This article discusses two of many convictions about the spiritual destiny (‘Heaven’) of humans on Earth after death. One group (inclusivists) holds, based on certain verses in the Bible, that ‘everybody’ (at least every believer in any religion, or mostly those in the main religions) will inherit eternal life. The other group discussed in this article is the exclusivists. They believe, also based on certain verses in the Bible, that the only way to reach eternity is by believing in Jesus Christ. Whereas the first point of view is very accommodating and most people will feel good about knowing that they will go to Heaven one day, no matter what, the second conviction accommodates only a ‘few’ people. These two convictions will be discussed, with arguments for why the exclusive argument seems to be God’s intention, as presented in the Bible to his followers. Nevertheless, after all has been said and done, it is not really for humans to decide, as God is the final decider. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article links with Philosophy. It also links to other Christian belief systems such as Roman Catholicism, Seventh-day Adventists and Reformation churches.
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Willem H. Oliver (2026) studied this question.
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