# Stupid religious question **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 27, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965 "2015-01-27T00:34:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/1 "2015-01-27T00:34:54Z")
Assuming the Christian idea of Heaven is correct… Say I mockingly make comments or posts like “the end is nigh!” and “repent, the rapture is near!” or “God is watching!” and somehow I actually do convince millions to repent, even though my words were supposed to be non-serious jokes. And then say the rapture or whatever really does happen and everyone goes to Heaven because my words saved them. Would I also go to Heaven because I helped save all those people? Or would I go to Hell because I was consistently mocking God? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/2 "2015-01-27T00:36:33Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > Would I also go to Heaven because I helped save all those people? Or would I go to Hell because I was consistently mocking God? Only one way to find out… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/3 "2015-01-27T00:39:26Z")
What sort of factual answers were you looking for? ---
**Author:** ![Cardboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Cardboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardboard)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/4 "2015-01-27T00:40:16Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What sort of factual answers were you looking for? What the Bible says on such things, if it says anything at all. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/5 "2015-01-27T00:47:36Z")
Need answer fast? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/6 "2015-01-27T00:51:45Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > What the Bible says on such things, if it says anything at all. I doubt it covered that specific scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Grotonian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c2a13f/32.png) [@Grotonian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grotonian)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/7 "2015-01-27T01:10:01Z")
Christianity but does not recognize, “Justification Through Blasphemy.” But Catholicism might. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/8 "2015-01-27T01:45:07Z")
Hypothetical questions are best started in IMHO or Great Debates. In this case I’ve moved it to IMHO. **samclem** , moderator ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/9 "2015-01-27T01:53:12Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > Assuming the Christian idea of Heaven is correct… Which one? It’s not like we are an obsidian block, as **Grotonian** so, ehr, nicely demonstrated. According to the theology I was taught (Catholic, mostly Capuchins and Jesuits with a leavening of St Philip Neri’s Congregation of the Oratory), salvation is offered to everybody and all who accept it are saved. It’s independent of all other actions. Someone could have been a sincere missionary and general goody-two-shoes his whole life and still manage to miss the train, someone else could have been a sonabitch his whole life and still make it in. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/10 "2015-01-27T02:00:45Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > Would I also go to Heaven because I helped save all those people? Or would I go to Hell because I was consistently mocking God? Almost all Christian denominations hold that faith is required to get into heaven. Some say that faith alone isn’t enough – you need to perform good works as well. But I’m not aware of any Christian sect that says that works \*without \*faith will get you into heaven. So it doesn’t matter how many people you accidentally help to Christ. Without faith in your own heart, you’re damned. (According to most flavors of Christianity.) ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/11 "2015-01-27T03:32:43Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Which one? It’s not like we are an obsidian block, as **Grotonian** so, ehr, nicely demonstrated. > > According to the theology I was taught (Catholic, mostly Capuchins and Jesuits with a leavening of St Philip Neri’s Congregation of the Oratory), salvation is offered to everybody and all who accept it are saved. It’s independent of all other actions. HHRRRMMM? Faith plus works/actions, Miss Nava!! ---
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/12 "2015-01-27T03:48:52Z")
As varied as Christianity is, I’d say the majority theological view is that salvation is not something that can be earned, but it is something offered through the grace of God. Even if it wasn’t being done as a joke, then, this kind of missionary work would not in and of itself earn the OP salvation. I’ll point out here that belief in the rapture is only held small minority of Christians and it only dates back a couple of hundred years or so. ETA: This does not make it an invalid Christian belief, but it does mean that frequently what people think is “the Christian view” happens to just be “what some Christians around me said”. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/13 "2015-01-27T03:58:41Z")
> [@Cardboard](#): > > Would I also go to Heaven because I helped save all those people? Or would I go to Hell because I was consistently mocking God? You don’t get into Heaven by saving other people. Whether you saved other people or not would be irrelevant as far as your own entry into Heaven (or not getting to go to Heaven) is concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/14 "2015-01-27T04:06:01Z")
All those other souls you helped to get into heaven would then be saints. You could then pray to them to intercede on your behalf. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/15 "2015-01-27T04:48:31Z")
I forget exactly how Luther put it but it comes down to “even though Satan can’t do good, false and wicked prophets can lead a person to true salvation and a relationship with God.” End result is “Followers 34 - your ass 0” ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/16 "2015-01-27T13:24:52Z")
There is a quote from Paul - somewhere in the NT - where he is talking about others preaching the gospel that did not believe it or was using it for thier own gain. the gist was that the motivations of the speaker did not matter as long as the gospel was preached. You could infer from this that - regardless of your own faith - you were used to spread the word, and since God loved all, you would be sent to heaven. now, you can debate if preaching the “end is nigh” or “rapture” is the gospel and/or true message of christianity. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/17 "2015-01-27T13:30:40Z")
So it’s been a while since I read it, but I remember a bit from Acts… A rich man wanted to get in good with the new crowd, so he told his wife he was going to go down to where the apostles or whatever were taking donations, give them half his money, say it was all of it, and get blessed by the nutcases. He went down, did that, and the holy spirit came down and killed him for lying. A few hours later, his wife wondered what was taking so long, so she went down there, handed the apostles the same line (“where is my oh-so-pious husband?”) and the HS came down and killed her for lying, too. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/18 "2015-01-27T13:51:25Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > I forget exactly how Luther put it “You’ll Never Get to Heaven If You Break My Heart”. But it was Dionne Warwick, not Luther Vandross. Common mistake, though. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/19 "2015-01-27T13:57:14Z")
> [@simster](#): > > You could infer from this that - regardless of your own faith - you were used to spread the word, and **since God loved all,** you would be sent to heaven. That doesn’t mean everyone goes to Heaven. Revelations states quite clearly that those without their names in the Book of Life will not go in. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2015, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965/20 "2015-01-27T14:22:51Z")
The great thing about Christianity is that the texts supporting it are subject to varied interpretation. While there is a lot of common foundation among various denominations and individual believers, there is also an awful lot of differing interpretation. Some people are very dogmatic about their doctrine, while others realize that God is mysterious. Some believe that at the point of judgment, **all** will be given one final opportunity to express their faith and belief in Jesus as the Son of God. So as far as the OP goes, if that’s the case, he may very well be given the opportunity to express his faith even after a life of mocking God. Although while still living on this earth, the apostle Paul was given a similar chance after years of persecuting Christians. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-religious-question/710965.md?page=2)