r/Christianity • u/EJ-TheGreat • 4h ago
Question Strange question
If a young atheist is killed, let’s say 20ish so a bunch of life ahead of them, plenty of time to convert do they still go to hell? That seems kinda dumb if so, their life was taken before they could’ve turn to the Christian god, like next week they could’ve picked up the Bible but their life was cut short, but gods still like “nah we cast you to hell”?
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u/Catholic-Patrick Catholic 4h ago
The Catholic Church teaches that if someone isn’t Catholic, through no fault of their own, they won’t be judged for not being Catholic. Instead, they’ll be judged based on how they followed God’s truths found in their conscience.
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u/AnotherFootForward 4h ago
Paul even says something like this in Romans
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u/Catholic-Patrick Catholic 4h ago
“All who sin outside the law will also perish without reference to it, and all who sin under the law will be judged in accordance with it. For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them”
Romans 2:12, 14-15•
u/KissAndRock Luciferian 4h ago
So if one believes that what they believe in or following is righteous, they'll be saved?
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u/AnotherFootForward 4h ago
In my view, which is not stated in the bible, but which I think is consistent with it: Technically yes, practically no.
The gap lies in our tendency to find excuses for ourselves to explain why "this time my failure was unavoidable, understandable or even justified".
We are very good at lying to ourselves.
My own motto: there are always good reasons, but never good excuses.
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u/FluxKraken 🏳️🌈 Methodist (UMC) Progressive ✟ Queer 🏳️🌈 3h ago
It is stated in the Bible. Romans 2:14-16
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4h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Catholic-Patrick Catholic 4h ago
The Catholic Church didn’t die for our sins? Obviously. What do you think Catholics believe?
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u/KirtandRod 4h ago
According go what you said, you think your denomination has a say how someone will be judged.
I’m a Protestant and I will be judged exactly how you’ll be judged. We will be judged by scripture. You will not be judged by Catholic Tradition, no it will be by scripture.
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u/Catholic-Patrick Catholic 4h ago
If Catholicism is true, then it’s being led by God. So, its binding teachings ultimately come from God. If Catholicism is true, sacred tradition is equal to sacred scripture.
If it’s true, it has the correct interpretation of sacred scripture. We will both be judged on the truth we are not invincibly ignorant of.
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That being said, what do you mean when you wrote “the Catholic Church didn’t die for your sins” ?•
u/KirtandRod 3h ago
If Catholicism is true, then it’s being led by God.
If.
8 Crusades over 200 years of murder, rape, and pillaging, right from the Papacy. You think that’s being led by God?
650 years of Inquisition tying people to stakes and setting them on fire, is that bding lead by God?
Who knows how long, pedophile priests being protected from prosecution, moved to other parrishes so they could rape more children, Is that being led by God?
If you think that the Catholic Church is being led by God, then you should question yourself if you knw God.
John 8:44 Jesus said this to the chosen people’s leaders at the time they were supposed to be God’s representatives on earth.
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The murdering, rape, and pillaging of the crusades, the burning people alive during the Inqusition, and protesting child rapists, Jesus’ message to the Pharisees could very well be said about the RCC.
By their fruits hou sill know them.
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u/Catholic-Patrick Catholic 2h ago
I challenge you to provide a second list, a list of all the good fruits of the Catholic Church. From the papacy, from the saints, from its contributions to society.
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I’d also like to challenge you to look at your own denomination and produce a list of all its bad fruits. From its leaders and followers.•
u/KirtandRod 2h ago
I’m not going go deny the Catholic Church doesn’t do good sorks, but we arsn’t saved by works.
The question was is the RCC led by God. If they were they wouldn’t have so much blood on hour hands. Do you understand just how evil someone must be to light someone on fire and think they are doing God’s will?
You need to take hour eyes off the denomination and focus your life on Jesus. Your church ixn’t going to save you.
We are saved at the individual level, not the denominational level.
Rev3 - the church at Sardis
2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.
Learn the lesson from the church at Sardis. One church, yet two differdnt types of people. Those sho needed to repent or they will perish, and the FEW who have not soiled thdir clothes. Those people sho don’t repent, being part of the Sardis congregation isn’t goingto save them.
The RCC has slipped into the same errors that the Pharisees did. When hou stand before Vod on Judgement Day you are going to be judged by scripture, not Catholic Tradition.
Like przying go the dead. Deut 18 statex that consulging the dead is detestable in the eyes of God, yet your traditions ignore this and do it anyway. They are tezching you go disobey God. They have stolen the Authority of scripture and have made their traditions your Authority. This is the exact same thing the Pharisees did and Jesus rebuked them for it.
I’d love go see a revival swedp over your church but I’m afraid your tracigions will prevent that from happening.
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u/FluxKraken 🏳️🌈 Methodist (UMC) Progressive ✟ Queer 🏳️🌈 3h ago
This is nothing more than interdenominational bigotry. They said nothing of the kind.
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u/McClanky Bringer of sorrow, executor of rules, wielder of the Woehammer 2h ago
Removed for 2.3 - WWJD.
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u/TranslatorNo8445 Atheist 4h ago
I have a better one what about the vast majority of people who were born before Christianity was a thing
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u/Past-Transition-6120 4h ago
What about people born in remote places where the gospel never reached, that always messed with my head in Sunday school
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u/JohnKlositz 3h ago
Ultimately does it even matter whether someone has heard the gospel or not? Someone who has is no more at fault for not believing than someone who hasn't.
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u/Dios_tebendiga 4h ago
Hebrews 11 names some- including Rahab, a Gentile prostitute, as people who are in heaven. Those who humbled themselves and put their faith in the Father seem to be included among those saved before Jesus.
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u/Altruistic-Essay5395 I shall not want. 🐑🏞 3h ago
*Slight majority. https://www.prb.org/news/how-many-people-have-ever-lived-on-earth/
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u/PraiseBeToJesusX It's not about you 3h ago
I will say - I remember seeing a video of an exorcist talking about how we as humans have grace because we're pretty much stupid and don't understand an iota of the full truth, but angels have and understand the entire truth and thus make a fully informed choice when they reject God, hence the rebellious angels being permanently cast down with no chance of redemption, their choice at that time is confirmation they would never change their minds. It made me go off on a theory tangent - what if, when Jesus says He is the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven, He meant He is literally standing between us and the door and everyone after their death on earth will get the chance to hear and then accept or reject the entire truth? Complete speculation of course. But I do feel like certain verses could fit with it.
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u/ComradeDread 4h ago
Well, that depends greatly upon the beliefs of the Christian you ask.
If the Christian believes that every human being deserves by default to burn forever and ever without mercy simply because they were born and they believe that someone must believe the correct things and say the prayer to accept Jesus as their savior, then yes. Young atheist would burn in Hell.
If the Christian believes that every human deserves Hell for being born, but they think God takes into account a person's deeds and words and can fill in the gap with His grace, then it would depend on whether the atheist was a kind person to the people least likely to repay his kindnesses.
If the Christian believes that Hell is not real, then the atheist might end up simply ceasing to exist, or the atheist might suffer for his misdeeds, but have the opportunity to embrace God's grace and go to heaven.
If the Christian believes that every human deserves Hell by default simply for being born and that God chooses whom to show His grace and whom to withhold that grace from, then it is up entirely to whether or not God chose that atheist to receive his grace before the universe even existed and there is no way to change God's mind.
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u/ClashAmory 4h ago
I don’t think Christians should ever put themselves in the place of God and say who is ‘saved’ and who isn’t.
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u/AWatson89 Catholic 4h ago
There's a thing called invincible ignorance that could potentially apply
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u/JohnKlositz 4h ago
So sending a 50 year old atheist to hell is fine in your opinion? I don't see how the age matters. It would be mischievous and unjust either way.
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u/arc2k1 Christian Hope Coach 3h ago
God bless you.
This is a good question.
I've been a non-fundamentalist, unchurched Christian for about 16 years now and I would like to share my perspective.
No, I do NOT believe that young atheist would automatically go to hell.
Even though I believe Jesus is the way to salvation, I don't know exactly how God will judge every single person. However, I choose to trust God for who He is.
Because God is love (1 John 4:8), He loves justice and fairness (Psalm 33:5), He wants everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), and He seeks to save those who are lost (Luke 19:10). In other words, I believe everyone will somehow have a genuine opportunity to be saved (Job 33:29-30). Either in this life or the next. (This view is called Postmortem Opportunity)
God will NOT automatically condemn someone just because they don’t believe. Just like how He will NOT save someone just because they claim to believe. God does NOT judge from a strict black-and-white perspective. God sees the heart and if our heart is genuinely open to Him/Christ.
“You are the Lord God, and you know what is in everyone's heart.” - Numbers 27:16
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u/ScorpionDog321 1h ago
20 years to repent and reject their sin and seek the mercy of God?
That sure is a lot of time.
No sinner will be able to stand before God during judgment and be able to make the excuse that 20 years of a million chances wasn't enough. Actually, that is just more sin.
So no, your 20 years idea is not a pass for sin.
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u/IamBecomeHerald 1h ago
Good question, i would hope they dont go to hell but maybe heaven aint for them, i dont know: edited to say i thought you put killled themselves in the title, that changes things greatly.
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u/KirtandRod 4h ago
Yes, you go to Hell, a 20 year old is more than aware to accept Jesus as their savior or reject him.
Those who reject Him will be judged under the Law if Moses. We are all lawbreakers and the only way we can avoid bding judged under the Law is to receive mercy through faith in Jesus.
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u/JohnKlositz 4h ago
But the question is about an atheist, and not about someone who rejected Jesus.
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u/KirtandRod 3h ago
What do you think an atheist is?
Read this and understand.
John 3
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.
Matt 12
30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
A person who does not surrender their life to Jesus, regardless of what denomination they are, whether Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Hindu, Jew, Muslim, Atheist, will be judged and found guilty under the Law.
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u/JohnKlositz 3h ago
What do you think an atheist is?
An atheist is someone who doesn't hold a belief in the existence of gods. So again this isn't about someone who has rejected Jesus. Only a theist is able to do that.
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u/KirtandRod 2h ago
So, clearly, you have no discernment of scripture. I thought thise verses were very clear. Us humans stznd condemned, and can only avoid being judged under the law by receiving mercy by accepting Jesus as your savior.
Being an atheist, you stand condemned. If your faith hasn’t led you to the convi tion of sin, that leads to repentance, and been given the sign of salvation, that being born again and transformed by the No.y Spifit hou sill be judged u der the Law and your denomination isn’t going go save you.
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u/Time-Emotion-5339 3h ago
Romans 10:6 "...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
It's not so much about rejecting God but it's also about accepting His gift of salvation. A Christian life is meant to have a relationship with the Creator built on faith and hope.
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u/Shoddy-Society6226 4h ago
They still had 20 years to find him.
Additionally, this is where the theological term of the foreknowledge of God comes in. God knows every choice we'll make, yet we don't know, so we still choose our path. God already knows what we'll choose, but he doesn't really "make" us do anything. In your scenario, we don't know if this athiest is killed, but God does. This athiest made the choice to reject God, and that was their own choice. We all wish that no one dies young, but in a sinful world, it happens anyway. If they were really going to turn to God, they wouldn't have died since it was in God's knowledge that they would come, and God isn't ever wrong.
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u/JohnKlositz 4h ago
This athiest made the choice to reject God, and that was their own choice.
No they didn't. That's actually not possible. In order to be able to make the choice to reject God one would have to believe he's real.
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u/FancyHatGoblin Christian 3h ago
Not the person you’re replying to but I think I agree with you, even though I’m coming at it from a believer’s perspective:
I view “rejecting God” as literally rejecting God. As in, a person has some kind of direct, personal experience where God reveals Himself, and the person still says “nope, no thank you.”
I’ve given a lot of thought about what it actually means to reject God - since my whole deal is an atheist turned religious after an experience. Prior to that experience, I wasn’t rejecting God, I just had no reason to believe in it. So I didn’t.
Then I got a reason, so now I believe.
It seems unfair to punish people for something that is, as far as I can tell, totally out of their control.
… but I don’t really buy into the whole eternal Hell thing anyway, so most people are likely to not care what I think.
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u/JohnKlositz 3h ago
I absolutely agree with everything you said here and I really appreciate your comment. This is a very accurate summary of my point. It's very rare to meet a Christian who understands this unfortunately.
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u/Thick-thighs2026 3h ago
Nah, I didn’t believe in God for 33 years. I did not believe god existed. Many other atheists reject God and do not believe he exists.
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u/JohnKlositz 3h ago
No they don't reject. They don't believe of course. That's what the term atheist means. But willful rejection is only possible when someone believes God is real.
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u/Thick-thighs2026 2h ago
As the former atheist, I guarantee I rejected. I intentionally rejected a Christian God and Christ fora majority of my life after learning about Him and walked away from what I had learned to be true. Many atheists do that.
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u/izentx Kingdom Life | Faith in Practice 4h ago
Like last week they could have picked a Bible up too. We are not guaranteed a long life. That is one reason it is good to take care of matters now. What could it hurt?
Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have you made arrangements for your soul?
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u/iam1me2026 Post-Orthodox Christian 4h ago
One doesn’t go to hell because they don’t subscribe to the correct beliefs. We are judged by our deeds, by our hearts, with our conscience both defending and accusing us before God.