Religion only exists in its followers thus a religion can only be judged by the deeds of its followers. Y/N?

Question

One of the most disturbing things I constantly hear goes as follows "You cant judge Islam based on what Muslims do".

Naturally, I am excusing Muslims from this circle of stupidity because they cannot consider such things in a unbiased manner, so I am speaking to non-muslims who speak this stupidity.

Hopefully I can clear this up.

Religion only exists in the brains of its followers, and nowhere else. Without followers there is no religion. Maybe theres some books or buildings, but no religion. Whether God exists is a separate matter because again, I am speaking of the entity or supposed entity people call religion.

So, there is no "true Islam", there is only dominant and minority interpretations or visions of something people loosely refer to as "Islam". Thus, the only way we can judge Islam or any religion is based on the actions of its followers.

So, its illogical for one to say "the Armenian genocide is not Islam". The reality is the opposite, which is, "the armenian genocide is a part of Islam".

The moment Allah decided not to hardwire an exact version of Islam in everyones heads, he immeditaely made a true Islam totally impossible.

I cant think of anything more dangerous than this stupidity because we literally could have endless violence endlessly rationalized with "this is not true Islam...they are not true muslims". If Islamic doctrines are the cause of islamic violence, but we can never blame "islam" then no solution is ever possible. Ever.

Answer 1

"You cant judge Islam based on what Muslims do".

However,

"Religion only exists in the brains of its followers, and nowhere else."


Cool

Answer 2

Very good question. However, your own answer is flawed. If all Muslims acted like the crazies fundamentalist fanatics, you would be right. But to judge Islam for the actions of a segment, whether it is small or large, is unfair. Judge the religion for its doctrine and its followers for the way they behave in the context of that teaching. I do not think that Islam is a good religion as there is too much violence against those who do not follow it in its teachings, augmented by the fanaticism of some of its clerics, something that Judaism and Christianity, although they have similar teachings in Leviticus and other Bible books, have left behind in as they do not apply a literal interpretation of their contents.

Answer 3

No, it's not true. The bible has some really great stories and morals that I took with me from christianity and still use even though I'm now Shinto. However, I left Christianity because of what it's become. I agree that people can positively and negatively influence religion, but I think if you research the religion itself before judging it by the people who follow it, you'll see where the huge differences are in what people are supposed to do and what they actually do. So, rate people on their actions, yes, indeed. Rate religion on people's actions, definitely not, because people constantly break what they "believe in."

Answer 4

nicely, what can a faith do without this is followers? genuinely no longer something. The followers signify that faith and that god. Now in case you're asking, why do people decide individual followers consistent with extremists interior the religion... that's basically human nature. everybody does that to a minimum of one degree or yet another. remember, however, the greater extremists a faith has, the greater everybody is decide those interior. and there is no longer something incorrect with judging. We decide daily. once you establish despite if something is right or incorrect... you have surpassed judgement.

Answer 5

Religion lives in the hearts of the followers in the form of faith. All that is in your brain is what you learn about your chosen religion. If you read the Christian Bible as written (without over-interpreting), what gets you to heaven is believing. That's all - belief. There is the law of the Lord and the commandments that Christians are expected to follow. Yes, they encourage God-like behavior, but believing is the key.

Answer 6

deeds are generally things that can be judged easily, whether or not religion exists solely in its followers is a different story entirely, because religions were designed specifically for their followers from what must be assumed logically to hold some iota of truth relating to how it can work for someone.

Answer 7

the point is you cant judge the majority by the minority.

you cant hate a group because the actions of some of its people

that is what the terrorists do! they hate the west because they think it is all enemy--it is all the same

if you use this thinking, how are you any different?

generalizing is very easy but a very dangerous thing to do.

i know you said nonmuslims only but I couldn't resist

Answer 8

The flaw I find with your argument is that not everyone strictly follows their own religion. Some (like I did) will conform to some extent but will willfully stray from the principles.

Answer 9

I agree with you...when you choose to follow a religion, you are representing it.

Answer 10

With God all things are possible.