Are you born religious, or are you taught to be religious?

Question

I'm assuming that most of you will have to admit that you were taught to be religious. So, if you were taught to be religious and you were told of what is to be religious by other people who were also taught to be religious where does the conviction come from that all this is true?

Why are you convictions in biblical history any less relevant then someone else who believes in say Greek Mythology? Both are impossible to prove,
Both have/had the ear of millions,
Wars were started in both names,
Millions died in both names

Greek mythology after all has stories very similar to the bible (resurrections, imaculate conceptions, wars, famine, persecution, devouts, etc) and people believed in those gods for centuries. So why isn't there churches of Zues, or Ares, around?

** Answering this question requires thought. So any response within 1 hour of this post is completely useless.

To respond to melouofs - If by deep you mean an intellectual who scoffs at the woe's of those around me? Well, I'm not the one who's answered 6000 + questions on this site. Apparently there's little beyond your grasp too. However, i do like your response and I'd be curious to see what else people come back with.

These are fantastic responses!! I truly wasn't expecting this at all and I have to say I’m quite impressed.

Answer 1

Now I wouldn't say that any response within one hour is completely useless, as this is not a new question. This is a question that many of us have heard many times before. I myself debate theology regularly.

The simple answer is, yes religion is taught, as religion is a form of organized worship, complete with rituals and rites, dogma, etc.

You refer to many stories in Greek Mythology as being similiar to those of Christianity. Throughout many different beliefs/religions this holds true. Examples would be such as the Christian story of Noah and the flood, is predated by the Epic of Gilgamesh a Summerian Story. Through out many belief systems, the "savior" is crucified, has a virgin mother, is born on/around December 25th, is refered to as the Redeemer, The Lamb, etc.

You may find the book, Sixteen Crucified Saviors by Kersey Graves interesting. This book compares sixteen different "saviors" all of who were crucified for the benefit of their followers.

Nothing makes any one belief system more valid than any other. You are generally taught what is most prominent in your geographical area, what you parents were taught etc.

Answer 2

The implication that thought is so inefficient, as to require an hour, is useless.

Mainstream religion is taught.

Religion that is learnt, can come from things like "divine justice"; where a bad, or "evil", person faces a just retribution which doesn't come from another man.

The majority of all mainstream religion is based on pagan worships of the Sun. Christianity, for example, was a story, based on the Sun and astrology, which was made into history by Roman politicians. The reason Roman politicians did this, was to convince thier people that some men could be greater than others.

The obvious response, would be that all beliefs, so long as they are tolerant, should be tolerated.

EDIT: Some people don't understand history, obviously. You can give me a thumbs down, but you can't find true historical evidence of a man that supposedly lived years after writing began in Egypt.
Every time you say "Amen", you're saying the name of an Egyptian god from around 2500 BC. The name, ironically, was a title meaning "hidden one" (like Christ was a title meaning "The Annointed One")

History cuts through this question like a hot knife through butter. Good thing, it seems most of you could use an hour of studying history.
I tolerate your idiocies, you should be more tolerant of history.

I'll take Fairy Tales for 100$!, "What is, The Bible!"

Report me, or argue all day, this is Philosophy, not "Religion", the difference is: this involves thought

Uh-hoh...can I find some religious asylum anywhere, before a Crusade breaks out.

Another EDIT: By the way, in Greece and elsewhere, many people do still worship Zeus. The lack of cultural and historical knowledge helps me understand why many Americans think they speak a different language in England.

Also, you can be happy to be alive, without religion. In my opinion, it dehumanizes the divine relationship by causing more belief in a being which can't be proven, rather than the factual beings which we evolved from. I'm glad to see an intelligent argument for Christianity, though.

Haha! You Must Forgive me!
We can still be friends.

Answer 3

Just a humble opinion.

Reseracers have found that there is some gentic propensity for religious bent. This was quite recent and you might check Scientific American for details of this study.

Concerning religious beliefs prior to the common era, you will note that each region underwent social and political changes. Neitchke discusses this at length in several of his books.

There was, perhaps is a human need to explain phenonema, originally the creation myth, and explanations for the visible universe. There was a moral need as far back as Sumeria Code of Hammarabi to define rules to control civilization. Commandmants so to speak.

The governments would endorse these state religions since it maintained order. The pagan religions were overcome by the conversion of Roman slaves to Christianity. As Constantine converted on his death bed the Roman Empire became a Catholic state.

There is a peace that religion offers an "opiate of the masses" to coin a phrase. This has and will continue to be a reality particularly in the USA which ranks 46th of developed countries in believing in evolution!! Imagine that.

There are several religions that continue - Judiasm, Hindu, Janism, Buddhism so there is no complete rule of thumb here.

It is what it is.

Answer 4

I'm Christian, and I have no issues with the premise you pose. Christianity, as a religion is learned, the belief is developed from what we are taught, and what we then "prove" by our own observation in life and or divine revelations. This is true of all other religions and has been since the dawn of man.

Theologians will admit that the Old Testament books of the Bible are filled with stories taken from earlier stories from other religions and societies outside the Hebrew tradition.

So what makes Christianity different? The key difference begins with the Ten Commandments, which was arguably drawn from the Code of Hammurabi: For the first time, a religion introduced the concept that states that the quality of the relationship between individuals, can affect the quality of a person's life:
- You shall not murder.
- You shall not commit adultery.
- You shall not steal.
- You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
- You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour.

Until this point, all religions had said the quality of the relationship with the DIETY could affect the quality of your life. The Christian God changed that, humanizing the experience. And as you can see, even today, 5000 years later, some who claim to be Christians still have difficulty living up to these standards.

Jesus Christ, for whom the religion is named, changed things yet again when he taught the concept of forgiveness. His intention was that by giving his life on the cross, he purchased forgiveness for all minkind. Prior to that act, if a man was found guildy of a crime, it was not uncommon that his entire family, and sometimes his friends, would be sentenced to death and killed along with him. Since then, the power of forgiveness has significantly changed the human condition.

It would be great if we could learn the lesson once, and have it be with us forever. The trouble is that humans are short lived. And over time, the knowledge passes from the world and we have to learn it all over again. The Bible set the knowledge down for all time. Greek & Roman myth are gone, the Egyptian gods are gone, the Hittite gods is gone, etc., etc. Christianity will be here for as long as there are people willing to dedicate their lives to creating love, joy, freedom, abundance, compassion, forgiveness and guide and protect humanity to achieve those ends.

Not everyone discovers the scope greatness of Christianity; and those who do are significantly humbled, and thankful just to be alive.

Answer 5

The mere fact that you wrote that 'any answer given within one hour is completely useless' tells me that you haven't the slightest idea about rational thought. That statement suggests a clouded mind that hasn't the capacity to see through superfluous and irrelevant concepts and focus on the heart of the matter.

However, I will nevertheless, answer your relatively simple question.

The conviction from which the belief in religion springs is founded on repitition. Over time, most people will accept and believe many things if these things are continually drummed into them. Also, people have a seemingly inate need to hold on to those things that are familiar. Any belief system that is instilled into a society will, over time become accepted as valid dogma.

Answer 6

I guess you consider yourself a true philosopher or something of that ilk. You likely think you're quite deep, with an iltellect beyond the grasp of mere mortals...alright...

The reason there are no churches honoring Zeus or many of the other "dead" religions is that through time, their influence has waned as political and socal changes have occurred. At a point, they are irrelevant, and prople stop believing in that brand of religion, and move into another. One day, many of the religions we are familiar with now will be out of vogue, lose their followers, and cease to exist. C'est la vie!

Answer 7

Consider reading "Climb the Highest Mountain," Mark Prophet; it does provide good answers to many of your questions.

"A Philosophy of Universality," O. M. Aivanhov, and "The Path of Virtue," Jonathan Murro, and "The Reincarnation of Edgar Cayce?", Free and Wilcock http://www.divinecosmos.com also good.

Http://www.coasttocoastam.com has some good guests, and "Expecting Adam," Martha Beck, is a terrific read.

cordially,

j.

Answer 8

I think humans are born with a desire for some kind of spirituality. Religion is taught and accepted because it fills a need.
As to why there are no churches of Zeus or Aries...maybe the names have changed. People "worship" many different ideas or lifestyles which correspond to ancient cults of one god/goddess or another. Today there are many people who pursue exercise or money or theatre or drinking, or tree-hugging, etc., etc. These devotees used to have particular deities who represented the ideals of those specific activities.
Human beings strive to fill "the God shaped hole."

Answer 9

Unable To Determine

Answer 10

We are all born pure, to nuture the teachings from our elders, past down through the vine of
Christ Jesus past down through there ancestors.
Churches i believe are created by the denomination of different countries that they make there own Laws reguarding their beliefs,
that they put a identification to these churches.