I believe in God and that there is more to life than what we see on earth. Life is meaningful because of it. But religions like Christianity and Islam destroy the apeal of the existence of a God. They do this because of their "rules of life" and with concepts that non believers will go to hell. Also, they go so far as to base things on some books -like the bible and Q'uran. Books that are full of contradictions and discriminations. For example in Islam the belief that something so natural as homosexuality is a sin.
This is not fair. It is not fair that these religions degrad the concept of a wonderful God. I believe in God and this God loves you regardless of your religion/belief. God does not require that you believe or think your sexual preference is a sin. God is pure love and proof of God is all around us.
Do you agree that religions like Christianity and Islam are turning people towards atheism?
2007-08-26 06:54:09 · 19 answers · asked by ? 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Any belief system full of inconsistencies, hypocrisies, irrational suppositions that contradict science, and anachronistic dogma is going to have trouble attracting and keeping intelligent, critically-thinking followers.
2007-08-26 07:00:34 · answer #1 · answered by 222 Sexy 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'm Catholic, and having studied my religion pretty thoroughly I don't see why anyone who really understood Catholicism would dislike the idea of it. A lot of people see the rules- no sex outside marriage, go to church every Sunday, no stealing, blah blah blah- and are immediately turned off by it. So they don't look into the deeper understanding and reasons for all those rules. And when they do, they don't do it to understand it better- they do it to find justification for their immediate reaction of "that sucks." Yes, it's hard to follow them all, and everyone screws up. Those are facts of life. Anyone who thinks that it should be easy to follow a religion, or that anyone who knows the rules should never screw up, is missing the point. There are excellent reasons for everything God asks us to do or not do, and they're all pretty well documented in the Bible, the Catechism, and any number of other religious documents written by various saints and Popes. So it's not like those reasons are hidden in some obscure place where we could never find out what they are.
The rules are rules because, when you follow them, you have no regrets. They say you regret what you haven't done more than you regret what you have done, but that's not true of everything. If you were a hundred years old and on your deathbed, and you'd always wanted to go on a cruise in the Caribbean, you'd probably regret not doing that. You'd probably regret never learning to ski, or never asking out that person you had a crush on in high school. But can you honestly say you'd have regretted not sleeping with that guy you met over spring break in college, who gave you chlamydia and who you never heard from again? Can you honestly say you'd have regretted spending an hour at church last weekend? Can you honestly say you'd have regretted telling someone the truth? Doing morally unacceptable things will always give you a twinge of guilt, however good you get at ignoring it. Doing morally acceptable things won't.
(P.S.- homosexuality IS NOT a sin. Acting on homosexual desires is a sin. It's wrong for an unmarried heterosexual couple to have sex because they're not married; it's wrong for a homosexual couple to have sex because they're not married. Marriage is a union between one man and one woman for the good of the spouses, and the procreation and education of children. There is no possible way that two men or two women could ever conceive a child; therefore they can't be united in marriage. There are plenty of single heterosexual people. They are still attracted to people of the opposite sex, but they don't act on it. The same rule applies to gay people.)
2007-08-26 07:22:07 · answer #2 · answered by csbp029 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Christianity is following the teachings of Jesus, thus, I do not believe that Christianity is a religion. We do go by the bible and what is written in it was not written by us. I get tired of people blaming us for the concept of heaven and hell when we are not the ones who made up that concept. We are only stating what it says in the bible. Why would non believers go to heaven? Why would God let them go if they are non believers? We choose here on earth what our destiny will be.. Either we follow Christ or we deny him. I think that our eternity is between us and God. No one knows who and who will not enter heaven. It is a mystery that no one has the right to say definately what is what when it comes to that.
2007-08-26 07:02:36 · answer #3 · answered by Kaliko 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
No.
I think people being able to think for themselves and put two and two together are why people have a lack of belief. Need I remind you that you also are an atheist about something.
Religions like christianity and islam are just proof on how religion is a serious and deadly threat towards humanity.
2007-08-26 09:05:06 · answer #4 · answered by Sheriff of R&S 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So basically you just want a religion that allows you to do whatever you think is ok. So what do you use as a guideline that determines your standards? FYI, the bible also states that homosexuality is a sin. You can't just pick & choose which "rules" you like and will follow, and which you think are unreasonable. The bottom line is that God is our Creator and what He teaches in the bible is what we are to live by.
2007-08-26 07:42:58 · answer #5 · answered by kaz716 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Honestly, I flat out refuse to have anything to do with Christianity. I have a few Christian friends but they are the open type. Other then that I won't go anywhere near a church or anything like it.
This is because of Christians and Christians alone. There are some good ones, don't get me wrong. I just never meet them anymore.
2007-08-26 08:16:08 · answer #6 · answered by ~Heathen Princess~ 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
THEIR book of rules??? GARSH... I thought it was GOD'S Book of Rules!!! How STUPID of me!!!
And ONCE AGAIN... "Hell" is NOT a PLACE, it is a "state of BEING," that is, the state of being "outside" of God's presence. If someone does not WANT to be WITH GOD (it's that "free-will" thingie again!) then God is NOT going to FORCE them to BE WITH Him (i.e. the state of being in "Heaven")... therefore, being OUTSIDE the presence of God is referred to as being "in hell."
The Bible, and other religious writings upon which religions are based, are not "FULL" of contraditions if you would only comprehend them correctly. As for being full of "discriminations," YEAH.. we discriminate between GOOD and BAD, between what's RIGHT and WRONG, between LOVING people and MISTREATING people. That's what RULES ARE, my dear! Whether you LIKE those rules, whether you AGREE with those rules or not cannot be "helped." That's what they are, like 'em or not! When you drive down the road, the RULES say to maintain your lane of traffic, right? Do you DISREGARD that rule because you don't LIKE it? Do you want the oncoming traffic to disregard if whenever they so choose, like right in front of you and SMASH you're dead?
Fair? FAIR???? HAHAHAHAHA!!! Who guaranteed life to be FAIR? Here's a quotation from a character "Marcus" from the sci-fi program, "Babylon 5" which might shed some light on fairness:
"I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe."
Kinda makes some real SENSE to you, uh? (I hope!)
As for the concept of a "wonderful God," yes, He is "wonderful," but more "wonderous" instead. He is also a JUST God who cannot tolerate evil and "bad things." Believe what you wish to about your god, but that is not the God that the Holy Scriptures has revealed to mankind, which is different than the god you describe. Why would God reveal Himself to us to be a JUST God, but then say, "Oh, but if you want to believe I'm not a just God, then that's FINE with Me"??? Ummmm... nope.
Why do you single out Christianity and Islam as turning people towards atheism? What about Buddism, Hinduism, Judaism, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Baha'i, Shintoism, Rasafarism, Scientology, etc. etc. etc.??? All of these have their sets of "rules" and "discriminations," too.
In fact, fully 90% of the WORLD'S POPULATION believe in God, god(s), or some Supreme Being. If religions are turning people OFF from the idea of a god, the FACTS really don't bear this out.
Have a blessed day!
2007-08-26 08:24:07 · answer #7 · answered by wyomugs 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hindus have one God. But, they believe God came to live amongst people as "avatars." So, not totally human, but, with a human appearance. In Hindu art, these avatars are often shown as blue, to indicate their being Divine. Hindus in fact consider Jesus to be an avatar of God. This differs from the Christian view, that Jesus was fully God, and fully human.
2016-05-18 02:47:19 · answer #8 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do really think that God would sit there and not make any contact with us here on earth. He gave us his book as a way to prove that hes there, and he really care. And what We believe is the truth. If you dont accept the free gift of salvation of Christ, you will go to Hell. God is all love, but he cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, without being made pure through the blood of Christ, we will not spend eternity with him, but in Hell, which is where we actually deserve. His grace love and mercy ALLOWS us to be able to enter heaven. its your choice if you do or not.
2007-08-26 06:59:47 · answer #9 · answered by Tasha Marie 3 · 4⤊ 2⤋
No. However, I do agree that PEOPLE calling themselves "Christians" or "Muslims" or "Catholics" DO turn people away from God by misrepresenting Him.
There are two issues here: First, the failure of those calling themselves the disciples of God to TRULY and accurately represent God on the planet. His unconditional love, His patience, His kindness, etc....
Second, the failure of those who are not believers to assume that the humans they run into calling themselves 'believers' are accurately representing God. We know, if there is God, that God is not a human being and humans are incapable of PERFECTLY representing Him. So why do we then point to human beings and use THEM as reasons to avoid God?
PERFECT EXAMPLE: You say that religion's "rules of life" and "concepts that non believers will go to hell" are a major turn off to non-believers. You ascribe these ideas to PEOPLE, not to God, and you should be asking what God Himself has to say about rules and hell. He has a lot to say; the concept that someone will go to hell if not saved is not mine, or my 'religion's', but God's. He said it, and therefore it is true. Same with 'rules' for living. If God says something about how I should live my life, then that is how I should do it.
You say that "God loves you regardless of your religion/belief". That is true, but you leave out that God does NOT okay your BEHAVIOR or accept you into heaven because of His love for you. He loves the worst sinners. Hitler, for example. But just because God loved him doesn't mean he got into heaven. And just because God loved him doesn't mean that anything Hitler did was okay with God.
The issue of God is black and white. Either you believe who God says He is (not who people say He is, but who HE says He is) and deal with the rules and the sin and the reality of hell, or you romp around chanting how God loves everyone and what you do is okay for you and what I do is okay for me. Subjective Morality.
"There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religions. " ---G.K. Chesterton
"Absent an absolute moral authority independent of fallible humans, the only meanings “wrong” could have (pertaining to conduct) would be “in opposition to X,” and “falling short of X’s standards,” which are only persuasive to those who have already accepted X. "------Calvin Freiburger
"The real attitude of sin in the heart towards God is that of being without God; it is pride, the worship of myself, that is the great atheistic fact in human life." -----Oswald Chambers
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid" Proverbs 12:1
2007-08-26 07:13:31 · answer #10 · answered by lady_phoenix39 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋