Please correct me if I’m wrong.

A murderer can repent and enter heaven, but

an atheist cannot?
I’d like to know more about this subject.

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Comment deleted by user · 3 yr. ago

HereForLOTRMemes OP · 3 yr. ago

Okay. So let’s say an atheist, who happens to be a very charitable and giving person, never
repents. He’s an atheist and he stays that way. On the other hand, a murderer repents after
committing murder.

According to the Bible, wouldn’t the murderer enter heaven, while the atheist would not?

2 Reply Share

OSSilver_Legend · 3 yr. ago

Christian

Yes, what you typed is what the Bible teaches.

5 Reply Share

HereForLOTRMemes OP · 3 yr. ago

Thank you.

I’d also like an explanation as to why an all-loving God would forgive a murderer over
someone who didn’t subscribe to Christianity.

2 Reply Share

llamakking · 3 yr. ago

Christian, Protestant
 He forgives the person who asked for forgiveness. If the murderer truly repented for his
sins and changed his ways, he’s forgiven in God’s eyes. God doesn’t owe us anything,
but out of pure love, he offers us a way out. If the atheist doesn’t want to take God’s offer
of a lifeline, it’s not God’s fault, he doesn’t owe him anything. No one is deserving of
heaven.

14 Reply Share

Vivi2T · 3 yr. ago

Baby Christian

What would an atheist need forgiving for? He/she needs to repent for being a decent
and charitable human being?

2 Reply Share

llamakking · 3 yr. ago

Christian, Protestant

No, he has to repent for the wrong he’s done. Everyone sins, and good doesn’t
cancel bad, that’s not how it works. The first step to becoming a Christian is
realizing that we are all sinners, and that we need God’s help. Everyone,
including me, you, and the atheist in question has failed to achieve God’s
standard. Hope this helps!

2 Reply Share

Vivi2T · 3 yr. ago

Baby Christian

You know this sort of reminds me of a saying from a beloved professor of

mine. “The opposite of love isn’t hate, the opposite of love is not-love”

That made sense in my head. Ironically that teacher is a Christian as well.

1 Reply Share

OSSilver_Legend · 3 yr. ago

Christian

I figured you would so I typed one out here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAChristian/comments/mc74gj/please_correct_me_if_im_wr
ong_a_murderer_can/gs202xo/?
utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3

1 Reply Share

SandShark350 · 3 yr. ago

Christian (non-denominational)

Yes. It all depends on the sincerity of the repentance of course. God will not be fooled. I happen
to hold the belief that although the Bible teaches this, I think when it comes right down to it and
you're standing in front of God he can judge you however he pleases and depending on how
 you lived your life may come into play dependent on the circumstances. But of course if atheist
is Hardline and denies the existence of Christ up to that point, well unfortunately I'm afraid
that's it.

1 Reply Share

YoungPappyy · 3 yr. ago

Christian

If the murderer truly repents in his heart and turns to Jesus and accepts him as his savior, he
could go to heaven, but an athiest who does not accept Jesus Christ as his savior cannot be
saved because they have no savior, they are under the weight of their own sin and no one
could get out from under that without Jesus

1 Reply Share

Cepitore · 3 yr. ago

Christian, Protestant

This is not correct. The murderer and the atheist can, and must repent in order to be saved.

9 Reply Share

HereForLOTRMemes OP · 3 yr. ago

I understand that, but is it true that God forgives a repenting murderer, but not a generous/kind
atheist?

1 Reply Share

Cepitore · 3 yr. ago

Christian, Protestant

You seem to be working under one or more misconceptions.

In order to get into Heaven, someone needs to be perfect. God has very high standards about
who he lets be in his presence, and he isn't going to tolerate anyone who has even a single sin
that hasn't been atoned for. When/if a murderer repents, that means they are acknowledging
that their sins were atoned for when Jesus was put to death in their place. The murderer
deserved to die and Jesus didn't, so Jesus took the murderer's punishment on himself so that
they could go free and be accepted into Heaven as a person with no unpunished sins to their
name.

On the other-hand, the unrepentant atheist in your example is not willing to accept Jesus'
sacrifice. This means that when they stand before God, they are going to have sins that have
not been atoned for and they will be held accountable. The atheist may be kind/generous
generally speaking, but they will still sin with regularity. They will undoubtedly fall short of God's
standard.

There is still yet a very big thing to consider here that I believe you are overlooking. In the case
of the repentant murderer, this person has realized the error of their ways. They now
 acknowledge that their ways were evil, and they now desire to live under the sovereignty of
God and to live by God's ways.

On the other-hand, the unrepentant atheist does not realize the error of their ways. They do not
acknowledge their sins. They do not believe they commit evil deeds and they do not desire to
live by the ways of God. Basically, this atheist does not desire to go to Heaven, even if they
discovered it was real.

One of the main issues I take with your post is that there seems to be an implication that an
injustice is being done upon the atheist for not being allowed into Heaven, even though they
are generally nice. The reality is that the atheist would not want to go to Heaven in the first
place, so it does not seem logically consistent to object to the morality of keeping them out of
Heaven. Heaven is a place for those who desire God's ways. If an atheist was granted
entrance into Heaven, they would not enjoy the way of living there, and by introducing their
ungodly behavior into Heaven, they would ruin it for everyone else.

9 Reply Share

SnooDoughnuts3766 · 3 yr. ago

Christian (non-denominational)

Yes.

3 Reply Share

OSSilver_Legend · 3 yr. ago

Christian

Do you understand the basis for God forgiving people?

God is holy and as the judge of the universe he must punish sin. God the Son, Jesus, became a man
and lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, then he died on the cross as a substitute for us. Because he
was a perfect sacrifice God raised him from the dead on the third day. So all who trust in Jesus’
sacrifice and ask for forgiveness are saved and forgiven. Their sins are paid for by Jesus, and his
righteous deeds are credited to their account. If someone hasn’t trusted Jesus and asked for
forgiveness then that person’s sins are still borne by that person. And because of God’s holiness he
will punish that person’s sins by condemning them.

4 Reply Share

GateEast2 · 3 yr. ago

Christian

Beautiful explanation of the gospel. Amazing. Now all it requires on our part is faith in the Son.

2 Reply Share

Annihilationzh · 3 yr. ago

Christian

Either one can repent, trust in Jesus, and be saved.

 2 Reply Share

TheApostleJeff · 3 yr. ago

Christian, Protestant

Christians enter Heaven, non-Christians do not enter Heaven

Spiritually speaking, both murderers and atheists (and everyone else) have equally fallen short of
God's standards

Only through repentance and faith in Christ can a person receive forgiveness for sins

So it's not about actions (what an atheist does that's 'good' or what a murderer does that's 'bad'), it's
about a recognition that everyone has fallen short and that nobody is worthy of Heaven on their own
merits

5 Reply Share

Justmeagaindownhere · 3 yr. ago

Christian

A murderer can and so can an atheist. The atheist just hasn't done it yet so long as they are atheist.

3 Reply Share

[deleted] · 3 yr. ago

The way I view atheism is like this... Since you clearly have no reason to believe , then you don’t
believe. I don’t think that is harmful to others in and of itself. Your lack of belief doesn’t mean anything
to anyone but you.

Maybe that will change, maybe it won’t.

Murderers have far bigger problems and are a far bigger problem as I’m sure you’d agree.

But repentance isn’t simply a case of saying sorry. It’s a complete life change such that the person you
once were is considered dead and buried and the person that emerges is an entirely new person with
an entirely new outlook.

Both the murderer and the atheist have the same seed sown when they hear the Gospel.

Jesus blood covers your sins.

Those five words ought be enough to set you free. If they are not then OK. If it’s troubling that those
five words are not enough then ask yourself why? If the answer is ‘Because I don’t care about it’ then
don’t be troubled. Any other answer you should just ask God to help your unbelief and expect that He
will.

2 Reply Share
mwatwe01 · 3 yr. ago
Christian (non-denominational)

You are making the assumption that an atheist is deserving of Heaven. No one is deserving of
Heaven, no matter how "good" they think they are.

All of us fall short of God's perfect standard. This is why we need a Savior, someone to forgive our
wrongdoings and therefore make us perfect in God's eyes.

2 Reply Share

Winnmark · 3 yr. ago

Christian, Protestant

Looks like a troll.

Anyone, regardless of their actions, can, in theory, obtain salvation if they truly ask and seek for it.

2 Reply Share

HereForLOTRMemes OP · 3 yr. ago

A troll?

No. I was genuinely curious, and I figured asking here would be a good way to start.

1 Reply Share

[deleted] · 3 yr. ago

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. All of us. If someone were to go to Heaven
without faith in Jesus, that would mean they are free of sin, which would go against the Bible. If I
murder someone, but later feel ashamed and turn my life to Jesus, then Jesus will accept me, so long
as my turn to Jesus is genuine. An atheist who does not accept God can’t turn their life to him (that
would mean they are no longer an atheist). Since everyone is a sinner, and we need to trust in Jesus
for salvation, an atheist is unable to repent for his sins, which means that the murderer who repented
and is no longer a murderer can go to Heaven but the atheist who does not trust Jesus for forgiveness
of sin won’t.

TLDR: If the atheist continues to reject Jesus, then yes.

2 Reply Share

Pastor_of_Reddit · 3 yr. ago

Christian

This type of question presupposes that there is something unjust about God's mercy. And that's just
the thing: Mercy, by definition, isn't "just," or else it wouldn't be mercy. Mercy is when you deserve a
particular punishment, but that punishment is relented.
Ironically, an atheist's worldview has no meaningful sense of justice or mercy. In the end, the murderer
and the nice atheist end up in the same place -- annihilated. They both cease to exist with no
punishment or rewards given for their deeds.

3 Reply Share

HereForLOTRMemes OP · 3 yr. ago

Does the end of your comment suggest that you don’t believe in Hell?

0 Reply Share

Pastor_of_Reddit · 3 yr. ago

Christian

No, I was describing an atheist's view.

The point is that you don't believe in any sort of cosmic justice or final judgment of good and
evil. You can't believe in absolute/objective morality in the first place.

Yet the idea of a repentant murderer going to heaven and a nice atheist going to hell bothers
you. You'd rather the nice atheist go to heaven. But in reality, you don't think he will either. In
your view, the nice atheist and the murderer share the same fate.

You're wanting to have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. The fact that God's mercy bothers
you proves that you have a sense of justice and morality, which thereby refutes the atheistic
worldview

3 Reply Share

[deleted] · 3 yr. ago

Any sinner can and must repent to enter heaven and receive eternal life. The atheist and the murderer
not excepted.

1 Reply Share

[deleted] · 3 yr. ago

Yes. So technically an atheist can go on a murder spree if they feel like it, it won't change their
destination.

The Bible kinda alludes to people receiving punishement according to their sin, so will a peaceful
atheist, and a murderer atheist be on the same level of Hell? dunno..

1 Reply Share

SilverStalker1 · 3 yr. ago

Agnostic Christian
I used to have a problem with the concept of Hell, and was ultimately a universalist. I think that has
changed for me. In my view, God won't force anyone to be with him. He will only accept those who
wish to be with him. This is defacto accepting Christ. If someone wishes to be on their own, then He
will let them. And that is Hell. It is not fire and brimstone, but rather being consumed by oneself for
eternity. Earth is a taste of that.

I think the difference is as well I believe one can always accept Christ, even post death. I don't think
there is a time limit.

1 Reply Share

biologicalorganism1 · 3 yr. ago

As has been mentioned, both can enter heaven under the right circumstances. All sins are counted
equal and no number of good acts could ever cancel out even one sin. We are all sinners and thus
without accepting Jesus' sacrifice and submitting to God, no one gets to go to heaven.

1 Reply Share

CGauger4 · 3 yr. ago

Christian, Non-Calvinist

They're really not different, even though labeling them as such may make you feel otherwise at first;
both the murderer and the atheist are separate from the Lord, so they are equal in that respect. In
addition, their path to the Lord is also the same; believe in the Lord, repent and confess of their sins,
be baptized into the Body of Christ, and live faithfully afterward. All the same steps have to be
followed, and the same criteria and qualifications are provided for both; how they choose to proceed is
up to them!