I've been baptized, but I'm now agnostic. So am i going to hell?

Question

I grew up in a Christian family. I was baptized and was reluctantly forced to attend Sunday school until I was 11. My parents still go to church every Sunday. Now I am currently agnostic but I am seeking other religious beliefs as potential options in my future. I am just curious, in the eyes of others, am I going to heaven or hell and why? I'm not sure if heaven or hell exist but I’m not positive they don't either. I just want to hear what other people think. (I'm preparing myself for some religious fundamentalists critiques however I’d like everyone and anyone’s opinion =])

For everyone saying "You don't believe you are going to hell" What if a genunine, kind, person who saves lives, loves his/her family respects others, and is just a pleasant person doesn't believe? Do they go to hell? If so, why?!?! I believe christianity has too many contradictions. I thought God loved everyone. I thought God was kind. If that is the case, why would he exclude anyone from heaven and send them to such a hell????

Answer 1

No you are not going to Hell...!!!!!!

You seem to be a person who is inquisitive and aware.. (thats why you are asking the questions... right?)

From an atheists point of view, there is no heaven or hell. It is what we make ourselves. If we make a bad choice that we regret later then we are in hell. If we make the right choice (solely from a personal perspective) then we have peace of mind and we do not regret it, then we are in heaven.

I would say read about different religions

1. Monotheistic - Christian, Islam
2. Hindu philosophy
3. Buddhism .. etc

Don't get astray by what people say about religion like "you go to Hell because .... " or "You would go to Heaven only if you do blah blah blah" .. make your choice.

Being Agnostic is the best of both worlds, you are not committed and you still have the breadth of thinking to grow.

If somebody tells you that you would go to hell, ask them what hell is and they would not know the answer. btw: when you die, your body does not feel any pain. So ask them what pain are they referring to.

You be as you are and make your own decisions.

Answer 2

Heaven and hell shouldn't be a determining factor in your religious beliefs. Religion is a communal atmosphere of shared beliefs and values. It's not the blind faith to be saved from hell that makes you a good person, it's your actions (doing what you think is right for the benefit of those around you). A perfect God of an understanding and forgiving nature will appreciate a true effort, and if there is an afterlife, you will be rewarded. Worrying about if you are going to Heaven or Hell (even putting your faith in it in my opinion), is a selfish reason to be in a religion in the first place. You are doing that faith and it's values an injustice by saying it's traditions are not as important as your outcome.

Answer 3

You can see from some of these responses that many Christians out there really operate out of fear. It is very courageous to say you are an agnostic! In my experience as a former Christian, they all feel doubt at one time or another and then suppress it out of the fear of hell. My question: if you believe in God (and I no longer do, and yes it was very courageous to speak the words in my heart knowing that "God" could hear me), why would God mind you asking questions? There is so much reason to doubt (try Richard Dawkins' book as a starter) -- if God was so wise and invented the physics and chemistry that make up this universe in its macroscopic and microscopic detail, then WHY would He mind you seeking answers to this magnificence? Many Christians are scared of science because it keeps showing that God isn't necessarily involved in the minutia of our lives, so they fear science. Yet if God WERE real, he would LOVE that we seek to know more about what he created, and I dare say, his wisdom would prefer that we use clear heads to seek answers rather than blindly saying "I will never believe what I see or what I understand, but only what this Bible says BECAUSE it says it." The Bible was written in another age, by people of a very different mindset and knowledge-base. i.e, prone to belief and to make myths to explain their beliefs. Remember, ancient peoples also came up with Zeus and Medusa. Through fear of Hell, Christian churches keep people "believing" even when they aren't sure they really do. I say be free, open your eyes, and get rid of this fear in your life.

Answer 4

I'd say go ahead and read the Bible on your own. It is God and only God can decide who goes to Heaven. God is always just and loving. The standard lies in the Bible. I can not say that every Church is Godly or does God's will regardless what that Church thinks.

The story is about God created man but man believed lies rather than God therefor brought death on man kind. God sent his only son Jesus to be a man and died on the cross to conquer death, so man can have ever lasting life again, through faith in Jesus Christ. Man has long been deceived into thinking that God set laws on mankind to restrict man, and man tends to rebell against God. The Bible tells who really God is. He is much better than anyone man can be. And he is holly.

Read it on your own, and ask God whatever your questions maybe. God doesn't lead man astray, but man can and often does. God luck and God bless!

Answer 5

Only God knows the final outcome and whether your heart will ultimately say "yes" or "no" to him.

You still have your whole life ahead of you. If I could save you time and heartache, I would say to you "Please reconsider - read the gospels, ask God for wisdom and guidance, there is no better answer out there and no better way to live your life" I would plead with you because I didn't become a Christian until I was 19 and I explored so many other religions & philosophies of life: Islam, Tao, Transcendental Meditation, Tarot, occult, Buddhism etc. I tried so many things but they all left me empty and disappointed... I was so lonely and desperate that I dropped out of school and was considering suicide. But then I asked Jesus to be the Lord of my life.

I now know God personally and his wisdom has helped me with every aspect of my life. I couldn't ask for a better friend or better truth.

So I wish I could save you time and pain, but I can't - you will explore and make your own decisions - just don't rule out Jesus - read the gospels and learn about who he really is if you haven't!

Answer 6

i'm an ex-catholic and now i consider myself a non-denominational spiritual person. i have studied many different paths read many spiritual books, and i see so many similarities and shared truth in all of the world's religions. i think that most religions are based in high Truth- but man has distorted and used these religions to control the masses and keep people living in fear

i believe that Jesus was an elightened person who came here to teach other people "the way" to enlightenment. (heaven) Just like the Buddha his goal was to help others achieve what he himself was living. I think many of his messages are misinterpreted, especially that "accepting him in your heart" really means to look within, to forgive and live in the present moment, to love unconditionally- and you too will be self-realized, or enlightened. he taught the method of meditation and self awarness..this is being 'saved' from life without knowing God, (hell) the Divinity that everyone has access to by going within.

every culture has different myths and metaphor to explain the Divine- and each has their own version of the 'savior'

Answer 7

every mythology has it's own interpretation of heaven and hell.

you have to believe in somewhere to end up there.

i don't believe in hell, so in my book you are not going there, doesn't exist.

i was raised in a similar background.

since then, i've seen that there is only one god, but every society finds a different way to honor him.

each mythology has it's own path, and it's own reward.

but so many religions are just that.

you have to honor what you image of the surpreme being is, if you do this, you will be rewarded.

if not, well if god is all loving and all caring, they you have to be forgiven, if you did something wrong.

if you are questioning your beliefs, then you are in the same class as mother theresa from the recent news of her journals and letters.

so, be calm, and know that if you are good, you will be rewarded.

and ignore the crazies who will answer this.
they are wrong to try and force you into their belief system!

peace!

Answer 8

Just so you know, it's healthy to ask questions but God is the one that you should be asking and then listen in your heart for the answers. You will need to get quiet and listen. He may not answer right away either but when He does, you'll know it. As for why would anyone be excluded? It's called free will and Eve made that choice for us when she chose to break God's first rule and eat the forbidden fruit. Everyone has the free will to do what they want but they also need to know the consequences of that free will. I just said a prayer for you both. I hope that you will talk to God about it. He will listen and if you listen, you will hear Him. God Bless, Mary

Answer 9

You are Christian only if you make a deliberate decision to follow Christ, if that is what you are asking.

Baptism is only a symbol; if it meant nothing to you, then it meant nothing to God.

And your parents cannot make you a Christian according to Christianity; you must make that decision yourself.

===edit====
"What if a genunine, kind, person who saves lives, loves his/her family respects others, and is just a pleasant person doesn't believe? Do they go to hell?"

First of all, everyone is "good" in their own eyes, even Al Capone or Adolph Hitler. You cannot judge yourself as "good" because you are biased. We all are.

Even the best people have sins that they need forgiven. What keeps you out of Heaven is the fact that you are too stubborn to ask Jesus for forgiveness.

Answer 10

That will be for God to decide not another person but it does sound like you are well on your way to hell, God said either you are with him or you are against him, there is not a in between, no lukewarm and as you are not with God that leaves you against him, a lot of agnostics do not understand that by not making a choice, by choosing not to decide, they still have made a choice.