Is heaven or hell awaiting me?

[mpjw2]

hi all,

I am curious as to what catholics believe about my eternal destination.

Is it possible that God will accept me into heaven should I die right now as a non catholic?

To give you a little about me, I invite you to read through my “common beliefs” thread.

I believe in Jesus our Savior and Lord, born of a virgin Mary.

As an adult, He was crucufied, died, rose and ascended into heaven.

I believe Jesus when He said “no one comes to the Father except through me.

I confess my sins directly to God in prayer.

I have not been before a priest in confession in a very long time.

I love Jesus

Any opinions???

be honest

no offense will be taken or given
God bless

 

[Religio71]

hi all,

I am curious as to what catholics believe about my eternal destination.

Is it possible that God will accept me into heaven should I die right now as a non catholic?

To give you a little about me, I invite you to read through my “common beliefs” thread.

I believe in Jesus our Savior and Lord, born of a virgin Mary.

As an adult, He was crucufied, died, rose and ascended into heaven.

I believe Jesus when He said “no one comes to the Father except through me.

I confess my sins directly to God in prayer.

I have not been before a priest in confession in a very long time.

I love Jesus

Any opinions???

be honest

no offense will be taken or given
God bless

We don’t really speculate on the fate of those who believe fully in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and have not turned away from Christ. It is possible that non-Catholics can be saved, always through Jesus Christ (so if a Hindu ends up in Heaven, it is not because of their gods, which don’t exist (in our belief), but through Jesus Christ). Since we believe the Catholic Church has the fullness of Truth, revealed by and through Jesus Christ, we believe that it offers the full path to salvation. Other Christians are in an imperfect communion with the Church.

 

[twopekinguys]

In all honesty, I (as a Catholic) don’t try to make the determination of who is going to heaven or hell. I am too busy workin on getting myself into heaven, and I belive God is much better equipped to handle the situation.

I rely on God’s compassion for my soul as well as everyone elses.

 

[happilycatholic]

hi all,

I am curious as to what catholics believe about my eternal destination.

Is it possible that God will accept me into heaven should I die right now as a non catholic?

To give you a little about me, I invite you to read through my “common beliefs” thread.

I believe in Jesus our Savior and Lord, born of a virgin Mary.

As an adult, He was crucufied, died, rose and ascended into heaven.

I believe Jesus when He said “no one comes to the Father except through me.

I confess my sins directly to God in prayer.

I have not been before a priest in confession in a very long time.

I love Jesus

Any opinions???

be honest

no offense will be taken or given
God bless

It is impossible and not appropriate for anyone, catholic or otherwise to discern your eternal destination since anything offered could be second guessing God.

Peace Be With You

HC

 

[humblelurker]

hi all,

I am curious as to what catholics believe about my eternal destination.

Is it possible that God will accept me into heaven should I die right now as a non catholic?

To give you a little about me, I invite you to read through my “common beliefs” thread.

I believe in Jesus our Savior and Lord, born of a virgin Mary.

As an adult, He was crucufied, died, rose and ascended into heaven.

I believe Jesus when He said “no one comes to the Father except through me.

I confess my sins directly to God in prayer.

I have not been before a priest in confession in a very long time.

I love Jesus

Any opinions???

be honest

no offense will be taken or given
God bless

Salvation is a grace from God through Christ Jesus. Furthermore, we are never judged by God on what we do not know (that would not be justice, for it would be tyranny), for we are judged on what we truly know in our heart and if we lived up to the truth we understand. Even between the twilight of this world and the dawning of the next there is always hope of repentance, so in all things God Knows. This is why we are not to judge the eternal destination of anyone. Not a scholarly answer, but a humble one.

 

[humblelurker]

I didn’t like my answer, so I will try again.
In all things, salvation is in God’s hands, for it is his grace, his gift. Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, so how much you know of the way, the truth, and the life and lived up to it determines judgment. You may never have been exposed to Christ by name, but you may know him by grace in your life. All are judged, and all judgments are holy and true.
I hope this is better.
God Bless

 

[mpjw2]

thank you all for you honesty.

just in case you are wondering about my inquiry, as a catholic in my youth, I believed catholicism was the one and only way to heaven.

Stinky thinking huh?

some of your responses however did bring to light some differences in our beliefs on how to get to heaven and/or who God will accept into His kingdom.

God bless

 

[mpjw2]

We don’t really speculate on the fate of those who believe fully in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and have not turned away from Christ. It is possible that non-Catholics can be saved, always through Jesus Christ

always through Jesus, I agree

(so if a Hindu ends up in Heaven, it is not because of their gods, which don’t exist (in our belief)

…as is mine,

but through Jesus Christ).

Here is where our beliefs differ.

when Jesus said NO man comes to the father except through him , I believe it is on this side of eternity the Hindu or anyone else needs to the proclaim their belief and faith in Jesus Christ.

If the Hindu dies having rejected Jesus, they I believe are destined for eternity in hell.

Jesus paid a tremendous price…all the suffering before He was crucified…the torture, flogging, crown of thorns anchored in His skull. I will stop there.

It is amazing He made it to the cross alive.

It seems to me that Jesus’s expression of love for us in what He did, is too high of price to pay to let someone in to heaven who rejected Him all their life.

I have friends who do not believe in Jesus. I pray for the day that they have a change of heart.

I hope that moment will not be after their final heartbeat on earth…then they will see and believe, but it will be too late.

I believe that you believe they still have hope.

am I correct?

Since we believe the Catholic Church has the fullness of Truth, revealed by and through Jesus Christ, we believe that it offers the full path to salvation. Other Christians are in an imperfect communion with the Church.

ahh that is what I wanted to hear.

let me ask just to make sure that I understand you correctly…

you do not speculate on my fate, heaven or hell but…

Are you saying that you believe as a non-catholic…

I do not have the fulness of Truth?

my path to salvation is NOT a full one?

I agree that I have imperfect communion with the church.

Perfection would be great to achieve someday.

May I ask you, how do you believe perfect communion in the church is achieved?

Have you achieved perfect communion with the church?

thank you

God bless

 

[Robert_in_SD]

…when Jesus said NO man comes to the father except through him , I believe it is on this side of eternity the Hindu or anyone else needs to the proclaim their belief and faith in Jesus Christ.

If the Hindu dies having rejected Jesus, they I believe are destined for eternity in hell.

Catholics believe this too. Where the hair-splitting arises is in discussing whether a person’s rejection of Jesus Christ is a knowing one, or one based on what people more intelligent than I refer to as invincible ignorance. This is hard to say regarding a man who is raised and lives his whole life in Dehli, India - in a community that generally denies the Gospel message. What the Church teaches is that it depends entirely upon the grace God gives that person, and that person’s response to that grace. If a Hindu responds to the grace God has given Him and tries His best to do God’s will - without rejecting what has been given, then that person may ultimately be saved through the merits of Christ (apart from any Hindu beliefs or practices). Such a person, it is understood, would not have rejected Jesus Christ if given the opportunity to truly understand and accept the Gospel message. So, I would say that we are essentially in agreement here, unless you believe something different.

Peace,
Robert

 

[Robert_in_SD]

Jesus paid a tremendous price…all the suffering before He was crucified…the torture, flogging, crown of thorns anchored in His skull. I will stop there.

It is amazing He made it to the cross alive.

It seems to me that Jesus’s expression of love for us in what He did, is too high of price to pay to let someone in to heaven who rejected Him all their life.

I agree with this too. But, again, the issue is really upon the basis of the rejection. If a person was presented the Gospel message and essentially believed it but rejected it becuase of some lifestyle decision or some emotional rejection, then yes - dying in such a state would place them in a very precarious position before God. However, the question to ask about your friends is whether they are rejecting what they understand to be true, or are they still ignorant and unable to fully grasp what it is you are telling them about Jesus Christ.

mpjw2:

I have friends who do not believe in Jesus. I pray for the day that they have a change of heart.

I hope that moment will not be after their final heartbeat on earth…then they will see and believe, but it will be too late.

I believe that you believe they still have hope.

I have friends in a similar state. I too pray for their conversion. I too pray that they will accept the gospel and turn to Jesus before it is too late. The fact that one can hold out the hope of a person’s invincible ignorance as a basis for salvation does not mean that the person’s sins are ignored. All that is acknowledged is the mercy of God to those who unknowingly reject what Christ has given.

mpjw2:

Are you saying that you believe as a non-catholic…

I do not have the fulness of Truth? my path to salvation is NOT a full one?

From a doctrinal standpoint, it is correct to say that your faith is not the fullness of the Christian faith, to the extent you are denying the fullness of the Catholic teaching. For example, you reject the sacrament of the Eucharist, which Catholics believe is a source for grace that sustains our relationship with God and which was given to us by Christ. In that sense, you have made the decision to deprive yourself of that grace that Christ gave us to help us along that path to salvation that we are both traveling now.

mpjw2:

May I ask you, how do you believe perfect communion in the church is achieved? Have you achieved perfect communion with the church?

I cannot speak for the original poster. But to add my two cents:

(1) I am not perfect.
(2) The Church is not perfect to the extent it is populated with sinners who continue to sin.
(3) But the Church does hold and teach (without error) the doctrines that were revealed by Christ and the Apostles - which doctrine has developed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit from the beginning to today.
(4) By submitting to that teaching authority which I believe Christ established in the Church (the Catholic Church led by the successor of Peter) I believe I am in union with the Church.
(5) Submission to that teaching authority is entirely different from the question of whether or not I can perfectly conform my thoughts and actions to the teachings.
(6) Therefore, I would say that one who submits to the teaching authority of the Church can be said to be in union with the fullness of the Church, but the question of whether or not that person is heaven-bound (by conforming to the Church’s teaching) is an entirely different question.

One example: (1) A catholic can be in union with the Church to the extent that he recognizes the Church’s teaching on artificial contraception to be authentic and true; but (2) still in a state of sin for continuing to use artificial contraception contrary to the Church’s teaching. This person is in union with the Church’s teaching (to the extent that he recognizes the authority and the truth), but in violation of the teaching itself and objectively committing mortal sin (to the extent he is not perfectly conforming himself to the teaching of the Church.

A former Catholic would - under the same fact scenario: (1) not be in union with the Church to the extent that he rejects the authority to teach that artificial birth control is a violation of God’s law; and (2) also in a state of objective mortal sin for using artificial contraception. The fact that the person rejects the authority of the Church may mitigate or aggravate that person’s standing before God, to the extent the person in their heart recognizes the Catholic Church as having the authority to teach on such matters.

Peace,
Robert

 

[Religio71]

Here is where our beliefs differ.

when Jesus said NO man comes to the father except through him , I believe it is on this side of eternity the Hindu or anyone else needs to the proclaim their belief and faith in Jesus Christ.

If the Hindu dies having rejected Jesus, they I believe are destined for eternity in hell.

Jesus paid a tremendous price…all the suffering before He was crucified…the torture, flogging, crown of thorns anchored in His skull. I will stop there.

It is amazing He made it to the cross alive.

It seems to me that Jesus’s expression of love for us in what He did, is too high of price to pay to let someone in to heaven who rejected Him all their life.

I have friends who do not believe in Jesus. I pray for the day that they have a change of heart.

I hope that moment will not be after their final heartbeat on earth…then they will see and believe, but it will be too late.

I believe that you believe they still have hope.

am I correct?

Well the point is that one cannot reject someone or something that they don’t know about. Therefore, we believe that it is possible for people that have never heard of Christ and his Gospel to be saved, since they never rejected him in the first place. And again, it is only through Jesus, if they are saved.

The way I see it put is this: those who choose to follow Christ will be with him (and the Father and Holy Spirit) for eternity. Those that choose not to follow Christ will not be with him for eternity (aka Hell). So, if you choose to live your life without God, you will live eternity without God.

ahh that is what I wanted to hear.

let me ask just to make sure that I understand you correctly…

you do not speculate on my fate, heaven or hell but…

Are you saying that you believe as a non-catholic…

I do not have the fulness of Truth?

my path to salvation is NOT a full one?

I agree that I have imperfect communion with the church.

Perfection would be great to achieve someday.

May I ask you, how do you believe perfect communion in the church is achieved?

Have you achieved perfect communion with the church?

thank you

God bless

Catholics believe that Christ founded one Church, the Catholic Church. Therefore, in this Church we find the full expression of the Truth that He revealed. In our view, all other Christian churches and communities have changed some expression of that Truth (otherwise, they would be Catholics), which means that they do not have the “fullness” of Truth revealed by and through Jesus Christ. Therefore, we know that if we follow the Faith throughout our lives, to death, we can be saved. It is possible for others to be saved as well. We believe that the Orthodox Church is closest to the “fullness” out of the other Christian churches and communities. So, we KNOW that if one follows the Gospel that is fully revealed in Jesus Christ and His body, the Church, we can be saved. We aren’t 100% sure about those that have added or deleted from this Gospel.

I hope that makes sense. Being in full communion with the Catholic Church means to accept the Faith that it teaches, revealed in and through Jesus Christ. I do believe that I am in full communion with the Church, since I fully believe in the Catholic Faith.

 

[RoryMcKenzie56]

hi all,

I am curious as to what catholics believe about my eternal destination.

Is it possible that God will accept me into heaven should I die right now as a non catholic?

To give you a little about me, I invite you to read through my “common beliefs” thread.

I believe in Jesus our Savior and Lord, born of a virgin Mary.

As an adult, He was crucufied, died, rose and ascended into heaven.

I believe Jesus when He said “no one comes to the Father except through me.

I confess my sins directly to God in prayer.

I have not been before a priest in confession in a very long time.

I love Jesus

Any opinions???

be honest

no offense will be taken or given
God bless

According to my understanding of the Catholic faith, if we take your testimony at face value we have to say yes. You are going to heaven if you love Jesus when you die. If you have the slightest amount of love for God when you die, or what is commonly called charity, that means that you are in a state of grace and you cannot fail to make it to heaven. I would warn that I would be very uncomfortable about taking your statement at face value now. How much less would I be confident that you could persevere apart from the Sacraments. But I have hope for everybody. God is good. He wouldn’t have made you unless He loved you with the infinitude that belongs to Him alone. I have hope for everybody who dies not because of the beliefs that you enumerate, but because the good God has not willed the death of the sinner. Knowing what I do, believeing what I do, I would fear to hope for myself to be saved in an extraordinary manner, apart from the sacraments. But I am happy to report that if you are somehow confused though no fault of your own into refraining from availing yourself of the gifts and graces which abound to help those visibly united to the Catholic Church to be saved, that God in His love and goodness has ways and means that are not limited to the Sacraments. God Bless. But come on in. Come on in. 1995 for me. Happier today than then in my faith. Happier tomorrow then now I suppose!

Rory

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

hi all,

I am curious as to what catholics believe about my eternal destination.

Is it possible that God will accept me into heaven should I die right now as a non catholic?

To give you a little about me, I invite you to read through my “common beliefs” thread.

I believe in Jesus our Savior and Lord, born of a virgin Mary.

As an adult, He was crucufied, died, rose and ascended into heaven.

I believe Jesus when He said “no one comes to the Father except through me.

I confess my sins directly to God in prayer.

I have not been before a priest in confession in a very long time.

I love Jesus

Any opinions???

be honest

no offense will be taken or given
God bless

Ultimately, your destination is between you, and whatever God you believe in: other people’s views won’t change that. You are the only person who knows yourself at first-hand - so the question is unanswerable.​

 

[1edyson]

Not our places to determine, we have no business in telling God how to share his mercy and love with us, question though, what do you think is your destination and why?

 

[MelanieAnne]

hi all,

I am curious as to what catholics believe about my eternal destination.

Is it possible that God will accept me into heaven should I die right now as a non catholic?

To give you a little about me, I invite you to read through my “common beliefs” thread.

I believe in Jesus our Savior and Lord, born of a virgin Mary.

As an adult, He was crucufied, died, rose and ascended into heaven.

I believe Jesus when He said “no one comes to the Father except through me.

I confess my sins directly to God in prayer.

I have not been before a priest in confession in a very long time.

I love Jesus

Any opinions???

be honest

no offense will be taken or given
God bless

In the end, forever, we will be either in heaven or hell. That’s a fact.

God will decide, no there is no one in this forum who can tell you where you’ll end up.

 

[Selene]

always through Jesus, I agree

…as is mine,

Here is where our beliefs differ.

when Jesus said NO man comes to the father except through him , I believe it is on this side of eternity the Hindu or anyone else needs to the proclaim their belief and faith in Jesus Christ.

If the Hindu dies having rejected Jesus, they I believe are destined for eternity in hell.

Jesus paid a tremendous price…all the suffering before He was crucified…the torture, flogging, crown of thorns anchored in His skull. I will stop there.

It is amazing He made it to the cross alive.

It seems to me that Jesus’s expression of love for us in what He did, is too high of price to pay to let someone in to heaven who rejected Him all their life.

I have friends who do not believe in Jesus. I pray for the day that they have a change of heart.

I hope that moment will not be after their final heartbeat on earth…then they will see and believe, but it will be too late.

I believe that you believe they still have hope.

am I correct?

Hello mpjw,

Only God can judge who will be in Heaven and who will be in Hell, and His judgement will be just. Yes, Christ did pay a very tremendous price, but He paid that price for sinners including those who rejected Him or who don’t even know Him. It is possible that a Hindu can have salvation, but not through his gods, but through God’s mercy. This is what true love is all about.

When Jesus died on the cross, he forgave the Roman soldiers who killed Him. The Roman soldiers were pagans. They were not Jews and they were forgiven by Christ because as Christ said “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” It is true that those pagans who nailed him to the cross 2000 years ago did not know who they nailed to the cross. They were ignorant of Him. If the Hindu is ignorant, he/she can also be forgiven and even have salvation through God’s mercy.

Peace be with you,
Selene

 

[1edyson]

In the end, forever, we will be either in heaven or hell. That’s a fact.

One of my favorite Fr. Corapi quotes.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

hi all,

I am curious as to what catholics believe about my eternal destination.

Is it possible that God will accept me into heaven should I die right now as a non catholic?

To give you a little about me, I invite you to read through my “common beliefs” thread.

I believe in Jesus our Savior and Lord, born of a virgin Mary.

As an adult, He was crucufied, died, rose and ascended into heaven.

I believe Jesus when He said “no one comes to the Father except through me.

I confess my sins directly to God in prayer.

I have not been before a priest in confession in a very long time.

I love Jesus

Any opinions???

be honest

no offense will be taken or given
God bless

This is my opinion, and like any opinion, it can be wrong. I used to be Protestant, Presbyterian and Wesleyan Methodist, with Baptist participation thrown in. I became catholic a bit over a decade ago.

Yet the wisest and most prophetically accurate man I’ve met was my first Protesant pastor. Therefore it came as a surprise to me when he commented to me in the privacy of his office, “I sometimes wonder if Protesants get to heaven.” His argument was that he didn’t think God was as easy going about the division of HIS church as we are. We put up a lot of straw arguments eg. “We’re spiritually united”, “You’ve just gotta be born again” etc, while ignoring Christ’s other teachings eg. to Peter that He would found His Church on him, that no-one can belong to Him unless they drink His Blood and eat His Flesh, the authority He gave to the apostles re. forgivnig and retaining sins (the basis of confession and apostolic authority) and so on. This authority preceded the Bible which in the beginning of the Church didn’t even exist.

Some time after the pastor died, I had a brief vision in which he said, “We’re not in heaven. We’re all in Purgatory. Oh, we’re not in any pain, in fact, it’s pretty good, so you don’t have to worry about that! But we’re not in heaven.”

So from personal experience, my perception of the violent division of the church (particularly during the Reformation, which was easily the most violent upheaval in Church history), and the respect I gained for the old pastor’s personal wisdom from experience, I think if you died today, you wouldn’t go to heaven. I think you’d have to wait till the church reunified.

If you died as a committed Christian, whether Catholic or not, you certainly wouldn’t go to Hell. My own belief is that you’d wind up in the almost heavenly end of what might be called Upper Purgatory, but not heaven.

Like the old pastor, I don’t think God is very impressed with man’s immensely violent and continued division of the church which His own Son founded on Peter, by His own words.

That’s my opinion. What decision you make on all the answers you get is up to you, and of course the consequences will depend on your decision.

 

[Robert_in_SD]

This is my opinion, and like any opinion, it can be wrong. I used to be Protestant, Presbyterian and Wesleyan Methodist, with Baptist participation thrown in. I became catholic a bit over a decade ago.

Yet the wisest and most prophetically accurate man I’ve met was my first Protesant pastor. Therefore it came as a surprise to me when he commented to me in the privacy of his office, “I sometimes wonder if Protesants get to heaven.” His argument was that he didn’t think God was as easy going about the division of HIS church as we are. We put up a lot of straw arguments eg. “We’re spiritually united”, “You’ve just gotta be born again” etc, while ignoring Christ’s other teachings eg. to Peter that He would found His Church on him, that no-one can belong to Him unless they drink His Blood and eat His Flesh, the authority He gave to the apostles re. forgivnig and retaining sins (the basis of confession and apostolic authority) and so on. This authority preceded the Bible which in the beginning of the Church didn’t even exist.

Some time after the pastor died, I had a brief vision in which he said, “We’re not in heaven. We’re all in Purgatory. Oh, we’re not in any pain, in fact, it’s pretty good, so you don’t have to worry about that! But we’re not in heaven.”

So from personal experience, my perception of the violent division of the church (particularly during the Reformation, which was easily the most violent upheaval in Church history), and the respect I gained for the old pastor’s personal wisdom from experience, I think if you died today, you wouldn’t go to heaven. I think you’d have to wait till the church reunified.

If you died as a committed Christian, whether Catholic or not, you certainly wouldn’t go to Hell. My own belief is that you’d wind up in the almost heavenly end of what might be called Upper Purgatory, but not heaven.

Like the old pastor, I don’t think God is very impressed with man’s immensely violent and continued division of the church which His own Son founded on Peter, by His own words.

That’s my opinion. What decision you make on all the answers you get is up to you, and of course the consequences will depend on your decision.

I also think that old pastor of yours was a wise man.

Peace,
Robert

 

[shoewindow3000]

Wherever you end up…is you choice.

Don’t blame God or anybody but yourself!