How did you get your religious beliefs.?

Question

I was taught mine (christian) when I was 6 years old.If my parents were any other religion then thats how I would think today.How can all the others be wrong?How can anyone believe they have all the answers and billions of others will burn in hell.How can any God condemn someone who has never heard of Him through no fault of thier own.I know very little to nothing of most religions.How many "hells" am I going to burn in?

Answer 1

Great question.

I suppose I got my original beliefs from my schooling (my parents didn't talk about religion, although they were token Christians), which at that time in the UK was officially Anglican.

Since then it's been a long and steady process of abandoning beliefs (which seems to be a trickier process than getting them in the first place).

Now I don't know anything for sure. But I'm not sure about that, either.

Answer 2

You are right - most people have religious beliefs that mirror their parent's beliefts. A person's foundation for learning will always be a product of their environment.

But some, as they age or become better educated, break away from their parents. Part of it is probably just teenage rebellion, but a lot of it results from developing more worldly views. If you look at the religious zealots that exist today, most of them have never traveled far from their homes or are poorly educated: southern Baptists, radical Muslims, Branched Davidians, etc. This is the religious environment they have always known, and they refuse to accept that there could be others that disagree with them.

Lastly, you have to remember that god is an invention of man. All gods were created as an answer to questions that we could not answer ourselves. You will not burn in Christian hell or Buddhist hell or anyother hell; the sole aim of all religions is to provide sound guidance on the path of life. How you choose to interpret that guidance, well....

Answer 3

Born/raised Byzantine Catholic. I was obviously pretty much questioning the answers right from the get-go and wasn't finding the answers very "logical" even at an early age. I somehow had the ability to analyze everything from an early age and I was doing it often. I've arrived at Buddhism through the intelligence I somehow got (I attribute it to karma) and analytical thinking, along with finally being exposed to the Dharma and analyzing the proverbial "pants" off of it and finding nothing I can refute there yet. I studied religions, from Catholicism in GREAT depths from every angle I could, then other Christian branches, then Islam for YEARS even while I was studying Catholicism... which was GREAT because their questions of Catholicism (and vice versa) helped me analyze even more from other angles, and while I didn't subscribe to Islam finally, it gave me great fodder for thought and a deeper respect for Islam.

You will only burn in whatever "hell realms" your mind and karmic imprints lead you to. If you cultivate altruistic intent and knowledge/wisdom, meeting all your karmic results which you might perceive initially as "bad" with patience and understanding whence it comes from, you will not likely take rebirth in ANY lower rebirths. Just a Buddhist pov. Hope it helps.

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Answer 4

A very nice man came to my door.At first I did'nt want to listen to
anything he had to say,however I reckoned myself pretty smart
so I thought Id trip him up on a few Bible questions.I asked pretty much the same things you have asked.And from the Bible he show-
ed me that people do not burn in a firey hell,that people do not have
an Immortal soul,that everyone (good)does not go to heaven.That
most have the hope of resurrection on a cleansed earth.And most
importently, the religions of today teach false doctrine.From then on Ive continued to learn the truth that the Bible really teaches.
to learn more on this,www.watchtower.org

Answer 5

>>How did you get your religious beliefs.? I was taught mine (christian) when I was 6 years old.If my parents were any other religion then thats how I would think today.<<

I studied various religions, history, scripture, used reason and logic, etc. You shouldn't just accept what your parents tell you.

Answer 6

I was brought up in a Christian home but didn't become a Christian until my freshman year of college.

Answer 7

God picked me - For it's his choice, not mine.

Guess he used: "South Park", "Step - Mother", "Trip to Italy" to guide me. Amazing that "South Park" can make a person religious (giggle).

Answer 8

From my grandfather. My parents were not very religious.

Answer 9

Went to church when I was a kid but I was never into it.