Most Faiths state: believe in me or you will go to hell. Does that not mean we will all go to hell?

Question

Most religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to hell. Since, there is more than one of these religions and people do not belong to more than one religion, does that not mean we are all doomed to hell?

I'm going to leave picking the "best answer" up to you guys. It feels wrong for me just to pick someone's oppinion I happen to agree with.

Answer 1

Of this list of world religions, I think that only the top two religions believe this way. While that includes over half of the general world population, there are many other religions with different beliefs.
http://adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html

Answer 2

Heh heh... this will differ with every person that you ask because it is completely subject to opinion. Let's (for the sake of argument) assume that there is a "God" above and there is a "Heaven". Most will teach that the deity is all good and all loving. Doesn't that mean they are all-forgiving as well? Seems to me that a religion that preaches forgiveness ought to have a "God" that is forgiving. Here's where the contradiction begins. As forgiving as that "God" may be, it will caste you to a bad place if you do not believe in it. Doesn't sound right to me. In the end, most religions are man made. Think of it this way....

Mormons.... Joe Smith claims to find the dead sea scroll and claims he is the only one who can decipher it.... leading to the book of Mormons. I'm not sure I'm buying that one... that's like me saying that God spoke to me and thus, the Holy Order of Paulyterp is created.

Anglicans... King Henry (8th I think??) decides that he wants a divorce. Catholics are not allowed to divorce (technically) so he decided to break away and have his own religion where divorce is allowed. It came across the ocean and became the Episcopalian church.... how convenient.

In the end, religion is a way for humans to share a belief and take comfort that there is something greater than us out there. If there IS a God out there (I believe there is...) what do you think (s)he would say about us putting words into his/her mouth?? I think the bottom line is that we respect each other, try our best to be the best people we can be, and hope that in the end, we will be rewarded. And if you don't believe in the Holy Pepperoni Pizza, I'm sure the Holy Pizza won't come after you and banish you to Pizza Hell. :-D

Answer 3

Actually, most don't. The Eastern Dharmic religions are based on karma, and not so much what you believe (although I suppose it helps to beleive in what they see as good and evil). It's mainly the Abrahamic religeons that say that if you don't beleive in the right one you'll go to Hell, but even then, not all denominations/sects of those religions think that correct faith is the deciding factor (Catholics inparticular). Also, the Islamic Hell, is a temporary place, kind of like a purgatory And in the Hebrew Torah Hell isn't mentioned (as far as I know). If you're an evil person you just arent given the gift of eternal life in heaven, and cease to exist after death.

And, of course, everyone won't go to hell if there IS one true religion and it does require you to have faith in it. Cause, if so, we would all go to our individual Heavens, as well if we followed whatever diety we wished (correctly).

Answer 4

I think you need to go back and study the vast majority of religions. I can only find two: Islam and Christianity; that teach "if you aren't of this religion then you aren't right and will be 1) punished 2) not get to the divine 3) suffer 4) your existence will just end" (varying because of the various denominational/sectarian belief differences). Otherwise the vast majority of other religions seem to have a live and let live attitude. Paganism, Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Shinto, Taoism, Shamanism, etc all seem to have the attitude that one religion isn't necessarily right, but that they are right for some people and not right for others and that is why people are one but not the other. Judaism sees itself as having a special relationship with God, but it never teaches that the God of the universe isn't available to others or that they won't reach heaven. It just teaches that those in Judaism have set up a special contract with God. Hinduism teaches that all religions are merely different paths to the same goal. Paganism and Shamanism is similar. Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism each teach that they are just one path that some will choose and that others are equally valid (much like Hinduism). Taoism never says that it is the ultimate religion and that if you don't follow its teachings that you'll suffer, are doomed, or will perish. It makes it clear that everyone can know "the Way", but each finds it on their own in their own religious traditions. Shinto never teaches that it is the only religion...probably because it has long coexisted alongside Buddhism and Taoism in Japan. It does seem like an exclusively Japanese religion, but it never even teaches that it is exclusively Japanese either (which explains why Shintos around the world have built temples elsewhere as well to the Kami that are part of that region). It seems the only religions that condemn others for not being a part of their religion are Christianity and Islam and even then there are sects/branches/groups within them that reject this notion altogether...even if they are the minority. Coincidently Christianity and Islam are also the two most active missionary religions in the world with other religions not bothering to go about trying to convert others to their religion....again a live and let live attitude.

And for the record many religions don't have a concept of hell or a place of torment in the afterlife. About the closest some religions get to the idea of hell as described by western religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Baha'i) is something more closer to purgatory as described in Catholicism. A temporary state of existence away from heaven that ultimately either leads one to be purified and then enter heaven......and in some religions, especially eastern religions, heaven is temporary and there is yet an even higher goal to reach/be unified/etc with something higher (Brahman, Tao, etc) and thus this is why reincarnation is a big concept in those religions.

Answer 5

Ásatrú does not teach that at all. The Norse Gods could care less if you worship them or not, hell, they do not even like you to bow down to them. No Ásatrúar believes that people of other faiths will be punished for the way they believe. Nor do any of us think our religion is right for everyone.

We do have Hel (a word that Christians stole), but it is nothing at all like the Christian version. In fact, in Ásatrú Hel is actually a rather pleasant and cheery place were some souls await rebirth.

Answer 6

Hell doesn't exist. So the answer is no. Speaking from a Christian standpoint, the bible book of Genesis tells us that when Adam & Eve sinned and were condemned to death, God said "dust you are, and to dust you will return".

Since God created them from dust, he simply meant, 'when you die, you will go back to the earth where you came from.'

That's it. No fire, no devil, no horns, no eternal suffering. All that stuff is made up. Not based on the bible at all. Some people misconstrue the metaphors and contexts of bible passages but there is absolutely no mention of the "hell" that many people believe today. That concept was made a long time ago to scare people into religion.

The truth is, no matter what you believe, both science and the Bible prove that when you die, you just go back to the earth (buried, cremation whatever . . .)

Answer 7

well according to some religions yes everybody who's not of thier particular religion is going to hell but not all religions preach this concept as most religions don't believe in the concept of hell

Answer 8

Absolutely!
If you don't believe in their particular vision of what God is, thinks and does - you're for it!
Therefore we're all going to end up in someone else's hell.
Unless it's just one huge, ever expanding hell with several different doors.
It's all a bit tricky.
Evil Nykk - you sound like my sort of girl.
Jon C

Answer 9

Maybe if they are all true, but not all of them are true. The religions you refer to all follow the same God. Maybe one of them is right (Christianity) and had the true secret for avoiding hell. (Jesus)

If you dont want to go to hell, nobody has to; that is the one great thing about hell- it is TOTALLY AVOIDABLE. God isnt playing mind games and trying to confuse the truth, Satan is. But with Gods help you can discern the truth and avoid hell. God takes no pleasure in punishing people, he would much rather reward you.

Answer 10

The Baha'i Faith doesn't teach that. Baha'u'llah taught that heaven and hell are symbolic states of being, referring to nearness and remoteness from God respectively. They are not places. They can exist in this world or in the afterlife.