Why should it matter what religion someone is as long as they believe in a higher being that created us and the whole universe. Whats the point of all the bickering when essentially we all believe in the same thing?
Shouldnt it be enough that we believe there is a God and that we try to live a good life?
2007-04-11 17:20:06 · 14 answers · asked by Nanook~Maybe I need a longer Name?~ 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
its supposed to be believes in God. sorry for the typo.
2007-04-11 17:22:51 · update #1
I totally understand your point and agree with it, but... ugh, I don't like how jumbled this viewpoint is in my head but i'll try and explain it:
If someone believes in a specific higher power, such as the God in Christianity, and that particular God wants everyone to believe in him /specifically/ or they will be punished, then the believers in that particular god wouldn't be very good people if they just sat around letting people get punished left and right.
I know that makes it sound like I'm saying that atheists are bad people (which is NOT true, there are as many religious jerks as there are atheistic or agnostic ones); I'm not saying whether it's the right belief or not, I'm just trying to help people understand that when religious people try to convert you, they are trying to help you, not annoy you, and its not saying "i'm the religious person and you're the filthy infidel, let me stoop down to your level and try to help you" or anything like that (necessarily: again there are unfortunately always the stuck-up people ruining it for everyone). Here's an analogy:
Your friend is playing on the train tracks. He doesn't believe in trains, but you do. You believe that a train could come at any moment and hit your friend so you try to convince him to move, but he keeps insisting that no train will come so he keeps playing. Wouldn't you keep insisting? Whether the train exists or not, the fact that you kept telling your friend to get off the tracks shows how much you care. And who knows, maybe a train won't come.
But as for answering your question, it SHOULD be enough that we believe there is a God and that we try to live a good life in my opinion. Unfortunately, in many religions it doesn't work out that way. Whether people are tolerant or they convert others, they should always be respectful to other faiths (or lack thereof).
2007-04-11 17:52:50 · answer #1 · answered by pseudonym 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
All do not believe the same thing. I am not say yes to all the bickering, but there are definite differences in doctrines. Example being, the most important part of Christianity is that of what it is named after, Christ. Belief in Jesus Christ and that he died and shed his blood to cover our sins and then rose the third day to defeat death IS the basis for the faith of a Christian.
JW do not believe this. Muslims do not believe this. Agnostics do not believe this. Jews do not believe this.
Protestants, Baptists, Episcopals, Lutheran, Catholic and non denominational doctrines also differ. Some more than others, but that is why they have divided. They do not agree on the same things.
That is a started list. There are many things different about the beliefs and doctrines of the various different religions and even in the denominations of Christianity.
2007-04-12 00:33:21 · answer #2 · answered by Gardener for God(dmd) 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
i used to think this way too, but i realized i was giving some people too much credit. The Christian Bible states many times that it is NOT good enough to believe in God and try to live a good life. AND it says you're supposed to preach this whenever you can. Christians who don't mention this are just afraid of their own religion.
2007-04-12 00:35:23 · answer #3 · answered by ajj085 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You are right on one point and that is that it would be wonderful if we could all just believe in God and TRY to live a good life . But it's not that simple. The Bible says that we are to believe in him yes. But it doesn't stop there. It also says that we are to live clean and Holy lives, and it gives us tons of do's and don'ts. If we could just believe in him we wouldn't need his word to guide us, we would all be on our way to Heaven. But he wants us to love him with our whole hearts which means to love his word and live the way he wants us to live. If we do that then he will bless us abundantly, and we will reap the awards in Heaven.
2007-04-12 00:38:23 · answer #4 · answered by tx_peach 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Religion is not important. The problem comes in because there are many different gods, but only one living, eternal God.
How we live our lives is secondary. The Bible teaches that we can't ever be 'good' enough. we can't work our way into heaven.
The only way is through faith in Christ Jesus. So while living a good life is good, we can never be good enough.
2007-04-12 00:28:18 · answer #5 · answered by Belize Missionary 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Right, this was neatly addressed by a medieval French monastic, Peter Abelard. He was pretty far-thinking for his time. In fact, what he said is still a stretch for some people today. What it comes down to is this: Abelard said that we (all people) are all saying the same thing, but because of different life experiences, different cultural backgrounds, etc., we end up using different language to express ourselves. Because of this different language, Abelard went on to say, we think we are saying different things. And because people think they are saying different things, they end up (needlessly) in conflict with one another.
Another way of looking at it is this: God is infinite, and we finite, mortal human beings cannot fathom the Infinite. So a lot of what we say and think about God is speculation. Most of the rest is metaphor.
2007-04-12 00:25:34 · answer #6 · answered by cherochap 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
What if that God whom you believe in has stated that there are some things that need to get accomplished by you while you are here on this earth? If you were aware of that, would you not want to inform others of the need to accomplish those tasks? That may be the reason for the statements being tossed back and forth.
2007-04-12 00:25:04 · answer #7 · answered by Kerry 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
No it isn't good enough. Scripture says Satan also believes, and trembles.
Read Acts Chapter 2 if you want to cut to the chase and leave all of mans ideas out of it. God has a way of making salvation so very simple. Only men complicate it.
2007-04-12 00:26:23 · answer #8 · answered by AK 6 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Thank you! You are oh so right!
Anything else is just a control issue. People wanting the power to control other people and their lives.
They have personal problems and need THERAPY!
2007-04-12 00:24:43 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
If God is just, He will judge us based on out thoughts and actions, not our religious faith.
2007-04-12 00:30:00 · answer #10 · answered by MONK 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋