesied in His name and He will tell them to "depart"....that He "never knew them."
"Straight is the path and narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life and very few will find it." Many so-called Christians will be greatly disappointed when they realize at that point that their faith was a bit lacking. :shrug:
 
Regardless of ones belief in God, or lack of, or the means that one chooses to worship (differing religions), I believe that actions, not worship and beliefs are the key to your afterlife.
 
DashingAmerican said:
This thread is not going to be critical at all, just inquisitive to satiate my curiosity.

This mainly a question directed towards people of the Christian faiths.

Do people that believe differently, i.e. Buddhists, go to hell for their beliefs?
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There are currently 3 covenants which are still active.

1) an old covenant for the gentiles
It was probably started at Noah's time, it covers all humans back then. The covenant basically says that humans will be judged by God's Law written in their hearts.

2) an old covenant for the Jews
It was mainly delivered at the time of Moses. The covenant basically says that the Jews will be judged by the Mosaic Law.

3) the New Covenant
It was brought by Jesus' first coming. The covenant says that as long as we choose to believe in Jesus Christ and are willing to repent, we won't be judged by any Law.

So if you are not a Jew and failed to pick covenant 3), then you are automatically under covenant 1). You will be judged by God's Law written in our hearts. However, nowadays our hearts are so hardened and so deviated from God's requirements specified in His Law, there shouldn't be a chance that on can pass such a judgment by Law.

So the answer to OP question is that another belief won't bring you to hell directly. It is the trespassing of the law which leads to hell.
 
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