Question:
How can you be certain that your religion is the key to heaven?
anonymous
2008-06-15 21:32:40 UTC
Why do you think your religion is the right one?

To prove that your religion is the right one you must

a) prove that god indeed exists
b) prove that god talks to humans
c) prove that your bible/ other religious book is indeed the word of god.

How can you be certain that your religion is the key to heaven?
Fifteen answers:
MSB
2008-06-15 21:46:48 UTC
I believe my religion is right for me, not the right one for everyone. I believe all paths lead up the same mountain.



a) I can't prove God(s) exists. I have faith. I respect other people's rights to follow what they believe. I might be right, but I might be wrong. It doesn't matter to me, though, because my beliefs help me. I don't try to impose them on anyone.



b) See answer a



c) My religious books are not claimed to be the word of any Higher Power. I do not believe the Higher Power wrote a book or authorized it's biography. All religious books are simply human written. They are what people believed about God(s), not from God.



In my religion, there is no belief in either heaven or hell, so this is not something I worry about.
Pamela
2008-06-15 21:48:08 UTC
Nobody can prove that. That's why God says we must have faith. No one religion is 100% RIGHT because "religions" are man-made & comprised of imperfect people & are, therefore, fallible.



How do I know that God exists? I know in BIG ways....He healed my Mother of documented colon cancer...and in small ways....like this morning....running late for church I didn't notice that my new blouse gaped open at the top & I desperately needed a safety pin to close it. I looked down on the ground & found a safety pin just lying there. Coincidence? I don't believe in coincidence. People say miracles don't exist anymore but it's only because they are looking for something HUGE like a sign dropping down out of the sky announcing God's existence. Truth is, small miracles, like my safety pin, happen all the time. Only, to most, that doesn't qualify as a miracle. The Bible says His eye is on the Sparrow...they are fed by God....so I KNOW if the sparrow is THAT important to Him...how much more important I must be.
moccasins
2008-06-16 23:17:05 UTC
I don't think that people CAN be 100% certain. Although I guess that's why it's called "faith" and not "knowledge." I've got a lot of respect for religious people; but I still don't think that anyone can be totally certain about their beliefs. It is only human to have doubts, and everyone does.



I think that fear plays into religion a lot: that people get wrapped up into their religious culture and fear to deviate from it for one reason or another.



It takes a lot of guts for a religious person to admit that certitude is not possible. But I think that if folks would admit this and truly examine the thought in their hearts, we would have a lot less religious arguments, wars, etc...
Use the Faith
2008-06-16 12:27:40 UTC
a) Can't. How can I, a human, explain something as unfathomable as God. It's faith.

b) After Jesus ascended into heaven, God or Jesus rarely spoke to humans. I believe, that to be still the case. Jesus briefly conversed with Acts. Jesus gave a few short commands in Revelations. If memory serves me correct, I believe that's it, outside of the first 4 gospels.

c) Like many ancient manuscripts, the Bible is orally communicated stories of events, that at some point was finally written down.

d) Continued moronic view that Heaven is a place of pleasures. Answering that other guys bullet point.



I tried to answer your questions as straight forward as possible. Please allow me to elaborate.



A) If God were made up, I can give you a wide variety of proofs that God exists. Especially when I take some Percocet and turn on Pink Floyd, I bet I can provide some imaginative proofs. But since God is real, I can't. It does take a leap of faith. Because I can't speak with you, I have to assume, you believe in evolution. I'll just deal the creation part. What proof is there that the big-bang theory is true or that when, much like Jupiter or Saturn (or others) today, back then on earth, there were only rocks, fire, chemicals and elements. Then suddenly, out of no life whatsoever, something living appeared. We keep looking for water and/or life on Mars. Seriously folks, just add water and poof, you get life. Is it that easy? When you see how complex and wonderful living organisms are, you have to ponder the possibility of God. To believe or not, that's up to you.



B) I think this was answered sufficiently.



C) There are many ancient texts, probably the same, communicated orally, then written down. Yet the Bible is dismissed most highly. Other ancient manuals will be looked upon as maybe a good source of history at least, excluding the supernatural stuff. But many today, don't even see the historical influence the Bible has had on many archeological diggs today. How do you know some tribal or village script or scroll is true or accurate? Maybe they were fictional stories in themselves. But how many archeologists do you know, when they find a manual, wonder if it's accurate or not. None. They regard is historical fact. The Bible is the word of God, people back then heard, and passed on generation to generation.



Many Christians focus on death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and rightly so. But many others also make the teachings of Christ, and the Bible in it's entirety, as some sort of lovey dovey book. No, the Bible is a book of God trying to bring back His created people to Himself. Much like a mother trying to bring back their child from self destruction. And most of the Bible is about how people continue to fail to go to God and believe, trust, obey Him. With the single highlight of how Jesus died for our sins on the cross, be resurrected to provide a way to save us.



Why would people write a book like the Bible, filled with constant failures of people, people like in the land of Ur during Cains time, Sodom and Gomorah, those following Mose in the desert, King David's shortcomings, 18 out 26 kings thereafter who didn't follow God, wars, famines, plagues. To highlight the bright spots of those were obedient to God, crying out to Him, acknowledging Him, and to demonstrate of Christ's sacrificing love, and the work He did to save us.



And that's the difference in the Bible and other texts. We don't do the work of saving or going to heaven. God has done it already. When you find a religion that offers how you can get yourself to heaven, I'd be weary of it. What will be the standard? Will it be graded on a curve? What are the criterias? This leaves way too much room for subjectivity and confusion (something that the denominations of Christiantiy do as well. There should only be one "Christianity" under Jesus Christ). A religion based on our ability to get there, that is wrong. Why should you get to heaven and not me... I think I was better here or there? Those are the questions that will be raised.



When you look at the life of Christ and how He lived, and not other Christians, there's no question He lived a perfect life, a life worth investigating.



I cannot change you. There is no hope in me that you will become a Christian, if you're not one already. I hope that my words will challenge you to read the Bible, maybe starting with the New Testament, Gospel of Mark (it's short). Only in the word of God is there hope.
God's Fountain Pen
2008-06-15 22:00:13 UTC
No religion can, though they might claim to, guarantee you a 'ticket to Heaven'. Religions are founded on man's effort to be 'perfect and acceptable'. Which is impossible for mankind in general. Since God is the Creator of Heaven, and He gets to decide 'who' gets in, it would be wise to seek the Source for your answer. According to His direct Word, only those who genuinely accept His invitation of Salvation' and 'all' that it entails, can get through the 'pearly gates.'
The Rock
2008-06-15 22:18:19 UTC
Because you operate with doubt and unbelief, not to mention that the father of lies is hounding you and provoking you, your questions come as an accusation rather than a genuine interest in anything spiritual. It is pointless answering you. You clearly have denied the truth and accepted the lie.
hotmommadru
2008-06-15 21:39:25 UTC
religion is not the key to heaven its Jesus Christ...to prove God exists just look around you..he made whats there....try him once and if you are not happy with him I am sure the devil will be glad to take you back....Jesus is the way the truth the light no one comes to the father but by me..Jesus said that not I....
Mr. John
2008-06-15 21:41:08 UTC
Religion is not the key to heaven. Jesus is the way to heaven.
child of God
2008-06-15 21:38:57 UTC
I don't know of a religion that holds that key, but I do know that Jesus said "No one comes to the Father, except through Christ Himself." I'd say He's more like a bridge rather than a key.

Blessings.
SuzyQ -- pray4revival
2008-06-15 21:46:22 UTC
No 'religion' is the key to heaven, my friend.



Jesus Christ said that He was the way, the truth, and the life; and that no man could see the Father except through Him.



God Bless...................
tarheel10
2008-06-15 21:37:48 UTC
because if u study he Bible and the prophecies in it, u can prove the validity of the book.... and God speaks to us through His word and i can feel Him all around me... which would in turn prove His existence
anonymous
2008-06-15 21:38:16 UTC
Faith and belief. My spiritual belefs work for me, but that doesn't mean it would work for somebody else and I don't expect it to like others.
Jesus Chrysler
2008-06-15 21:52:03 UTC
Only possible answer: "Because my religion says so."
anonymous
2008-06-15 23:15:23 UTC
also ....



d) prove that heaven exists with all its pleasures.
anonymous
2008-06-15 21:36:55 UTC
Jesus took care of it all.


This content was originally posted on Y! Answers, a Q&A website that shut down in 2021.
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