People say you can't judge a religion by the people who practice it...but why not?

Question

What is a religion if it is not the way it manifests itself through it's followers.

If we can't judge a religion by the people who practice it then we cannot judge whether religion is a good or a bad thing for it's followers and for society generally, surely we need to be able to form some opinions by the way people behave under a certaiin influence be it alcohol, religion, drugs, romantic love etc, sometimes the only thing you can do is cite individual cases or to generalise, I think generalisations are important.

Answer 1

You know what they say about one bad apple....it ruins the whole lot!!!! NEXT!!!! 8o)

Answer 2

There are good and bad people in every religion. They either may be ignorant, or hypocrites claiming to follow a religion and doing wrong things and thus end up giving you the wrong picture.
If you want to learn about a religion, the best way is to try and study it yourself to find out the truth. But generally we feel it is easier to just see the followers but that will never give you an idea what the religion is truly about.

Answer 3

you can judge a religion by its followers, but what happens when majority of christians are namesake christians only, what happens when christians try to bend the word of God into their own way? In such a case the people do not represent the true essence of the religion, and what is but christianity? Its following the words of christ, and so if you really want to know what christianity is all about shouldn't you rather be knowing what christ is saying rather than what christians are saying? Christ is the one whom christians follow and not all followers follow truly, hence followers are not a true representation of the religions ideals, to know the truth about a religion you should be knowing the foundation on what the religion was formed and hence that would be Jesus and the word of God, if you read that then you will understand that Christians do not really behave the way christ wants them to. We are just human and trying to be perfect, but the truth is that God loves us and he loves everyone including you. so he should be the one you should be looking upon.

Answer 4

I think the saying is "you cant judge a book by its cover." Traditional religion is handed down from generation to generation ie the Jewish religion etc. In some respects, they dont choose to practice it, it is a way of life for them. For other types of religions that prey on the lonely and vunerable, I call cults. Then there is always freedom of choice - a bit like choosing the best car in the yard. What does it do for you.

Answer 5

People are not perfect, but according to the writings of the apostles, it is up to the congregation to maintain itself in a manner that gives glory to God and Christ. The blessings of the Holy Spirit is shown in the uniformity of beliefs, moral balance of the congregation, and knowing that the leaders are of good standing.

This can easily be accomplished by not allowing congregations to get larger than 200. But, that would require the need for members to be taught the Bible as a whole, how to teach it, and how to preach it. Unfortunately, that would take the power away from the elite. It would also mean paying more people to preach and teach, or better yet, stopping paying anyone to do it, and teach everyone, from age 12 up, how to preach and teach. But than, you would be a Jehovah's Witness.

Answer 6

I don't like football because O.J. Simpson likes football, and he's been accused of murder therefore, football has to be an evil sport that turns its players into criminals...
This answer is not true of course, however, you really can't judge a sport by its players any more than you can judge a religion by how others practice that religion. You simply look at the game rules how it's supposed to be followed and the rest left to the integrity of the individual.
By the way, I really don't like football, I much prefer baseball myself. :)

Answer 7

Because the people who practice it are not perfect they can't give you a perfect view of what this religion is supposed to be. If you want to judge you should try to discover those religions by yourself, see what their goal is, what they ask from you and what it brings. Then if you find someone who really follows a religion they can also be good hints of what this religion brings.

Answer 8

Yes it manifests itself through it's followers who properly practice it BUT no one does. To clarify: Having sex while not married is forbbiden in Christian religion but how many christians refuse to have sex unless they're married. Very few. Now I can't blame christianity because a preist likes to have his way with kids. Christianity is a religion from God and the bible is a word of God even if all the priests in the world are perverts. Jews, Christians and Muslims follow religions of God and read the words of God in their books wether we like it or not. And one day the truth will prevail.

Answer 9

Ditto.
So in other words, judge it by its teachings and the actions of its god(s). That is the pureness of what it is.

For example: Judge Christianity by Jesus's words and his life. As well as the Apostles' teachings in the New Testament. But mostly Jesus.

People including religious leaders make mistakes or go off the path. That's why its great to have the original teachings to go back to. "Hey pastor, that's not what it says in 'Luke 6:10'."

Answer 10

The role model for Christians is Jesus Christ Himself. He is what a Christian should be. Christains are called to be a perfect man and to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ep 4:13). Most if not all Christians have not attained perfectness and the fullness of Christ. So do not use Christians as good examples of being a Christian. The best example is Jesus Christ. That is why Christians are called to look unto Jesus as the Author and Finisher of their faith, not to their pastors or any other Godly men. Men can fail us but not the Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer 11

Because there are variations within each denomination. For instance, I'm a Roman Catholic, and one can find very left-wing Catholic activists, but there are also extremely conservative Catholics out there. Do I want to be judged by a handful of ultra right-wing extremists who advocate bombing abortion clinic? I think not. Or can we really judge thousands of Fundamentalists by the acts of Pat Robertson? No group can be successfully judged by the acts of a few of its more outspoken individuals.