Sacrificing your life to save another

[Mustang56]

If someone who isn't Christian or doesn't believe in God/Jesus but sacrifices themselves to save another life for a good cause (example would be the boyfriends of some women in the Col. movie theatre shooting), do you think they deserve to go to heaven?

 

[newbeliever02072005]

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[Hammster]

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Moved from Christian Apologetics.


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[ViaCrucis]

If someone who isn't Christian or doesn't believe in God/Jesus but sacrifices themselves to save another life for a good cause (example would be the boyfriends of some women in the Col. movie theatre shooting), do you think they deserve to go to heaven?

The question assumes a certain conception of "Heaven" that isn't, in my opinion, very accurate.

Namely this assumes that "Heaven" is a reward for people doing good things, and (implicitly, though you did not mention it directly) that "Hell" is punishment for people doing bad things. In other words, Heaven is about moral reward and Hell is about moral punishment.

The problem with this assumption is that this cosmic balance way of thinking is actually very foreign to Christianity. We do not see God as a holder of balances, weighing the good and the bad.

Heaven and Hell aren't about what people "deserve", but about an ultimate fruition of life. Heaven isn't awarded because anyone "deserves" it; but rather it vaguely points to the full life with God. While some Christians view "Heaven" as some place "up there", it would be a more accurate thing to state that Heaven is a sort of euphemism for the full radiance of the Divine Presence, we point up to the heavens because euphemistically we are trying to communicate the notion that God is "way above everything else". However, God is no less here, right here, and as such Heaven isn't in a direction, it's not a place, it's God's abundance. Likewise, "Hell" is often euphemistically seen as "down there", because when we bury the dead we place them in the ground. The Hebrew word she'ol means "grave", in Greek it is Hades, translated as "Hell" in English. The idea is that this is the dead place, it is an apartness from life.

Christians have a varied number of views as to what "Hell" even is. Some believe it's a literal chasm somewhere "down there" (but this is arguably a very minority view), others believe it is simply radical apart-ness from God, while still others see "Hell" as an experience of God's presence. "Heaven" and "Hell" in the latter view are ways of describing how we experience the ultimate state in God's intimate presence, the way we encounter Love impartially given freely to everyone equally. For some it is a mutual and reciprocal bliss, of Love given and love returned; for others, however, it is a burning reminder of a life lived loveless.

The question ultimately isn't "Will I deserve 'Heaven'?" but rather, "Do I want to be with God and be part of what He is doing?".

Another way to put things: God isn't up high testing all of us and then giving us a pass/fail. God, rather, is actively at work to make us the sort of people who can truly live in the world, because He is at work in the world to make this the sort of world it ought to be.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[firstpetertwonine]

If someone who isn't Christian or doesn't believe in God/Jesus but sacrifices themselves to save another life for a good cause (example would be the boyfriends of some women in the Col. movie theatre shooting), do you think they deserve to go to heaven?

Well, not to be glib, but, it doesn't really matter what I think, it matters what God thinks.

Further, strictly speaking, according to real orthodox Christian theology, nobody "deserves" to go to heaven at all, based on what they've done: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12; cf Psalms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eccles. 7:20) That is why Jesus had to die for us, because none of us could be perfect enough to satisfy God's judgment.

Sorry, I digress. I think your question is can that person be saved by their act of self-sacrifice, even if they were not a professing Christian?

Possibly. Some of my fellow Christians will disagree. But I do believe there will be non-Christians in heaven. (And I'm not the only one.) These would be the people spoken of in Matthew 25:31-46 who served the Lord by their acts of kindness and mercy towards others and didn't even know who it was they were serving; these are people who clearly are going to heaven and don't even seem to recognize Jesus. But they showed a true Christian heart and faith thru their love for others.

These people are still saved thru Jesus; there is no other name by which we may be saved. (Acts 4:12) They may have just not known it.

While I'm not Roman Catholic, the Catholic Church speaks of "baptism of desire" and "implicit faith" with regards to the possible salvation of non-Christians. That could apply here.

Now, of course, this would not apply if one of those who sacrificed themselves had deliberately, consciously, intentionally rejected Jesus at some point in their life: "whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them." (John 3:35) Even though they did such a noble thing, it is still a greater sin in God's eyes that they have rejected him and his only Son. But of course, this would only apply if that person had rejected Christ after really and truly having heard the true gospel preached to them correctly, because God doesn't punish people if they were honestly ignorant of the truth. (Luke 12:47-48) This is known as "invincible ignorance" in Catholicism. Whether that person had ever really heard the gospel preached to them accurately enough to be considered as having rejected it, only God knows. Which is why we can't presume to judge who is and is not saved.

Hope this makes some sense. God Bless

 

[Sketcher]

If someone who isn't Christian or doesn't believe in God/Jesus but sacrifices themselves to save another life for a good cause (example would be the boyfriends of some women in the Col. movie theatre shooting), do you think they deserve to go to heaven?

Let's say a serial rapist who hasn't got caught yet somehow found it in himself to take a bullet for someone else. Would he deserve to go to Heaven?

Of course not. He was a serial rapist who did one good thing. Good deeds cannot balance out bad deeds. And while the rapist is worse than most people, the sins of every day folk still stand against them just the same. If I do something terrible to one neighbor, and do something great for another neighbor, I have still done something terrible to one of my neighbors which must be answered for.

 

[drich0150]

If someone who isn't Christian or doesn't believe in God/Jesus but sacrifices themselves to save another life for a good cause (example would be the boyfriends of some women in the Col. movie theatre shooting), do you think they deserve to go to heaven?

No they don't. For none (Not even Christians) "Deserve Heaven."

...And Paul did not have to see to believe. Paul Believed in God long before He excepted Christ.