Do "good" atheists go to heaven?

[Michie]

...What do you say to a grieving boy, who asks you if his father, a recently dead atheist, is in heaven? A little boy asked Pope Francis that question. It's a tough one- especially coming from a little boy. But, assuming the report is accurate, I don't think the pope answered it quite correctly.

Continued below.
Do "Good" Atheists Go to Heaven? Don't Ask Pope Francis.

 

[Light of the East]

Okay.....just curious. What do you think would have been a proper answer to the child?

 

[Trimeresurus]

So does everyone who is not a christian go to hell in your opinion?

 

[RKO]

I can offer an opinion. My answer sure as heck would not be the one posited in the last paragraph, basically a shrug of the shoulders and the pope would have said “Who knows?”
Perhaps it is the “pastoral” answer, but nobody will ever convince me that God would damn someone to hell just because they couldn’t believe. There is no measurable evidence on earth that God exists, and there never has been. Unless Genesis was literal and He walked around the garden of paradise in the afternoon. God hides for a reason. If it was to separate those who believe what can be known from those who don’t, why wasn’t Thomas immediately damned? He didn’t believe until he has proof. Jesus said blessed are those who have not seen and believed, but he did not say that Thomas was damned.
God is not so vain that if someone was an exemplary human and could not find a way to beilieve, that He would cast that person into hell.
You may now begin calling me a heretic. It will not even phase me. I’ll never believe otherwise.

 

[Phil 1:21]

So does everyone who is not a christian go to hell in your opinion?

“16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” John 3:16-18

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6

 

[eastcoast_bsc]

I agree with Michie, I feel the Pope answered correctly.

 

[Trimeresurus]

I agree with Michie, I feel the Pope answered correctly.

Since Christians claim that their god is forgiving and loving it would be very cruel to send someone to hell for not knowing Jesus. But there seem to be different opinions on this.

 

[Davidnic]

When a widow asked St. Francis de Sales if her husband who was an atheist was in heaven the saint answered that the husband had allowed her to venerate the cross in her home and not stood in the way of her faith. And that perhaps that would earn him the mercy of God.

We also have the Divine Mercy as it was revealed to Saint Faustina.

I don't know what the last moments of any person with their Creator as they pass from this world were like or the true disposition of their hearts or what their obstacles were in life. I do not know if they suffered from Invincible ignorance.

I think the pope answered correctly

 

[Davidnic]

I think it comes to this...we do not know why the man was an atheist. But from the baptism of his children and the fact that he allowed and facilitated their religious education, we can at least see it was not from an invincible hatred of God.

Now, was it because the faith had been poorly presented to him as a child, a harm done to him by one speaking in God's name, a total misunderstanding of who God is and what God want, or a dozen other possibilities that can drive a person to that end? We don't know. What we know, same as the Pope, was he cared for the souls of his children even if he could not see God in his own life. That is not an easy thing to do...and speaks to some grace. He will be judged by a merciful and just God. But yes, there is an indication of a seed that God was present in him, even if he fought it.

Who knows. Only God. I know when I saw the video I prayed for his soul and that at the moment of death he accepted the divine mercy. But it does seem that if the man struggled to reach God himself, he allowed himself to open that door for his children. As the Pope said that is harder for an unbeliever to do than a believer and speaks to something we might not be seeing.

 

[Tutorman]

...What do you say to a grieving boy, who asks you if his father, a recently dead atheist, is in heaven? A little boy asked Pope Francis that question. It's a tough one- especially coming from a little boy. But, assuming the report is accurate, I don't think the pope answered it quite correctly.

Continued below.
Do "Good" Atheists Go to Heaven? Don't Ask Pope Francis.

Only God knows. As in the article though way would the man baptize and raise his children as Christians if he believed it was all a lie. A tough one for sure. If the man knew the good news but never converted I want to say he is not in heaven but once again only God knows not me.

 

[Meowzltov]

So does everyone who is not a christian go to hell in your opinion?

Absolutely not. Not everyone is good. And some people are downright evil. As a counselor, I've seen all types up close. Trust me, evil is a lot more common than people think, because they are good at masking themselves. But as in Camus' THE PLAGUE, there is something to be said for the Atheist saint.

 

[Rhamiel]

As in the article though way would the man baptize and raise his children as Christians if he believed it was all a lie.

because his wife wanted it that way?
not really hard to understand, I mean he was obviously not a fanatic atheist, but "just going along with what your wife wants in how the kids are raised" does not really say much

 

[Rhamiel]

So does everyone who is not a christian go to hell in your opinion?

pretty much so
there is a theory called Limbo for those who never really had the opportunity to become a Christian and were virtuous or innocent

but yeah, hell
that is why I want as many people to become Catholic, so they might be saved from Hell

 

[Tutorman]

because his wife wanted it that way?
not really hard to understand, I mean he was obviously not a fanatic atheist, but "just going along with what your wife wants in how the kids are raised" does not really say much

True.

 

[Rhamiel]

Since Christians claim that their god is forgiving and loving it would be very cruel to send someone to hell for not knowing Jesus. But there seem to be different opinions on this.

when a person sins, they have earned Hell
you can have your sins forgiven through Jesus Christ
if you never ask to have your sins forgiven by Jesus then your sins stay on you, you stay unregenerated, that is spiritually dead

we can not earn heaven, nothing we can do can ever be good enough to earn heaven
if this was possible, then Jesus would not have needed to die on a cross
we can not get to God on our own, we need to cooperate with His grace
an atheist rejects God, how can you cooperate with the Person you reject?

 

[The Grouch]

We pray in the our father

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven

Do you think there are athiests in heaven... no of course there isnt and we pray for a time when there no athiests on earth

But just as we know there will come a time when athiests cease being athiests on earth we then have reason to be hopefull that athiests who have died before their promised conversion will no longer be athiests after death... they may still suffer a period of purification after death. We always talk of people going to heaven or hell we never think of people going to purgatory. Imagine an athiest faced with the reality of the judgement seat of christ he can no longer deny the reality he ceases to be athiest at that very moment yet his soul remains stained and must be purified in fact his purgatory began at the same moment he came before the judgement seat of christ because he will be suffering knowing he didnt believe in God on earth. So i think purgatory is a fesible destination for souls who were athiests of good will on earth but certainly there are no athiests in heaven hell or purgatory...however there maybe former athiests in heaven, hell or purgatory.

 

[StevenMerten]

We also have the Divine Mercy as it was revealed to Saint Faustina.

I don't know what the last moments of any person with their Creator as they pass from this world were like or the true disposition of their hearts or what their obstacles were in life. I do not know if they suffered from Invincible ignorance.

I think the pope answered correctly

Hello Davidic,

I am thinking maybe you have not read St. Faustina’s ‘Divine Mercy in My Soul’, where Jesus tells us how it is going to be at His, soon to come, Second Coming?

There are not going to be any ‘Invincible Ignorance’, gate passes to heaven, being handed out upon the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ as Just Judge. Hell is going to open its throat wide and swallow all those atheists who did not take Jesus up on His offer of the ‘Divine Mercy Chaplet’. I do not see any atheists getting past our Just Judge, Jesus Christ, when He returns on His great, soon to come, Second Coming.

Jesus, The Divine Mercy

By St. Faustina​

“Write down these words, My daughter. Speak to the world about My mercy; let all mankind recognize My unfathomable mercy. It is a sign for the end times; after it will come the day of justice.”(Diary 848)

“Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice.” (Diary 1146)

“There are souls who despise My graces as well as all the proofs of My love. They do not wish to hear My call, but proceed into the abyss of hell. The loss of these souls plunges Me into deadly sorrow. God though I am, I cannot help such a soul because it scorns Me; having a free will, it can spurn Me or love Me.” (Diary580)

“Today I heard a voice in my soul: Oh, if sinners knew My mercy, they would not perish in such great numbers. Tell sinful souls not to be afraid to approach Me; speak to them of My great mercy.”(Diary 1396)

Then I saw the Mother of God, who said to me, Oh, how pleasing to God is the soul that follows faithfully the inspirations of His grace! I gave the Savior to the world; as for you, you have to speak to the world about His great mercy and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Him who will come, not as a merciful Savior, but as a just Judge. Oh, how terrible is that day! Determined is the day of justice, the day of divine wrath. The angels tremble before it. Speak to souls about this great mercy while it is still the time for [granting] mercy. If you keep silent now, you will be answering for a great number of souls on that terrible day. Fear nothing. Be faithful to the end. I sympathize with you.” (Diary 635)

“Write: I am Thrice Holy, and detest the smallest sin. I cannot love a soul which is stained with sin; but when it repents, there is no limit to My generosity toward it. My mercy embraces and justifies it. With My mercy, I pursue sinners along all their paths, and My Heart rejoices when they return to Me. I forget the bitterness with which they fed My Heart and rejoice at their return.
Tell sinners that no one shall escape My Hand; if they run away from My merciful Heart, they will fall into My Just Hands. Tell sinners that I am always waiting for them, that I listen intently to the beating of their heart... When will it beat for Me?” (Diary 1728)

“Say unceasіngly the chaplet that I have taught you. Whoever wіll recіte іt wіll receіve great mercy at the hour of death. Prіests wіll recommend іt to sіnners as theіr last hope of salvatіon. Even іf there were a sіnner most hardened, іf he were to recіte thіs chaplet only once, he would receіve grace from My іnfіnіte mercy.”(687)

“The souls that say thіs chaplet wіll be embraced by My mercy durіng theіr lіfetіme and especіally at the hour of theіr death.”(754)

“Jesus looked at me and said, Souls perish in spite of My bitter Passion. I am giving them the last hope of salvation; that is, the Feast of My Mercy. If they will not adore My mercy, they will perish for all eternity. Secretary of My mercy, write, tell souls about this great mercy of Mine, because the awful day, the day of My justice, is near.” (Diary 965)

Quoted from: www.divinemercy.com
​

 

[eastcoast_bsc]

There was a story Billy Graham told about witnessing to a old man in China, as the elderly man listened to Graham witness regarding God, the elderly man replied " oh I know this man I talk to him every day"

We never know a persons heart, though this man never formally knew God he did know God in his heart. He talked to him every day.

 

[Davidnic]

I am thinking maybe you have not read St. Faustina’s ‘Divine Mercy in My Soul’

​

You would be thinking incorrectly then. And not viewing the work in its totality or correctly in reference to the last hope of salvation in the personal revelation.

Entry 1507
All grace flows from mercy, and the last hour abounds with mercy for us. Let no one doubt concerning the goodness of God; even if a person's sins were as dark as night, God's mercy is stronger than our misery. One thing alone is necessary: that the sinner set ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, to let in a ray of God's merciful grace, and then God will do the rest. But poor is the soul who has shut the door on God's mercy, even at the last hour. It was just such souls who plunged Jesus into deadly sorrow in the Garden of Olives; indeed, it was from His Most Merciful Heart that divine mercy flowed out.

We do not know the man's moment of death or last hour. But we do have some indication that the door was not completely closed. The Church has always held the last decision outside the normative means of salvation is up to God. And the Pope was perfectly in line with that.

 

[Trimeresurus]

Wait...
There is a purgatory?
Who is going to purgatory and who is going to hell?
What about other religions? Are they even worse than atheism?
(Sorry for being curiuos )