Salvation of atheists

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Trojnik

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Hello everyone,

I’ve been considering converting to Christianity (was non-religious before) but still have many questions (and a couple of doubts) I’d like to find the answers to before I make the final decision. My first question is related to atheists (and other non-Christians, I suppose) going to Hell. I simply fail to understand why would an atheist suffer for eternity for “not accepting” Christ.

Why would a merciful and all-powerful God allow this? I have heard many people saying that the person is not sent to Hell but makes the choice himself/herself, but how is it a choice when an atheist simply doesn’t believe that Christ and Hell are something real? One can’t make a choice if he doesn’t believe that any choice exists. The atheist can’t be held responsible for this. Why doesn’t God enlighten the atheist? Or is there some indication that atheists gain a second chance after their physical deaths?

And I have another question which might not fit into this forum section, if it doesn’t, I apologise. If I was a 12 year old atheist both during my baptism and first communion and if I didn’t consume the entire host given to me by the priest, would I have to repeat these two sacraments?

Many thanks.
 
Can an atheist go to heaven etc? Yes.

Such is possible.

It will still be Jesus who saves him…gives him true life.

Even if he does not know Jesus…has not heard of him…or even if perhaps he rejects the “Jesus” that was falsely presented to him…

The grace of God can work in all sorts of ways …that we are not aware of.

As to the second part…that would be something to address with the Priest. A person can not be baptized against his will…
 
I’m somewhat confused here. I understand how God can choose whether an atheist will be saved or not, but didn’t Jesus say that only those who accept him as their saviour can be saved? Can Jesus be accepted in some other way than confessing faith and believing in him?

As for my second question, I will definitely talk to a priest.
 
Trojnik said:
I’m somewhat confused here. I understand how God can choose whether an atheist will be saved or not, but didn’t Jesus say that only those who accept him as their saviour can be saved? Can Jesus be accepted in some other way than confessing faith and believing in him?
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Yes it is possible for those who through not fault of their own do not know Jesus or his Church…but who still seek God…and seek to live according to his will as they see in their conscience …

It will of course still be Jesus who saves them…(and Christians are to proclaim Christ…the Gospel to them)

Or even atheists…

as the Church noted at the Second Vatican Council:

"Nor does Divine Providence deny the helps necessary for salvation to those who, without blame on their part, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God and with His grace strive to live a good life (LG 16)

Whoever is saved in the end…will be saved by Jesus Christ…even if he has never heard of him or the Church …and in relation to the Church.

But yes if a person has heard the Gospel…and rejected Christ…this is not a positive sign…

(or if I did so…I would be in grave trouble! …I too can end up choosing hell).

Having said that…

Now there can be “more to the story” they may have not heard it properly …not really …or were beat by someone claiming to be doing so as a Christian or something…lots can go into why this question…etc etc etc

Well…you may not have the right introduction here…to the actual Jesus.

bottom line …we do not know …

God can give graces…we have no knowledge of…

And as the Second Vatican Council notes:

ince Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate vocation of man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God offers to every man the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery [Gaudium et Spes 22].

and God does He wills our salvation…and knows what the person may have rejected (a fake portrait of Jesus) etc…

Hope that helps
 
Trojnik said:
Hello everyone,

I’ve been considering converting to Christianity (was non-religious before) but still have many questions (and a couple of doubts) I’d like to find the answers to before I make the final decision. My first question is related to atheists (and other non-Christians, I suppose) going to Hell. I simply fail to understand why would an atheist suffer for eternity for “not accepting” Christ.

Why would a merciful and all-powerful God allow this? I have heard many people saying that the person is not sent to Hell but makes the choice himself/herself, but how is it a choice when an atheist simply doesn’t believe that Christ and Hell are something real? One can’t make a choice if he doesn’t believe that any choice exists. The atheist can’t be held responsible for this. Why doesn’t God enlighten the atheist? Or is there some indication that atheists gain a second chance after their physical deaths?

And I have another question which might not fit into this forum section, if it doesn’t, I apologise. If I was a 12 year old atheist both during my baptism and first communion and if I didn’t consume the entire host given to me by the priest, would I have to repeat these two sacraments?

Many thanks.
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Hi Trojnik,

Of course none of us can say who does or does not go to Hell. Judgment is reserved for God alone.

But the atheist is not without a choice. Having heard the news of Christ’s death, he made the deliberate choice to reject Him and the teachings of His Church. You can say that the atheist was simply not convinced by those claims; but speaking personally, when I am not convinced of something (and I was once not convinced of Christ’s divinity or the existence of Hell), I go out and do my homework on it and come to a studied conclusion.

As for why God does not “enlighten the atheist,” what more can He do? He sent His son to earth to die for man and then brought him back to life – if the miracle of Resurrection cannot convince one, what can?

Hope that helps.
 
Trojnik said:
Hello everyone,

I’ve been considering converting to Christianity (was non-religious before) but still have many questions (and a couple of doubts) I’d like to find the answers to before I make the final decision. My first question is related to atheists (and other non-Christians, I suppose) going to Hell. I simply fail to understand why would an atheist suffer for eternity for “not accepting” Christ.

Why would a merciful and all-powerful God allow this? I have heard many people saying that the person is not sent to Hell but makes the choice himself/herself, but how is it a choice when an atheist simply doesn’t believe that Christ and Hell are something real? One can’t make a choice if he doesn’t believe that any choice exists. The atheist can’t be held responsible for this. Why doesn’t God enlighten the atheist? Or is there some indication that atheists gain a second chance after their physical deaths?

And I have another question which might not fit into this forum section, if it doesn’t, I apologise. If I was a 12 year old atheist both during my baptism and first communion and if I didn’t consume the entire host given to me by the priest, would I have to repeat these two sacraments?

Many thanks.
Click to expand...
The atheist does recognize a choice: they don’t recognize it as a choice between Heaven and Hell, but they still have a conscience and can choose between right and wrong. If they choose wrong, then like anyone else who commits a mortal sin, Christian or non-Christian, they will go to Hell unless they are saved by the grace of God. Atheists do not have the ordinary means of receiving this grace (the Sacraments), but God is still free to give His grace in extraordinary ways, and Jesus indicated that atheists would not be judged as harshly: “That servant who knew his master’s will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more” (Luke 12:47-48).

And you should certainly talk to a priest about your second question, but I would like to make a few clarifications: You cannot repeat Baptism; you can only be baptized if you have never been validly baptized in the past. The question is whether your past baptism was valid (I’m fairly certain it was, but talk to a priest). And you did receive Communion even if you only consumed part of the host, but you would have to receive it again because Catholics are required to receive Communion at least once a year (and recommended to receive it at least once a week). Communion is always a sacrament, whether it is your First Communion or not.
 
By trying hard to live a good life, the person will be saved through a special baptism reserved for those who lived a life in truth and tried to follow it to the best of their ability. There will be many people who were atheists in their life but enter heaven when they die, while many Christians will go to hell because they didn’t respond to God’s grace. But if one knows the truth, then that person should try to follow the truth.
Yes, you should ask the priest about the baptism and first communion, but just by consuming part of the Host, you are receiving the entire Christ (A first communion right there). Anyways, a priest should be more learned than my babblings…😉
 
Things have cleared up to me now, thank you everyone for your answers. I’m glad I found this site, sure will stick around. I have to say that the more I learn about Christianity the more I realise how little most people know about it.
 
BTW… this is the Catholic view point… some other groups have a more strict view of what needs to happen to be saved.
 
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