Far be it
for me to speak in behalf of GOD, for He is the only one who knows who goes
to Heaven, and He does not tell us on an individual basis. However, through
His Church, we know that canonized saints are in Heaven. That is about all that
we truly know who is there now. For the rest of us, the guidelines for
attaining eternal salvation are in Holy Scripture, and there are many of
them. I have dealt with these guidelines in great detail in many other pages
in this Catholic Treasure Chest site. From these guidelines we can
extrapolate a plethora of foods for thought. These thoughts will probably stay
with us until the day we die.
From what I have gleaned so far, I would say the short answer to the
question is a resounding NO! Here is where common sense and our GOD given
reasoning powers begin, based on what we know from Holy Scripture. For sake
of brevity, I will classify all non-Catholic Christians as Protestants and so,
in my opinion, we have five major camps of humanity, (1) Catholic, (2)
Protestant, (3) non-Christian religions, which are so widely varying in
their beliefs and practices, that I can speak for them only briefly, (4)
and there are those who have never even heard of GOD, (5) and of course Atheists
who deny the existence of GOD.
1. Do all Catholics go to Heaven? I
would say no, as there are many who call themselves catholic but really are not
Catholic at all in the true sense. Some do not partake of the seven
sacraments. Some do not obey the ten commandments, such as their failure
to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days, for one example.
"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as
in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling." Philippians 2:12
2. Can any Protestants be
admitted into Heaven? I would say yes, but for most, through no fault of
their own, they do not have the full deposit of faith as laid out in the
Bible. They have some truth but not the full truth as taught by the only
Church that Jesus Christ founded. This group, probably unknowing, is in some
way connected to the Catholic Church through Baptism, which is a plus for
them. They could attain Heaven but it seems to me that it will be more
difficult for them since they are wanting in so many of GOD given
graces. Seven sources of GOD's graces are plainly listed in Holy Scripture
and good Catholics strive for all seven, the sacraments. Most Protestants
only have two sacraments and even they could be questionable depending upon who
issues them. Common
sense tells me that the more sacraments an individual
receives, the better the chance that he or she will attain eternal
salvation. I would have reservations for those who persecute the only Church
which Jesus Christ founded since they are really persecuting Him (Acts 9:3-5)
since His Church is His body and He is its head. The hardest thing to open is a
closed mind, so they should open their minds to a quest in search of the
truth. Romans 2:5-8 would give me trepidation if I were guilty of its message
therein.
3. Can any members of non-Christian religions attain
Heaven? I would say probably yes, but I have great reservations for those
violent ones who forcibly impose their religion on others.
4. Can those
who have never even heard of GOD go to Heaven? I would say they could if they
followed the laws written into all human hearts by GOD. See Romans
2:11-15.
5. Can Atheists attain eternal salvation? Please read Matthew
10:33 and then decide for yourself.
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