Why are the major religions so intolerant?

Question

Is there any reason that the 3 major world monotheistic religions teach that anyone who doesn't believe in them will burn in hell? Is this a scare tactic? I was actually verbally attacked for putting Halloween decorations up by my Jehovah's witness neighbor, who said that I was a devil worshiper! (When in reality, Halloween comes from the Celtic wiccan traditions, and there IS NO Satan in this faith!) How can anyone believe in a god who would condem the MAJORITY of the world to eternal damnation, even innocent children? Why are followers of these religions convinced that they alone are God's chosen people!? I sort of think that God is the same no matter how you worship him or her or what name you call them, and people of the world should accept eachother as long as they are decent people! Why do these religions teach this hatred???

So sin=not believing in YOUR version of the truth? I thought we had free will!

Answer 1

Well honestly, as Christians we Witnesses do see Pagan traditions as UnChristian. As such we don't support the Pagan idea Hellfire.

Answer 2

Firstly, let me say that the neighbor you have/had was wrong to say that to you. I am a JW and an important part of our beliefs are the right to choose. God gave us free will and telling you you are a devil-worshiper (never have i heard this said in our meetings!) was def not the christian way of dealing with things.

Halloween does indeed come from Wicca/pagan traditions and this does involve celebrating the devil and demons etc

JW's don't believe in 'eternal damnation' and we certainly don't hate people because of their beliefs. True, catholics took part in the world wars but JW's were prosecuted as they would not kill others.

you have a good viewpoint of how you should act as you seem to respect others and want to live a happy, innocent life. Sorry if I've focused on JW's more than you would have liked but it's not fair when one JW gives our religion a horrible appearance. xXx

Answer 3

If there is a God (and that is a big IF) then logic would indicate that God would view all of his creations in the same light, regardless of what religion you follow or if you follow one at all.
Religion is just big business, based on the premise that it controls the minds of people through threats of burning in hell, if they do not follow that religion and especially give money to the church. Religion is big business and that is all. Humans invented religion, but amazingly most humans can not see that people thousands of years ago invented religion that people still follow. The most amazing mind blowing thing about that is that when religion was invented, they also thought that the earth was flat and that earthquakes were due to God being mad, etc. And people these days can not see past that, they have blind faith and that is all, in spite of all the evidence.
Teaching hatred gives all of their brainwashed like minded people focusing in the same direction and does not give them an opportunity to think for themselves. It is easier to teach them to hate and be fearful of others not in the same religion, because then they are constantly looking out for something and not thinking on their own logically. As that would destroy the big business that religion is.

Answer 4

Honestly I've given up on the subject to some extent because my family has people out on all religious spokes and I keep referring to a quote I heard many, many years ago - One man's alcohol is another man's religion - used in the context that people can become addicted to their specific religion and can't let go of the idea that their's may not be perfect and we have the right to question, ask, and observe our religion (I'm not referring to any cult type things here, only what is considered normal religious observance). Anyhow, they need that arguing and confrontation to confirm their worth within their religion and in many respects, get the same high an addict would get everytime they take a hit of their addictive substance. I also have a friend who is a devout Jehovah Witness and we simply respect each other's boundaries and religious observations. I belive in the end, the screaming minister, priest, rabbi or neighbor won't be the one passing judgement on us!

Answer 5

I wonder where Julien gets his information. If you look at land acquisition for the construction of churches in the Western world, almost 38% of these churches are unitarian. The Unitarian Universalist Congregations alone are now over 1000 worldwide and strong. This is a church where truth and meaning are encouraged. And it is only one of many very much like it. ( No I am not a member)

The trend then, is away from churches who preach fire and brimstone and your mark as a true believer is determined by the level of guilt you drag around every day, such as Catholicism, which has a serious declining enrollment among young people. Many people who have abandoned rants and raves called organized religion are coming to explore alternate ways to seek and celebrate a decent, loving, and forgiving lifestyle. Nothing wrong with that.

Answer 6

We, as free agents, have the right to our opinion that your decorations for Halloween make you a devil worshipper. Personally I never say anything to my neighbors about their decorations, unless they ask me about it.
And I, as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, have never argued with anyone telling them that I have the only right religion. However, Jesus didn't think that all religions were right and that all religions would serve the only true God. (Matthew 7:21-23)
There is no hatred from us, we love our neighbors and only want to help them. We don't condemn anyone to hell, since we don't even believe in it.

Answer 7

Light whit a L in times new roman font contains the message:

LiT i 9 I7 liT

and the bible says the One in the Light is God.

thus the LiT that is the gh(a 9 I7 ie a birthday) is the liT.

thats My birthday, so all i can say about the so-called religous, is "wait'll they get a load of Me"

further proofs:

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-7FpRD.s.daq9Of6kvMGCqxtpr5geOrhojos-?cq=1

enemies of the god=f
police=f
hells angels=f
don=f
false god=f
rebel=f

numerologically those things are equal, so where do you fall?

people=f
enemies of the god=f

what can you do to change your fate?

friends of the god=good people

thus just try to be good people and earn the friendship of the god.

wonder what those organizations will do to Me for this eternal proofs?

Answer 8

Truth, by definition, is exclusive.

If one says that 1 + 1 = 2, then he cannot agree with the person who says, no, 1+ 1 really equals 5. At least one of them MUST be wrong.

As for why would God send people to hell for disobedience, I personally do not see anything wrong with justice.

Answer 9

It is a scare tactic. These particular religions have used scare tactics to demonize pagan and native religions for centuries. (The Crusades?) They did this in an attempt to convert. It was either convert or die. They didn't want to die, so what was left? Those who did not convert were executed in a variety of gruesome ways.

Sorry you got called a devil worshipper. I hope you pointed out how little the JW knew about your faith to their face.

Answer 10

The short answer is: the more divided humanity is into different faiths, the less money is going into each individual church's collection plate.

As someone much wiser than myself once said: if you want to know the real reasons for people's actions, FOLLOW THE MONEY ; and when they insist that it's not about the money, it is ALWAYS about the money.