Assumptions: Heaven is a place of God.
Hell is a place devoid of God.
If you love God you want to be with God.
This question takes place in the Christian Realm. But Gandhi never accepted Christ as his savior. However, he did, and there is no argument against this, unselfish, good things throughout his life. Yet, the fact remains that he never accepted Christ as his savior.
By this logic, since Gandhi never accepted 'God,' he must go to Hell, a place devoid of that God whose acceptance he denied.
But this sounds a little off, because Gandhi was still a good Guy. Why does Christianity exclude good people? Wouldn't the point of the religion, in its (excuse my introduction of another theme) 'pure' form, want to encourage people to live good lives? So living a good life is less important than accepting Christ as his savior?
It seems contradictory to me.
2007-02-20 09:44:00 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory
Purgatory is a doctrine in the Roman Catholic Church, which posits that those who die in a state of grace undergo a purification in order to achieve the holiness necessary to enter heaven.[1] This purification of the elect, while traditionally seen a fiery punishment for sins, is declared to be entirely different from the punishment of the damned in hell.[2] The Catholic doctrine holds that the souls in purgatory undergo temporal punishment due to venial sins or as satisfaction due to their transgressions,[3] and that they can be aided by the prayer and sufferings of the faithful and the Sacrifice of the Mass.[4] Hence central to the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory is prayer for the dead.
The Eastern Orthodox believe not in purgatory but in hades, the abode of the dead where the saved have a prevision of glory and the damned a foretaste of eternal punishment. The main Protestant belief is of an instantaneous and painless event, glorification, by which the Holy Spirit regenerates those whose sins have been forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. Certain Islamic and Jewish beliefs are sometimes interpreted to be similar or equivalent"
One wonders why there would be a 'too late' clause in the Man/God contract.
2007-02-20 13:23:19 · answer #1 · answered by Psyengine 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Wow. How very deep.
I would suggest reading Dantes Inferno. Hell and Heaven have different levels. More evil or greater ones sin is the closer to the Devil the are and the more pure christian life they live the closer to the saints and God they are in Heaven. I believe that Dante would have place Gandhi in Purgatory. Unable to enter heaven because he hasn't accepted God but b/c of his good deeds which emulate God - even Gandhi himself didn't believe in God - would not make him a candidate for Hell.
2007-02-20 09:50:58 · answer #2 · answered by AthenaGenesis 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How do you know that your logic and assumptions are enough to state that Gandhi is going to hell?
Isn't that better left to his judgement day? Shouldn't you be more concerned about your own future with God? Don't worry about the fate of a soul already gone from us. You don't have to concern yourself with a demonstrable act of faith on God's part. Live your life as best you can under God's guidance, let God take care of everyone else.
Leave the perceived contradictions to the Sophists.
2007-02-20 11:58:33 · answer #3 · answered by the old dog 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is like a mafia principle, if you are not one of us, you are not allow to be in. You don' have to be good people to be in heaven,as long as you accept Jesus. That's all to it.
The question is are you in or are you out.
On the other hand, what is it matter to you the most. Being a good person, respected and loved. Or for the sake for "in" and "pledge" to something that you don't believe in.
Ghandi was fighting the British for the independent of India. Many of those British were Catholic and Christian. They suppress the Indian and in some case massacre civilians. Well, since those soldiers were believer, they very well go to Heaven. Well do you think Ghandi and his followers would like to spend his eternity with those people ?
In short, Ghandi is a class of his own. If he doesn't end up in a place where only the best follow spend their eternity in, then where is the justice.
2007-02-20 10:35:32 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Those (quite numerous) who envision Gandhi in Hell believe that NO ONE is inherently good without adopting Christ as a divine Scapegoat; this supposed "evilness" is retroactive to the fall of Adam and Eve. Thus, Gandhi cannot be admitted to heaven merely by dint of his good deeds. He needs the intervention of Jesus. In short, among Christian fundamentalists, the answer to your last question is an unqualified "yes."
2007-02-20 09:58:56 · answer #5 · answered by M. 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The whole idea of accepting Jesus as your only Savior is a christian propaganda to recruiter more people to the Christianity and there is nothing religious in that crap. It is illogical to think that all the people who were born before Jesus and the people of all other faiths will go to hell simply because they didn't accept Jesus as their only Savior. You can go to heaven only through Jesus is true then Jesus didn't go to Heaven logically speaking of course. What about that?
2007-02-20 11:04:46 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your good works on this earth cannot get you in to Heaven. However you really don't know what happened for sure between God and Gandhi right at the moment of Gandhi's death. "For he wishes none to perish but all to have everlasting life".
2007-02-20 09:54:03 · answer #7 · answered by Laura S 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christianity does not exclude good people. Good people exclude themselfs. God sent his son as a gift. We have a choice accept it or not. If someone gave you a Christmas present and you declined, could you really get mad at them for giving the present to someone else. God offers this present to everyone. Gandhi had a choice just as much as anyone else, God does not play favorites. He sent Jesus as punishement for sin. We either choose or reject it. So it as our responsibality to make the right choice.
2007-02-20 09:56:08 · answer #8 · answered by akballer 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
By logic of Christianity then you would assume that Gandhi would end up there. But who are we to assume where he ends up? We are not God. Only God knows where he is.
2007-02-20 09:52:01 · answer #9 · answered by KOI 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You see, Gandhi believed in a different religion. Therefor, he is going to Heaven in his religion. No one knows the truth whether this religion is right or wrong, we just have faith that it is. So we really don't know what happens after we die.
2007-02-20 10:14:17 · answer #10 · answered by Anna Banana 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋