Can an atheist go to heaven?

Question

The question of who goes to heaven and who to hell seems to result in very different answers depending on which tradition the Christian answering belongs to. Some traditions, especially evangelical Christians, seem to hold belief in God/Jesus to be the only important factor, while other christians seem to also put value on the actions one has done in life.

The most common answer I heard (from liberal Christians) is that we can't know for sure who goes to heaven and who to hell, and that hell hopefully is even empty.

What are the official positions of the major traditions on whether only faith can prevent one from going to hell, or if the deeds you perform in life might also get you into heaven, even if you don't believe in the Christian God?

Answer 1

This question is actually pretty cut and dry. At the core the main thing you ask is "Can I go to heaven even rejecting Christian belief by substituting some set of actions?"

No. No amount of works of any kind will get you into heaven. There is no substitute for faith.

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

In fact it is not even necessary to split this up by different traditions inside Christianity. All of us pretty much agree on this point. The disagreements about works only come in when you discuss whether you need some works IN ADDITION TO faith or whether it is possible to have faith but no works at all. Mainstream Christianity doesn't belive you can get into heaven if you reject faith.

In fact, still speaking for the majority of Christianity and not just my tradition, I can say that this faith also has to be in Jesus.

John 14:6 (ESV)
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The question about works should be asked in another question. Whether some kind of works are a requirement in addition to faith is the source of much debate in Christian circles. Yes some traditions "put value on them" that others do not, but those views have no bearing on your question because at the core none of those different views allow you to substitute faith with anything, only perhaps supplement (or legitimize) it. Since they are not relevant to the main question I will refrain from inserting them here. Also, questions about exactly what faith in Jesus needs to look like will turn up many variations. Save those for other questions. Also not in scope here is what happens to people who haven't heard or have heard and believed miss-information.

Answer 2

This is a question that is not really cut and dried. There is a huge amount of very accurate information in this article summarising different beliefs on it. Summarizing the summary: One viewpoint is the Restrictivist Position.

• Most Fundamentalists and many other Evangelicals continue the Restrictivist beliefs taught by traditional Christianity. They believe that each verse in the Bible is without error (as originally written). They are compelled to follow the writings of Paul and the author of the Gospel of John. Those authors appear to have written consistently that only believers reach Heaven.

The viewpoint has much Biblical justification, which you can read in the article. There are however some serious issues with the viewpoint, not really from a Biblical point of view, but from a moral point of view. The main one is: If someone has never heard of Jesus or been given an opportunity to become a Christian, is it fair to condemn them to Hell? Whatever the Biblical justification for the position, it makes God sound like a capricious ogre.

Some other positions include:

• Agnostic: We have conflicting and/or inadequate information in the Bible and cannot reach a definitive belief about salvation.
• Inclusivism: Non-Christian believers will avoid Hell if they worship a deity of some sort, because God works through all of the world's religious faiths. Agnostics, Atheists, Buddhists, etc. who do not believe in a God will go to Hell.
• Middle Knowledge: God, having infinite wisdom, knows who would have rejected the gospel if it had been presented to them. As a result, they never have had the opportunity to accept the Gospel. Those people will be transported to Hell when they die.
• Post Mortem Evangelism: those who have never heard the gospel will be exposed to it after death and thus given the opportunity to get to Heaven. This is sometimes called Divine Perseverance.
• Unitive Pluralism: All of the world's great religions offer salvation to their members in different ways. A knowledge and acceptance of Jesus, and the sacrifice of Jesus are not needed for a person to be saved. 4 Universal Opportunity: All those who were not saved during their lifetimes will be given a vision of the Gospel at the time of death, and will be able to accept salvation at that time.
• Universalism: All will eventually be accepted into Heaven by some process after death.

It is however common to all of these that good works is not in anyway going to compensate for a knowing refusal to accept Jesus. That in itself the sin of pride - the belief that you can somehow reject the path provided by the creator of the universe and make your own path instead.

Answer 3

(Disclaimer: I'm Catholic, speaking for me, but I think that this agrees with the main official/majoritarian catholic belief)

Even if we could read into the mind of person, to know his most sincere and precise beliefs, we could never deduce from that he will be saved or not. In principle, it's perfectly possible - as long as the atheism of the atheist consists in non-believing in a "wrong" God (which, I'd say, is quite frequent).

But we just don't know. All we (speaking for christians) know in this respect, is "practical knowledge", not "theoric knowledge": it is directed to our acting (in the broad sense of the word, see below) and not to our speculating. I know that my belief in Christ is necessary for my salvation, and that's all.

I think that your dychotomy is flawed: "if the deeds you perform in life might also get you into heaven, even if you don't believe in the Christian God" You seem to assume that faith is just one intelectual act (like an opinion), and your other human acts can be put apart. The "belief" of what Jesus speaks is surely something more deep that an intelectual assertion (which is out of reach of lot of people who haven't heard a word of Jesus, or that have heard inept words; not to speak of dements, babies, etc), it's rather more akin to some cosmic attitude, a sense of reverence at the Goodness/Truth/Beauty, and the sense of sacrifice, the active will of "working" for them. This "belief" is "doing the will of the Father", and it's not some bunch of intelectual assumptions that a person has in his mind, while his acts can go their own ways: it's inseparable from acts (in the broad sense: external and internal; including perhaps religious acts; and including above all loving your neighbours -charity), it's almost immanent to them. Of course, believing in Christ, and in general the religous faith (more precisely, in catholic terms, the three theological virtues: faith, hope and love), is both the higher "act" and also can well be a necessary act... depending on the circumstances of each person.

Answer 4

This is quite a clear question. Let me define both sides of this question first:

An atheist, is a person who doesn't believe in God, Heaven, or Hell. He doesn't believe in Jesus, the Holy Ghost, or the need for salvation.

Now, the Bible, states in I John 5 : 11-12:

11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

12 He that hath the Son hath life; [and] he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Now, this means that we have to believe on the Son of God, in order to have salvation:

I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye BELIEVE not that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins.(John 8:24)

An atheist, does not believe in Jesus Christ! Therefore, it is impossible for an atheist to go to heaven.

Answer 5

As you have said, different Christian denominations have different teachings. Lately, I've been conducting a study of Matthew 25:31-46, in which Christ himself describes the final judgement, and makes no mention of faith or belief in his decision making.

Truth be told, the bible is a rich and complex library of texts, and each denomination if not each reader weighs and evaluates them differently, reaching different conclusions. What a given Christian denomination teaches is a valid question. Asking which of them is the "real" teaching is not.

Answer 6

No. To think an atheist can get into heaven via works is an upside down perspective. It's not "act right, etc." It's grace. It's not the love of self or the actions of a believer that deliver them from separation from their creator. It's the lack of selflessness and pride. The inability to let go and think or love anything above itself. To think that it (the creation) is the end all be all. What biblical Christianity calls for is a release of self. The service and love of God completely.

Ephesians 2:8-9 -

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Philippians 2:3 -

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

Answer 7

The common belief in most Christian sects are reducible simply to a yielding to God. Phrase it however you want: We're saved by works / faith / righteousness / non-judgement / accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior [every day] / whatever! As different as these "ways" may be, they all at least entail a yielding to God.

Now, we often divide ourselves on terminology too hastily. Jesus, properly understood, is "simply" the meeting of God and Earth. He is the Earthly presence that glorifies God. His very name is YHWH is salvation. And God, properly understood, is the very act of being itself. His name, YHWH, is I AM WHO AM. To yield to God is to yield to the act of being itself. To follow Christ, to be a member of His body, is to proclaim the importance and saving nature of yielding to God -- to yield more fully, in a sense.

So, if we "unload" our terminology for a moment, an atheist may very be living in acceptance of Jesus without fully recognizing Jesus as the savior in Christianity. That is, an atheist may very well perceive there to be an underlying, essential, transcendent act of being. And the atheist might pursue this absolute and center his life around it. But, on account of poor, uneducated, or tactless Christian evangelization, he may have no idea the transcendent act of being he "worships" is our God, or that this underlying universal order has anything to do with our Jesus Christ.

Now, while I'll advocate that anyone (at all) can conceivably get through the pearly gate through their own yielding to God, by whatever name they know Him, I'll certainly also insist that some religions provide better directions so we don't find ourselves picking the lock with the wrong tools at the wrong gate. and as a Catholic, I'll suggest our chances are best of yielding to the appropriate God, as opposed to a counterfeit or delusion, when we have solid Catholic tools in our belts! I am, of course, talking about Catholic tradition, doctrine, and sacraments.

We can be quick to count folks with differing beliefs as saints while continuing to believe they're wrong, in danger, or in need of significant clarification on Christian beliefs!

Answer 8

I strongly disagree with most of the answers given here: The answer to your question is an absolute Yes!

I will cite Metthew (5:43-48):

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

It is clearly written here that perfection encompasses total forgivingness. Otherwise God would not be perfect which he is - he would be like a "tax collector". So he will forgive every sin and that is the incomprehensibly great story about our Saviour Jesus Christ.

It clearly encompasses "those who persecute you" which translates even to people that hate God and Jesus or don't believe in him - they will be saved too, this is the overwhelmingly good message of Jesus! He also gives this example: And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? There is obviously no room for interpretation here because "pagans" are explicitly addressed.

It could justly be said that people who believe that God doesn't forgive everything accuse God of not being perfect because he would only reward those that love him (= "tax collector"). They don't understand the fantastic message Jesus is giving us here!

I think Jesus had a point and it is no coincidence that he is so direct here and gives so many clear examples.

Answer 9

What makes you think that it's an either/or answer? I believe that BOTH faith and works are required. James 2:17 is pretty clear on the subject, however anyone who has spent some time in the Bible will realize that God requires faith and the actions that back up that faith to enter into His kingdom after judgements.

James uses the example in verse 16 that if there is a hungry and cold man, all the faith in the world will not profit, the true disciple of Christ would HELP that person instead of just believing. However, if he were to help that person out of anything other than faith in Christ, it would profit him nothing.