Fate of the unlearned


The fate of the unlearned, also known as the destiny of the unevangelized, is an eschatological question about the ultimate destiny of people who have not been exposed to a particular theology or doctrine and thus have no opportunity to embrace it. The question is whether those who never hear of requirements issued through divine revelations will be punished for failure to abide by those requirements.
It is sometimes addressed in combination with the similar question of the fate of the unbeliever. Differing faith traditions have different responses to the question; in Western Christianity the fate of the unlearned is related to the question of original sin. As some suggest that rigid readings of religious texts require harsh punishment for those who have never heard of that religion, it is sometimes raised as an argument against the existence of God, and is generally accepted to be an extension or sub-section of the problem of evil.

Christianity

In the early Church, Justin Martyr, a Church Father, taught that those who lived according to the logos are Christians, though they might not know about Jesus Christ. Tertullian held that Christ has descended into Hades to deliver the Good News, with Clement of Alexandria, Origen and Athanasius declaring that "Jesus delivered from hell both Jews and Gentiles who accepted the gospel and that postmortem evangelism continues even today". Augustine of Hippo, however, believed that the unevangelized are condemned to hell and Thomas Aquinas held that those "brought up in the forest or among wolves" would be sent "the gospel message through miraculous means."

Roman Catholic

The Roman Catholic Church believes that Jesus Christ attained salvation "for all people by his death on the cross, but that some may choose to reject it." It teaches that salvation comes from "God alone", but that the Church is the "mother" and "teacher" of the faithful. Thus, "all salvation comes through the Church", and the Roman Catholic Church mediates Christ's salvation through the sacraments. Specifically, it teaches that Christian baptism is necessary for salvation, and that the Roman Catholic Church is also necessary as "the universal sacrament of salvation", but that some may be joined to the Church by baptism of desire or by baptism of blood in absence of ritual baptism, and thus attain salvation also through the Church. "Divine and Catholic faith", untainted by willful heresy, and love are also necessary for salvation, as is dying in a state of grace. Catholic teaching allows for the salvation of one with genuine ignorance of the Catholic Church, who "seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it". With respect to the unlearned, Catholic theologians have traditionally taught that there are four points required for salvation, which are necessary by necessity of means, with the latter two being required if the Gospel has been preached in that land:
  1. There is only one God.
  2. God rewards the good and punishes the wicked.
  3. God is a Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
  4. God the Son, Jesus Christ, became man for us, was crucified, died, and rose.
Unbaptized catechumens can be saved, in the Roman Catholic view, because the desire to receive the sacrament of baptism, together with sincere repentance for one's sins, together with the attainment of "divine and Catholic faith", assures salvation. In the case of the righteous unlearned, "It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity" and, by extension, God may permit them to attain salvation.

Protestant

In Protestantism, the issue centers on whether those who have not heard the Gospel receive salvation or damnation. The French reformer John Calvin affirmed the doctrine extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, writing in his Institutes of the Christian Religion at the time of the Reformation, "beyond the pale of the Church no forgiveness of sins, no salvation, can be hoped for" . Calvin wrote also that "those to whom he is a Father, the Church must also be a mother", echoing the words of the originator of the Latin phrase himself, Cyprian: "He can no longer have God for his Father who has not the Church for his mother." The idea is further affirmed in the Puritan, Anglican Westminster Confession of Faith of 1647 that "the visible Church... is the Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, the house and family of God, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation".
The dogma is related to the universal Protestant dogma that the Church is the body of all believers and debates within Protestantism usually centre on the meaning of "church" and "apart". Theologian John Sanders noted that "Although God's decision on this issue is final, the church has never agreed on the nature of that decision." Sanders and Clark Pinnock propose a position known as "inclusivism", under which many of the unevangelized will receive salvation because they have faith in God as they know him, and they are saved by Christ's work. With regard to the fate of the unlearned, Willard Francis Mallalieu, a Methodist bishop, wrote in Some Things That Methodism Stands For:
The United Methodist Church thus has prayers for the dead for unbaptized children and those "who did not profess the Christian faith": we 'commit those who are dear to us to your never-failing love, for this life and the life to come.'" The Methodist funeral liturgy for non-Christians beseeches God to "look favorably... upon those... who scarcely knew your grace.... Grant mercy also to those who have departed this life in ignorance or defiance of you. We plead for them in the spirit of him who prayed, 'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.'" Likewise, the Church of England, mother Church of the Anglican Communion has a prayer for the unlearned: "God of infinite mercy and justice, who has made man in thine own image, and hatest nothing thou hast made, we rejoice in thy love for all creation and commend all mankind to thee, that in them thy will be done." The Christian Reformed Church, in its funeral rites, has "prayers for those who lived openly sinful lives", i.e. "we place in your merciful hands N.... His/her life was filled with sin and struggle, but only you... perceive what mustard seed of faith... was hidden in his/her heart". It also prays for those "who were not known to be Christian", i.e. "we commend N.... to your merciful care, knowing that you... will do right".

Latter-day Saints

, or Mormonism, teaches that those who die without knowledge of LDS theology will have the opportunity to receive a knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the spirit world. Latter-day Saints believe that God has provided a way so that all of humankind will have an opportunity to hear the message of the gospel, and can thereby choose whether to accept it or not. Latter-day Saints assert that modern day revelation has clarified and confirmed the Biblical accounts that during the three days between his death and resurrection, Christ "went and preached unto the spirits in prison", at which time he also commissioned other spirits to "go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men". Since Latter-day Saints believe that all people must receive the proper ordinances in order to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, today members of the LDS Church participate in a massive genealogical effort to compile names of their kindred dead, and then act as proxies in ordinances performed on behalf of their deceased ancestors within LDS temples. The beneficiaries of this temple work are then free to accept or reject the vicarious ordinances performed on their behalf.
Latter-day Saints do not believe that children come into the world with any guilt, because Jesus Christ atoned for "original guilt"; therefore no one is condemned by original sin and people are responsible only for their own sins once they have reached the age of accountability. Those incapable of understanding right from wrong, such as the mentally handicapped, are also saved under the atonement of Jesus Christ without baptism.
In Latter-day Saint belief, only "sons of perdition" who choose to reject Jesus after receiving a sure knowledge of him are destined for a form of Hell called outer darkness.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Jehovah’s Witnesses see no dilemma between this issue and what the scriptures teach. They believe that due to Adam’s rebellion all mankind inherited sin and death. God, in his love, sent his son Jesus Christ to redeem mankind from that sad condition, and help them attain everlasting life. Since they understand that faith in that provision is the only way to attain its benefits, they view their preaching work as essential and urgent. They believe that at some appointed time, once sufficient time has been given for a thorough witness, Jesus Christ will assume his royal authority and bring an end to the corrupt system of things that exists on the earth today. Those with genuine faith that are alive at that time will be able to survive and form the basis of a new world of righteousness under the benign and just government of Jesus Christ.
If at the appointed time for the judgement there are some who couldn't be reached with the message of salvation, due to government restrictions or other such causes outside of the witnesses control, they believe that the principle of community responsibility may be applied to them. Likewise, they believe that children of Jehovah's Witnesses may be saved even if they have not yet been baptized due to not yet having reached the age at which they may make their own decisions. For all other cases they view baptism as a required "request for a good relationship with God" through faith in Jesus Christ. However, their official journal, The Watchtower, stated: “When judgement time arrives, to what extent will Jesus consider community responsibility and family merit? We cannot say, and it is pointless to speculate. ”
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that there is also another group that will attain salvation, this one in heaven. They believe that this group began to be gathered first, starting with Jesus’ apostles and his first disciples. Jesus called this group the “little flock”. Sometime before the end of this system of things arrives, they are resurrected as spiritual creatures. They believe that this group will join Jesus Christ in the governance of that new world. They believe that the vast majority of Christians today do not belong to this group, but to the one that will live in perfection on the Earth forever.
As for the billions of people who will have died before that time and who were not part of the "little flock" group, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that they will be resurrected, here on Earth, during Christ's millennial reign. That includes those who never had the opportunity to hear about the message of Jesus Christ, as well as those faithful servants of God who died before the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ was paid. Jesus intends to bring them back to life, on Earth, and judge them according to how they behave then, not according to what they did in their previous life.
They base that belief in the fact that the Bible states that "the wages sin pays is death". To them this means that death is the single stipulated punishment for any sins committed during one’s lifetime. When a person dies, God, in a sense, forgets all the injustices that person did. “For the one who has died has been acquitted from his sin.” Therefore, they believe that when Jesus uses his authority to resurrect people, it will be in order to give them a second chance, on the basis of his ransom sacrifice. Their behavior during that time will be symbolically written in a new scroll, “the scroll of life”. Those who prove unworthy due to persistent rebellion against their creator will be symbolically thrown into "the lake of fire", which symbolizes eternal destruction, "the second death". For the rest, an eternal paradise of peace, justice, and love awaits.

Islam

A similar issue exists in Islam, as different authorities within the faith have issued different theories as to the destiny of those who do not know of Muhammad or Allah. Islam generally rejects the possibility that those who have never heard of the revelations embodied in the Quran might automatically merit punishment.
According to Quran, the basic criteria for salvation in the afterlife is the belief in one God, the Last Judgment, acceptance and obedience of what is in the Quran and ordained by the prophet, and good deeds. As the Qur'an states:
The Quran also asserts that those who reject the Messengers of God with their best knowledge are damned in the afterlife and if they reject the Messenger of God in front of him, then they also face a dreadful fate in this world and in the afterlife. Conversely, a person who discovers monotheism without having been reached by a messenger is called Hanif. But it should be remembered, Islam also states every community in the world, no matter how isolated, had been sent at least one prophet to teach them. So, this belief limits the possibility of people not hearing God's message. Part of Ibrahim's story in the Quran also suggests every human is capable of finding the one true God by their own common sense.
One view is that "A person who has never heard of Islam or the Prophet... and who has never heard the message in its correct and true form, will not be punished by Allah if he dies in a state of disbelief. If it were asked what his fate will be, the answer will be that Allah will test him on the Day of Resurrection: if he obeys, he will enter Paradise and if he disobeys he will enter Hell." But, even those who have not heard the message will be held to some standard of conduct: "Because everyone is a born Muslim, those who have never heard of Islam are only responsible for not doing what common sense tells him or her to do. Those who knowingly violate God's laws will be punished for their wrongdoing." Under this view, those who have not heard the message are "excused," and Allah "rewards such people for the good they have done, and they enjoy the blessings of Paradise." A similar view is that "if such people find the Creator through the use of reason, even though they do not know His Names or Attributes, they will be saved. If they do not do this, they will not be saved."
Some would extend this mercy to the incompetently evangelized, that is, to people "who have been reached by the name of Muhammad but who have been given a false account," and for whom it is then said that they "have not rejected true Islam but only a distorted version of it and they will therefore be judged in the same category as those people who never heard of Islam in the first place."
The more complicated question of what will happen, for example, to people of religions other than Judaism and Christianity is significantly more controversial. There is particularly controversy over the meaning of the word "Sabians". The long presence of Islam in South Asia, however, has engendered many debates about the status of Hindus, which has run the whole gamut between a more standard dismissal of Hinduism as shirk, or polytheism, to some Muslims, such as Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan even going so far as to recognize Rama and Krishna as Prophets of Islam not explicitly mentioned in Muslim scripture – thereby making Hindus equivalent to Christians or Jews.

Other positions

The problem of the unevangelized does not arise in religious or spiritual traditions such as deism, pandeism, and pantheism, which do not include any revelation or require obedience to revealed rules. In deism, some believe that individuals will be judged by one's obedience to natural laws of right and wrong to be obtained by the exercise of reason alone, and so, failure to exercise reason in the effort to make this determination is itself the cause for punishment.
In Buddhism, it is believed that all beings, whether evangelized or not, will continue to be reborn until they have achieved Nirvana. However, Buddhist scholars have said that "any suggestion that enlightenment is immediately available to anyone who really wants it, even if he has never heard of Buddhism, is likely to be received with incredulity or even resentment."
Dante attempted to answer this question with the first level of Hell in the Divine Comedy, where the virtuous pagans live. They are described as those who lived before the time of Jesus and therefore unable to enter Purgatory or Heaven. Amongst them is Virgil, Dante's guide through Hell and Purgatory.