Do ChristiansThink Other Religions Can Go to Hell?

It is a good question. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one goes to the father, except through me”. So, what about other religions? Do their followers simply “go to hell”? Secular society says that religion is a private matter. Furthermore, secular society says that it is none of our business to worry about other people’s salvation. However, I think we would be poor ambassadors of Jesus, if we did not worry about other people’s salvation.

Here is a rough breakdown of religious demographics. There are approximately 7 billion people on the Earth. There are about 1 billion Catholics and about 1 billion Protestants. Therefore, about 2/7 of the earth’s population believe in Jesus. What about the other 5 billion people? If they do not believe in Jesus, do they go to heaven?

Whew. Tough question. Many mainstream churches dodge this question like the plague. And I know why. It is a difficult topic with no politically correct answers. I could literally spend years analyzing evidence on this topic, but I am going to focus what I consider to be the two most important factors: 1) Jesus’ statement about the way, the truth, and the life and 2) God’s love.

1) Jesus said that he was the way, the truth, and the life and that no one went to the father, except through Him.

This sounds like a very exclusive statement. It sounds like he is saying that the only way to heaven is through Him. If I focus on this statement alone, I am led to believe that the only way to heaven is through Jesus. However, one of the most important themes of the Bible is God’s love.

2) God so loved that world that he gave his one and only son as a sacrifice for our sins. If he loved the world that much, will he really allow 5 billion people to perish? This is a tough one for me. I am not talking about people who openly and unapologetically reject Jesus. That is their choice. I am talking about people who were raised in different cultures, where Jesus is not known. I sometimes wonder if had been born elsewhere, such as the Middle East, would I still be a Christian. Would someone perish simply because he/she was born where Jesus is unknown or where it is forbidden to know him?

Again, a tough question. I do not know the answer. I firmly believe that Jesus is “the way”. I will share my faith and beliefs with anyone who is interested. If someone is open to conversion, then I am open to helping them. However, who am I to pass judgement on 5 billion people? There is only one person qualified to do that, and his name is God. Jesus said the two most important commandments were to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Our “neighbors” include people with other religions. Instead of judging them, we are supposed to love them.

I think sometimes as Christians, we try to ram conversions down the throats of people with other religions.  I think the best strategy is to simply live a Jesus-life around those people. If we set good examples, people will see the power of Jesus, and they will follow him.