Consider the following thought experiment (which was posed by me to Christian blogger Makarios several months ago and which remains unanswered by him and his brethren):
Three identical triplets of moderately low intelligence are separated at birth. One is adopted by Christian parents, one is adopted by atheist parents and one is adopted by bush pygmies who have never heard of God, the Bible and have no conception of organized religion (other than perhaps that there might be a force greater than themselves).
Although raised by different parents, the triplets lead identical lives in terms of their external treatment of others and the world around them - they are all equally loving towards others, charitable to the needy and tireless in their efforts to eradicate suffering. The only differences are the following:
1. The Christian triplet accepts the literal truth of the Bible, believes that Jesus died for his sins and has accepted God as his personal saviour in the hope of receiving eternal salvation.
2. The atheist triplet knows about the Bible, rejects it as a myth and believes the existence of God to be highly improbable.
Now, the point I want to make about the first two triplets is that they have been indoctrinated. Neither really has the choice to choose otherwise in the sense that, due to their limited intelligence, they believe basically whatever their parents tell them. From the perspective of an atheist, the Christian triplet is misled into believing the religious delusions by his parents. From the perspective of a Christian, the atheist triplet is misled into believing the heathen worldview of his parents.
3. The bush pygmy triplet is never taught to believe or disbelieve anything when it comes to God and the Bible.
All 3 triplets meet on their 21st birthday and an accidental natural gas leak kills them all instantly (remember ... it's all part of God's plan).
My understanding of Christianity is that only 1 of the 3 twins will receive the true riches of heaven while the other 2 are damned for eternity. Have I got it wrong?
That was the one that always threw me for a loop when I was a kid - was what about all those poor little kids who never got a chance to be taught? Doesn't seem fair to condemn them to eternal damnation.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is, you haven't got it wrong. The tenets of Christianity actually claim that non-believers (not only atheists, but the bush pygmies as well) do not go to heaven. Not only do they go to heaven, but many times the Bible states that they should be killed! How could an all powerful and all knowing and loving god expect the rural pygmies, who have never heard of Jesus or the Christin god, to believe in him? If this god actually does exist, I want nothing to do with him.
ReplyDeleteCatholicism regards salvic assumption as a sin.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, it's not our place as individuals to judge whether or not someone in particular is or will be saved, because we are grossly ignorant of the relevant information (for instance, the transmission of the mystery of salvic Grace and the degree to and means by which it was accepted/rejected) and severely incompetent at accurately funneling that (missing) information into a decision.
"The Secular Thinker" says that Christianity claims all non-believers do not go to heaven, but this is false. The Catechism notably discusses the possibility for salvation of non-believers several times, for instance:
CCC 1260: "Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery. Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved."
And God, being supposedly omniscient, would be the only guy qualified to make such a determination.
The Bible and church only give us salvic guidelines and illustrations, not hard and fast rules. We are saved from our sins through Christ alone, but how this is accomplished on the basis of the individual, each owning an indescribably complex moral dynamic that changes with every moment, and reacting to God in a way wholly unique and relative to that individual's experiences and constitution, is a mystery -- and claiming to understand that individual mystery is assumptive hubris indeed.
I think that this document: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/cti_documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070419_un-baptised-infants_en.html (at least re Catholicism) which is later than CCC can give some light on what to think about such issues, but what you wrote prompted me to think how one looks like after death? If for example an embryo is still an embryo does it really make a difference to it whether it is in heaven or in hell?
ReplyDeleteCatholics believe that there is the hope for salvation of all people, regardless of their belief.
ReplyDeleteHowever, openly rejecting Christ certainly doesn't leave much wiggle room!
So at best the Christian triplet goes to Heaven; MAYBE the bush triplet is a long-shot; but definitely not the atheist triplet. Total bullshit.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned that the triplets were mentally handicapped. Don't all humans who fail to reach the age of accountability before death have Grace through Jesus Christ?
ReplyDeleteVicinSea, it all depends on what flavour of religion you subscribe too. I'm just waiting for someone to invent a religion where only atheists go to heaven. I would be willing to be the Pope of that one - but not a celibate one.
ReplyDeleteIs it me or are you craving the desire to know Christ? God created all, He loves all. But I do agree with the Recovering Catholic...openly rejecting Christ is a whole other matter. Once you hear and learn about God, you, yourself make the choice wether to believe or not. Too many things happen on this earth to discredit a diety. My religion is in my heart, even though I am a Lutheran. Crazy stuff in all religions, especially where man comes in and makes the rules. I believe the Bible is truth. I hope your journey leads you to where you need to be spiritually. For some reason, I can see beyond your "athiest" ;)
ReplyDeleteBTW...I have a severly mentally handicapped son AND have triplets! ;)
ReplyDeleteDear exhausted, thank-you for your comments and you deserve a badge of honor with what you are dealing with at home. I am fortunate enough to have 3 healthy children and they often have my wife and I at the end of our rope.
ReplyDeleteAs far as my "craving to know Christ" is concerned, it is extremely difficult to crave something that you don't believe exists. Consider the following paragraph:
Is it me or are you craving the desire to believe there are fairies in my garden? They created all, They love all. Openly rejecting the existence of fairies is a whole other matter. Once you hear and learn about the fairies, you, yourself make the choice whether to believe or not. Too many things happen on this earth to discredit these dieties.
You say that your religion is in your heart. Why you are any more convinced of the existence of the Judeo-Christian god (i.e. the god described in the Bible) than you are of the existence of fairies?