I am an atheist who cannot believe. Will I go to hell?

[The Transcended Omniverse]

I hear many people say that you go to hell if you don't believe in Christianity. That includes other religions out there who would make the same claim. I cannot make myself believe no matter what and I have researched all I could into everything I could possibly read into, and I just have to remain undecided. My undecided mindset is the result of a truly honest open mind and open heart. Will I go to hell since I could not believe? Furthermore, do I need to dedicate and serve my life to a God who I don't even believe in the first place in order to be saved from hell?

Please take note that I have tried everything I possibly could and I still cannot believe. There are many other people out there who have tried as well with a truly open mind and heart (for many years, btw) and they cannot believe either. As for those who did believe who claimed they finally realized the truth, I have no way of knowing if they did not keep an open mind like me and that it was their close mindedness that lead them to believe or not.

As for me, there is no way to convince me and I am officially done trying to seek out the Lord. I have no further interest and I am not going to waste my life for what might be years and years over something that might not even be true in the first place. So, why am I here then if nothing can convince me? It is because I am simply wondering if I would go to hell anyway (providing Christianity or other religions are real) over a disbelief that I was genuine and honest about.

I am a kind and respectful person, but I only live for my own good feelings. I have no interest in helping others. So, is that a good enough heart that would earn my way into heaven or not?

 

[bobhikes]

First I would classify you as agnostic. You still believe in a possibility that you are wrong.

To the op, the answer depends on what type of god or what religions god is real. You have said that you are done trying to find the lord, I would recommend not worrying about the outcome then. If you still are worried about the possibility of going to Hell then you should probably do some more research.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

If there is some type of god, and it's filtering people for some kind of afterlife, the fact is that we have absolutely no idea what criteria such an entity would be using, and it hasn't made it known. So, any such criteria are nothing more than guesses on the part of human beings - guesses rooted in their own fears, hopes, and psyche.

Basically, if there is some type of god and afterlife, and there is a possibility of being punished for eternity for your actions in this life, there is absolutely no way to determine what you should or should not be doing - and any guess is as likely to cause eternal punishment as it is to bring eternal paradise - so, don't worry about it, because there's nothing you can do about it anyway.

 

[sun rise]

From my frame-of-reference, actions speak, words don't. So to me avoiding hell involves being kind and loving, appreciating beauty, trying to make the world a better place and so forth.

 

[Kenny]

As for me, there is no way to convince me and I am officially done trying to seek out the Lord. I have no further interest and I am not going to waste my life for what might be years and years over something that might not even be true in the first place. So, why am I here then if nothing can convince me? It is because I am simply wondering if I would go to hell anyway (providing Christianity or other religions are real) over a disbelief that I was genuine and honest about.

It seems like a dichotomy of positions.

First you say you don't believe and then you ask if you will go to hell. If you don't believe, why worry about or questions about hell? After all... it doesn't exist?

 

[Altfish]

How come you believe in Hell if you don't believe in god?
Hell and god are both man made inventions.

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HELL - relax and enjoy life

 

[Guy Threepwood]

I hear many people say that you go to hell if you don't believe in Christianity. That includes other religions out there who would make the same claim. I cannot make myself believe no matter what and I have researched all I could into everything I could possibly read into, and I just have to remain undecided. My undecided mindset is the result of a truly honest open mind and open heart. Will I go to hell since I could not believe? Furthermore, do I need to dedicate and serve my life to a God who I don't even believe in the first place in order to be saved from hell?

Please take note that I have tried everything I possibly could and I still cannot believe. There are many other people out there who have tried as well with a truly open mind and heart (for many years, btw) and they cannot believe either. As for those who did believe who claimed they finally realized the truth, I have no way of knowing if they did not keep an open mind like me and that it was their close mindedness that lead them to believe or not.

As for me, there is no way to convince me and I am officially done trying to seek out the Lord. I have no further interest and I am not going to waste my life for what might be years and years over something that might not even be true in the first place. So, why am I here then if nothing can convince me? It is because I am simply wondering if I would go to hell anyway (providing Christianity or other religions are real) over a disbelief that I was genuine and honest about.

If you are correct in your belief, that the universe and life in it, all arose for no particular reason, through some spontaneous unguided naturalistic mechanism that we have absolutely no evidence for,

Then you have nothing to worry about!

How confident of this are you by the way?

 

[Fire_Monkey]

I hear many people say that you go to hell if you don't believe in Christianity. That includes other religions out there who would make the same claim. I cannot make myself believe no matter what and I have researched all I could into everything I could possibly read into, and I just have to remain undecided. My undecided mindset is the result of a truly honest open mind and open heart. Will I go to hell since I could not believe? Furthermore, do I need to dedicate and serve my life to a God who I don't even believe in the first place in order to be saved from hell?

Please take note that I have tried everything I possibly could and I still cannot believe. There are many other people out there who have tried as well with a truly open mind and heart (for many years, btw) and they cannot believe either. As for those who did believe who claimed they finally realized the truth, I have no way of knowing if they did not keep an open mind like me and that it was their close mindedness that lead them to believe or not.

As for me, there is no way to convince me and I am officially done trying to seek out the Lord. I have no further interest and I am not going to waste my life for what might be years and years over something that might not even be true in the first place. So, why am I here then if nothing can convince me? It is because I am simply wondering if I would go to hell anyway (providing Christianity or other religions are real) over a disbelief that I was genuine and honest about.

You'll be fine, son. (something my old CO in Iraq used to say to the scared new guys. LOL)

Since there is no literal Hell, you do not have to worry about being sent there. Hell is a scare tactic used by theists and godist like the early church in order to wield power on the naive and gullible masses.
An example of that was Martin Luther, and his 95 Theses that he nailed on the Church front door in his town in Germany back in the 16th Century.

Se...ML was a catholic priest! But he was sick and tired of the corruption of the Church and how it took advantage of the deluded flock. They did things like "the selling of Indulgences" where these corrupt priests would tell people they could assure that they, or a loved one, would get to heaven if they paid them a little bribe money! LOL

I know, it is a terrible thing, and is indicative how Hell is used as a scare tactic.

It is completely fictional. Enjoy life to the fullest, leave that fairy tail to the theists.

Hope this helps.

 

[George-ananda]

I am an atheist who cannot believe. Will I go to hell?

I'll go with 'nope' as the answer. I believe the quality of our afterlife is determined by the quality of our hearts and minds and not on our positions on challenging theological issues.

 

[leibowde84]

First I would classify you as agnostic. You still believe in a possibility that you are wrong.

To the op, the answer depends on what type of god or what religions god is real. You have said that you are done trying to find the lord, I would recommend not worrying about the outcome then. If you still are worried about the possibility of going to Hell then you should probably do some more research.

a·the·ism
ˈāTHēˌizəm/
noun

1. disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

"Atheism", by definition, includes those who merely lack belief or are "without" belief. So, agnostics would be included in the term "atheist". They are referred to as "weak atheists".

 

[bobhikes]

a·the·ism
ˈāTHēˌizəm/
noun

1. disbelief or lack of belief in the existence of God or gods.

"Atheism", by definition, includes those who merely lack belief or are "without" belief. So, agnostics would be included in the term "atheist". They are referred to as "weak atheists".

Yes and that hasn't been posted 1 million times or more on the RF. I was responding to the op, you can as well if you want.

 

[Nous]

I hear many people say that you go to hell if you don't believe in Christianity.

The reason hell is so much fun (as one can see on South Park) is because there are none of those snotty, bitter Christians there.

 

[Kenny]

The reason hell is so much fun (as one can see on South Park) is because there are none of those snotty, bitter Christians there.

isn't that a snotty and bitter statement?

 

[Falvlun]

How come you believe in Hell if you don't believe in god?
Hell and god are both man made inventions.

YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HELL - relax and enjoy life

I know there are no monsters in my closet but it still freaks me out a little to keep the door open at night.

Fears aren't always rational.

 

[Nous]

isn't that a snotty and bitter statement?

Actually it was supposed to be funny. That episode of South Park where it showed everyone singing and dancing and partying in hell was pretty funny. I was relieved to find out that Satan has a boyfriend.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

First I would classify you as agnostic. You still believe in a possibility that you are wrong.

Still an atheist. Atheism is simply someone without faith in gods. That's it.

There are false claims that atheists have faith that there are no gods, but that is known as a strawman fallacy.

This is not to say, that certain gods can be demonstratively shown to be impossible to exist, as described. But that is simply the application of logic, in that you cannot have beings which are self-contradictory. Admittedly, that is an assumption as well-- but a very likely one.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

I hear many people say that you go to hell...

One thing I have learned by posting in public, as an unbeliever since 2005 is this.

If non-believers (atheists) were all that bothered by the idea of hell, they would not be unbelievers in the first place...

One of the many things people do, who practice religion (and I used to do this myself, back when I was religious) is practice telling yourself that what you believe is, in fact, what you believe.

I know, I know, that sounds silly now. But anything you wish to do well? Requires practice: playing the piano, playing tennis, painting, speech writing, competitive eating... and?

Thinking. On any subject. To get good at a purely mental activity? You must needs practice-- look at the Grand Masters of Chess (as mental an activity as I can think of off the top of my head). They practice all the time. That's how they got to be Grand Masters.

An Historical figure I have always admired (be he real or legend), was Buddha. Do you imagine he was born as wise as he was, when he died? I think not. I think he was, as a child, as child-like as anyone-- but decades of practice--mental practice is what eventually made him wise.

So. How to instill Faith, if you really want to? You gotta practice. Why do you think that church attendance was mandatory? (well, besides getting all that money away from the flock...)

 

[bobhikes]

Still an atheist. Atheism is simply someone without faith in gods. That's it.

There are false claims that atheists have faith that there are no gods, but that is known as a strawman fallacy.

This is not to say, that certain gods can be demonstratively shown to be impossible to exist, as described. But that is simply the application of logic, in that you cannot have beings which are self-contradictory. Admittedly, that is an assumption as well-- but a very likely one.

Do you guys win something if you claim another atheist is there a monetary reward. I was responding to the OP, if the OP has a problem I'm sure they will provide a definition for me. Personally, I would let the op speak for themselves.

 

[Skwim]

I hear many people say that you go to hell if you don't believe in Christianity. That includes other religions out there who would make the same claim. I cannot make myself believe no matter what and I have researched all I could into everything I could possibly read into, and I just have to remain undecided. My undecided mindset is the result of a truly honest open mind and open heart. Will I go to hell since I could not believe? Furthermore, do I need to dedicate and serve my life to a God who I don't even believe in the first place in order to be saved from hell?

Please take note that I have tried everything I possibly could and I still cannot believe. There are many other people out there who have tried as well with a truly open mind and heart (for many years, btw) and they cannot believe either. As for those who did believe who claimed they finally realized the truth, I have no way of knowing if they did not keep an open mind like me and that it was their close mindedness that lead them to believe or not.

As for me, there is no way to convince me and I am officially done trying to seek out the Lord. I have no further interest and I am not going to waste my life for what might be years and years over something that might not even be true in the first place. So, why am I here then if nothing can convince me? It is because I am simply wondering if I would go to hell anyway (providing Christianity or other religions are real) over a disbelief that I was genuine and honest about.

I am a kind and respectful person, but I only live for my own good feelings. I have no interest in helping others. So, is that a good enough heart that would earn my way into heaven or not?

To many people it doesn't matter how much you try, if you don't believe, you go to hell. PERIOD!

"The truth is that there is only one way for any human being to get to heaven and that is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ."
source (I'm assuming here that there are only two options: heaven or hell)​

For others god makes allowances and may let you into heaven---the allowances depend on what religion you consult. In Catholicism we find that . . .

The Holy Father is full of surprises, born of true and faithful humility. On Wednesday he declared that all people, not just Catholics, are redeemed through Jesus, even atheists. However, he did emphasize there was a catch. Those people must still do good.
source​

And with yet others everyone goes to heaven.

Universalism is the idea that everyone will go to heaven, eventually and regardless of their conduct on earth—good or bad.
source​

If I were you I'd hook up with the Unitarian Universalists, and forget all those who need a father figure in the sky and hell to spur them on to do good.

.
​

 

[VioletVortex]

I understand that I'm probably not really answering your question, but I just wanted to explain this from a Pagan perspective.

Personally, I believe in reincarnation, and that those who are **** to the core do not reincarnate, and decent people will reincarnate. The best get to enjoy a more pleasant afterlife in something along the lines of Valhalla. I do not think that any of this is based in theism. It's about your virtues from a secular point of view. I saw a video of a dirt bike racer running over someone and continuing. People like that are **** to the core, and will not get to enjoy any form of continuation of life. The common man will reincarnate, but lose most of his memories, whereas better people will keep more memories. Beliefs have nothing to do with this IMO. That's one of Christianitiy's biggest faults; that one could be a an awful person and still be granted salvation upon believing in the theology.

Don't get too caught up in afterlife, think about enjoying this life, defending all that you care about, and gaining as much knowledge as possible, and trying to keep it for the next life.