If I don't believe in God will I go to hell?
By smuggeridge
@smuggeridge (2148)
April 20, 2007 6:10pm CST
I was having this discussion with a deeply religious bloke a few months ago and i said that although i am technically christian i'm not sure i believe in god, i suppose you'd call me agnostic, at which point he told me that in which case i will go to hell. This in my view seemed a little harsh, if god is about forgiveness then surely he should forgive me for getting it wrong.
I live by probably the same guiding principles that most christians live by anyway, i'm a good person, never killed anyone, never commited a crime (except getting drunk in a pub) and haven't even had the chance to commit adultery. Yet this guy still said that i would go to hell for not believing in god.
What is your view on the matter? am i destined for an eternity in hell? (if it turns out that heaven and hell actually exist)
13 people like this
26 responses
@Rosepetal (352)
• United States
20 Apr 07
I don't think you will go to hell for not believing in God. I think you will seek God in the future for whatever reason and God knows this. He just wants you to seek him out when you're ready to.
2 people like this
@smuggeridge (2148)
•
20 Apr 07
what if i don't?, i personally have no desire to be religious or to join a church because i don't like them, i can make my own decisions and i don't need some vicar to tell me what to think or how to act.
3 people like this
@revdauphinee (5703)
• United States
21 Apr 07
honey sitting in a church no more makes you a christian than sitting in a garage makes you a car it is wht you truly believe that counts not where you are !
1 person likes this
@heero1103 (322)
• Philippines
22 Apr 07
It is not because you don't believe in God that a person could condemn you to hell. If you don't believe in God then so be it. Sometimes, or maybe most of the times, people who consider themselves as God-fearing are the ones who commit the most sins. If you are a person who has a good judgment of what is right or wrong, then it is ok.
1 person likes this
@SheliaLee (2736)
• United States
21 Apr 07
Dear Friend:
I'm not trying to be harsh, preach to you or put you down in any way. Please know in my heart this is the case. But you can't be a Christian and not believe in God. There is a story in the Bible about the rich young ruler. He told Jesus the same thing, he said he had always lived a good live and kept the 10 commandents and wanted to know what did he need to do to be saved? Jesus told him to give what he had to the poor and follow Him. I'm not saying that you have to give away everything that you have to the poor. The point I'm trying to make is that to be a Christian you have to ask Jesus into your heart and forgive you of your sins. The Bible is very plain about this. There is no other way to get to Heaven. All of the gospels explain the plan of salvation but I believe that Luke and John explain it best. Please find you a Bible and read these two books and then find a pastor or someone you know you can talk to honestly.
Heaven and Hell do exist and this is a very important decision. Please make the right one. I don't wan't anyone to go to Hell. Jesus, I believe, is coming back to this earth soon to take away to Heaven those who believe in Him and I want you to be one of them.
@smuggeridge (2148)
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21 Apr 07
OK so i know what you think about me, you not going to change my opinion because you can't make me believe in something that i don't believe in. The technically a christian bit is because i was christened so therefore i am a christian.
Looking at it another way though, what about people of different religions? Do they all have to stop and follow jesus? because that is not going to happen, and all these people are living religious lives, so what will happen to them on judgement day?
1 person likes this
@smuggeridge (2148)
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21 Apr 07
Well you convinced me, i don't want to be a part of any religion which victimises other people for choosing what might be described as the wrong religion, i believe that any god would surely be forgiving enough to allow for peoples mistakes in life, and that would include making a wrong decision on their religion or religious views
@SheliaLee (2736)
• United States
21 Apr 07
The Bible says that Jesus is the only way, the Truth and the Life and that no man cometh to the Father except by Him. Everyone is given a free choice to worship as they choose but the Bible is very plain that those who do not accept Jesus in their heart will not make it to heaven. I'm not trying to put you down sir, I don't want it to sound that way. I've only got your soul at heart, nothing else. Jesus loves you and as a Christian I love you and everyone else on this site with His Love.
@eyewitness (1575)
• Netherlands
21 Apr 07
i don't think you go to hell because you don't believe in god.I'm a christian to.I don't judge people who don't belive in God.
I know that if you live your life in a good way you will go to heaven.
People who say that don't know the whole truth because some bible books are still not found.There is a book which explains what Jesus did on earth and it's more specified than what the bible says.I don't say the whole bible is a lie,but some things aren't right.It is still written down by human hands
1 person likes this
@sir_talk_alot (340)
• United States
21 Apr 07
I answered a similar question here at myLot and so I'll answer this one in the same way.
I am an atheist and here is my views:
If god really does exist, then he will love everyone and everything regardless of what they believe in.
@curvychick77 (1084)
• United States
21 Apr 07
Let me put it this way, you have every right to believe what you want to believe. No one can actually make you believe in something you don't believe it. So yes, I believe in God, but I'm not going to lecture you and tell you that if you don't you'll go to hell. We were put on this earth to make our own decisions. Sometimes other views don't influence us as they would like, that's ok. Just be yourself, do what you believe in and no you won't go to hell.
1 person likes this
@rogue13xmen13 (14403)
• United States
21 Apr 07
Do not listen to people who tell you that you will go to Hell if you do not believe in God. It is not your fault that you do not believe in God. A lot of people do not believe in God and that is because they cannot see God. It is okay not to believe. I believe in God, but I am Agnostic. I believe God has not form and I believe that God is not rooted in religion. I believe in God because I have been through too much and I have seen too much not to believe, but I would never force people to believe in what they cannot believe. I will say this. What does your heart tell you? You say you have only gotten drunk. Who has not? Here is what I see, as long as you have not hurt anyone or have done anything serious to your fellow man, then you have nothing to fear.
@smuggeridge (2148)
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21 Apr 07
That makes perfect sense to me, why do you have to be part of a church or a particular religion? surely tour actions in life speak more than the fact that you go and sit in a church once a week
@gloria777 (1674)
• India
21 Apr 07
Yes, dear you have to believe in God and do not try to justify yourself as explained by you. That itself is a sin. Just pray to God to show you the right path. He will clear all your confusions.
@smuggeridge (2148)
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21 Apr 07
how is trying to justify myself a sin. The point i'm making is that i'm sure i'm just as good a person as you, so why would one be punished for eternity for having your own thoughts and questioning what we are told?
@rosie_123 (6113)
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21 Apr 07
No, smuggeriddge, - you will not go to Hell, because it does NOT exist, except in this life in our own minds. So please don't worry your head about it anymore. All you can do with your life is be as good as you can be and try not to hurt anything or anyone, and providing you do that, then you can die happily, and just be at peace. I am an Atheist, and proud of it and when I die I know I will just go to sleep and feel no more pain. I have never killed anyone, stolen anything, committed adutery, or hurt another person or animal. I am vegetarian, I respect Nature and the environment, I would never harm anything - and if someone believes I will go to Hell just because I don't go to Church then I will very poiltely tell them to "***** off"!. So just live cleanly and quietly, be happy, love everything around, and you will be fine! So please don't worry anymore.
@smuggeridge (2148)
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21 Apr 07
A good way to look at life, never sure why people need to put so much emphasis on the need for religion. And don't worry i'm not worried, i was just interested to see what people thought of this as i found it a bit of an odd viewpoint for a christian person to have
@revdauphinee (5703)
• United States
21 Apr 07
if you dont believe in God how can you have the concept of hell?just curious !
you cannot be technicaly a Christian either you are or you are not if you are then you must believe in Jeusus who is the son of God so how can you believe in the son and reject his father?
@smuggeridge (2148)
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21 Apr 07
I have a brain so i can understand the concept of heaven and hell. I don't believe in heaven and hell or god but what i'm saying is if it turned out i was wrong what would gods reaction be?
1 person likes this
@pelo26 (1552)
• Philippines
21 Apr 07
I do hope you don't end up in hell but would you let someone that don't believe in you into your house? Or would you ever meet a person that thinks that you do not exist? Is that even possible? I'm afraid all Christians are believers of God. If you don't believe in Him, then you're probably something else... anyway, what's important is that we live the good life. Cheers!
@smuggeridge (2148)
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21 Apr 07
Ah but the point is that if I got to heaven and saw God then i would believe in him. Once you meet a person you know that they exist but before you meet them you don't presume they would exist, you didn't believe in my existence until you answered my discussion, but now you do know i exist i might let you into my house if you turned out to be a nice person
@neglitex (347)
• Latvia
21 Apr 07
Well it is pretty strange that you don't believe in God but believe in Hell. It's for you to decide. But it sounds for me that you don't really believe in God but you still don't want to go to Hell if there really is a God.(and there is)
But you know as bible says if you don't believe in God you'll go to Hell. Sorry I haven't read bible before but it is as much as I know.
@smuggeridge (2148)
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21 Apr 07
I think you missed the point. I don't believe in God or hell or heaven or any of that. My question was simply if it turned out that such things did exist would one be sent to hell for not believing in god. I'm just trying to gain an understanding of others understanding of religion and their own beliefs
@kiukitsu (291)
• Philippines
21 Apr 07
hmm. . . i've thought of this already. I think you will necessarily go to hell. That's because there are some religions that don't believe in heaven or hell and i think it's impossible that all of the pagans (for example) will go to hell. Right? We don't even know if there exactly are heaven and hell so i think we will never know :) unless we die.
@kevinb868 (6)
• United States
21 Apr 07
if you don't believe in God, than you should not believe in hell.
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
21 Apr 07
No. There is no hell. How could a God that has created such magnificence in the universe have created a hell? It goes against logic that a God who is all loving and forgiving could ever send part of itself to hell. After all, if you have a soul, it is manifested from God as part of God and why would God condemn part of itself to hell? Only a religion could crearte such nonsense. And it is man who creates all religions. Spirits do not need religion for any purpose.
@healwell (1268)
• Ahmedabad, India
21 Apr 07
If some one don't believe in god, why god that 'some one' will go to hell?
No, that is not possible! God is least concerned with what you believe, because he knows what's real reality!
Who has created this world, and provided freedom and choice to each individual, why he does such kind of negligible thing? You deny him, any one deny him; but how he deny you, because you are from him!
We don't know we are his part, or united with him; but he knows very well that we are his part and united with him!
@mogie_systems (70)
• United States
21 Apr 07
hopefully you wont, maybe just a foot stoll for someones feet in heaven.
@raxx16 (7)
• United States
21 Apr 07
well it is really hard to answer for me it is not that i am an atheist but i am very uncomfortable with the concept of heaven and hell.i strongly believe its origin lies in forcing religion or good actions.It is almost like telling a child if u study only then i take u to park or not.And tat religion or devotion wich turns into hypothetical condition is no devotion as the base of it is selfishness.And in the last i always think why people think so much about the futureand tat to which is not known.if you are really doing gud or moral actions no denying the fact u will pass te exams in flying colors.
