Murderers, Rapists, Pedophiles and Heaven - Lovely?

Question

Can someone explain to me how a pedophile, rapist, serial murderer etc can repent and go to heaven while a normal never-commited-a-crime individual goes to hell for not beliving in God?

Answer 1

I agree that it is stupid! How does it seem righteous that while a murderer that has killed several children or a rapist has destroyed countless of lives by his actions be able to enjoy the greatness of Heaven (if it is real) while the rest of the families must deal with the pain of losing a loved one or live with the horror of that experience!

Meanwhile little old granny that doesn't hurt a fly, volunteers and does bake sales, goes to hell cause she doesn't believe that God exists

Answer 2

First off, lets debunk the hell myth.

There is no hell.

Biblical scripture says that there is a place called Sheol, that all people's souls wait until the end days. It is divided in half, believers and non-believrs.

The place where the non-believers are is not fire and brimstone and torture, its just kinda bland. The place where the believers are is nice and pretty and has something called the water of life. And both sides can see each other. But NO ONE IS BEING TORTURED FOR ETERNITY.

Then at the end of the earth, everyone is judged. And everyone gets to be back on the earth again. So everyone that hung around in that boring place will have a chance to choose God if they want to (AGAIN!!) So if you didn't believe in your only life, you can then! I believe this will be during the 1000 year reign of Christ.

Finally the battle of good and evil will take place. And I think we will probably have to fight in that too.

Now to your murderer/rapist question. If someone truly repents and changes their love and honestly truly loves God and follows him and seeks him out, then yes, that murderer/pedophile/rapist can go to heaven. Honestly though, this actually happens very rarely. People that are THAT BAD in one part of their life, are basically possessed, driven by bad (the devil). And I'm not saying that their heart cant change, but they have to remove all the power that the devil has over them psychologically. And this is very hard. All things are possible through God, but when people are this deep into evil... It takes alot of prayer, and usually someone who God appoints, to help this person out of this horrible situation. So yes, in theory, that bad person can go to heaven. But realistically, its gonna take ALOT ALOTTA LOT of work.

And when it comes to the normal good person, there's no hell, so they're not going! And in reality, God so fair, that he'll give them another chance, when they live during His 1000 year reign. Then it is up to them! If they can't see that Jesus is Lord when he upheaves the world and reigns for 1000 years well then I wish them the best!

~ Also I bet your wondering where the idea of hell came from? And I believe it originated from early Roman Catholicism. But Biblically, the place hell does not exist. Although the word hell is used to describe the eventual fate of those who don't eventually, even after their human death and the 1000 year reign believe. And even then, you are not tortured for eternity. If after everything is said and done and you still chose not to believe in God, you are "thrown into the lake of fire." Which basically means your soul ceases to exist...

IN OTHER WORDS: NO ONE IS TORTURED IN A FIREY EXISTANCE FOR ETERNITY. EVEN THE DEVIL JUST CEASES TO EXIST!!

Answer 3

The Christian religion belives that asking for forgivness and meaning it, gets you into heaven. You are forgiven of those crimes in the eyes of god.

Keep in mind also, pedophiles use to be legal. Look at the ages girls were married off in days gone by. Alot of what is considered pedophile actions today, use to be normal in biblical times, so those "sins" may not even be counted against you.

Also rape was allowed and encouraged in certain situations. If you defeated a people, you got to take your pick of women and own them. So some rape today might be nonsin.

Answer 4

Everyone gets judged on the merits of their actions.

Somebody wouldn't neccessarily go to hell for not beleiving in God but if they are aggressively opposed so as to turn people away from God, that's not exactly something in their favour.

Nobody should ever take their condemnation or salvation for granted. Every action and every word tips the scales throughout our entire life.

Try to judge the actions of the person, not the person themselves.
I don't beleive in the death sentence but I do beleive that those you mentioned above should never be released from prison once convicted as they have no place in society.

Don't presume that an atheist would go to Hell, it's God's decision not mankinds.

Answer 5

Here is the key difference. Going to heaven is for those who have a relationship with God. But the Bible does say that people who are sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God and that also goes to those who are murderers as well. The reason they cannot inherit the kingdom of God is that they are cheapening God's grace.

Now if they are truly repentant (not just a quick prayer to avoid retribuution but an honestly repentant, I will from now on change my ways and become renewed to living my life for God and following his commands to love one another and by doing so showing the love of God), God forgives anyone. But it all goes back to whether the person wants a real relationship with God and to follow in his footsteps.

That's what is so amazing about forgiveness through Christ, he can and will forgive any mistakes and sin we have done in our past no matter how bad, as long as we are really repentant.

However, we don't get to heaven to be in the presence of God through our works, but through the grace of God.

Here is the scripture from I Corinthians 6:9-11:
9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Answer 6

You asked "how" and that is an area of science I can't touch.

We will all be judged, and yes there is accountability in God's Kingdom. But be careful what you would deny another soul for it's guilt, because we are all guilty of something, and it might be held against us accordingly. It is not the way of the Christian to condemn, but we know condemnation and we fear it. Therefore we must trust the One with the most information to provide the best justice.


Matthew 20
1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went.

"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

8"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'

9"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Answer 7

The law of karma says that we reap whatever we sow whether a murderer, a rapist or a good sameritan.

Answer 8

Because the whole church/religious system is stupid and a bunch of Bull. No one goes to heaven and no one goes to hell... we all go to a nice hole in the ground or sometimes we get tossed in the fire... o0o0o0 or cryogenically frozen!

Answer 9

Someone who repents is not given a one-way ticket to Heaven. There are some sins that cannot and should not be forgiven.

Answer 10

Murderers, Rapists, Pedophiles- Liberal