why do religious followers always make non belivers feel the will be doomed if the do not becoem followers,.o?

Question

i was watching the dali lama and he was so impressive with his spitituality ,.a truly lovely man,,why do other religious leaders not come across the same way,.,.is it because he does not want power over other people,.

Answer 1

It is all to do with power. They certainly don't make me feel doomed. They make me feel sorry for them. They are in chains, I am free.

Answer 2

It depends entirely upon the religion.
Let's take two very similar religions, in fact two denominations of Christianity and their leaders.
1 - the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church actively seeks converts all the time. The Catholic Church is led by a Pope (and has been since 30AD), the current Pope is Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope seeks to promote the interests of the Catholic Church (indeed for him that is a good and holy thing to do).
2 - the Coptic Church. The Coptic Church is based in Alexandria and does not actively seek converts. It too is led by a Pope (and has been since 43AD), the current Pope is Pope Shenouda III. The Coptic Pope seeks to make different denominations of Christianity have more understanding of each other.

Think about which Pope you see on TV all the time and which one tries to convert people to his faith. You can see that two leaders with similar beliefs in similar positions can have different methods because any institution has it's own policies.

Personally I think Gandhi had the right idea with religion:
"Thus if I could not accept Christianity either as a perfect, or the greatest religion, neither was I then convinced of Hinduism being such. Hindu defects were pressingly visible to me. If untouchability could be a part of Hinduism, it could but be a rotten part or an excrescence. I could not understand the raison d'etre of a multitude of sects and castes. What was the meaning of saying that the Vedas were the inspired Word of God? If they were inspired, why not also the Bible and the Koran? As Christian friends were endeavouring to convert me, so were Muslim friends. Abdullah Sheth had kept on inducing me to study Islam, and of course he had always something to say regarding its beauty." - Gandhi
When he was asked whether he was a Hindu, he replied: "Yes I am. I am also a Christian, a Muslim, a Buddhist and a Jew."

I think that it is important for a person to have faith in something and to respect the beliefs of others. What we believe in makes us who we are and it is in many ways as personal as our faces.

"I know I believe in nothing but it is my nothing" - Richie Edwards

Answer 3

It is really mostly the Western religions (primarily Christianity and Islam) that hold that you have to be one of them to get salvation. And not even all Christians and Muslims feel that way. Many are very ecumenical and embrace people of all faiths.

But many of course are not tolerant of other faiths. They just feel that there is only one way to God, and they want as many of their fellow human beings to make it as possible. So they feel it is their duty to warn people.

Others may do it to feel superior. They feel they've been saved, and they are in the know, and everyone else is somehow lacking in that area. So thinking about others burning in hell may give them some sadistic satisfaction. (I think 99% of the people though are more like the first way I described).

Eastern religions tend to be way more embracing of other religions. I myself am a Hindu and I feel that religions are just different paths to the same ultimate truth. I love the Dalai Lama. He is indeed impressive.

Answer 4

Most religions are very exclusive, only allowing salvation to those who join. I am an atheist, and I have seen interviews with the Dalai Lama, and yes, he is not always preaching, but instead, trying to impart a very humanistic wisdom.

Answer 5

Most major religions, especially the more extreem forms of Christianity (Catholicism, Jehovah's Witness etc) preach a 'going forth and covert the masses' to their way of thinking. It's obvious really, there is safety in numbers. To be a minority is unsafe, be it colour, race, religion or a Falkirk supporter.

Answer 6

brainwashed. the problem with these followers is that they concentrate on the wrong in others instead of trying to build them up. I find that these same people have a lot of skeletons in their closets as well. The best thing that you can do is ask God to helpthem find their way

Answer 7

There are many different denominations, religious movements, cults and isms of all kinds. God did not send them they are not speaking His word but still they accept the teachings of men rather than the teachings of the Bible.

There are many who are speaking in the name of God but they are not of God and these kinds of things do show us how powerful the lie can be.

Many have fallen away from the truth because they are misguided to believe in the false doctrines of evil men that have corrupted God's truth.

God’s word gives strong exhortations for Christians to come out of false religious belief and be separated. "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins." Rev. 18:4

You must seek the truth to find it. You cannot just blindly accept what someone tells you is the truth.

Answer 8

i'm sorry human beings have made you sense that way. you do not must trust interior the God of the Bible. you may opt for to trust interior the dali lama. I really have chosen to trust the God of the Bible. you've an identical precise to make your thoughts up on as I do.

Answer 9

you hit the nail mate,the lama is a great man.I'm not religious at
all by the way.The doom thing is to put fear into doubters heads
and try to turn them.(not me way to many rules bro)never liked
science fiction I prefer true stories.

Answer 10

I don't think anyone would "feel doomed" unless there were a little something at the back of their conscience making them feel like that.