I am an athiest....but I am open to the idea of God or any other possibilities...so why is religion so closed?

Answer 1

They are very set in their ways - both religious people and authorities such as the Catholic church and Islam. Basically such people are insecure, and need religion as a crutch. Therefore they resent bitterly (and sometimes violently) any criticism or even perfectly sensible questions about their religion.

Answer 2

I am sorry if you feel it is closed to you. I think that if you are really open to the idea then you should search for a church you feel comfortable in and just commit to attend for a while and see where it goes.
I was Agnostic for a while and when I felt called to seek GOD I started looking for a church where I felt comfortable. that is different for everyone, I wanted a church without a domination, I wanted a church where I did not feel pressured to tithe or dress fancy. I found a great one, I found that I learned so much and then wanted to tithe and dress up and be there all the time. I even changed the way I behaved and the music I listened to, all because I felt that this is what I wanted to do to make God proud of me and to make sure that the Word got out. you just have to search. I am sorry this was so long. God Bless

Answer 3

weather a person is closed minded may depend on his or her religion. But what really is the atheist belief? Is it a belief in something that does exist which excludes the existence of an all powerful being? There is no such thing unless you invent an imagination of such a thing. And if so then what could it be? so I find nothing to substantiate the atheist belief. Atheism seems to be a default belief. But a belief that has no hope is not a good belief and an insubstantial one at that. This is why 'God' is associated with 'belief', or at least one primary reason.

Answer 4

You make a very good point. But try to keep in mind that religion is a man made thing, with all it flaws and short comings. Christianity is about a relationship with God, not about dogma and societal protocols.

True to keep and open mind about things. Can I ask you something? How much knowledge do you possess? Total human knowledge. Do you 50% of everything and everything? Of course not, that would be impossible. How about 10%? Still impossible, right? Let's say your really bright and you know 1% of everything about and concerning the human existence. That would mean you DON'T know 99% of everything, right? Well wouldn't there just by the law of probability be a greater chance that God exists in that 99% that you don't know about than in that 1% you do? Just a thought.

Answer 5

Religion has become closed because of the people who corrupt it. I've lost track of how many times I was the "new guy" at a church and didn't feel welcomed because of my age, the clothes I wore, or something about me that just didn't 100% match the way they were. It's a sad state... The whole concept of Christianity in particular, according to Jesus is that He wants us to Love God with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and wants to love our neighbors as ourselves. So many people miss the point. They're so caught up in doing things their way, they forget his 2 simple (yet difficult) commandments. I hope that this helps you find your way. It's some of the people that push others away and give Christianity a bad name. No one is perfect except God, and he's always open to you, even if people are closed.

Answer 6

Religion will be closed, but faith is always opened. God wants us to read and learn for ourselves. Read the Bible sometime. Ask God to come into your heart, open it up, and at the very least understand the message it presents. Only when you have done your own searching and research can you truly know where you lie with God.

Answer 7

Of course, not all religions are closed but most of them tend to become that way.

The reason is that each religion typically has a founder who had some degree of direct connection to God - Moses for Judaism, Krishna for Hinduism, Buddha for Buddhism, Jesus for Christianity.

However, when the founder passes on, those who are the converts to the religion typically do not have as much connection to the God as the founder, and therefore out of fear or a desire to control, begin creating infallible doctrines out of what were once teachings designed to help its followers reach to the next level of spirituality.

Unfortunately, what remains and what gets passed down is in most cases not the mystical teachings of the founder but rather the rigid outer doctrine of its adherents.

Answer 8

Being open to the possibility of the existence of a deity does not make one an Agnostic, but a Weak Atheist.

Agnostic is a statement of a different flavour: on esoteric knowledge and knowledge of deities.

Theism/Atheism is on the belief in deities.

I am an Agnostic Weak Atheist.

Answer 9

Just try to learn the truth, by approaching a bona-fide spiritual master, enquire from him submissively and render service unto him, the self realised souls can impart knowledge unto you, because they have seen the truth.

Bhagavad Gita 4:34

Try this link, the only closure you will experience is your own doubt.
Sriman Sankarshan Das Adhikari ([e-mail])

Answer 10

I'm glad to hear that you are open to the idea of God... :)

Please be aware that there is scientific and intellectual evidence for the existence of God (e.g., see http://www.godsci.org/gs/godsci/evidence.htm)

I used to be an atheist. Over a period of time however, I grew convinced of the existence of the Christian God, and ultimately committed my life to Christ (e.g., see http://www.godsci.org/gs/chri/testimony/seek.html ).

Cordially,
John