Is your religion by choice or by default?

Question

I can tell you about almost any major religion on earth and some of the minor ones also. I choose my faith because I have studied and know it is the Truth.

How much do you know about other faiths? Other than what your preacher or Preist told you! Have you really studied your faith or just taken what your parents and religious leaders told you as fact? If your faith is the truth would it harm you to put it to the test and understand the faiths of others.

Why are people so afraid to understand the faiths of others. Is their faith so weak than they truely think they will be brainwashed by understanding?

The thing I have found most people have very little knowlede of other religions. I an not singleing out any religion. Even my husband tends to be this way. I am Muslim and I can quote from the Bible and Torah. I have a basic understanding of most religions. But I know who I am and I know my faith is the right path. I know so much about others but everyone seems so ignorant about faiths other than their own. If I am working and tell someone I can't eat because I am fasting for Ramadan they have no clue. I just think it would not hurt to understand.

Let me be clear I said I know my faith is the right path. If it is arrogant to know i am going in the right direction(does not mean I am perfect). Than so be it. I did not say others were going in the wrong direction. If they made a different choice unlike most faiths, Islam recognizes that some people of other faiths are also in submission to the one true God.

Also I studied Athiesm. And to put it simply I don't belive my house built itself, my computer built itself, my car built itself. The roads paved themselves. Those things just dont happen. And The world around us is a lot more complex. If you want to believe the world in all it's complexity made itself more power to you. But I don't.

Answer 1

i totally agree with u ...

we do not have to be a blind faith.....

in the begining my faith was by default but after researching on it and reading other beliefs and faiths i choose what i was.... a muslim..

Answer 2

My current religion (Ásatrú) is by my choice. I was raised as a Christian. Studying is a big thing with me and that's partly why I love Asatru so much, because it rewards people who are academically-inclined. Really and pervasively, not just in theory.

I've studied and looked into many different religions, Satanism (both LeVayen and Theistic), Setianism, Judaism, Creativity (don't ask), Islam, Wicca (both traditional and eclectic) , Catholicism, Kemetic, Hellenios, Scientology, Vodou, Santeria, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shinto, Rosicrucian, Shamanism, etc... Not to mention Atheism (which isn't a religion). (Keep in mind I am not claiming or saying I practiced all these religions, just that I have studied them.)

Even back in the days when I was a Christian I never would except what other people told me about my religion, I always had to study for myself. I suppose that is why in the end I left it. It just didn't fit me at all. And there's no way I could ever go back.

I don't believe there is only one religion out there that fits everyone. My religion is right for me, it may not be right for anyone else reading this. But one thing I do I like Asatru because it is not a "One True Way" kind of religion.

Answer 3

Interpretation of religious doctrine, like so many others, is subjective. Who's to say which is right or wrong? Religion is like going to Baskin-Robbins. You have 31 different flavors and if it makes you happier, you can mix and match on a cone of your choice.
I can only say that I suppose it's whatever makes you happy since there is no clear standard by which to follow. This makes me quite cynical in my view of churches in general.
My own religious background is by default, not by choice. If your parents make a "wrong" choice in their faith, does this "sinful" burden becomes yours? How would you know what is "right" or "wrong" if you've brought up to believe a certain way?
Sorry, but religion in general has too many conflicting directives to make any real sense. Religion is the oldest form of government, by the way. It was a way to control masses by making people fearful of what they can't see or touch. It's the ultimate "carrot" or the "stick" control scenario. Case in point? The Catholic Church. It is perhaps one of the most vile institutions on Earth. They have managed to butcher the Bible and countless numbers of people all the name of establishing Law and Order and imposing their views on unwilling participants who were doing just fine without them. Religion always equals politics.
As a philosophical path to better living, religious or spiritual belief at its foundation is certainly a good thing as long as people look at it logically and see it for what it really is.

Answer 4

People of all religions will tell you they 'know' theirs is the truth. Let me guess: your position is that they only think they know, but you 'really' do. Pretty arrogant and naive don't you think? People smarter than you have studied 'all' major religions and came to the conclusion that they are all irreconcilable with our current knowledge, and, therefore, all wrong. Why don't you take the logical road to truth and educate your about current scientific fact, and then, study religions. When you find one that isn't at odds with your knowledge, you will have a basis for considering it further. If your faith is so strong, I challenge you to get a book that provides arguments for Atheism and study that until you understand it, then we'll see if your faith is intact.

Answer 5

I have chosen my faith. I get your point, and I agree. Too many people just believe because that is what their parents believed or because of a bus that picked them up and took the to church.

I have studied many of the denominational doctrines in depth and have studies other religions. I cannot study them all, but I have studied more religions than the average person.

Answer 6

I have faith. Sure I grew up with a christian family and I have been to church but I do choose my own choices. I love God so much I could not put it into words for you, faith is all I need, and I know he's there, I heard his voice and he has changed my life.

Answer 7

Both and I'm now a Muslim who wants to obtain God's infinite Grace and Mercy, by having complete faith in Him and by living by life the best that I could.

Peace and Love

Answer 8

I can say that my religion is by choice, because I have studied almost all religions and choose one among them. I am a former catholic by birth, then departed with it with no religious affiliations when I begin searching/studying many religions from Islam, penticostals, SDA, Jews, Baptist, Catholicism, JW's, hinduism, protestantism, Church of God, Church of Christ and many many more.

You can say that your faith is true if it will stand a test of truth/formal open public debates using both in Biblical and scientific bases.

for more, you can ask personally Bro Eli Soriano of http://www.truthcaster.com

[e-mail]
http://www.truthcaster.com

Answer 9

I was a philosophy & religion major in college, but I have focused on atheism in particular. In fact, I would be surprised if my pastor knew more theology, philosophy, and world religions than I did. I am pretty secure with my choice to be a Christian.

Answer 10

I did inherit my religion with birth. Thereafter, when I grew up enough to learn about other faiths , their comparative study confirmed that the faith of my birth was superior. Hence I continued in it.

Answer 11

Great question My answer is both I was born Jewish studied other religions and I truely respect them all but I am more than happy to say I stay Jewish by choice