Can atheists go to Heaven?

[Yenke-Bin]

Like a number of people he has confused Militant Fundamentalism with religion.

now wait a minute

are you trying to claim that militant fundamentalists ARENT religious?

A person can be "religious" and still miss the entire point of a faith. For example, if someone told me Jesus told them that were supposed to kill all the brown haired people, then there is no way I could consider them a Christian. They act outside of Christ's teachings, therefore they are not a true believer, no matter how many times they eat communion wafers or fast(two examples of being "religious")

[Atheist Heathens]

Considering that humans have been around for around 200,000 years and the supposed Messiah only came around 2,000 years ago, it seems somewhat unfair to only allow people who have been born in that 1% of our time as a species to go to heaven. But then again if the rest of the crap in the bible is true then God is rather worse than just unfair.

[Poorisolation]

Like a number of people he has confused Militant Fundamentalism with religion.

now wait a minute

are you trying to claim that militant fundamentalists ARENT religious?

Some are while some are ardent atheists.

The claim that religion inevitably leads to atrocity is as false as the claim atheism immunises you from the commission of atrocity.

Reasoned arguments can be deployed to argue against missions to the moon, while many involved in the US Moon project of the sixties had strong religious convictions that motivated the work effort that produced a successful project outcome.

The world is complex, the sad fact is that most of us humans struggle with complexity.

Thus there are some Christians that will argue that none but a true believer can go to heaven while other theologians equally or even more talented and rigorous in their examination of texts will argue that we are all in fact destined for the Christian Heaven thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Now this would be a real personal blow for me as I have a hot date lined up in hell for post mortem (as in after death not the Anglicised meaning of an autopsy) yet I can comprehend that given the assumption that God is Omniscient and would thus know ahead of schedule that Jesus would be crucified for our sins then even persons who lived and died before Josh of Galilee could be counted as cleansed of their sin and ushered through the pearly gates.

This interpretation is as equally abhorrent to fundamentalists Christians who desire a God as weak and pitiful and vengeful as themselves in character with the mere addition of a few comic book superpowers to exact "revenge" as it for certain Anti-Theists who cannot bear the thought of any kind of God other than one who would be cherished by the above fundies because opposing a God other than that would turn out to be rather pointless. A pointlessness merely compounded by the length of time they had spent sermonising on the internet.

Can atheists go to heaven? Well the possibility exists that should Heaven exist as stated in scripture that they might indeed be able to go.

If Heaven exists in some form other than as stated in scripture (used here to refer to it in its narrow Christian sense) then there exists the possibility that atheists might also go to heaven, even the lesser possibility that only atheists have the correct mental and emotional tools to go there.

If there is no afterlife, then death can be regarded as an eternity of pain free sleep and that for many of us with be identifiable as a form of heaven.

[Aggicificicerous]

The claim that religion inevitably leads to atrocity is as false as the claim atheism immunises you from the commission of atrocity.

The claim that religion inevitably leads to atrocity also has nothing to do with atheism.

[New Kereptica]

Some are while some are ardent atheists.

Atheism is nothing but a lack of belief. It has no tenets, no dogma. There is nothing to be fundamentalist about. You can be a stupid, troglodytic atheist, but you can't be fundamentalist.

[New high charity 24]

^ this.

The number for the guy on the top is way too low.

Joke??? Well Satan sounds like a Sleeping Kitten compared to God's 'Saints' Tibet!!! Buddhism Killed like 3???

[Grave_n_idle]

And, again, your argument relies on the assumption that "a must be true because a must be true".

No it doesn't.
I know for a fact that they died just like God said they would.
So God wasn't lying.

Don't talk such rubbish. You 'know' no such thing - although you seem to be more than burdened with 'belief'.

[Grave_n_idle]

If they repent of their sins, get baptized in Christ and place their faith in Him, then yes they could. Outside of this, there is no other way.

I find your lack of faith disturbing.

[GeneralHaNor]

Some are while some are ardent atheists.

Atheism is nothing but a lack of belief. It has no tenets, no dogma. There is nothing to be fundamentalist about. You can be a stupid, troglodytic atheist, but you can't be fundamentalist.

Really
and pray tell what makes you an expert?

I've encountered my fair share of "Militant" Atheists
Who for them it is not enough to not believe, but to insist on the lack of, and insist that everyone should believe as they do
They make the claim that religion is the greatest evil ever devised by man, and that in order to move forward as a society, we must abolish and remove this evil, even if this means we need to purge those who won't let go.

If this isn't "Fundamentalism" then pray tell what is.

[Grave_n_idle]

Atheism is nothing but a lack of belief. It has no tenets, no dogma. There is nothing to be fundamentalist about. You can be a stupid, troglodytic atheist, but you can't be fundamentalist.

Really
and pray tell what makes you an expert?

I've encountered my fair share of "Militant" Atheists
Who for them it is not enough to not believe, but to insist on the lack of, and insist that everyone should believe as they do
They make the claim that religion is the greatest evil ever devised by man, and that in order to move forward as a society, we must abolish and remove this evil, even if this means we need to purge those who won't let go.

If this isn't "Fundamentalism" then pray tell what is.

Something to do with 'fundamentals' I assume, something Atheism basically lacks, since it is almost defined by their absence.

[GeneralHaNor]

Really
and pray tell what makes you an expert?

I've encountered my fair share of "Militant" Atheists
Who for them it is not enough to not believe, but to insist on the lack of, and insist that everyone should believe as they do
They make the claim that religion is the greatest evil ever devised by man, and that in order to move forward as a society, we must abolish and remove this evil, even if this means we need to purge those who won't let go.

If this isn't "Fundamentalism" then pray tell what is.

Something to do with 'fundamentals' I assume, something Atheism basically lacks, since it is almost defined by their absence.

If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck
it's a duck

[Grave_n_idle]

Something to do with 'fundamentals' I assume, something Atheism basically lacks, since it is almost defined by their absence.

If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck
it's a duck

So a horse is a zebra?

[GeneralHaNor]

If it walks like a duck, and talks like a duck
it's a duck

So a horse is a zebra?

If you use it to ride down your enemies and destroy them
Yes.

[Risottia]

In context, God is referring to the Death of Innocence, and he is correct in a sense.

Or alternatively, it refers to the fact that we will all die of death, which didn't happen in the Garden of Eden.

No, it can't be that. He says that Adam and Eve will die IN THE DAY they'll eat the fruit; which they didn't (according to Genesis, hence thy LORD again).

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

it depends upon which style of christianity you adhere to. According to many protestant sects, faith in Jesus is the only thing that's important. No faith, no heaven. I was raised Catholic, and according to them, faith isn't as important as good conduct. Even if you're faithful, if you die with mortal sin, you go to hell. If you don't believe in God or Jesus, and you live an upright life, or give your life up for somebody else, you go to heaven regardless of what you believe.

not that I believe any of that stuff anymore

Lol, Catholics...

I can't believe that they do the shit they do and actually read the New Testament.

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

Those that live apart from the law and apart from faith will perish apart from the law and apart from faith... Romans is pretty clear about it.

EDIT: Strange the OP mentions atheists in the title then mentions Buddhists in the OP... meh. I can't be arsed to read when I'm procrastinating on homework.

[Grave_n_idle]

So a horse is a zebra?

If you use it to ride down your enemies and destroy them
Yes.

Got it.

You're talking crap, so there's nothing to lose by ignoring you.

[GeneralHaNor]

If you use it to ride down your enemies and destroy them
Yes.

Got it.

You're talking crap, so there's nothing to lose by ignoring you.

Whatever helps you maintain your worldview

[Christmahanikwanzikah]

If you use it to ride down your enemies and destroy them
Yes.

Got it.

You're talking crap, so there's nothing to lose by ignoring you.

You lose the lost time you would've lost.

Which is a gain. Or something.

[Sociobiology]

Really
and pray tell what makes you an expert?

I've encountered my fair share of "Militant" Atheists
Who for them it is not enough to not believe, but to insist on the lack of, and insist that everyone should believe as they do
They make the claim that religion is the greatest evil ever devised by man, and that in order to move forward as a society, we must abolish and remove this evil, even if this means we need to purge those who won't let go.

If this isn't "Fundamentalism" then pray tell what is.

then he was an atheist and an anti-theist, which does tend to happen, atheism itself is null (a lack of belief) position therefore it cannot be used to justify anything, you have to have a positive belief/acceptance in/of something to justify something. A reason behind something has to be a positive not a null, I do X because Y, not I do X with no cause
all agnostics are atheists but not all atheist are agnostics all Christians are gnostics and theists (existence of god is knowable and the answer is yes), your friend would be an example of a gnostic atheist anti-theist (existence of god is knowable and the answer is no and thinking it is "yes" is bad {bad being different than wrong}).
so he is a a fundamentalist anti-theist not an fundamentalist atheist.
there is no baggage with being an atheist but people tend to add some of their own devising, there is baggage with being a theist, because now all the options for god come up and each has its own form of absolute morality attached, atheism by definition precludes absolute morality, so whatever your friend believes for morality, if he is intellectually honest he must admit it is only opinion. Where as a theist can claim (completely honestly internally) his morality is FACT, and thats when people start killing each other, because if it is FACT, then compromise is impossible.
basically atheism forces moral abstraction, theism can have it as well, but it also has the absolute position.

[South Lorenya]

atheism itself is null (a lack of belief) position therefore it cannot be used to justify anything

It can be used to justify the claim that some people don't think any gods exist.

(seriously, there are people who think that *EVERYONE* worships one or more deities. It's a silly viewpoint, but it exists.)

[Sociobiology]

atheism itself is null (a lack of belief) position therefore it cannot be used to justify anything

It can be used to justify the claim that some people don't think any gods exist.

(seriously, there are people who think that *EVERYONE* worships one or more deities. It's a silly viewpoint, but it exists.)

good point my error, should read cannot be used to justify anything morally (at least not by itself).

[Cyborg Militants]

This is only my personal belief, but here goes:
The way I see it, if you have a reason to believe there is God or no reason to believe in God, then you don't have to. The main thing is, are you going to go on a genocidal rampage because you don't care, or are you going to try to be a good person and live your life as such? If you save the 6+billion people on this Earth, but don't believe in God, why would you have to go to hell? Christians display God as forgiving if you ask and all-knowing, surely that means that God is a rational, good being. I'm agnostic, but I still try to live as a good person, so I don't think I should go to Hell. Fuck that.

[Jou Ma se Blou Vis]

As I understand it, you're kind of screwed if you have your head screwed on right (ha ha.) ie if you're an atheist. Depending on your background, or religious beliefs, whether you get into heaven or not also depends on what you do in life. According to Calvinist doctrine, even if you're as bad as Stalin, you'll get in if you (a) believe in God and (b) your name is in a metaphorical book (preordained admission and fate being one the Calvinist beliefs). Alternatively, if you're Catholic, I think you need to do something more than just believe. I could be wrong.

But since belief is a necessity, and since all religions claim to be the one true faith etc etc blah blah, we're all screwed if even one of them is true.

"I'm sorry, the Buddhists were right."

[Rlyeh Cirith Ungol]

to quote a great thinker:

"I believe that when I die I shall rot, and nothing of my ego will survive. I am not young and I love life. But I should scorn to shiver with terror at the thought of annihilation. Happiness is nonetheless true happiness because it must come to an end, nor do thought and love lose their value because they are not everlasting. Many a man has borne himself proudly on the scaffold; surely the same pride should teach us to think truly about man's place in the world. Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cosy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigour, and the great spaces have a splendour of their own."