If God is an "all forgiving" being, doesn't that permit everyone into Heaven?
@MsControversy (446)
United States
August 25, 2012 12:35am CST
I was raised Catholic, went to a Catholic school and was taught the Bible my whole life. As a child, I was always taught to not ask questions that cannot be answered and to just have faith. But, as I've gotten older, questions like these creep into my mind. You see things on TV, read things in magazines that dispute, or try to "debunk" religious beliefs. I, personally, cannot say whether I believe in God or not. I have taken the "cradle of life" theory, or evolution theory, into consideration. But, that doesn't mean that there is no God either. I've never seen a million dollars, but we all know that it exists. I work as a server part-time to help pay for school and sometimes people will leave little church pamphlets with their tips. They are always very morbid, saying that you should let God into your life now or live in an eternal Hell. Being raised in a Catholic school, I've read the Bible. And it says in the Bible that God is a forgiving God and as a Catholic, I practiced Confession when I was younger. Being the fact that God is a forgiving God, as long as you are sorry for your sins, then you will be permitted into Heaven. On Judgement Day, if we truly meet our maker, and you are faced with an eternity in Hell, wouldn't that prompt you to immediately be genuinely sorry for ALL of your sins? And God would know?
3 people like this
11 responses
@vandana7 (100249)
• India
25 Aug 12
Nice question you raise. Depiction of hell is there in almost all religions. Basically, goodness is just a concept that got linked to the all powerful creator deliberately to ensure that people were fair to one another and did not do wrongs. Now that does not deter some. Forgiveness is to be given not because the person is reformed or will become a better person but because we have better things to do with our time and our lives. If we spend our days and nights thinking only about one grave wrong against us, we wont be able to concentrate on our studies, our work, our future, just about anything, and would not even be able to love. Therefore, dislike hatred sorrow fears should be avoided and forgiveness is you just a door that shuts all those things in the cellar. :) You Christians have it good with confessions. Once we confess, our minds are lighter. Consequently, we are able to concentrate better on things in our hands. If our conscience keeps pricking us, we are periodically reminded of the incident, and thereby use up our time on those thoughts instead of concentrating on what is on hand. We might also be prompted to take a wrong decision because of that guilt. So yes, confession and forgiveness are great things, if you can do it.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (100249)
• India
28 Aug 12
Sweetie..I just read your other discussion and returned to this one..because I did write it incompletely..
I meant to say that what we expect god to do is ..actually only a concept ...if we dont forgive ourselves..we wont move ahead. I think I missed out on mentioning that.. God is no accountant..and there is no hell or heaven..he does not have that much time or that fast a computer to with that much of a data storage device..to keep log of everybody's good deeds and bad deeds. Good and bad are merely what we have outlined for keeping society happy. Had god done that, caveman would also have followed them. Right? :)
@maidangela7349 (1191)
•
26 Aug 12
I am sorry you are having these problems. I think most catholics simply accept the outmoded and redundant teachings of the catholic church and ignore the clear ambiguities and errors and do not worry about it. The problem comes when someone like you starts to question what they have been taught since they were born. The fact is that nobody knows who or what god or even if there is such a being and I mean nobody including the pope. They are simply repeating what other men have made up to try and explain things they did not understand and of course to impose and maintain their authority over their followers. Please be assured there is no reason whatsoever to believe there is ever going to be anything like a judgement day that is just made up by priests to justify their position. My suggestion is that if possible you clear you mind of all religious teaching and live your life doing as much good as you reasonably can and a little harm as possible. If you can do that you will be fine
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
26 Aug 12
You must not have read much of the old testament. God wasn't forgiving. Remember the great flood, Sodom & Gamora? Those are just a couple examples. The old testament god was a cruel tyrant.
Right at the start it's pretty obvious. He puts the forbidden fruit in the middle of the garden, WITH NO FENCE. Being an omnipotent omnipresent god he could have seen Satin , slapped Eves hand & protected the fruit. Instead he allowed it just so he could punish them.
Heck if he was forgiving why would he even create a hell?
Then there's the whole crucifixion thing. Without the religious blinders it makes absolutely no sense. Could you imagine sending your good obedient child into a prison to tell your misbehaving murderous children to change their ways? Would you only be able to forgive those murderers if they then killed your good kid?
@uath13 (8192)
• United States
27 Aug 12
Lets try a little math then. Before the flood it was Noah who was supposed to warn the people. Now if Moses & his entire family spread out & tried to tell everyone without the use of mass transit or telecommunication that would have required a few centuries in itself. That wouldn't have left much time to actually build the ark.
Of course the infeasibility doesn't end there. An arc that size wouldn't even house enough food for the elephants alone. There's absolutely no way all those animals could have fit much less had storage room for their food. There's also the fact that that if there had been that much water on the planet at one time the air would have been super saturated & you'd have drowned just trying to breath.
It also doesn't account for all the millions of animals who were allowed to drown as well. Was anyone preaching to them?
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
26 Aug 12
If you ask others They say you have to be a Christian to get to heaven. That you can't know G-d unless you accept Jesus. If you don't you are hell bound.To me, G-d comes in many forms so it is up to the person to find their own path and then be faithful. After a good life , your soul goes to the heaven you believe. Sadly many Christians see heaven as Christians only place.
@marcmm (1804)
• Malaysia
26 Aug 12
I didn't understand much what you said actually but I will just answer why not everyone will enter heaven even if GOD is all forgiving.
Remember what happen to Satan? Satan is the most powerful angel even more powerful than Archangel Michael and Gabriel. Satan pride and wanted to against GOD and take the throne of heaven cause his exile together with his follower.
Heaven is a place for the holy and GOD followers. GOD want to have all of us with HIM on heaven but sure He didn't want to repeat the war which was once happen in Heaven because of wickedness and evil.
GOD never want us go to hell. It is human themselves choose between Heaven or Hell.
@berting600 (3453)
• Philippines
25 Aug 12
Your question is very essential to all Catholics because it paves a way what is also in all their minds if we all go to heaven.Then goes the questions of all non Catholic
if all of them would also be admitted to heaven.For there is only one answer--If a person is really determined in asking God's forgiveness,then he would be brought to heaven because he was felt by the Almighty about his pleas are within his heart and soul.God is really merciful and all that we wish are all granted as long as He is the only God we know could grant us all graces of goodness,especially our salvation.
@6precious102 (4043)
• United States
25 Aug 12
I'm sure you know that in Ephesians 2:8 The Apostle Paul teaches that it is by the grace of God and because of one's faith in that grace that a person is saved, and not by any works that one does. Salvation is a gift from God. Therefore, while salvation is offered to everyone, only those who accept God's gift of salvation will be saved.
@rog0322 (2829)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
25 Aug 12
Hi,
God always forgives those who seek for His forgiveness, Some people do not believe in God so they missed the best part: if one really wants to bring back Paradise then, it can be done. But then, the human nature is so corrupted by the lies of the devil that it often misses the real motive of God's plan in one's life.
Moreover, the gift of free will is well-respected by God that He has no say on what we want to do with our life, now or hereafter if there is one. It is a free choice, most often misdirected and abused to the extent that most find it to be too late to start all over and get a new shot at being more like a human person that God originally created.
God may cry his heart out seeing us go to hell by our own choice but He has no power over that. Only we can bring ourselves back even from the brink of the abyss if we only reach out our hands for help from Him.
Most of the time that is not the case. We see people cursing, blaming the powers that be when most of the bad things that happened to us are the direct and indirect result of our misuse of freedom, doing anything we want without seeing the cost.
@mybranko (56)
• Croatia (Hrvatska)
25 Aug 12
Humans are infected with virtual virus called sin. A man can not get out alone. We have only antivirus called Jesus. God himself had decided to take the body of man, so 'antibodies' that carries, are germs of new life and new hope. In vain is every attempt to salvation through your own efforts. Accepting Jesus is the only way to get our blood 'clean' and that is like born new life. Once you born like a new man (spiritual) we need only wait until number of people are sufficient, and the God gives us to all a new bodies. This is called resurrection. However, many big churches have forgotten that we must wait for a better body, because they prefer to sell salvation today (no resurrection).
