Why is BELIEF what gets us into heaven?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” -John 3:16 The details may vary among denominations, but the general consensus is that belief in Jesus Christ as the son of god is absolutely necessary and is step one on the road to heaven. If you do not believe in Jesus, you cannot get into heaven (and you perish in hell, or are annihilated...details are fuzzy on that too). This is also made very clear in John 14:6: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. But why though? If you stop to think about it, "belief" is a very odd thing to require as a ticket to heaven. Presumably, God wants to separate all people into two groups: those "worthy" of heaven, and those "deserving" hell. He has designed a cosmic test to sort people into groups, in which there's only one question: Do you believe (in Jesus?) Appare