The question wasn't if someone like your brother would go to heaven or hell, it was if someone like you would. If all of the facts you have provided are correct then your brother is not doing everything in his power to be like Jesus, so no he will not go to heaven, nor will you. God will always give the opportunity to people growing up in different geographies to find him and as the bible teaches us, no matter how hard it is to find him, god has always provided us with the tools we needed to do so. And you don't seem to realize that Islam is basically a radical branch off of original Judaism and Christianity, so they really won't have far to go to truly believe in the real God, not the one that many of them seem to believe wants them to kill all of us infidels.

The scriptures say that no one is perfect that only Christ is. Christ came for the lost, the sick....sinners...which is everyone on earth. Works are wonderful but they do not help someone gain access to heaven. Without Christ...no one will spend eternity with God. We will be judges on what we know...and if someone has heard the gospel and are old enough to understand, they will stand at judgement day and have to answer to why they rejected Christ. And the scriptures say that after death, there are no second chances. That is why Christ says to spread the Good News...and tell people so that they will not perish. If Christ didnt matter.......then why did God send Him to brutally be crucified for our sin. If you go to hell it won't be because God wanted you there...if you end up there you make the decision to go. Dont blame Him for what you decided. Why do you hold Christians up to impossible standards?

For believers who sin....God certainly does not let it go. We are his children and He disciplines those He loves. God blesses those who keep His commandments. And if your brother has Christ in his heart but does not live it.....one way or another God will discipline him...your brother can't hide. God spanks, I can vouch for that. I have felt His hand on my backside.

What kind of a God would send His Son to die for us? God is full of love, but He is also a just God and He keeps His promises. He said, believe in me and you will not perish.

It is not about what your standards of right and wrong are but about what God thinks. You will die in your sins without Christ.

I know many people who were brought up Muslim and converted. Ravi Zacharius is one of the greatest Christian apologists of our time and he was brought up in India. I would bet that most places one earth have heard about Christ. As I said, God is just...he knows who has heard. You have heard because I just shared the gospel with you.

Ok i have an answer for you the only way to get to Heaven is only through Jesus Christ if you dont believe in Him then you will go to a place of suffering. God does love everyone but he has to displine his love one and also your brother's religon is wrong because there is only one way to get to heaven and that is throught Jesus not allah or anybody else it is through Him.

Oh don worry! You can worry your ass off and submit in total fear your whole life in order to secure your place in heaven! Yay religion!

See I said I was not sure if I believed or not but no one can answer the questions I posted yet I am being downraved for stating my opinion.

I am not worried about going one way or the other at this point if "God" wants to say this person lived a decent life and did all the things correctly while on earth but wasn't sure if she believed in me or not then I will not grant her access to heaven then it is what it is

If you repent of your sins and turn to God and do his will yah you will go to heaven. If you dont believe in Him then you cant because it says in the Bible that Jesus is the ONLY way to get to heaven nothing else

So let me ask you then, If I believed but was murderer then I still have a place in heaven?

but yet if you are an atheist and don't believe then they don't go to heaven. Does that not sound like hypocrisy to you?

Keep it fair as this is just a debate*

Thou shall not kill.

No, it says in the bible that you have to not only accept Jesus as Lord, but also follow his teachings. Many Christians nowadays prefer to see it the way you just described so that they can live their life without Jesus' teachings and still believe they are going to heaven. If you were a murderer, you would have to truly repent and take Jesus AND his teachings into your heart and live your life like his as best you can. (Keep in mind that we are human and can only try, but God forgives our mistakes as long as we are baptized into Christ)

No its Allah not muhammed...that is God. Muhammed is a prophet. And Muslims never know if they will go to paradise. They can never know....unless the are martyred. Why do you suppose so many are suicide bombers? Jesus says killing for Him is wrong...it is opposite with Islam. They are commanded to use the sword. And what a God...who rewards men with virgins....just wonder what their wives do?

Allah is a fake god. I will not go to hell if i dont believe in him. I belive in a God that can take the human soul away at any moment

Billie, you have yet to address any of the points I brought up about what makes your religion any more entitled to heaven than Islam etc, or what determines belief and why you should reward that.

In which post did you mention this? The one that I just responded to? Since you were discussing with someone else, then I saw no need to reply to every point in your post when I was simply drawn to one particular part, but I think that it is self explanatory why Christians are more deserving of their place in heaven as opposed to Muslims, Jews, atheists etc simply for the fact that they actually believe in Christ for starters.

The creator of the debate does not literally believe in hell, they are saying that based on values found in the bible that god supposedly values like compassion and helping others that atheists would get into heaven. Its called reading between the lines and clearly you are not capable of it

Whilst I am capable of it, I saw the title and proceeded to read through his argument and replied entirely based on what I had just read. Ok, so, based on what you have just said, I still believe that the argument in favour of atheists getting to heaven is bullshit. "Those being in the flesh are unable to please God" "Without faith it is impossible to please God" You seriously need to consider the words of Paul. If one does amazing things that contributes to the poor, orphaned, sick, dying, distressed but does not have faith then his works are all for nothing/dead. But if one has so much faith it could move mountains yet does not do good things, his faith is all for nothing/dead. So what many including yourself have implied here in this debate about Christians getting to heaven whilst being an absolute pig, their faith is actually dead. You speak as though all atheists are kind, loving people living on a bunch of morals - that is absolute and utter bullshit.

I asked you that if you are to claim your God is all loving and all powerful, why does he reward evil, if everything about a person says they are living their lives as a terrible person but they were brought up to believe the "right" answer to the god question

Firstly, may I just state that many are not brought up "right" to "answer the God question". Furthermore, what is the God question? God does in no way reward evil. When did you get this impression? Have you ever heard of Charles Tex Watson? He was a part of a gruesome murdering and has been in prison ever since. But, with the help of someone who he hurt greatly, he was forgiven by God and speaks to the inmates in his prison about what God has done for us all. He is a new person entirely and you can actually watch a rare video clip of him on YouTube where he speaks about his conversion. What I am telling you is that he is a man who was evil, wicked, yet became new and is deserving of his place in heaven because he realizes the evil that he did just like Paul in the bible, and he even has a website where he speaks about God and his conversion in great detail. Now, if you call this God rewarding evil, then I am not quite sure you understand how Christianity works. Every man has come short of the glory of God and it was for every man, woman and child that Jesus died for, including you, me and Charles Tex Watson. If one is living his life as a "terrible person" then what are the chances that he is even a Christian? You get many people that do evil things then claim to be doing it as it is the "will of God" but don't let this fool you as it is merely an excuse for their actions - which is generally seen through more these days than it was in previous years such as the burning of witches etc.

So according to you, let me get this straight, it is better to believe in god than to be a good person, just getting this straight. Hitler believed in God, so does that mean he goes to heaven?

If one believes in God, it is his duty to obey Him which results in charitable actions and love for the poor, sick, orphaned, distressed etc. I have no respect for men who call themselves sons of God yet do not show care and love for those who need it most; it is selfish and something that God does not reward in any way. I am not the judge therefore I cannot determine whether Hitler will go to heaven or not, but taking all into account - he was evil and killed millions simply because he did not like them and this will not sit well with God on judgement day. Here is what to consider: if Hitler repented and meant it with all his heart, he will be forgiven. But, would Hitler, could Hitler, who was evil right till the day he died, truly mean 'sorry'? If he did, he wouldn't have committed suicide without apologizing to all those millions of families that he destroyed. God forgave Saul who murdered thousands and Saul was such a changed man that he changed his name to Paul and dedicated the rest of his life to Him. Did Hitler do this? No, and he killed many more than Saul ever did. The point is, anyone can ask to be forgiven but if the request is fruitless then it will not count. On that note, I think it is more important that before one judges, one should make sure that that judgement cannot and/or will not backfire.

You have yet to address that your religion is any more true than the other.

No, I don’t have to do that. If I want those to share my faith, then shoving reasons down their throat on why to share my faith is never the right way to go about it. On the other hand, is this an indirect way of you seeking to know more about my faith?

They all claim that their god is true and requires belief for reward or to avoid punishment, what makes your claim any different than theirs.

What claim did I originally make that you are referring to here? Specify which so that I can know what exactly you are asking.

I have seen no evidence to make any of these other religions more or less legitimate, i will not believe in your invisible friend anymore than I will believe in their invisible friends

We are equal human beings and both adults therefore I think we can find the goodness in us to respect each other for our differences. Saying that, you have asked a fair few questions about my faith asking me to specify why it is the one true faith so is this a quiz of some kind or are you genuinely interested?

You mean the preacher or your parents or somebody told you the bible was the word of god, and that the bible states belief in Jesus to be the ticket to heaven?

Who are you talking to here, myself or Nautilus? Also, if you could please point out which part of my post (if it is me you are speaking to) that you are targeting then I could understand your point better.

Also, is it always wrong to not do what is "asked of you"?

No matter who you are speaking to, I guess I could answer this here. No, it is not always wrong; if one of my friends told me to kill somebody, I wouldn't do it. But that does not make me wrong for not doing what is asked of me, it makes me right for not doing it. If I am twelve years old and my mother asks me to tidy my messy room and I don't do it, I am wrong for not doing what is asked of me and for disobeying my parents. Different situations and different outcomes - right or wrong.

god with the properties often given to the christian god would do such due to his properties; or is god not kind, accepting, forgiving, all powerful, etc?

So here you are stating that because God is all-loving He will let every man into heaven - or at least all 'good' men into heaven? Whilst I can definitely understand the logic in this, you have to consider that non-believers no matter how charitable and kind they are - they are ignoring God, their back is turned and they do not accept Him or what He has done for us therefore God will not allow them to be with Him for eternity with men who some have devoted their whole lives to Him and even died for Him. It just doesn't work like that.

An atheists properties as you described them would also change dramatically if allowed to enter heaven, for he would have the evidence he needs.

Again, I can understand your logic, but why would God let him into heaven when he had denied Him right up till the day he died, preaching his non-existance and not having any faith in Him whatsoever? Why should God reward that and let the atheist be with His Son who died for the man in a slow agonizing death? He wouldn't, and quite frankly shouldn't have to. If man cannot do even one little thing for God then why should he be allowed to spend a peaceful eternity with Him?

What you do and what you believe holds equal importance in Christian religion. You have to be baptized into Jesus and believe in him, so as to recognize the sacrifice he made to wash clean your sins. Regardless of how "good" the person is, you need to be perfect for God to accept you into his kingdom, as taught by him. The only way to achieve this is through Jesus. But even if you are baptized, God will not just accept you into heaven, by not being committed to doing what is right and what God wishes you to do, you are denying the teachings of Jesus and showing that you don't truly believe in him. And don't tell me that a religion that has a large population of whom wishes to commit suicide while killing the greatest number of "infidels" as possible, is more developed, that argument doesn't now, nor will it ever make sense. And don't talk about the crusades here, especially in how "developed" the religions are, because if they are a marker of how we "developed", we passed the "violent" stage long ago.