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

[Bob the Unbeliever]

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.

No. I am just annoyed when people use terminology in a false or misleading way.

Too many people are under the erroneous impression that "agnostic" is somehow 1/2 way between "atheist" and "theist".

That is false-- atheist/theist is like live/dead. Or pregnant/not-pregnant. There is no 1/2 way between those states-- you are one or you are the other.

Doubt has nothing to do with it, really... doubt is simply a measure of faith-- or the lack thereof.

 

[David T]

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 wy into heaven or not?

well " believing" is kind of a silly way to order ones life at a fundemental level Don't you think?. I have no idea why a that of any of the following "belief, theory, hypothesis, or speculation" becomes the basis for ones daily existence at all. I may " believe" that mcdonalds is down the road to the right I am not about to have that phenomena be fundemental. So since ypu find that to be invalid personally religiously, you have to start eliminating it everywhere else as well or really religion was just an excuse. I don't think that I true with you. In regards to heaven. Its a lot closer than you think but sometimes understandinding that is not all goodie goodie. maybe willful blissful ignorance is the best. Then again... maybe not on other days!!!

 

[QuestioningMind]

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?

I'm convinced that is there is a creator God then He will compliment me for having used my rational reasoning brain as was intended, unlike so many who willfully shut down the rational reasoning portion of their brains in order to believe in some man made fairy tale.

 

[Geoff-Allen]

God would have 2 be mighty lame 2 feel the desire 2 torture people for eternity merely because of their beliefs.

Try to enjoy this life and then enjoy the afterlife if there is one ...

All the best

 

[Cobol]

The doctrine of hell is the cause of about 95% of what’s wrong with fundamentalism. Most mainline Christians don’t believe in hell anymore. Even the most determined and efficient psychopath could not get through enough evil in one lifetime to deserve eternal damnation.

Don't worry! Their is a solution, and the solution is: Stop believing in hell.

 

[Skwim]

The doctrine of hell is the cause of about 95% of what’s wrong with fundamentalism. Most mainline Christians don’t believe in hell anymore. Even the most determined and efficient psychopath could not get through enough evil in one lifetime to deserve eternal damnation.

Don't know what your source is, but as an FYI . . . . .

.​

 

[George-ananda]

No. I am just annoyed when people use terminology in a false or misleading way.

Too many people are under the erroneous impression that "agnostic" is somehow 1/2 way between "atheist" and "theist".

That is false-- atheist/theist is like live/dead. Or pregnant/not-pregnant. There is no 1/2 way between those states-- you are one or you are the other.

Doubt has nothing to do with it, really... doubt is simply a measure of faith-- or the lack thereof.

But atheism and theism are just beliefs not things. It's certainly possible to be undecided; at 50/50.

 

[Vancouversailor]

This non existent place you talk about, hell, is the fabrication of the fraudulent minds of medieval monks and modern day bible thumpers and has no biblical, historical or scientific basis whatsoever. The chance of your ending up in this mythological place of demons and sulphur and fire is about the same as your chance of being struck in the head by a piece of green cheese falling from the moon. And that is a fact. Now if you aren't interested in facts but are willing to accept the above delusions, then you are in fact creating your own hell on earth, something many people choose to do of course.

 

[j76]

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.

I agree that he sounds like an agnostic. One avenue for him might be to explore more fully what the secular arguments are. One interesting secular argument that has been popping up a lot lately on the internet that he can get started with is connecting the "Judeo Christian" tradition to the "Noble Lie" tradition. If he (or anyone) is interested in reading about this secular argument against faith, here is a brief blog post about it:

Palpatine's Way

I hope that helps.

 

[bobhikes]

No. I am just annoyed when people use terminology in a false or misleading way.

Too many people are under the erroneous impression that "agnostic" is somehow 1/2 way between "atheist" and "theist".

That is false-- atheist/theist is like live/dead. Or pregnant/not-pregnant. There is no 1/2 way between those states-- you are one or you are the other.

Doubt has nothing to do with it, really... doubt is simply a measure of faith-- or the lack thereof.

Then you should start using the term Agnostic right. It does not have anything to do with belief in God. Agnosticism is the Belief that it is not possible to prove whether God exists or not. Agnostics do not lack knowledge of God in fact generally have knowledge of more than one. There are both Agnostic Atheists and Agnostic Theists. I know as I have personally spoke with both in life and also debated both on the RF.

From the Op He talks about Atheism which is lack of knowledge of god or belief in no god. In the same point he asks if he is going to hell which depends on god. That would be an undecided.

 

[Spiderman]

You will not go to Hell if you didn't consciously know you were rejecting the truth. Jesus forgave those who were crucifying him by saying from the cross "Father forgive them for they know not what they do". Jesus also said the blind were not guilty of sin.

God knows that you were unable to believe. After your heart stops beating and before you are judged you will be fully enlightened to know the truth. You will have open eyes and given the oppurtunity to repent if you want to spend eternity with God.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

From the Op He talks about Atheism which is lack of knowledge of god or belief in no god. In the same point he asks if he is going to hell which depends on god. That would be an undecided.

He still has no faith in gods-- therefore? Atheist.

"undecided" has little or nothing to do with this issue, actually. You either have faith-- or you do not have faith.

You can decide to *try* to get some faith, somehow-- and indeed there exist mechanisms that are quite good at the necessary brain-washing to create faith in people. (else religion would have vanished with the death of the very first god-promoter)

Or you can decide to simply ignore it.

There is no real way to suddenly choose to have faith-- no more than you can suddenly choose to grow a third hand...

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Then you should start using the term Agnostic right. It does not have anything to do with belief in God. Agnosticism is the Belief that it is not possible to prove whether God exists or not. Agnostics do not lack knowledge of God in fact generally have knowledge of more than one. There are both Agnostic Atheists and Agnostic Theists. I know as I have personally spoke with both in life and also debated both on the RF.

I did not use it incorrectly, other than to point out that "agnostic" is too often used to mean the purely non-existant "half way between theist and atheist"-- which is nonsense. You have faith (theist) or you do not (atheist). There cannot be "half-and-half". It's not a cuppa coffee.

You can assert it is possible to know about god(s) (gnostic) or you can assert that it isn't possible (agnostic).

I always thought the two states of "agnostic" were rather extreme-- and more to the point, a case of "cart before the horse". Until (if ever) theists manage to show actual facts and/or proof, that at least one (1) god does, in fact, exist? Agnostic is rather a moot point-- pure speculation, in other words. Describing the paint on a house that isn't even built yet...

Agnostics do not lack knowledge of God in fact generally have knowledge of more than one.

<--

Here you contradict your earlier statement:

Agnosticism is the Belief that it is not possible to prove whether God exists or not.

If you have knowledge of god or gods? You are not an agnostic... rather by definition! You are a gnostic-theist.

Perhaps you intended to mean, "knowledge of what people claim about gods" in your second statement? And that is a completely different animal altogether.

Knowledge of what other people claim? Is simply knowledge of other people. It has nothing, really, to do with gods' existing or not existing, or being able to know about such (possibly) existing beings or not being able to.

 

[bobhikes]

He still has no faith in gods-- therefore? Atheist.

"undecided" has little or nothing to do with this issue, actually. You either have faith-- or you do not have faith.

You can decide to *try* to get some faith, somehow-- and indeed there exist mechanisms that are quite good at the necessary brain-washing to create faith in people. (else religion would have vanished with the death of the very first god-promoter)

Or you can decide to simply ignore it.

There is no real way to suddenly choose to have faith-- no more than you can suddenly choose to grow a third hand...

So now No faith in Gods is Atheist too. You can believe gods exist and just not have faith in those Gods and your Atheist.

So Atheist Lack of knowledge of God, No belief in god and now no faith in God pretty soon its going to be belief in god but not practicing and belief in god but I don't like any religions.

Here's an Idea let people determine for themselves what they want to be called.

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

You will have open eyes and given the oppurtunity to repent if you want to spend eternity with God.

*whew*.... that's a relief!

You had me going there for a second-- I am so glad I will get the opportunity to absolutely REFUSE to have anything to do with a god who permits cancer in infants.... such a being is unworthy of anything but utter and complete contempt.


"God works in mysterious, ineffective and breathtakingly cruel ways" ~ anon.

 

[bobhikes]

I did not use it incorrectly, other than to point out that "agnostic" is too often used to mean the purely non-existant "half way between theist and atheist"-- which is nonsense. You have faith (theist) or you do not (atheist). There cannot be "half-and-half". It's not a cuppa coffee.

You can assert it is possible to know about god(s) (gnostic) or you can assert that it isn't possible (agnostic).

I always thought the two states of "agnostic" were rather extreme-- and more to the point, a case of "cart before the horse". Until (if ever) theists manage to show actual facts and/or proof, that at least one (1) god does, in fact, exist? Agnostic is rather a moot point-- pure speculation, in other words. Describing the paint on a house that isn't even built yet...

<--

Here you contradict your earlier statement:

If you have knowledge of god or gods? You are not an agnostic... rather by definition! You are a gnostic-theist.

Perhaps you intended to mean, "knowledge of what people claim about gods" in your second statement? And that is a completely different animal altogether.

Knowledge of what other people claim? Is simply knowledge of other people. It has nothing, really, to do with gods' existing or not existing, or being able to know about such (possibly) existing beings or not being able to.

Human knowledge right or wrong is knowledge and its the only knowledge possible. Do you get your knowledge from someone other than a human?

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

So now No faith in Gods is Atheist too. You can believe gods exist and just not have faith in those Gods and your Atheist.

This has always been the correct definition. Actually. Faith in gods? Theist. No faith in gods? Atheist.

It is exactly that simple.

This is, sadly, because so far? There are exactly zero (0) objective facts in support of the existence of god(s). Therefore? Faith is the single and solitary mechanism people must use, here.

You have faith, or you do not: there isn't a half-faith thing. Like being pregnant-- you are, or you are not.

So Atheist Lack of knowledge of God,

Hint: EVERYONE-- no exceptions-- lack knowledge of gods! At best, what you have is knowledge of claims about gods.

No belief in god and now no faith in God pretty soon its going to be belief in god but not practicing and belief in god but I don't like any religions.

Here's an Idea let people determine for themselves what they want to be called.

If everyone invented their own words, willy-nilly? All useful communication would be lost...

 

[Bob the Unbeliever]

Human knowledge right or wrong is knowledge and its the only knowledge possible. Do you get your knowledge from someone other than a human?

Nope, incorrect. I can (and have) performed experiments on my own, or traveled to places to see for myself. I have the capability to observe on my own.

Therefore, I can gain knowledge without anyone else participating.


Thus, your claim is false, as your statement assumes that all knowledge comes from other humans.

 

[bobhikes]

This has always been the correct definition. Actually. Faith in gods? Theist. No faith in gods? Atheist.

It is exactly that simple.

This is, sadly, because so far? There are exactly zero (0) objective facts in support of the existence of god(s). Therefore? Faith is the single and solitary mechanism people must use, here.

You have faith, or you do not: there isn't a half-faith thing. Like being pregnant-- you are, or you are not.



Hint: EVERYONE-- no exceptions-- lack knowledge of gods! At best, what you have is knowledge of claims about gods.



If everyone invented their own words, willy-nilly? All useful communication would be lost...

Communication would be pretty funny, I know you keep making me laugh.

 

[bobhikes]

Nope, incorrect. I can (and have) performed experiments on my own, or traveled to places to see for myself. I have the capability to observe on my own.

Therefore, I can gain knowledge without anyone else participating.


Thus, your claim is false, as your statement assumes that all knowledge comes from other humans.

So you not human, I always wanted to meet and Alien or God. Do you live nearby. I'm in NJ.