Why is Western Religion so pushy??

Question

I mean Christians, Catholics, Mormons, Jehovahs witnesses, etc- why are these religions known for trying to cram themselves down your throat relentlessly. Then you have Eastern religion that usually practices the belief that if you want the truth you will come and find it. You don't see Taoists running around stuffing the Tao down your throat. Why is it important that everyone believe in YOUR religion when it comes to the Biblical God?? Just a question- so don't start the fire and brimstone threatening please...

That's what I'm talking about- people get very offended when you ask a question. What I mean is the Biblical God. I mean when you look at the Middle East they are VERY religious, but they kill each other each day in the name of their God being better than others. Is that what it's about? Is there that big of a need for people to be right about their religion that they must force it upon each other? Don't talk to me about being tolerant. As I formentioned, I simply just want to know you opinion as to why there is a need to constantly force your religion upon others in particular facets of the religious world. Isn't it important to have "free-will" isn't that our gift supposedly to do with what we will??

BTW amecake83,
The Tao Te Ching is the 3rd most published book in the world. there might be a little more than 5 Taoist around these parts... I can only imagine the first two... Harry Potter and then the Bible probably. hahaha.

Answer 1

First of all, Christianity is not a Western Religion, if you look at where it originated; the religion began in what we call the Middle East. It was originally a 'sect' of Judaism, it would do some Christians good to remember that all the Disciples and even Emmanuel (Jesus The Christ) were practicing Jews; they never claimed to be or followed any other 'religious laws'. The original message WAS aimed to Israel and the people known as "Jews". We who do not have a national-identity with Israel are still known as Gentiles.

As for the way, that those in our past (in my opinion) erroneously 'shared' their faith. I am sorry that they felt and taught that it was necessary to force conversion on the masses. Faith must come from the Holy Spirit working in an individual's heart and mind. Even if you teach your child about The Christ named Emmanuel, this belief system known as Christianity, and your individual congregational history; that however, does not guarantee he or she has 'faith'. That must freely come from their inner-being.

Secondly, To all my Christian brothers and sisters, please remember that according to the Bible; when we die we will be judged as by the standards set down by Jesus of Nazareth (the Christ). Our judgment will not be based on how many people we 'won over the souls of' or how many times we said a certain prayer.

I have always been taught to share with others, ONLY when they initiated the conversation about my belief and faith in G-d (like here on Yahoo Answers). And then it was pressed upon me, to answer their questions in a respectful and loving manner. However, It is not mine (or our) 'job to convert people'. A true and faithful conversion can only occur when people research, learn, investigate, and discover a spiritual truth that touches "their" heart, mind, and soul. It will do us good to also remember that the views of the Bible are as numerous as ideals that people have concerning the Qur'an or the Torah.

I am very sorry and sincerly apologize to all who have been on the 'blunt' end of those, who have erroneously been taught to 'evangelize and convert' others to THEIR ways and beliefs. However, the fact is that we will all find out the absolute truth when we die. I may 'feel' in my heart and soul that what 'I' believe is G-d's Holy Word; but that does not necessarily mean that those individuals who translated the Torah, the Prophets, and all other spiritual / religious writings; got the translation 100% correct.

I do (with all that I am) believe in G-d, the Bible, the Torah, some truths of the Qur’an. I must also never forget that we are only human and can only place our beliefs upon the foundation that was set by those who lived before us; this is why it is called "faith". I 'prayerfully and faithfully" believe that G-d is in control, while understanding that I live in the present world.

On the 'religious' level of my life, I am not ashamed of the Gospel of my L-rd Jesus the Christ. However, underneath that my history is rooted in Israel. If I expect myself to grow in my relationship with G-d, and yet do not learn from that history, my spiritual knowledge is of no use. It is basically a ‘dry faith’. Relationship with G-d must have movement, which means it must have room to grow in knowledge. Even if that knowledge goes against what a person perceives is false. It takes courage to step outside the box and learn things that come from a different point of view.

In other words, since G-d is not a one-dimensional being, we must let the blinders fall off of our eyes and mind. To see the more complex meanings hidden within our Holy Scriptures.

Finally, This faith tells me The Bible is the Word of G-d, but I have also been taught; that word is not a literal message. I must remember that it, being translated from another language, has its history grounded in another time, language, culture, traditions, and national-identity.

To mistakenly disassociate these writings from their original history, may cause me to do one of two things (1) lose sight of their deeper meaning and purpose in my life. (2) Begin “chasing after” my faith and belief, grasping at every available avenue; in an attempt to understand what this spiritual foundation involves or encompasses. The end result is that I insult others and contradict my own thoughts, beliefs, or ideals.

Answer 2

There are generally four possible reasons that a religion will grow to a large size and exist for a long period of time.

1.) It's tenets include a belief that the worshipers should try and recruit more people to their religion.

2.) It helps the state maintain its control and power over the people.

3.) It tells people what they want to hear, (basically that there is some reason to believe that they are important and worthwhile).

4.) It has some aspect of it that is demonstratedly true and can be personally witnessed or experienced by the worshiper.

The western religions exist and have become large in number primarily because of reason #1. They also incorporate reason #3, and often reason #2. Many of their worshipers will try and claim that their religions include #4, but anyone who is honest with themselves knows that this is not really the case.

The eastern religions, on the other hand, are based almost exclusively on reason #4. Hinduism and Buddhism both have at their root the concept of Samadhi. This is something that anyone can experience if they are willing to put the time and effort into it. Thus, these eastern religions do not even require faith, the truth at their core is obviously real to anyone that bothers to seek it - no faith required. Taoism also has the same concept at its core, but calls it by a different name.

Thus, the eastern religions can continue to exist despite the onslaught of the western religions that rely primarily on reason #1 to maintain their existence.

Interestingly enough, Christianity very probably also had Samadhi at the core of its beliefs at the time of its origin. The early Christians referred to this concept as Gnosis. However, the Christian church eventually lost this initial core truth and is now basically something of an empty shell with a dead and hollow core. This occurred largely due to the fact that the Roman emperor Constantine decide to adopt Christianity and use it for his own purposes. The concept of Gnosis was useless to him, so he brutally suppressed any Christians that taught or practiced the idea.

The concept of Gnosis appeared several more times throughout the history of Christianity - for instance with the Cathars in southern France. However, the Catholic church again brutally suppressed the concept. In the case of the Cathars, the Catholic church organized a "crusade" to butcher Cathars and/or burn them at the stake, (in large numbers).

Answer 3

The violence goes right back to a dispute over who had spiritual authority over the Muslim community after the death of the prophet Muhammad in what is called the “fitna” which translates as temptation or trial and caused all the discord within Muslim community. Shi’ite Muslims believe that authority was vested in his family; the Sunnis look to the sayings and actions of Muhammad as well as the Koran. The extreme sectarian violence has been brought about by Al-Qaeda Which while being exclusively Sunni deliberately set Shi’ites and Sunnis to kill each other in Iraq. Sadly more Muslims die by Muslim hands each month than were killed by the invading forces in the war! Hamas also kills far more Muslims than the Israelis ever have! An average of over thirty five Muslims a week were being killed by Muslims but in the last few years it has frequently been over a hundred a week! Whether it is a Danish Cartoon, book of fiction , a snippet of film or some other excuse, Muslims hit the streets around the world rioting, looting, burning and uttering death threats! Nearly all the Muslim countries are seeing Muslims attack Muslims destroying homes, businesses, infrastructure and targeting women and children particularly showing the extremists must surely be trying to turn Muslims into primitives living in caves and mud huts so they can be controlled more easily! The murders in London and Paris clearly demonstrate that the extremists are winning in turning Muslims into primitive savages! All that is required for evil to triumph over good is for good men to do nothing Evil can triumph only if good men do nothing – Edmund Burke So if they want Islam to be a religion of peace what are they going to do about it?!

Answer 4

Its called 'greed'. Greedy people are pushy. And greed comes from ignorance. Organized religion of the west is all about power and money. Catholic church used to be the largest money making business in the world. Tell ya something? Western religion is about 'being right', because they feel so wrong. If you know you are right you don't have to prove anything to anyone, nor do you need to slam your bit of knowledge into another's face. Most immature. Why are most religions male oriented? Tell ya something? God= 'energy of life' is genderless. Why would someone put a male image on energy? For what purpose? Think about it? And why use fear to make folks believe? Hmm, to control the masses? Masses means more donations, more income. The bible was written by man, jews, and patronized (dig it? male) for power. They must be right inorder to control. This is the Age of Tyranny.

Answer 5

A common misconception is that Jehovah's Witnesses go from door-to-door because they feel it is their duty to "recruit" a householder, or get him to "convert". In fact, Jehovah's Witnesses would go from door-to-door even if there were no hope that anyone would change their religion, or even if no one would listen to them!

That is because Jesus Christ specifically assigned the house-to-house ministry to the Christian congregation, with no regard for specific results.

(Luke 10:1,2) After these things the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come. 2 Then he began to say to them: “The harvest, indeed, is great, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

Jehovah's Witnesses are trained to direct attention to the bible, and move on when their message is unwanted. Since each congregation in the United States tries to call at every home in its territory at least twice each year, there is strong motivation for them to move on where little interest is shown. Also, the Scriptures help the Witnesses to expect little interest from most:

(2 Timothy 4:3-5) For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching ...and they will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories. You, though, keep your senses in all things, suffer evil, do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/
http://jw-media.org/people/ministry.htm

Answer 6

I really don't think it should be tolerated at all. Going house to house promoting your religion is bordering on solicitation. What if telemarketers stopped calling and just started coming up and knocking on our doors? The point is, if they aren't already a follower of your faith, they probably don't want to be. I'm sure those who feel it's their duty to bother us with their beliefs would be frustrated if those who followed more silent beliefs started knocking on their doors, telling them how great their life would be without "god" and how they should celebrate the spirit of the earth around them. They would start slamming their doors too.

Answer 7

Apparently you have never lived in the Middle East...

Try being surrounded by 3 mosques that announce Muslim prayer times over loud speakers 5 times a day (including first light, which I think now is about 3:30AM)...

Answer 8

Because, according to Christianity, in order to save your soul from Hell, you need to be a believer. So they think that, by converting you, at the same time they would save your soul and do a good deed.

This is similar in Islam.

In Judaism, it is different: you don't need to be a Jew to save your soul and, to me, that's one of the reasons that make Judaism the most reasonable and authentic of the three main monotheistic faiths.

Answer 9

Spiritually speaking, to compel willl be the strongest act of true Christians in preaching the gospel of the Kingdom and the gospel of salvation. Other force that will be used to other non-Christians will be unchristian and thus, are under the deceptions of satan.

Answer 10

Through his teachings, Christ showed us how to change our own lives.

But I suppose that called for too much sacrifice and devotion from most so they figured it would be easier to change everybody else.

If every follower of Christ would focus on the work that needs to be done in our own life, then you would see true and wondrous change in this world.