Can People who aren't christian go to heaven?

  • Thread starter Thread starter LovelyLadybug
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
It’s important to remember that God loves us all. He loves an atheist serial killer as much as he loves Mother Teresa. He wants them both in Heaven. If there’s any possible way he can get the atheist serial killer into Heaven he will do it.
 
Then why did Paul reject as a means of salvation his standing as a Pharisee of Pharisees and being blameless before the Law but as eternally lost without Christ as Savior? Why did the Apostles give their lives to preach the Gospel to the lost that would come to the saving knowledge of Christ?

1 John 5:12-13 He who has the Son has [d]life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, [e]and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

John 3:16 makes belief in Jesus the only way to eternal life. There is now other way or god. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
 
Last edited:
We have no idea whether non-Christian people reject Jesus or not. He may very well show up in a vision to them at the last second of life and beckon them to join him, at which point they suddenly understand and run to be with Jesus. A person who has loved his neighbor and lived justly his whole life is in effect loving Jesus by loving his neighbor, so one wouldn’t expect such a person to reject God who is love when he sees him.

In any event, the question is whether the possibility is there for non-Christians to be saved. The answer, according to the Catechism, is yes, it is possible. Now it may well be a lot more likely if one accepts Jesus while alive.
 
Last edited:
Because in communion with Christ and His Church it is much much more probable to be saved than outside of Christian faith in general. Outside there is only the judgement based on the self-conscience but in the Church there are also the Sacraments that greatly empower us to lead godly lives and avoid sins that would cost us eternity in hell.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
We have no idea whether non-Christian people reject Jesus or not. He may very well show up in a vision to them at the last second of life and beckon them to join him, at which point they suddenly understand and run to be with Jesus. A person who has loved his neighbor and lived justly his whole life is in effect loving Jesus by loving his neighbor, so one wouldn’t expect such a person to reject God who is love when he sees him.

In any event, the question is whether the possibility is there for non-Christians to be saved. The answer, according to the Catechism, is yes, it is possible. Now it may well be a lot more likely if one accepts Jesus while alive.
Click to expand...
Paul would disagree that confidence in the flesh qualifies one for heaven apart from faith in Christ Philippians 3:3-6 For we are the circumcision, who worship [a]God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Remember Satan deceives people from the truth sending them to hell. You don’t believe that? By Satan’s deception original sin and death entered the world separating man from God until Jesus atoning death on the cross.
 
Last edited:
Are you Catholic? You seem to be pushing some Sola scriptura Protestant argument. I’ve told you what Catholics believe and perhaps someone else wants to pick over your personal interpretations of Scripture, but I don’t play that game. Have a nice evening.
 
Last edited:
Tis Bearself, I am a Catholic. 🙂 And I thought that it was Jesus himself who said “There is no salvation outside the Church” but maybe a Protestant said it and I got confused.
 
Last edited:
Tis_Bearself said:
Are you Catholic? You seem to be pushing some Sola scriptura Protestant argument. I’ve told you what Catholics believe and perhaps someone else wants to pick over your personal interpretations of Scripture, but I don’t play that game. Have a nice evening.
Click to expand...
Just look at what Jesus told the Apostles to do. Go into all the world and make disciples of all men. If that wasn’t necessary for salvation then they were all foolish to sacrifice their lives unto a martyrs death. Or for that matter Jesus had to suffer and die a horrible death. People could just be as good as they can be apart from Christ and still go to heaven.
 
Last edited:
LovelyLadybug said:
And I thought that it was Jesus himself who said “There is no salvation outside the Church” but maybe a Protestant said it and I got confused.
Click to expand...
As a few people have said, if you read the Catechism you will see what that actually means.
It doesn’t mean “if you’re not Catholic then you’re definitely going to Hell”.

Here’s the appropriate section. Note that there is a subsection called “The Church and non-Christians”.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_P29.HTM

We also have many past threads on this topic if you’d like to search the forum for them and find more.

Here is a Catholic Answers apologetics article with additional explanations:


Here is another Catholic Answers apologetics article discussing this issue:


Here is a greatly simplified article aimed at Catholic teens, on the same subject:

 
Last edited:
I definitely do NOT think non-Catholics are going to hell, although I pray for their conversion every day. 🙂 I’ll admit, that I haven’t read the Cathechism. I’ve been really busy lately and haven’t had time to do a lot of reading, but I’ll look into the links you suggested 🙂
 
Yes, when you have a chance I think it would be good to read up on this, because many people don’t understand what it really means.

Then if you have more questions after you’ve read up on it, feel free to come back and ask 🙂

My husband and grandma were both Protestants. They both died. I believe they are both in Heaven now. And I pray for lots of other non-Catholics and non-Christians to be there too. I am sure God is good and will take everyone to Heaven whom he can.
 
If they are following their consciences rightly , according to what knowledge they have about God, then sure. Gods mercy is wide and He is fairer than we ever deserve
 
If you are asking for personal opinions, then no, I think non Christians cannot enter heaven and that is why preaching the Gospel has been of historical importance. But the Church is not in the current business of saying who is in hell.
 
Too many people will lump all Protestants in the same group as non-Christians. The Church’s teaching regarding the posshibility of non-Christians attaining heaven isn’t based upon the fact that they are good and faithful Jews, or Muslims or Buddhists.

Meaning it’s wrong for Catholics to believe or teach that non-Catholics don’t need to convert but simply remaining in their faith is sufficient to attain Heaven.
 
LovelyLadybug said:
I know God says there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. Does that mean non-Catholics can’t go to heaven? I’m not talking about protestants. I mean non-Christians like Atheists, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc… If they try to do the right thing, can they still be saved? I mean, they don’t know their religion is false. They genuinely think that what they believe is true because their parents taught them that. Could those people still go to heaven even if their beliefs ignore God or worship false gods?
Click to expand...
Matthew 25 31-46 clearly states (using Jesus’s own words - which count far more than anyone else’s) that the people who will not go to heaven are those who do not care about the ‘least of these’, specifically:
  • those who do not care about the poor and sick (like people on Medicaid)
  • those who do not care about people hungry (like those on foodstamps)
  • those who do not care to welcome strangers (like illegal immigrants)
  • those who do not care about people in prison (and prefer long/harsh sentences)
 
The answer is no, unless they have faith in Christ before death. That faith which is absolutely necessary for salvation, “is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed.” (CCC 150).

In particular, this means faith in Christ, since Christ “is the Father’s one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In him he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one” (CCC 65); “what he spoke before to the prophets in parts, he has now spoken all at once by giving us the All Who is His Son” (CCC 65, quoting St. John of the Cross).

For this reason, faith in Christ is absolutely necessary:

CCC
The Necessity of Faith

161 Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation.42 "Since “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life ‘But he who endures to the end.’"43
Click to expand...
Even if in good conscience, people in non-Christian religions cannot have faith–they simply do not believe what God has revealed. Their belief is merely “religious experience still in search of the absolute truth and still lacking assent to God who reveals himself” and therefore “the distinction between theological faith and belief in the other religions, must be firmly held.” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Dominus Iesus 7).

There can be no invincible ignorance in this regard. As the First Vatican Council taught, the Holy Spirit “gives to all facility in accepting and believing the truth.” (Dei Filius, ch. 3, par. 6).

However, we do acknowledge that, for those in good conscience seeking to follow the truth, “in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him.” (CCC 848). This may even happen only at the “eleventh hour” (cf. Matt. 20:6).

When it comes to non-Catholic Christians, innocent ignorance excuses from explicit belief in the specific articles of faith, since their acceptance is implied in faith in Christ, the one Word. However, for the same reason, culpable heresy destroys all faith, since by not believing all God has revealed, one has substituted one’s own or another’s authority for God’s.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top