I have a question on religion for you all...?

Question

I want to know one thing right now, thats it. Even though my intent is NOT to start arguments or the like, i'm fairly positive it's going to.

What I want to know is why people think their religion is better than someone elses...why would people assume their way is right?

I myself don't believe in the organized religion. Belief in faith and a higher power(s) i do believe in.

I just want to know that. Thats it.

i'm not asking about which is right, i'm asking why people think theirs is better than another.

Answer 1

oof... that's tricking, saying that one believes one's religion is "better" than another person's. It turns religion into a contest. But let's see what I can do.

If I believe that Jesus is THE son of God and in fact, God incarnate (and I do), then I have to believe that Jesus' teachings and following Jesus is the way to God. It's a path of logic - if I believe A, then I must also believe B, C, and D.

Now, I don't think it is the only way to God, but I think it is the "best understanding of God's truth," if that makes any sense. And this whole line of reasoning falters when you step aside from belief and look to religion. I don't think that there's a religion out there that hasn't been perverted by some if its followers. So one person's Christianity (or Islam, since that seems to be a big hot point right now) will not resemble another's. There are some people out there who, if they were THE model of Christianity, would have me running for the hills.

I believe that to follow God, each person must find his or her best way to love self and neighbor. For some that includes religion, for others, not.

Answer 2

Anyone who is serious about his religion ought to believe it is right, else why would he be involved in it? I cannot imagine saying to someone, "well, no I don't believe my religion is right, I'm just part of it because I like the way they party." Surely everybody cannot be right, can they? Let us consider just Christianity: either the soul is immortal or it is not. Either Jesus is the Messiah or he is not. Either God torments people forever, or he does not.

Moving outward, either the Christianity introduced by Jesus of Nazareth is the true religion or it is not. Either Mormonism is or it is not. Either Catholicism is or it is not. True worship of the true God is not a melting pot of beliefs or a salad bar of pick what you like and leave the rest behind. Because if that is so, if everybody is right and nobody is wrong, then God has absolutely no standard. Even boarding a bus has a standard to be met.

Reasonably, there must be a standard set by God as to what he will and what he will not accept as worship. If there is no standard then nobody is wrong. If nobody is wrong, nobody needs salvation. If nobody needs salvation, why are we even having this conversation?

Everybody's beliefs must be respected, yes. But respecting their beliefs does not mean everybody is right. That is an impossibility.

Hannah J Paul

Answer 3

Fear. I'm sure you could have come up with that one. I think somewhere in there is also the need for power and a massive amount of insecurity. Christ....just think what kind of anarchy would ensue if the powers that be allowed everyone to think for themselves......tsk, tsk.

Namaste

Footnote: One thing to keep in mind is that each and every person must find their own truth. If they are speaking of their personal truth, that is one thing. If they are taking anothers truth as their own they are truly lost and an by affirming to everyone else that they have made the right decision comforts them when faced with the reality that they really dont know where their path is leading or why they are on it.

Answer 4

Every beleiver is generally born belonging to the religion he believes in. And every religion pretends that it is the right and the only path to go to heaven.So the beleiver does not dare to chalenge his own religion because he fears the punishment. If we look carefully to the cause of the conflicts between the religions , we immediately discover the cause.
Jews'prophet Moses
Christians' prophet Jesus
Muslims' prophet Mohamed
Buddhists' prophet Buddha etc...
Moses was the messenger of God
Jesus was the messenger of God
Mohammad was the messenger God
Budha was the messenger of God
etc. were the messengers of God
So we see clearly that the difference comes from the identity of the messengers and not the identity of God.
If all the roads lead to Rome(GOD) do not consider those who are taking another road that they have lost their way.

Answer 5

I don't. When it's just me and someone I respect calmly talking about religion, I don't think my beliefs are better. They're better for me personally, but I'm not going to assume that what's good for me is good for everyone.
However, on Y!A, I can kind of be a *****. I only do it when someone starts a question with an arrogant attitude, like their religion is the only religion. I fight fire with fire, and give reasons for why I think my religion is better.

Answer 6

When you believe that there is only one god, you would think you got the right one. All other people's gods are automatically false. Most believers are not aware that the three monotheistic religions (judaism, christianity and islam) have a common origin. If they know that, they will know everybody is talking about the same god.

People of other religions do not really care other people's religions. In fact, there is no god in Taoism or Confucianism.

Answer 7

I am searching right now, but I like Quakerism today, because they dont force you to believe anything specific while still being very Christian. They also dont believe in the trinity which i believe goes against "Your God is one" And some are tolerant of homosexuals and I like that. I dont think it's necesarily "better" But it fits my beliefs and I might join, but I have more research to do before making a decision.

Answer 8

Everyone secretly believes that they view things the right way...and quite often this is a fact that they keep secret from themselves.

We wouldn't believe something that we didn't think was right after all, Christian, atheist or otherwise.

When we share our beliefs we are simply looking for reinforcement. If we think that they are superior to anothers' beliefs, then that sense reinforces. If others show agreement with us, that reinforces too. It all serves to justify our secret belief that we see things as they are.

We don't in fact see things as they are...but that's beside the point.

Answer 9

I personally believe that all religions started out the same, it's just that every branch (Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc) has created the different customs, rules, regulations, whatever you want to call them. All religions are similar... They have some holy book, they have a being that they worship, they have some version of heaven and hell, they have some set of rules/ commandments to follow. The different religions call their God by a different name, but I deep down feel that the God of every religion is really the same God as mine... I am a Lutheran Christian, I believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. But I don't believe that different religions are going to hell because they don't have the same beliefs as me. As long as you love and honor and worship God (Buddha, Allah, whatever you want to call Him) that you will go to Heaven. Unless you worship Satan. Then I believe you will go to hell, but that will be okay for you, since you will be with your "god".

Just my opinion :-)

Answer 10

Speaking strictly for myself, I compared what I learned and experienced growing up in a Baptist church and Islam and made a decision that Islam was the better religion for me. There were various factors that attracted me to Islam, but I believe Islam's concept of God was what really hooked me. Naturally, in my eyes, is Islam is the sounder of the two.