Will I go to hell?

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Poseidon

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I am an atheist. I was raised a Catholic, but recently stopped believing in God because of intellectual objections (which are a topic for another discussion, not this one). I still am a moral person, and my behavior hasn’t changed since I stopped believing. Most of my friends still think that I am Catholic, because the only change in my behavior that could possibly tip them off is that I no longer go to mass. So my question is, if I am wrong about Catholicism, do you believe that it is possible for a former-Catholic atheist who lives a moral life to get into heaven?

Oh, and one last thing: please don’t try to psychoanalyze me. I am not asking this because I’m afraid of hell (I don’t even believe it exists) and I do not secretly believe in God and am not secretly angry at him. Let’s stick to the relevant topic please!
 
Fatal logical fallacy: you don’t believe in Heaven either, so it’s moot.

Just to play along though, you can’t claim invincible ignorance. You know Christ and you rejected Him. He was pretty clear that He will reject you right back.

You also seem to have set up the idol of reason in His place. Idolatry is a whole other mortal sin.
 
Why are you angry at something that you don’t think exists? Seems like a waste of emotional energy to me.
 
JacarandaPurple said:
Fatal logical fallacy: you don’t believe in Heaven either, so it’s moot.

Just to play along though, you can’t claim invincible ignorance. You know Christ and you rejected Him. He was pretty clear that He will reject you right back.

You also seem to have set up the idol of reason in His place. Idolatry is a whole other mortal sin.
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Except that I didn’t reject him. I never said “screw you Christ, I don’t need you anymore.” I never chose not to believe in him. I don’t believe in him for the same reason you don’t believe in Santa Claus, and I couldn’t force myself to believe in him even if I wanted to.
 
THP said:
Why are you angry at something that you don’t think exists? Seems like a waste of emotional energy to me.
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I think you misread my post. I meant to say that some people will assume that I secretly believe in God and am angry at him. This is not true. If I was angry at him you’d be right - waste of energy.
 
You could choose to doubt and learn more. You didn’t. That’s rejection.

No one is ever finished learning the Catholic faith.
 
So I’m curious as to why you care what a bunch of internet strangers believe about whether or not you’re going to hell. You said you were raised Catholic so you already know the answer. You’re going to hell. Didn’t your parents or priests already tell you that? If you don’t believe that, then so be it. I remember a story I heard about St. Pius. The monk told a penitent that if he didn’t repent he was going to hell. To which the man replied “I don’t believe in hell”. The saint told him “You will believe in it when you get there”. Have a nice day.
 
InnocentFortune said:
So I’m curious as to why you care what a bunch of internet strangers believe about whether or not you’re going to hell. You said you were raised Catholic so you already know the answer. You’re going to hell. Didn’t your parents or priests already tell you that? If you don’t believe that, then so be it. I remember a story I heard about St. Pius. The monk told a penitent that if he didn’t repent he was going to hell. To which the man replied “I don’t believe in hell”. The saint told him “You will believe in it when you get there”. Have a nice day.
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I was always taught that it’s possible for non-Catholics to get into heaven.
 
Poseidon said:
I was always taught that it’s possible for non-Catholics to get into heaven.
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You are really self conflicted. You don’t believe in God, so therefore hell or heaven can not exist and you are worried about going to hell.

If you really di not believe in God you would not even think about something like hell. Nevertheless, by rejecting God you are headed there. The souls in heaven are those who love God. In order to love God you must first have faith. You don’t.
 
grandfather said:
You are really self conflicted. You don’t believe in God, so therefore hell or heaven can not exist and you are worried about going to hell.

If you really di not believe in God you would not even think about something like hell. Nevertheless, by rejecting God you are headed there. The souls in heaven are those who love God. In order to love God you must first have faith. You don’t.
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I’ll repeat, please don’t try to psychoanalyze me. I’m trying to get people’s views on the subject of whether an otherwise moral atheist who was once Catholic can get into heaven. It doesn’t have to be me, I’m just the most available example. I want your well-reasoned argument about why I (or some other hypothetical person) can or can’t get into heaven, not your condescension.
 
Poseidon said:
I was always taught that it’s possible for non-Catholics to get into heaven.
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Well sorry to burst your bubble but if you were taught that it is possible for apostates to be saved you were grossly misinformed. But it really doesn’t matter because you don’t believe it anyway.
 
Poseidon said:
I don’t believe in him for the same reason you don’t believe in Santa Claus, and I couldn’t force myself to believe in him even if I wanted to.
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Actually he was real. He was Saint Nicholas of Myra mixed in with local folklore and customs.
 
That’s why I mentioned invincible ignorance. You can’t claim it.

Non-Catholics / non-Christians CAN achieve Heaven, if they live virtuous lives and follow God’s laws to the best of their ability. The only way they are able to achieve this is by a gift of God’s grace. They may never hear the name of Jesus Christ, and they certainly never have any opportunity to learn the truth about Him. Thus the term “invincible ignorance.”

You don’t qualify. You were taught, at least partially, the truth of Christ. You reject it. In absence of circumstances that mitigate your culpability, like coercion by threat, that sends you to Hell. Sorry.
 
ricofall said:
Actually he was real. He was Saint Nicholas of Myra mixed in with local folklore and customs.
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Saint Nicholas was real, but Santa as in “the guy who lives at the north pole and flies around bring gifts to children” is not. It’s irrelevant to the discussion though.
 
Poseidon said:
I am an atheist. I was raised a Catholic, but recently stopped believing in God because of intellectual objections (which are a topic for another discussion, not this one). I still am a moral person, and my behavior hasn’t changed since I stopped believing. Most of my friends still think that I am Catholic, because the only change in my behavior that could possibly tip them off is that I no longer go to mass. So my question is, if I am wrong about Catholicism, do you believe that it is possible for a former-Catholic atheist who lives a moral life to get into heaven?

Oh, and one last thing: please don’t try to psychoanalyze me. I am not asking this because I’m afraid of hell (I don’t even believe it exists) and I do not secretly believe in God and am not secretly angry at him. Let’s stick to the relevant topic please!
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I think the only possible answer for Catholics, as well as for Jews, is only G-d knows.
 
Poseidon said:
Except that I didn’t reject him. I never said “screw you Christ, I don’t need you anymore.” I never chose not to believe in him. I don’t believe in him for the same reason you don’t believe in Santa Claus, and I couldn’t force myself to believe in him even if I wanted to.
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I am not going to debate you, which is what you wish to do instead of getting a true answer.
If you had been properly instructed in the Catholic faith, you would know the answer and not have to resort to asking it in an on line forum.
The answer at the present time is yes you will go to hell if you do not go to confession and sincerely repent.
The reason is because you have had prior knowlege of G*D and have rejected Him. This is because of your intellectual arrogance which is evident in your retorts to those who have attempted to give a sincere reply to your question.
If you are really interested, or care for your soul in the slightest, I suggest that you go to or call the Rectory of a Catholic Church and have a chat with a priest. No one else on this earth can help you.
 
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