It shouldn't take a PHD to understand that all religions can't be right. We're talking about right and wrong. I'm not suggesting they all can't be "good".
Examples
- Catholic and 7th Day Adventist: Last I checked, neither of them preach evil. They encourage faith, love, and respect. But their core beliefs are different. One celebrates the sabbath on Saturday and the other on Sunday. They differ on baptism, communion, and many other issues. Obviously both can't be right.
- Mormons and Muslims: No details needed. They are polar opposites.
With so many different religious views, is there an actual truth? My opinion is no. Religion provides people with answers. Usually people will stay committed to the religion they were raised in. When life isn't going well, people may look to another faith. For some reason they think God has influence on daily affairs. Somehow if they convert to something else, their life will pull a 180... This mentality is beyond stupid. I'm sure there were plenty of people in their old faith doing just fine.
I was once blinded by "good" lessons. I still have family preaching and hoping I'll come back "to the fold". They will never engage in a real discussion about truth and reality. They are lost in "good" feelings. I mean thats one of the "fruits of the spirit" right? I've never said the lessons taught to people aren't good. Hopefully they enable them to be better people. But that doesn't make any of them true. Truth and Reality stand alone. The earth is round no matter what. The Catholics understand the life and teachings of Christ completely, or they do not. The Mormons are the only true church, or they are not. God exists, or he/she doesn't. You can learn so much more by trying to find answers, rather than relying on the "warm fuzzies"
I view religion as a way ancient people explained things that science can now explain. There are good lessons in religion, but they can be very broad- like be kind, don't steal, don't cheat, love one another. These principles can be taught without the guilt that a religion brings on.
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I agree. As I look back, I can see I used to believe it had to be one way or the other. Either I was going to drink, party, etc or I was going to be a faithful member of the church. It never occured to me those weren't my only options.
ReplyDeleteI now realize I can be a great person and teach my children good values without following a particular faith.