How will you "choose" your religion?

Question

Out of all of the sects in the world, we notice an uncanny coincidence: the overwhelming majority just happen to choose the one that their parents belong to.

Not the sect that has the best evidence in its favour, the best moral code, the best cathedral, the best music.

When it comes to choosing from the smorgasbord of available religions, their potential virtues seem to count for nothing, compared to the matter of heredity. This is an unmistakable fact; nobody could seriously deny it.

Yet people with full knowledge of the arbitary nature of this heredity, somehow manage to go on believing in their religion, often with such fanaticism that they are prepared to murder people who follow a different one. - Richard Dawkins

Answer 1

Point well taken, which is one reason that I choose none of the above.

Answer 2

Dawkins, quite eloquently I might add, has enumerated a simple fact that many philosophers and social commentators have stated for ages, and it is impossible to deny. Much of the reason why a Christian is a Christian, why a Jew is a Jew, a Muslim is a Muslim, is precisely due to the environment in which we were born. Only a handful of people in the world really take it upon themselves to examine meticulously the religious claims they have espoused by necessity and force since they were kids, and change as a result of their investigation.

So Dawkins did state something quite insightful in that people of competing religious orthodoxies are continually spewing anathemas at each other for what they believe, when the primary impetus behind what they believe is not based on a decision made after a rational deliberation, except for the rare few would did investigate in to the faith they adhere to, as much as it is made out of a complacent acceptance of what was told to them as a child.

Yet, if religion is such a function of hereditary does it make sense to hate or kill another person for something, that for the most part, they had no control over? What even makes even less sense, and is even less moral, is that a just and omnipotent God would condemn a person for believing in the wrong religion or wrong depiction of him, hypothecating that exists. Few religious people bother to ponder this question.

Answer 3

I still haven't chosen my religion. I am still searching for the right path. Though, I believe that within this search, I am creating my own ideas and thoughts about religion.

My mother was raised a Methodist, she then converted to Baptist and then married a Catholic. Then they divorced and he married a Pentecostal. Yet, he still does not practice any religion and neither does my mother.

Out of all this, I have noticed that none of these structured religions kept their lives together nor on the "right" path to salvation. So, maybe each religion has a piece of the puzzle and we must discover the correct pieces and put them together.

To each his own.
(Suum Cuique)
Cicero
Roman author, orator, & politician (106 BC - 43 BC)

Answer 4

By searching the teachings of religions with the Bible to find out if they are speaking the truth.

What is false religion?

Why does religion seem to be at the root of so many problems?
The fault lies, not with all religion, but with “false” religion.

False Religion...MEDDLES IN WAR AND POLITICS: How many religions can you think of whose members engage in war?

False Religion...SPREADS FALSE DOCTRINE: Most religions teach that the soul or spirit is some invisible part of a human that survives the death of the physical body. However, the Bible teaches a different doctrine. “The soul that is sinning, it itself will die.” Ezekiel 18:4 Jesus taught that the dead will be resurrected, an unnecessary action if humans had an immortal soul. Does your religion teach that the soul does not die?

False Religion...TOLERATES IMMORAL SEX: Church groups ordain gay and lesbian members of the clergy. What, though, does the Bible teach? It plainly states: “Do YOU not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men.” 1 Cor. 6:9,10 Do you know of religions that condone immoral sex?

How to identify true religion.

True Religion...PRACTICES LOVE: True worshippers are “no part of the world,” are not divided by race or culture, and display “love among themselves.” Rather than killing one another, they are willing to die for one another.

True Religion...TRUSTS GOD'S WORD: Instead of teaching “tradition” and “commands of men as doctrines,” true religion bases its doctrine on God's Word, the Bible

True Religion...STRENGTHENS FAMILIES AND UPHOLDS HIGH MORAL STANDARDS: True religion trains husbands to “love their wives as their own bodies,” helps wives to develop “deep respect for their husbands,” and teaches children to “be obedient to their parents.”

Answer 5

(1) Bible: Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the entire Bible is the inspired Word of God, and instead of adhering to a creed based on human tradition, they hold to the Bible as the standard for all their beliefs.

(2) God: They worship Jehovah as the only true God and freely speak to others about him and his loving purposes toward mankind. Anyone who publicly witnesses about Jehovah is usually identified as belonging to the one group—“Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

(3) Jesus Christ: They believe, not that Jesus Christ is part of a Trinity, but that, as the Bible says, he is the Son of God, the first of God’s creations; that he had a prehuman existence and that his life was transferred from heaven to the womb of a virgin, Mary; that his perfect human life laid down in sacrifice makes possible salvation to eternal life for those who exercise faith; that Christ is actively ruling as King, with God-given authority over all the earth since 1914.

(4) God’s Kingdom: They believe that God’s Kingdom is the only hope for mankind; that it is a real government; that it will soon destroy the present wicked system of things, including all human governments, and that it will produce a new system in which righteousness will prevail.

(5) Heavenly life: They believe that 144,000 spirit-anointed Christians will share with Christ in his heavenly Kingdom, ruling as kings with him. They do not believe that heaven is the reward for everyone who is “good.”

(6) The earth: They believe that God’s original purpose for the earth will be fulfilled; that the earth will be completely populated by worshipers of Jehovah and that these will be able to enjoy eternal life in human perfection; that even the dead will be raised to an opportunity to share in these blessings.

(7) Death: They believe that the dead are conscious of absolutely nothing; that they are experiencing neither pain nor pleasure in some spirit realm; that they do not exist except in God’s memory, so hope for their future life lies in a resurrection from the dead.

(8) Last days: They believe that we are living now, since 1914, in the last days of this wicked system of things; that some who saw the events of 1914 will also see the complete destruction of the present wicked world; that lovers of righteousness will survive into a cleansed earth.

(9) Separate from the world: They earnestly endeavor to be no part of the world, as Jesus said would be true of his followers. They show genuine Christian love for their neighbors, but they do not share in the politics or the wars of any nation. They provide for the material needs of their families but shun the world’s avid pursuit of material things and personal fame and its excessive indulgence in pleasure.

(10) Apply Bible counsel: They believe that it is important to apply the counsel of God’s Word in everyday life now—at home, in school, in business, in their congregation. Regardless of a person’s past way of life, he may become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses if he abandons practices condemned by God’s Word and applies its godly counsel. But if anyone thereafter makes a practice of adultery, fornication, homosexuality, drug abuse, drunkenness, lying, or stealing, he will be disfellowshipped from the organization.