The answer that you will get to this question will depend on the religion of the person you ask. From the Mormon perspective, being a good person and trying to help lift those around will go a long ways. However, God has given specific commandments and requires that we take on us specific ordinances and covenants. These ordinances and covenants can only be solemnized by those that have the authority to act in the name of God (i.e. those that hold His priesthood). The priesthood can only be given to a man by another man that holds it. It is not just something that someone gets because they believe. So, in order to actually be able to spend eternity with our Heavenly Father we must be members of this church because it is the only one that has the authority to perform the ordinances. Obviously, others believe differently. Some will tell you that as long as you are doing good you have nothing worry about. Others will tell you that it really doesn't matter how you behave as long as you believe in Jesus as you personal Savior. It is their right to believe as they will and we respect that. We also disagree with them as is our right. You might also want to consider my answer to the question at the following link: http://www.answerbag.com/q_view.php/19459 .

Well, for some religions it is about what religion you are. For some Christian denominations (not all), labels distinguish the heaven-bound initiates from the rest. As a Buddhist, I'd say that religious labels aren't important in and of themselves. Rather, it is how you use those labels. I call myself Buddhist because that is reflective of my beliefs and it allows me to talk about those beliefs with some context. Unfortunately, I have to balance the information given by the label with the ignorance many people have of Buddhist beliefs (or lack thereof). For me to say that I have no religion, would be a lie. The best use of religious labels I believe is that it facilitates our ability to talk to others about our beliefs without starting from scratch. It also allows us to find others who believe similarily - or even find those who have significantly different beliefs.

If there is a God, and God has established rules, then the only thing that matters is God's judgment about how you have followed His rules. If God has established right and wrong, it makes no difference what you think is good or bad, right or wrong if you do not agree with Him. If there is no objective authority - no God - it really does not matter what you think, believe or do. I agree that it does not matter what you "call youself," but the labels typically help identify the "world view" someone accepts. Perhaps what one person believes is "helping" others, when viewed from God's perspective, is empowering them to live in sin. Some people may really believe that "being the best you can" involves behaviors God would classify as rebellion, selfishness and materialism. If I really believe I understand God's rules, the most caring, loving thing I can do is tell you to change your behavior to match God's rules. Many Christians are accused of being judgmental or pushing their morality on others because this is precisely the case in historic Christianity. If the (traditional) Christian is right about God, Heaven and Hell, the most unhelpful, destructive thing he can do is leave you alone. Allowing you to ignore God is pretty literally equivalent to telling you to "go to Hell." If the Christian is wrong, at least acknowledge that typical believers want you to change because they want you to go to Heaven and not Hell. They do this (in part) because God commands us in the Bible to love people. (Note that there are plenty of people who claim the title "Christian" but their behavior indicates self-righteousness rather than Godly love... and there are plenty of "Christians" who are just plain wrong about a lot of things.) ______ Note on Ismene's comment: I do not believe God is male. Male and female are biological terms and I believe God is not a biological organism so can not be classified with a sex. If the use of "He" or "Him" upsets you, please recognize it is the English indefinite (neither masculine nor feminine) personal pronoun in conventional English grammar. (It is also the masculine.) The Bible pretty clearly teaches materialism is wrong - and the point is not even significant to this answer - but I did put the comment on materialism is in a hypothetical paragraph that begins with "perhaps." My basic points are not from Christian theology or the Bible. They are essential logic. Each point is stated as a conditional "If God... If I..." I stipulate that my conclusions are based on premises. Even if you have no respect for the Bible or Christianity, it is still objectively true that "If there is a God, and God has established rules, then the only thing that matters is God's judgment about how you have followed His rules" It is also still valid to say that things individual people think are right or good may be sin from God's perspective, whether the materialism (or other) example is right or not.

That is exactly what life is about. But being "the best you can" is subjective, and we all pursue that differently. I think that people who identify strongly with one religion will say that their religion is what helps them to be "the best they can". I'm Muslim. For me, the guidelines of Islam help me to live a good life and be a good person. Sometimes when I'm leaning towards a bad decision, remembering the word of God helps me make the right decision when I otherwise wouldn't have. Of course, this is a very complex and personal process and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to expound on it much further here. I am a strong advocate of studying other religions. My father, mother, college roommate, and boyfriend all belong to different religions. I have learned from all of them. I have learned to appreciate diversity, but I have also learned through studying other religions that Islam is what works for me. My attitude is basically that, if some of God's words have helped me in such profound ways, then it seems pretty reasonable to pay attention to the rest of God's words. So I try my hardest to do that. And usually, after accepting things on faith, it doesn't take me too long to also come to a more rational, intellectual understanding of why they're right. I'm lucky to have a religion that I know is a "good fit" for me. I haven't experienced any huge crisis of faith in my life. I can see and appreciate that other religions have done for other people what my religion has done for me. One thing I like about Islam is that it teaches us that God let there be multiple religions for a reason, that He could have created all of us to be the same but that we wouldn't learn from each other that way. Some say that religious people are judgmental. I say that my religion keeps me from being judgmental because it reminds me that judgment is God's job and not mine. My job is to be the best person I can be, not to obsess over what others are doing. So, in that way, yes it matters to me that I have chosen to identify as a Muslim. Because being a Muslim is central to my quest to navigate the road to being a good person. I speak of Islam from my personal experience, but I'm sure that others share similar feelings about other religions and, frankly, I think that's a truly beautiful thing. And some people are good without being religious. Admittedly it's harder for me to understand how they get there, but that's their business and not mine. I'll give them credit for being good even if I disagree with them on religious questions. The religious judgment is God's job, not mine.

Once again, it depends on your religion. Every religion except for Christianity believes that the only way to get to heaven is by your works. I believe that is wrong. Ephesians 2:8-9 in NIV says, "We are saved by grace through faith, not by our WORKS. It is a gift of God, so no one can boast." Remember, this is only what I believe. You can take it how you wanna take it.

While it is true that most religions advise being helpful and loving and not doing harm, it matters how you act on your beliefs. If a certain religion can help or hinder you in making wise judgments about how to help others, then it does matter which religion you are. Some religions say that theirs is the only real religion, others do not. I don't know if there is one "true" religion, but I would like to point out a few things about how religions can *sometimes* interfere with your ability to use good judgment in being kind to others. For example, if there a bunch of evil monsters causing all kinds of pain and suffering among humans, and you were in a position to help humanity by eliminating those monsters, would it be loving and helpful to do it? On the surface it would seem so. This scenario might seem fanciful, but in fact many of the world's genocidal maniacs such as Hitler and Stalin were of the sincere belief that humanity's problems were all caused by a certain group of evildoers, and that by exterminating that group they would thereby be saving humanity. The problem is, they were all wrong. They acted because they believed they were right. Do you see what complete faith in ones belief can do? The problem with any fixed belief system, or religion that promotes a fixed set of beliefs, is that it can encourage having unconditional faith in ones beliefs. When we take our opinions too seriously, we can get into all kinds of trouble from arguments and fights up to wars and the extermination of millions of people. Fortunately, many religions advocate non-agression and humility, and these things tend to counteract the potential I mentioned. Ideologies, on the other hand, do not normally advocate passivity and humility, which is why I'd favor religion over ideology. While wars are still fought over religion, the biggest mass murderers in history were acting on their ideologies, not their religion. Regardless of what (if any) religion we are, it is important to remember that opinions and beliefs can be wrong. I'm not saying we shouldn't have opinions and beliefs, of course we are going to have them, I'm just saying that we have to be careful about how seriously we take them. It's good to have faith but our actions must be decided with humility and love as well.

From a Christian perspective, the answer is "no." The key to understanding heaven and how to enter it (again, from a Christian perspective) is to accept there is no way anyone can earn their way into it. Let me say that again: NO ONE "deserves" to go to heaven. Every one of us is a sinner (if you sin one time, you are a sinner), and the wages of sin are death. Even the greatest among us, according to God, deserve death (i.e. eternal separation from God) because we have sinned against Him. Doing good deeds, loving and helping others, being a good person are not and never will be enough to get to heaven. In other words, nothing we can do can save us from hell. The only way to redemption is through Jesus Christ, who was sinless, and yet died for our sins. He took our punishment upon Himself, so that we could be redeemed and enter heaven. In order to enter heaven, we must acknowledge and accept his sacrifice on His behalf, and recognize Him as our Lord. So if someone else does more good than I do, cares about others more, and dedicates his life to helping others, yet does not recognize and accept the sacrifice Jesus made for him while I do, according to Christianity, I will go to heaven, and he will not. This may seem unfair at first, but consider it like this: even this good man has sinned, and is fallen. Even this good man is evil compared to the holiness of God. I may have sinned 1000 times and he may have sinned only 500, but he still sinned 500 times, and a price must be paid for those sins. SOMEONE must pay the price. Either you accept Jesus and his ransom for your life, or you don't. It is entirely up to you. If you don't, you must pay the price of your own sins, and that price is death, also known as hell. This is not to say works are not important to Christians; they absolutely are, as they are a demonstration to God of your love for Him, as is your obedience to His commands. And God commands many many times in the Bible to care for others. In fact, Jesus says that loving your neighbor as yourself is the second greatest commandment, second only to loving the Lord, your God w/ all your heart, soul and mind. But doing so will not get you into heaven. So from a Christian perspective, it very much matters which "religion" you are, as according to Christianity, the only route to heaven is through Jesus. ----------------- Edit for Xiere: This is actually a very FREEING doctrine, not a fearful one. If our eternal salvation depended on our performance, on how well we followed rules, helped others, gave to charity, etc., we would always have to live in fear that we weren't doing enough, that we were in danger of damnation. Instead, our mistakes have been paid for already, if we allow the payment to be made. That is a joyful thing, not a fearful one. Also, I wondered about your rationale for believing that everyone goes to heaven. I haven't heard that one before, and wondered what you were basing that belief on, if it was a particular religion, or personal studies, or philosophy, etc.?

i aboslutly agree with you... as long as you are being the best you can be and trying to make the world a better place, then you are worshipping the god(s)

First question - It doesn't matter what religion you are. God didn't invent religions/doctrines, man did. Second question - Most organised religions/movements/cults preach and teach that everyone should be charitable and assist others. Nothing wrong with that at all. You can be the best you can be and that includes being compassionate toward others and charitable of heart without any religion.

Truth* if you are aware of this and its ability you have found what we call God, one might not be aware of it but they have reached a point of existence very few ever do. Truth is accepting your ignorance. You are a christain and I seek the truth, we do not know any better that is why we do it. I love everything people have to say because they have just as much right as I. We are both incorrect and that is the beauty. I am as much a christian as I am a jew or a muslim or a buddist or a seeker of the truth. The only thing I do not understand is why we use the names for division. People make wonderful statements on this site but they do not understand the power of the division it creates. We must foreshadow our opinions as if they were blocks of Lego anyone can add to them or take away. Our thoughts are only ignorant opinions developed within history; none of us know the truth and therefore are unable to speak it. This God we talk about is not something we can tell someone how it is. We must invite them on the journey of exploration to share our thoughts and our feelings together, that is as close as we can get to the truth and I have found the most rewarding. No religion or human has any right to tell someone, if you do not have our beliefs you will not be accepted to what we call heaven. Why would any human say if you do not believe this you go to hell? No one has access to the truth only insight to it. They do not know! So if they tell you they do know that would be the opposite of truth. ( Here is a statement - anyone who tries to pass on the word of God without being asked first by each individual is not living in the truth). Do not get your knickers in a knot. Walk well through life

I am going to address only the second part of your question. At its most basic, any religion is a system of beliefs involving the supernatural and its relationship with the natural world including humanity. From these beliefs, we derive creeds, doctrines, practices and traditions. The religions are not 'about being the best person you can, and helping others to the best of your ability' . Those are some of the outcomes of the practices of many religions, though not all; the ancient Egyptians and Greeks didn't practice their religions this way and you can find many others where the gods were pretty fierce rather than benevolent. Many religions in antiquity had gods that were downright hostile humans, not like the image of a loving father that we find in Christianity. Being the best person and helping others are admirable traits but they can and do arise from totally secular motives and beliefs.

Religions are about making sense of the universe and finding truth. Not all ways can lead to truth, since they contradict in the ways to reach truth and what that truth is, so not all ways can be truth, lead to truth, or lead to God. There's a common misconception that Jesus came to make us better people, but He came to make us new people. Christianity would say the way to finding things of eternal value is through Jesus alone (Jn. 14:6) so if it is right then all other ways must inevitably be wrong. Christianity recognizes that the whole human race falls short of God's standard of perfection (Rom. 3:19) and that it's because of human beings not obeying His moral Law that there is suffering and evil in the world. All God's commandments rest on two commands (Mt. 22:40), to love Him with all our hearts, minds, and souls; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Since love by definition doesn't harm others (Rom. 13:10) to obey those 2 commands means we'd never harm God or other people, and thus this world would be a perfect place. Suffering and evil comes as a consequence and sometimes a direct result of us breaking the commandments of God which, by the way, He always gives for a reason. Christianity isn't about religion or doing good works to get in (Eph. 2:8-10), but about becoming new people through a heart transaction. Christianity at its most basic is simply getting in a right relationship with God through a heart transaction whereby we repent of our sins (Luke 13:3), trust solely in Jesus and His payment on the cross to save us (Romans 10:8-10), and accept Him into our hearts as Lord and Leader of our lives. Now we can't see that transaction (Jn. 3:8) but the Bible does say we can "know" a Christian by the things that transaction or changed heart/life should produce, i.e. love for others (Jn. 13:35), good works (Mt. 7:16), and abiding in the words/commandments of Jesus (Jn. 8:31). And so, being a good person, helping others, etc... is a result occurring from a changed life, but being a good person can never get us to heaven. We are all guilty and need mercy through Jesus, and that's the only way to find things of eternal value like truth, eternal life, forgiveness of sins, and reconciliation with God.

Well if you can show me in the Koran where it says to love others and that Allah loves you...that would be a good first step. But see religion is about what you (man, people) can do to make God happy and not hurt you. Religion is do this, don't do that and god will not hurt you, or reward you, etc. Religion is selfish and self-centered. Religion is tradition and opinion. Religion is about how good can I be? If I'm good then...fill in the blank. Christianity does not say that. The point of Christianity is to know God. The only God. The one who made you. The one who gives you hope. The one who you can live with for eternity if you know Him here on earth, forsaking all others and abiding in Jesus. The works - the good things, the what I should do vs. have to do follows the faith. Faith is knowing and loving God by His divinely dictated revelation - the Bible. God's autobioraphy and love letter to people. By knowing that He is perfect and just and loves us and that by our sin we separate ourselves from Him we understand that it's not about what we get here on earth. It's not about us at all, but about knowing God and serving others humbly. By knowing that for our rebellion (sin) against God we are separated from Him and deserve death, then we realize that God loves us so much He came to earth and died in our place. That He took our punishment. That Jesus is the only way, because there is no other atonement for sin. What other religion atones for our sin? What other knowledge do we need than to know that there is only one way because there is only one God and He Himself prescribed the way. And the way leads to a relationship with Him. It is all for the sake of living with God forever. That is Heaven - the full and glorious presence of God! What religion can boast a selfless God who sacrifices Himself for His children so that they can be assured of eternal salvation when the other choice is willful ignorance of Him and eternal separation from Him and His mercies? That's why it matters what religion you are. Because if you choose unwisely, or unintelligently, or choose not to seek after Him at all, eternity rests on that decision. It's like this: If I knock on your door and push my way into your house and say, "Hi we've nevermet; my name is Giuseppe and I'm a really good person. I'd like to live with you now! Where's my room?" Would you let me in and set up a bedroom for me? No, you would kick me out and say that you don't know me and you didn't make room for me. Nor do I deserve free rent and your hospitality. Well it's the same with God. If you approach Him in Heaven and expect a place there when you have ignored, rejected and chided Him while you were alive on earth...He's going to say, "depart from me! I never knew you!" Why would your goodness get you into heaven when God's goodness is your measuring stick? Can you be as good as God? God says that all of our goodness (man's goodness) islike filthy rags! His actual wording is that what we tout as our goodness is like a menstrual rag! How good can that be? I don't know, but I wouldn't rely on that to get me faceto face with God. If anyone thinks it not fair that there is only one way to God and to Heaven...all you have to know is that God already paid the price for your admission. He did it all. Nothing you do can get you into heaven except to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus died and rose again in your place and then follow Him! Sounds fair to me! He was tortured and died and all I have to do is have a relationship with Him!

It matters because there really is a God. And this God really has an opinion. And this God really has the final say on your life and your soul. And he expects you to adhere to his thoughts and opinions, and not that of others thought and opinions, no matter how much they may speak of being a "good person".

Life is what you make it. Having seen promises far off into the future, you determine what you're blessed with when you believe it in your mind. The answer to your question is; what you choose to believe. I suggest you give Jesus a try and let all your burdens go away. Faith.

Its all a matter of opinion. Religious ppl want specifics, and disagree with each other. We percieve ridiculous behavior, they percieve a "spiritual battle".

There is one truth, one reality. The creator of reality exist without the need for mans opinion or explanation. If we would all refer to the Cause of the universe as "The cause of the universe" without giving our opinion of atributes, there would be one religion for all.