Why does it matter what religion you belong to, if you believe in God is that not enough?

Question

Opinions please.

Note:
Many of you will know that I am an atheist, but I am interested to know how religious believers justify the gaps in various doctrine. I will read long answers, take your time.

Answer 1

From a Muslim perspective:



Believing in God is the barest religious requirement for being a "believer", and if someone has even a "Mustard seed" of belief in God and does good works, and does not harm others, then they have "no cause for grief".



However, belonging to a religion is important because the definition of "good works" and "harm" is a lot more complicated than people think. Societies throughout history have had various and contradictory views on right and wrong, and without a belief in a specific doctrine there is no reason why one man's opinion on morality should be stronger than any other man's. People are always drawn to religion, and people are always drawn to charismatic sociopaths, which means that in the absence of an established religious doctrine, any charismatic sociopath can establish morality on might-makes-right, and claim that God supports him.



The benefit of an organized religion is twofold; first, they provide a coherent worldview and moral system that allows us to define ourselves as good, and judge our own behavior consistently. Also, assuming one religion is true, the inherent value of truth makes belonging to a true religion better than not. Thus, if someone recognizes that Islam is true, it becomes their responsibility to follow it thereafter, in recognition of God's authority to define morality. The result is often an organized and fulfilling experience, and if someone is committing harm in the name of a religion, we at least have original sources from which to condemn or argue against that behavior, rather than shrug and say "eh, who am i to say?".



The claim that morality can exist without a cosmic authority begs the definition of morality. Often the principles and values of an atheist are defined by the culture they live in, and would be much different if they were living in ancient Sparta or Rome. There is no indication that a Spartan atheist for example would be any more compassionate to Helots. The conventional wisdom that non-Spartans did not have a right to life would not so easily be overcome by common sense. Rather, that would be common sense, and breaking away from that would require a competing definition of morality, backed by a competing cosmic authority.



From a society/legal perspective, an organized religion contains sources from which scholars can form moral views independent of the state. Though religion can become a tool of the state, there are always sound scholarly opinions in religion to "speak truth to power". In fact, the clergy were as often in opposition to Kings as in support of them. This is important because religions often require the faith and comfort of the population, and thus must represent their interests and convince them of truth. In the absence of this scholarly movement, the only authority is military authority against which there can be no moral or scriptural argument.

Answer 2

Because, ultimately any rational being recognizes that not everybody's beliefs about God can be right. If I believe in God, as an object, I should be able to understand and study him objectively.



Eventually, as you do so, you realize the flaws or inconsistencies in certain belief systems about God. Many religions or thoughts about God are logically flawed, but God is certainly a logical being. So he would not DESIRE us to believe in whatever we want. He may be forgiving of us if we do...



I could really make a better, longer, argument, but wanted to basically lay a concept out that is summarized as such "everyone knows that all beliefs about God can't be true". Just believing in God is always a positive start, though - it gives you so much more to work with when rationalizing with someone.

Answer 3

I do understand where your coming from but I think that there are many different aspects of some religions aside from believing in god although believing in god may be the main factor of that religion. For example religious clothing, some religions think that it is wrong for women to show their bare legs for example. But again that should not matter and we should all be able to accept each other no matter which religion we belong to and yes I do think that no matter what religion you come from, believing in god should be all that matters. Hope this is what you were looking for?? xx

Answer 4

Jewish people don't believe that any particular faith is correct. In fact, Rambam in "Guide for the Perplexed" makes a rather startling statement. Everything we think we know is wrong.



For example, we can look at the outside of a watch and make assumptions about what's inside. For a person who has never seen the inside of a watch, it's unlikely any of these assumptions will be correct.



So, what to do? We believe the Torah teaches us how to live. Others believe equally their book teaches them how to live. As long as the teachings follow some degree of reasonableness, I suspect everyone will be ok if they follow them.

Answer 5

Most 'christians' will tell you that the only thing that matters is that someone accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, into their hearts. Since the only WAY is through Christ for mans salvation.



Although I too believe that Christ is "the way the truth & the life" and the only way we can gain access to the Father eternally as well... I also recognize that not ALL will come to know Him as "The Christ" in this life either. I am of the mindset that many will find Him in their search for Truth while in mortality, but many won't. God surely knew this and being the supreme loving Heavenly Father that He is - He of course has a PLAN for ALL HIS children to return to Him, right?



I recently saw a couple of video clips on the internet that were appauled and outraged that some pastors and leaders would dare say that it didn't matter necessarily if we know or accept CHrist in this life, what matters is WHO WE ARE when we leave this life. WELL sorry Christian Right - BUT I agree with this. If we leave this life and have been good, honorable, moral, loving people with pure hearts who had FAITH in a God - maybe a god that they called by another name because they hadn't found Jesus yet - I most certainly believe that when they LEAVE this life and pass on to 'paradise' they will see HIM then for WHO HE IS and know Him because they have "BECOME LIKE HIM" they have received "HIS IMAGE in their countenance" as scripture tells us and that has to do completely with who someone IS at their core, in their hearts and with sincerity of spirit and love. THAT is how we will be judged in my opinion. There will not be a Catholic Church or a Mormon church or a Christian Church in the next life - it will be the Kingdom of God PERIOD and we are all HIS CHILDREN.



When you consider that what man sees or knows as TRUTH while in mortality is very FINITE compared to what GOD KNOWS as truth - I think it rather arrogant of man to presume to know the absolute complete truth about anything in this life. Our brain functions on only its partial capacity - even SCIENCE tells us this. There is far too much MORE to truth, eternity, and Godliness then we can comprehend in this life as far as I'm concerned.



In the final analysis I believe that GOD will make all things right... I have found the TRUTH that is truth for "ME" in this life in the LDS Faith. Yours lies elsewhere no doubt... ; )

Answer 6

It matters eternally. Because one way is right and one way is wrong. Many people believe in God, and that's fine. But it doesn't mean anything because without believing that He sent His Son to die in your place and save you from His wrath there's no difference between believing in God and believing in Santa for all the good it will do you.



"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." - James 2:19

Answer 7

To me it*s simple!..My experience of God is all about Pure and Total Love, not about religion, for religion often teaches FEAR the opposite of Love!



So, as Jesus simply taught *Love one another* is all that really matters, for then we align with our Loving Creator..Religion can get in the way of that, for it introduces *right way, wrong way, only way* etc and you dont need competition and separating barriers within pure Love..



Although to forget and not believe in one*s Divine Parent is sad (for we are not the physical body we see in the mirror each day, but the spiritual being within which animates that body, and that spiritual being DID NOT evolve from monkeys!), the most important thing in life is to live with Love, which is the most powerful force in the Universe, so the Angels tell me..!

Answer 8

I fairly tend to agree which comprise your standards. coaching the Bible and following Jesus is the main needed. i do no longer think of there's a denomination that is going to be one hundred% for anybody because of the fact they're produced from human beings. i think of if the church is doing what you reported then you fairly are loose to confirm on in accordance to the form that suits you. the fashion of track, form of worship, gown, etc. are all in simple terms alternatives besides. The unacceptable religions does no longer be following the training of Jesus. they may well be approximately judging others, spreading gossip, controlling management that doesn't enable the downtrodden, needy or undesirable and hurting to experience like they're of in simple terms as plenty fee to God as anybody else. I doubt in the event that they have one call. you will understand them quickly adequate and in simple terms no longer choose to be there.

Answer 9

Religions are only matters of importance to humans, not to God. For so long God has been humanized in OUR image instead of the spiritual image that we are, where we are OF God.



Man is fallible in all our endeavors including our attempts to understand Life. When it has been understood that God is not a figure, a being, etc. and that God IS all things, including no things, then will religions start to wane away.



God IS life. God IS Light. And most importantly, God IS love. Love with all of your heart, mind, spirit and body is to love God. These are the very teachings of Christ, Buddha, Krishna, Babaji, Muhammad, David, etc.



Thank you for your most wonderful question.



Blessings

Answer 10

The catholic doctrine holds that there is only one God and that the devil was sent to deceive us creating false Gods along the way. It claims that the end of the world as we know it will be because of the return of the anti-christ. Before Christ, old testament law was the order of the day, eye for an eye and stoning prostitutes and all that. Christ came to change all that, however the Muslim religion for example still holds to that doctrine, and indeed has professed to be the anti christ.

So, according to Catholics the only way to be sure you are worshipping the real God is if you pray to him through Jesus.

Answer 11

It is clear in 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 it reads...



Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? 15 Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Be′li·al? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are a temple of a living God; just as God said: “I shall reside among them and walk among [them], and I shall be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 “‘Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing’”; “‘and I will take YOU in.’” 18 “‘And I shall be a father to YOU, and YOU will be sons and daughters to me,’ says Jehovah the Almighty.”



God do not want us to be yoked with false beliefs. It doesnt mean we will avoid them totally. But when it comes to faith, GOd said get out from them. We should worship God the way he wants people to worship him, not on our own way. (Matthew 7:21-23)

Answer 12

God isnt only interested in you believing that He exists. He's interested in having a restored relationship with you. A relationship that was broken due to sin and disobedience.

Answer 13

If I was God and you believed that a stone, a piece of wood, marthin luther king, obama, mickey mouse or such was God then you have chosen a false god, idol or image.



And if I in many ways asked you to turn to me as your God becasue only when you face me and ask me to save you from your sins and the lies of this world will you be saved then you would have rejected me.



The same way it is with God - all who seek Truth will find the True living God and his name is Jesus - God made flesh!



He died and suffered that he pay pay the price for our sins! That we can be holy in God's eyes again! and live forever in paradise and not in hell!

Answer 14

It does not matter what religion or even no religion God is there for everyone.



If you believe then so much the better; It certainly makes no difference what faith you have.

Answer 15

Simple:



Because you have to belong to the right religion that suits you and is which one you think makes sense.

Answer 16

Religions are like jewelries. One must search for the genuine one.

Answer 17

It's enough. Faith should be a personal choice. Organized religion is way too controlling and confining to allow for proper spiritual growth.

Answer 18

Satan believes in God. Is that enough? And enough for what? I'll presume you're asking what is enough to go to heaven, but that's a bit selfish, isn't it? "Just give me enough details so I can escape this 'hell' that everyone is talking about (if one even exists)."



That's called "fire insurance" and is not real salvation. That's the kind of religion with holes and gaps in doctrine. True salvation is whole and complete and complements itself throughout what we call the Word of God; the Bible.



There are basic fundamental truths that are out there, that so many in the world reject because they contradict their thinking. But why should the universe conform to our way of thinking? Why should our finite brains have any power over the power of God (or god)? But that's exactly what religion has done - attempted to explain or ignore basic universal truths in order to make people feel good about where they are. Mostly by giving them a vague promise of what is to come (heaven, reincarnation, 70 virgins, etc.).



So, what is truth? What is the truth without gaps and without holes and without man made rules? For any truth to be known, it has to be tested and evaluated and it needs to come out unblemished and just as complete and whole on the way out as it did on the way in.



When I ask my fellow scientists, "So one day, we had primordial goo, and the next day, we had goo that could think?" They shrug their shoulders at me. They don't have the answer, but they're sure that's how it worked. So, I put it through the test. A computer program to check the validity of chaos into order.



If you're not familiar with the "Infinite number of monkeys" thought experiment, it goes something like this. If you had an infinite number of monkeys all typing on an infinite number of typewriters for an infinite amount of time, eventually one of them would type the complete works of Shakespeare from start to finish without a single typo. So, take that principle and instead of applying it to writings, apply it to the human Genome. And instead of an infinite amount of time, you have what the scientists hold to; hydrogen turning into bonded hydrogen and having this conversation by pushing oxygen through meat in about 14 billion years.



I took 30 simple elements of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon and put them in a synthetic petre dish (this is a computer simulation), and I let time have its way - accelerated of course because I do not have 14 billions years to run this test. After 70.6 billion iterations of trying to randomly self assemble into a compound that I have predefined, they got 18 of the 30 letters in the right place. Mathematically, they would get all 30 correct a bit after the sun is expected to burn out.



Now, supposing it finished (around the time the sun burns out) and I get a chain of 30 elements together at random into the exact shape needed (because the primordial goo didn't know what its final shape was going to be, right?), I need to run that experiment successfully 246 million more times. That's about 246 million sun lifetimes.



So after that, congratulations! You have 1/24th of the human genome. You still need to run THAT complete set of runs successfully 24 more times in order to have the complete human genome come out the other end.



Now, if you're into math, you can figure this out on your own, but the odds of this happening even once is beyond astronomically rare.



This doesn't approach the issue of "Why do we think?" or "Where is the kindness gene?" or "Why do we feel bad when we hurt others?"



14 billion years isn't enough time to make goo that can reproduce, but science would have you to believe that it's enough time for hydrogen to have emotion. That takes more faith than I have.



On the other hand, you have religion, which attempts to convince its followers that they have the answer. But there's something that can't be explained away when science and atheism looks at it. While there are no scientists who were eyewitnesses of evolution (macro not micro), there are eyewitness accounts (Luke 1:1-4) in the Bible of those who saw the miracles performed by Jesus first hand. They saw him hang and die on a cross, and they saw him alive three days later. Eyewitness accounts!



So, are there gaps in my faith? No. Why? Because I know that I know that I know without a doubt that there isn't nearly enough time for hydrogen to become the tree you see outside your window. So, it must be something else. I know beyond a shadow of doubt that there is a higher reality beyond what you can see or touch or taste. That force, that power, that "creator" has a name, and we call Him, God.



Knowing that, there are further truths that I cannot ignore. God put on flesh and dwelt among us some 2,000 years ago. I know it because I have an eyewitness record of the events. But more than that, I know that I have deep rooted feelings that I can't explain with science or psychology. The miracle of life can't be answe

Answer 19

Unlike many other religions Judaism is not out to convert the world. We believe strongly in our path as the best way to be in communion with God and to bring about a perfect world. For Judaism, salvation is really a goal that is ultimately to be realized in this world rather than in a heavenly realm. Our prayers and teachings do speak of the aspiration that all peoples will come to recognize Judaism and our God as the one true God and religion. To some degree that's been achieved through the success of Christianity and Islam, religions built on the basic foundations of Judaism. Nevertheless, it is our hope and belief that one person at a time, all will come to realize that Judaism is the best and most direct path to relationship with God and the establishment of heaven on earth. Rabbi Ari Vernon http://www.jewishinstlouis.org/page.html?ArticleID=144166&page=3

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The task of bringing holiness into the world, which is the main obligation of the Jew, has always been seen in the Hebrew Bible as a partnership, a combined project of humans and God. The Holy, or the Godly, can be manifested in the three dimensions of the real: in space, time and the person (depicted in an ancient Jewish mystical book as olam-space, shana-time and nefesh-person). God desires to encounter human beings by meeting them half-way as partners. In time: the Sabbath, which He sanctified (Genesis 2:3) and commanded them to sanctify (Exodus 20:8); in space: the sanctuary, about which we are told here; and in person: through the mitzvah, the sacred deed, which brings us into His presence every time we perform it.

The in-dwelling of God among the people cannot take place as long as the people are passive and do nothing to help bring the sacred into the world. “And let them make me a sanctuary – that I may dwell among them” (25:8). My dwelling among them is on condition that they make my sanctuary. The same expression used here in the sanctification of space is used elsewhere (Exodus 31:16) in the sanctification of time: “And the children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath to make the Sabbath unto their generations.” Man must start out on the path towards God, both in time and in space, in order to God to meet him half-way as his partner in the act of sanctification. “Torah Today/Exodus” Pinchas Peli



From "Judaism for Everyone" by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach:

Christianity is oriented toward the next world, Judaism toward this world. Christianity posits that the purpose of man is to achieve the salvation of his soul and to attain everlasting life in Paradise. Monasticism, asceticism, and celibacy had therefore always been central to Christianity, since any attachment to this world impedes a closer relationship with heaven. Man is bidden to remove himself from day-to-day involvement with the world and concentrate instead on building heaven on earth. Indulgence of the flesh is sinful, and the needs of the soul must always take precedence over those of the body.

Judaism is oriented toward this world and steadfastly promotes the idea that man’s purpose is to perfect the world and bring Godliness into an otherwise un-Godly planet. Celibacy is a sin in Judaism; marriage its ultimate happiness. The purpose of Jewish life is the consecration of physical existence by bringing God down into our world and making Him an active partner in our lives. Jewish festivals are celebrated through merriment, food, and drink. Joy is an essential precondition to closeness with God. In Judaism the purpose of man is to uncover and make manifest for all to see the underlying spiritual character of the world.

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Answer 20

I think that if there was a God, he would be feeling ashamed at his creations petty disagreements, he would want people to think for themselves and find him in their own way

thats why he gave us free will, not to be puppets

Answer 21

here's an interesting read that asks the exact same question.



http://www.watchtower.org/e/20070301/article_01.htm

Answer 22

well if jesus died on the cross and you say he didnt its kinda a smack on the face....or to say he walked the earth at all.......