# Did you know that God has only one requirement for a person to enter Heaven? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 13, 2005, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465 "2005-01-13T00:17:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/41 "2005-01-13T04:01:55Z")
I did notice that “the Farm” made it to the list of Cults. What a shame. For about forty years they’ve had peaceful and pleasant relations with the citizens of Middle Tennessee and have been productive citizens – free to come and go as they please. I am a Christian and not a member of the Farm. But one of the things they have been known for is giving women a place to have their babies as an alternative to abortion. Geez, even _National Geographic_ had some nice things to say about them. The members that I have known have been living examples of the Grace that the OP writes about. But who am I to judge? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/42 "2005-01-13T04:03:40Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Don’t feel bad, I can put on my tinfoil hat and dig up some Masons-worship-the-devil sites for you, if you like. > > – Poly (proud grandson of a Freemason, if you were wondering) They didn’t mention Catholics either. No fair! (yes, I know I’m not a practicing Catholic, but dammit, I still consider myself culturally Catholic, if you know what I mean). Seriously, I have to ask-does that type of witnessing, the kind mentioned in the OP EVER work? Does anyone just get “saved” by reading that kind of message? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/43 "2005-01-13T04:15:50Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > I did notice that “the Farm” made it to the list of Cults. What a shame. For about forty years they’ve had peaceful and pleasant relations with the citizens of Middle Tennessee and have been productive citizens – free to come and go as they please. > > I am a Christian and not a member of the Farm. But one of the things they have been known for is giving women a place to have their babies as an alternative to abortion. > > Geez, even _National Geographic_ had some nice things to say about them. > > The members that I have known have been living examples of the Grace that the OP writes about. > > But who am I to judge? I feel much as you do. Stephen Gaskin and what little else I have ever heard of The Farm have always struck me as people trying to do the right thing. God knows that no Christian ever had a mystical experience! :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/44 "2005-01-13T04:18:33Z")
From the link provided in the OP: excerpt from the information on the Farm: > [@](#): > > Practices: Most are Vegetarians. They live in a communal system and are self supportive. Some work outside the commune in various industries. They are very active in what are called ‘green’ communities. These are ‘earth friendly’ groups that seek “to lay the foundation for a major shift in Western consumer lifestyles across the broader culture.” Philanthropic outreaches to communities and other countries including rebuilding homes, improving sanitation conditions, laying water pipe, etc. Troublemakers… ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/45 "2005-01-13T04:26:30Z")
If the OP comes back I will lick my cat. Funny thread though. Props to **Doc Cathode**. I’m printing that out to read to street evangelists! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/46 "2005-01-13T04:32:26Z")
From Theosophy: # To form a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without distinction of race, creed, sex, caste, or color. Also, damned troublemakers. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/47 "2005-01-13T04:40:35Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > When the stars are right, Cthulu shall ascend from his tomb and that all the sons of man shall know death, sorrow, sickness and pain. Big talk, but can he deliver? If I wind up knowing only death, sorrow and pain, I’m going to feel pretty shortchanged. And the aforementioned “sorrow” had BETTER be really fucking sorrowful; if, by “sorrow,” you mean that Cthulu is going to knock out my VCR so that I happen to miss recording an episode of “Joan of Arcadia,” he will not earn my respect nor my bloodcurdling cries for mercy. I hope you haven’t set me up for disappointment. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/48 "2005-01-13T04:43:07Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > I note that the Freemasons were left off the list. Somehow, I feel, neglected. Don’t get started on this again, you KNOW what happened last time. 😉 Wicca/Paganism isn’t there either. I’m more than a little shocked. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/49 "2005-01-13T04:58:44Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > Don’t get started on this again, you KNOW what happened last time. 😉 > Wicca/Paganism isn’t there either. I’m more than a little shocked. Look, we can’t handle **every** cult, false religion, and heresy all at once. Now, if you feel left out, line up and take a number; we’ll be glad to add you into the list! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/50 "2005-01-13T05:09:59Z")
All I want to know is who’ll be eaten first, and how I can become one of these blessed ones? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/51 "2005-01-13T05:42:30Z")
> [@Mehitabel](#): > > All I want to know is who’ll be eaten first, and how I can become one of these blessed ones? The pamphlet Get Eaten First, though well intentioned, errs on some issues. First, Cthulu shall not be returning alone. Shub-Niggurauth shall return to bear its thousand young. Others shall abide in the earth, or howl in the skies. Second, you shall die not only in the mouth of Cthulu. When he rises, his terrible and unimaginable mind shall drive men mad for hundreds of miles. The Deep Ones shall rise from the seas with him and slaughter men. The Tcho Tcho people shall emerge from hiding and make war on the cities of men. The Byakhee shall bring death from the skies. The halfbreeds who have waited so long shall attain their birthright and burst out of their human skins, and unleash their passions upon their human neighbors. Third, all of this shall take just a few days. There will be no year, or month, or even week of terror as men, women, and children wait in anticipation of slaughter. The Great Old Ones shall return. In days, the world will be as it was when they ruled long ago. Having studied the texts, I would say that from the instant they return to the death of the last homo sapien will take less than seventy two hours. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/52 "2005-01-13T06:19:54Z")
> [@pseudotriton ruber ruber](#): > > I’m sorry, BG–is it my false God or Gracie’s you were directing that comment to? I was referring to El Shaddai, Yahweh, Allah, the Lord God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed.\* By whatever name, he is an abomination and a pollution. May we all live long enough to see this world cleansed of **all** of his evil names! May Rome and Jerusalem be forgotten, and grass grow in the streets of Mecca! (Metaphorically speaking, of course. I know nothing would ever grow in the streets of Mecca.) \*None of which has anything to do with God as such, as an abstract ineffable concept one could embrace, even worship, while rejecting all cultural assumptions and all traditional religious beliefs about him. I myself do not believe in or worship God even in that sense, but the famous skeptic, debunker and “philosophical theist” Martin Gardner does, and I can respect his point of view, as I cannot respect the point of view of any Jew, Christian or Muslim. See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin\_Gardner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Gardner). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/53 "2005-01-13T06:21:36Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > The pamphlet Get Eaten First, though well intentioned, errs on some issues. First, Cthulu shall not be returning alone. Shub-Niggurauth shall return to bear its thousand young. Others shall abide in the earth, or howl in the skies. > > Second, you shall die not only in the mouth of Cthulu. When he rises, his terrible and unimaginable mind shall drive men mad for hundreds of miles. The Deep Ones shall rise from the seas with him and slaughter men. The Tcho Tcho people shall emerge from hiding and make war on the cities of men. The Byakhee shall bring death from the skies. The halfbreeds who have waited so long shall attain their birthright and burst out of their human skins, and unleash their passions upon their human neighbors. > > Third, all of this shall take just a few days. There will be no year, or month, or even week of terror as men, women, and children wait in anticipation of slaughter. The Great Old Ones shall return. In days, the world will be as it was when they ruled long ago. Having studied the texts, I would say that from the instant they return to the death of the last homo sapien will take less than seventy two hours. Still a heckuva lot nicer than Revelations, ain’t it? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/54 "2005-01-13T06:51:52Z")
> [@jimpatro](#): > > So even if you rape a child after being saved you get into heaven? Man, that’s nothing! You can blow up a federal building with hundreds of people inside and still get into heaven! You could even _start a war_ :eek: :eek: :eek: that results in _tens of thousands_ of people getting killed and **still** get into heaven! Shit, this God guy is even crazier than I thought! ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/55 "2005-01-13T08:41:49Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > **Moderator’s Note:** Just a reminder to everyone that Great Debates _is_ the proper forum for “religious debates and (if you feel you must) witnessing”. Oh, I feel like a witness all right. I think I may need to go into a witness protection program. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/56 "2005-01-13T08:50:17Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Oh, I feel like a witness all right. I think I may need to go into a witness protection program. Nothing can protect you! Was not Alhazred torn apart by invisible claws even as he stood in the market? There is no place you can hide from the sight of the three-lobed burning eye! There is no place that the hounds of Tindalos cannot track you! Cthulu waits and dreams in the deep and the cities of man shall fall before him! ---
**Author:** ![SentientMeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SentientMeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SentientMeat)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/57 "2005-01-13T09:37:01Z")
Dear Doc, If Cthulu is the omnimalignant entity of ultimate evil, why does he allow good things to happen? Could the Chicago Reader start running this ‘Ask Doc’ in a column? ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/58 "2005-01-13T10:58:14Z")
**AmazingGrace** , I had two encounters with Christians yesterday which had two different effects on me. To give you a background, my grandmother died Monday morning, and I’m still dealing with the grief. The first one was a bit of glurge a notoriously incompetent coworker sent me. The e-mail was headed for me and the first bit of content I got to was the following written in a very large font: “Here is your financial blessing.” Less than 24 hours earlier I’d learned I was coming into a small inheritance. The rest of the e-mail apparently said that if I prayed the prayer that God would make me rich. The woman who sent the e-mail knew my grandmother had died, but had no idea about the inheritance. She has no idea the material prosperity has nothing to do with my faith or that the e-mail would have the result it would. It left me hurt and angry. I would much rather have a live grandmother than any amount of money. I’m sure the intention was good, but the result was awful. The second encounter was at a convenience store near my home much later that night. I know the fellow who was working behind the counter enough to say “Hello” to. He asked how I was and I told him about my grandmother. He and another man, one I’d never seen there before, said comforting things about Grandmama going home at an appropriate time and comforted me. From some other things that came up in the conversation, I gather the other man has a Christian ministry. The result was I felt warmth and light, and got a much needed reminder of what this Christianity business is all about, despite the actions of a few people like my coworker. **AmazingGrace** , your post here is the equivalent of the first encounter. One of the things I love about this place, one of the things which drew me to it, is the lively discussions we have about religion here. I’ve learned a great deal and my Anglican faith has been strengthened. I’ve even come to realize how little I know of other forms of Christianity. I’m sure your intentions were good, but most people have heard of Jesus Christ. Some of those have very good reasons for disliking Christianity and some of those reasons are the encounters they’ve had with some of His followers. Given some of the encounters I’ve had, frankly, I don’t blame them. Out of curiousity, if a Christian drives someone away from Christianity by his or her words and actions and the person driven away is condemned to hell as a result, what becomes of the Christian? I’ve seen it happen, you know. I’ve also spent a lot of time trying to undo the damage done by such people. My form of Christianity isn’t a case of “Say the magic words and you’ll get into heaven.” It goes far deeper than that. Stick around a bit and read. For that matter, read the entire Bible or at least the Gospels, not just selected snippets. There’s more to this wonder than meets the eye. CJ ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/59 "2005-01-13T13:23:02Z")
> [@DocCathode](#): > > There is no place that the hounds of Tindalos cannot track you! Actually, if you could have a perfectly spherical room built… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465/60 "2005-01-13T13:29:47Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Dear Mr. Gossi: > > Like **Zev** , I think that your OP (original post) was a courteous and well-written witness. Unlike him, I **am** an active Christian. But like him, I think that, while well-intentioned, it was in error in one profound way. > > What Jesus **expects of us** is made very clear in the four Gospels. And He was quite explicit on how He would judge in the end. Godly a man as Paul was, he was only a man, and unless you hold to the extraScriptural doctrine of verbal inerrancy, his words are no more proof than yours or mine or **Zev** ’s words, or those of our atheist friends here. > > And one primary step in trying to evangelize, sir, is to **show Christ’s love** to others. What you did, presuming you come back to read what your thread attracted, is what we pejoratively refer to around here as “drive-by witnessing.” If you wish to bring anyone here to Christ, you need to come back and become a part of the community here. You need to empathize with the member here, whom many of us know and love, who was thrown out of his home at 17 for being gay. You need to meet the people who were ostracized from their churches. You need to meet, head on, the issues people have with the attitudes of many religious leaders, and answer them, not with authoritative ukases, but with sweet reason and friendship. You need to understand **why** many here see Christianity, not as salvation, but as an effort to dominate them and force them into lockstep with someone else’s beliefs. > > In short, you need to know and love these people, as Jesus would have done, if you hope to do any work in His name. > > You’re more than welcome here, and I hope you will come back and do just that. > > In His name, > > Polycarp **Polycarp** , whenever I read something like this from you, I get a little spark of hope. Thank you. 🙂 Sadly, I doubt that the OPoster will ever read any of this. Hit & run. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-that-god-has-only-one-requirement-for-a-person-to-enter-heaven/284465.md?page=4)