I live a good life!

hah, depends on who you are comparing it to.

The idea that one lives in a certain manner, or behaves in a "good" way or believes in the "right" thing to get the reward of getting to heaven strikes me as very similar to buying life insurance.  You're covering your bets in the hope of a final reward.Speaking personally, I don't know whether Heaven or Hell exist, and I don't much care.  I live the way I live, and try to live an honest life, respectful of the rights of others, because its the right thing to do, and it makes me feel better, not because of some possible, fanciful reward.Further, the very idea that anyone here on earth can have the startling presumption to "know" the mind and will of an omnipotent and almighty god that they purport to believe in just staggers me.  If such a being exists, its mind and will beggar the understanding of any mortal, and particularly the understanding of narrow minded thinkers.

Absolutely NOT.  You can never be good enough as to earn your way into Heaven. There is only one way, and that is Jesus Christ.

I think it helps, but seriously, how many people actually think they live a good life?  Most.  What exactly do you mean by "good life"?  That you worked, were successful, threw $ here and there to charity and didn't beat your kids or spouse?  That won't cut it.  You not only have to live a good life, but you also have to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  Jesus said,:"I am the Way, and my Father longs for you; So I come to bring you home to be one with him anew" (that was part of a song my 7 year old just learned).  While I agree with Imorovan, that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus Christ, I know plenty of mean and spiteful people who have accepted Jesus ~ so yes, you have to also life a good life.  They must go hand and hand.

Jesus is the only way. Whether you feel this is fair or not, it's true. God loves people more than our little minds can comprehend. God is a loving and fair God and he has made a prevision for all to come to him. Many know the way but refuse the way or the plan of salvation. God is a just God; he knows the hearts of men (and women). He wants no one to perish. If someone dies and has never heard about Jesus then they will not be held accountable but, before Christ's return every ear will hear. You can reject Jesus and say I believe that God is a loving God and will not send me to hell because I'm a GOOD person; well you are right in saying God is a loving God, he loved you so much he gave you a way to escape hell and that way is Jesus. If you know about Jesus and reject him, you are lost. There is simply no other way.Christians are very concerned for those who knowingly reject Jesus; our hearts ache for the lost. How do you think Jesus feels after giving his life for the lost and then p... Read more

According to whom? By what rules? Too vague of a listing to take seriously. . .

Good works get you no were when it come to eternal life in Heaven. Sorry folks! The only way to get there, is if you come to God and seek forgiveness for your sins against Him. The Holy Spirit will convict your heart and show you what you have done against God. When He does, all you have to is kneel before him and ask for forgiveness. By doing this you give up your life against God and follow Christ’s ways. Only then will you be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven. Only the saved ones will go to heaven!

Whether there is a God or Heaven is a different issue than whether one chooses to express their belief by joining a particular man-made religious organization. Admittance to Heaven isn't the exclusive domain of one regional dues-paying group of believers over another.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to merit Heaven by way of"just a good life"take in to consideration...You do not have to be christian to possess a good nature!For us universals(catholics)people who live very pious lives still serve time in purgatory but,it is those who have lived exceptionally holy lives that enter Heaven almost immediately after death but,even they must be purified in purgatory for some imperfection that has stained their soul so not to be in the presence of the HOLY of HOLIES with any remnants of a sin.There are many,many good people on earth but only a few holy.Which Church founded by Christ produces such holy servants as to fulfill the will of Almighty God and be drenched in His service til death,take one good guess...?

assuming first there is such a place as heaven, of course. There are a lot of very good people who are not religious who are in heaven.

Why would you want to go, regardless? What little the Bible has to say about the place makes it downright unacceptable (Matthew 11:11-12 and 24:35, Revelation 12:7 and 19:14), and there's no guarantee you're going to stay once you've arrived (ask Satan, the fallen angel). There are a trillion questions that should be broached (even though they'd be, as yet, unanswerable) before contacting your travel agent.

Interesting debate. Reminds me of a very late night discussion that I had with a couple of Jesuits as a freshman in college. My freshman dorm had a Jesuit priest on my floor - after a long night of carousing, a couple friends and I had wandered back to our dorm and ran into our resident Jesuit and one of his colleagues. They were up late debating life and invited us to join them. At the time I was 18, had a huge chip on my shoulder, and thought I was smarter than everybody. As the discussion got more intense, I went on a long tirade about all the inconsistencies that I found with religion, and all the questions that I had about God. I concluded this tirade by saying something like... and i'll tell you what i believe in - i believe in treating people with respect, helping people when they are down, always trying to be the bigger man, living my life with integrity... etc, etc., etc, and NOT what any church tells me to believe in. To my great surprise, one of the Jesuits, after li... Read more

If so, then just who is going to be the one to decide what a good life is?

There will be alot of so called good people in Hell.

This would have to be one of the most important questions because there are so many religions, even some 'Christians' which teach us that it is by the death of Jesus that we are saved, PLUS complete obedience the law or good deeds. There are three excellent books in the Bible which are wholly dedicated to teaching us that we are saved by grace alone. That is the Gospel of John, Romans Galatians and Hebrews. Paul makes direct statements that we are saved by grace not by works so that no one can boast. Plus the whole Bible is full of those types of statements esp the first part of Ephesians. If it were by works, no one would be going to heaven becasue all of us fall short of the Glory of God. Plus this would have made Jesus' death in vain. It is interesting how the criminal next to Jesus on the cross simply told Jesus that he wanted to be with Him, and Jesus practically said that you are now going to Heaven and will live with Me. That criminal was a bad person in his life, for th... Read more

It is the GRACE of God and SALVATION through Jesus ALONG WITH living a good life which will guarantee a home in Heaven.