Simple question, difficult answer...any takers?

Question

do you believe that there is more criticisim in religion, than there is in any thing else. I mean for example like the way baptists feel about pentecostals, methodists, catholics or any other doctrine. (no ofense to the baptist just an example)

Answer 1

Yes, I do. Imagine being at your child's funeral and behind you is a "man of God" yelling that your child is going to hell. How about two kids playing, one says to the other "My mother says you can't go to Heaven because you are not Catholic" I do believe there is alot of good in religion. I also believe that in many cases it teaches to judge and hate.

Answer 2

If you look at the true essence of any religion, division is not part of it, infact a true religion is supposed to spread love and cooperation between individuals.

If you dwell deeper into the issue, it boils down to human nature. People always segment themselves; the rich from the poor, the beautiful from the ugly, the white from the black. People feel safer when they belong to a group and to do so you must make your group better by criticising other groups. I believe this applies to religion, people claim they belong to the true religion whether any christian doctrine such as the ones mentioned in your question and even other religons such as Islam and Judaism.

Take a look inside any prison, inmates group according to ethnic background and there are boundries you can not cross between those groups. It is an interesting observation that requires a great deal of research.

To conclude, it is not the religious teachings, it is us that over or mis interpret them to appear as the best.

Answer 3

Yes, I believe that there is more criticism in religion than anywhere else, but you have to keep in mind that most of religion is text (such as the Bible, Quran, Geeta, and etc...) and that text is interpreted in many ways. These texts were written a very long time ago, and (from my personal beliefs) these texts were used as guidelines (rules and regulations) to live in society. They were also used as a way to explain things that couldn't be easily explained, such as how the world began or who is the highest authority.

When, things that have the same basis and values (all religions have basically the same core values) get interpreted differently, many people argue and criticize each other for misinterpreting the word of God(s). Most religions ask people to be good and do good, and regardless of which text one reads these values from, it is interpretation that complicates things. For example, "thou shalt not lie," a very common concept in many religions all over world. This concept basically says "don't lie" and many people may take it literally and never lie. Whereas some people may take it figuratively and say that it is bad to tell a lie, but when telling the truth my hurt someone's feelings or cause more problems then it's okay to lie because you are helping someone or something along those lines. In both cases it’s bad to lie, and you shouldn't do it, but due to the different interpretations of text it results in different meanings. Thus, causing many people to feel a certain way towards one religion vs. the other...eventually resulting in criticism of the text, one's own personal interpretation of these texts, of the religion, and the methods of practicing that religion.

Answer 4

Well the above denominations are all a part of the same body Christianity and all would agree Jesus is the son of God and not one would criticise. Yes there are different doctrines but the source is the same. I would have to say political divisions are worse, a common creed is difficult to agree upon and the various parties are spilt more so. Try to get Congress and the House to all agree one one thing every member and not criticise each other about that one thing.

Answer 5

Let me amend what the first guy said. Religions that claim to have the One True Path divides the people. The One True Faith always splinters into different groups, each with a different interpretation of the One Truth, that begin to antagonize each other. It happens in Islam too. The Sunni, Shiite, the Saudi branch, and other sects of Islam exist and they dont mind shooting each other.

Answer 6

That is why I am just a bible student, I only want to know all about what is expected of me that I know. I can not see one bible and 1000 religions, something is just so wrong.

I do love the bible and had to discard some of my religious beliefs from childhood to except what the bible was teaching, now every thing makes sense to me, it has taken a long time. John 17:3,5,24; Jesus was with God before the world was. AMAZING!

Answer 7

When it comes to religion people always want to believe their god is better than the next religion's god or the way they pray to god is better than the other religions. So religion divides people because no one can say what is right and what is wrong because their is no right or wrong which ultimately lead to war. More people have died in the name of religion through out history than for any other reason.

Answer 8

Being a Baptist is not a "religion" but I understand exactly what you are saying and in many cases unfortunatly the answer is yes.

Answer 9

yes, it's so silly - the Books are the Books (people translate and spin them differently - but it is entirely possible to study the original Word translated accurately) and everyone is talking about the same Book -- but somehow they've missed the whole point thinking their group has an exclusive corner on God.
God has a corner on our hearts - no matter what religion.

Answer 10

No, It is the same for 'international event'. It is not that more is happening, we just have more journalists.

People are critical about what you wear... even if it is not religion related. Religious people are however predictable and you can point them out as a group, so maybe thats why they stand out more.