bad30th

This may seem like an immature religious question, but what I'm really looking for are the different views from many different faiths...

I dont consider myself a religious person, but I was raised primarily with the Christian faith: worship Jesus, always try to do right, ask God and Jesus to forgive you of your sins, and when you die you go to Heaven...more or less.

Buuuuut theres dozens of other faiths out there...

Sooo my question is....

How do i know that Christianity is the right one? I mean, isnt it something like 2/3 of the worlds population follows Budhism (sp?)? So what happens to all those people when they die? I mean is the [insert your western faith here] religion just basically saying that everyone else is fucked??

I'm also curious to know how other faiths view this....

thanks

constant

There are many more Christians than there are Buddhists. I think it is 1/3rd or more of the world is Judeo-Christian or Islamic.

We won't know in the forseeable future what is "right".

I guess you can just blindly place your faith in one book, or you can actively seek out the truth while valuing the philsophical insights of the Bible and many other books.

If you want the closest thing to absolute truths that we have, turn to science. Science may very well be a product of a supreme being, though. We don't know, and I don't think we will ever know.

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bad30th

But doesn't more than half of the world's population reside in Asia....not much Judeo-Christianity happening there

Are we just saying that more than half of the world's population is just plain wrong?

constant

There are a lot of Islamic people in Asia. I said 1/3rd, not 1/2, too. Not all Asians are Buddhists, in fact, they are probably a minority religion compared to Folk/local religions/philosophies (Hindu, Confucianism, Taoism, ATHEISM, etc) + Islam.

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rogue49

Sorry to tell you this...

But it the self-righteousness, and arrogance of the religion's leaders
that promotes this type of "dogma", rhetoric & mentality.

They know they have promote their way of thinking
One of the ways you do this is by "dismissing" the other's views.
An extreme of this is..."do it this way or else" or "eliminating" the objection.

This is to promote faith, faith increases influence,
influence increases power, power allows you to push your views,
and so then the faith grows...it is a cycle.

BTW, power also increases their own personal power

God-forbid a religion admits it is wrong or something might be different.
People rather kill you than change their mind.
Perhaps all views are correct, just in a different "perspective".

It's a big universe out there, do you really think "God" has even gotten close to showing the truth?
And are you really going to listen to a person in a "big hat" and "gown"?

Seriously, think for yourself...explore, ponder, ask questions
You might find that your faith actually increases,
but then you'll understand it's more of a metaphor or guide to life,
to be taken in consideration, rather than literally.

There is deeper meaning to the words than the surface.

RNW

I look at religions as "How to" - collections. One human life is too short and possibilities too many for humans to handle the chaos. But choose a religion; a set of rules - and principles to help you, when no specific rule exists for your situation. My guess is, no religion is good or bad, cause determinining what you should see as good or bad is the very core of all religion.

Adopt the religion of your parents if you are not too interested in the whole subject. Study religions and choose one you like if you have the energy. And if you are creative, feel free to combine; make your own mix.

I find some christian rules handy, especially when deciding how much I should think of myself, how much of the others. I'm no saint, I just sometimes curb myself when I realize the damage done to others would be major and my pleasure of a spontaneous act would be in the cathegory of 'instant fun'..

I do wonder sometimes, though how life would be if I was born into a culture and religion where man has several wives, and has no built-in-guilt about it. And the women would find it the way it should be and would radiate with joy when taken into the coolest
man's harem. And again, would the lucky man enjoy his life any more than me? Normal situation is 'normal' in any culture. And 'normal' becomes boring - no matter what the religion.

After this I need ketchup and sausages.

Sleepyjack

egh double

Sleepyjack

a lot of religions are based on some kind of forgiveness or redemption for bad acts you do, namely christianity. So hopefullynthey can all forgive me for not particulary believeing in any.
as long as you try to be empathetic and altruistic, then that should be the "guts" of most religions.

virus

i prefer to check "none of the above." they're all right, they're all wrong. my goal lately is to try to figure things out universally. anyone who believes you have to have a certain set of cultural ideas to elevate yourself spiritually is just plain silly. this is gonna sound gnostic but there's got to be an a universal answer that is attainable by everyone.

constant

Look no one is "wrong", religions are philosophies, I don't think anyone truly believes there is some guy in a white robe sitting a few billion miles on "top" of Earth watching down on us. At least I know I don't.

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bparker805

Through my life I have personally dismissed the posibilty of there being a Higher Being that created the heavens and earth. doesnt mean i dont believe in a higher power. But I have accepted and adopted beliefs from a varity of religions in an effort to live my life in relative peace and harmony with myself and those i chose to keep in my life. For me religions are a way to control the masses and keep them in fear of retribution in the after life... F that. but i also believe that there are useful tools in religion to live life by. but wouldn't it be funny, if God truely exsists, that heaven exists in a locker in your local YMCA?

Lebell

I believe it was Marcus Borg that addressed this question for me in his work "Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time" when he said that Christianity didn't have to be right, just right for him on his own spiritual Journey.

This is the view I've held ever since.

As I've explored Christianity and other religions, it is Christianity that most encourages and nurtures me in my search for God.

So you will never hear me say that "Christianity is right (to the exclusion of other religions)," but rather, "Christianity is right for me."

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bad30th

thinking about it that way does make it less concrete right vs. wrong, and more of a self-improvement tool...well to me anyway

thanks guys 'n gals

mml

I couldn't agree more. Well put. While I am not overtly religeous, I think that if it helps someone become a fuller, happier or better person, then how can you argue. Most faiths stress the same themes, just in different ways. You need to find the way that works for you.

The difficulty lies in the fact that most religions encourage the proliferation of their beliefs and this forces believers to confront other beliefs. Add to this the inherent human quality of "what I believe is right" and sadly you get conflict.

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Jasmar

most religion is foolish now, maybe not back when it started but by now nothing isn't currupt in them. My opinion is to mak eyour own set of beleifs

The_Dude

that's the attitude a typical christian holds.

only christians go to heaven (and some of the time, it's only their denomination).

i've had several people that tell me that i wont make it to heaven cuz i'm 1) hindu 2) atheist and i've given them the "right........." look.

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MSD

Not all Christians have that belief. If you look at Catholic dogmatic law, while it does state that it is the law of God, says that anyone whose beliefs lead them to choose good over evil, whether Christian, Pagan, or even Atheistic, is still good in the eyes of God, which has basically been interpreted to mean that they will be welcomed into heaven after an appropriate amount of time being punished for their sins in purgatory.

In weekly masses, one thing that is included in some form every time is a prayer that all religions may come together as a unified brotherhood to do God's will. They don't say anything about converting them, only that they should embrace each other as brothers.

Although I suppose that you could say that Catholics aren't typical Christians.

WhoaitsZ

if go is shallow enough to judge the ignorant i want nothing to do with him.

i think a lot of what has been wrongly preached have neeem svare tactics.

WhoaitsZ

(sorry i can't ee the last line to edit. i meant to say 'been scare tactics)

Beltruckus

Everyone goes to heaven if you are a good person dont kill anyone dont steal, Try to be kind to people. btw buddah is jesus.

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Darkblack

wwcd101

Lots of good thoughts generated here. I would echo much of what has been said. But... what if I'm wrong???

Then, at least I gain some solace from the knowledge that, regardless of where "the other place" is, I'll be spending eternity with my friends (and a lot of TPF'ers too)!

Thanks for listening.

Jonsgirl

I had the same question as I was growing up and I never could get a satifactory answer. I've come to believe that every religion is, at it's core, connected. If there is a Higher Power, then he/she/it probably realized that the message needed to be the same, but that it also needed to be told in different ways for different peoples to understand it better.
So, I don't think it matters at all what religion you claim. As long as you adhere to the true heart of it, then you should end up safe and sound in your preferred afterlife.

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BRS

Religion -- any religion -- requires a leap of faith. It is not logical because religious faith cannot exist in a strictly logical mind (I'm not placing any value judgment on religion). In the train of Martin Luther and Kierkegaard, that leap of faith is what is required of you to establish a personal and meaningful contact with God. In other words, you must choose.

rrf

just think if you were a chinese person raised in china or something. you probably would have been raised as a buddhist, or whatever the main religion of china is, im not really sure, but you get my point. just like if you were born and raised in the south, you probably would have been raised as a christian baptist... and you would think that that religion is 'right' because its what you've known all your life. i was raised in a catholic family. you grow up "knowing" what the christian faith tells you and you "know" that it is right and true.

this may be a little asinine, but i look at it like this: you are raised "knowing" that santa clause comes every christmas on his sleigh and delivers gifts. but then you get to a point where you question that... and so on and so forth.. i think my point has been made.

AHadley

In other words, Man creates God in his own image.

GrayWolf

Only you can answer that question.