According to certain Christians and Muslims, only THEY have the RIGHT God. All other people from other religions worship "false" gods and are in false religions. In both the koran and bible, non-believers are condemned for all eternity.
Now if someone has with a genuine heart, searched, spiritually quested and delved into the various faiths, holy books and VOILA! They have their epiphany and find God and a spiritual path that satisfies them mind, body and spirit; answers the most important questions in life:
- WHo are we? Why are we here? What is life? What is death? What happens after? It gives them a way to live a good life, peaceably with their fellowman and the planet. It is a belief and relationship with God they would DIE for. That is how much they KNOW it to be TRUE.
Yet it is not your belief (Jesus or Allah).
If after all of this, they die and OOPS! Let's say your God WAS the true one afterall. How could that God honestly punish that person?
2007-11-12 07:39:25 · 23 answers · asked by pixie_pagan 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Do you believe those who do not come to your religion or God are somehow evil?
2007-11-12 07:40:21 · update #1
There is only one God, all right? But there are many, many ways to worship Him.
I don't believe God much cares, either, as long as you are a good person, and try to live a good life.
2007-11-12 07:43:18 · answer #1 · answered by Rick K 6 · 1⤊ 3⤋
This is a question I ask all the time and is probably the main reason I am dissatisfied with organized religion and a devout Agnostic.
I think that we even have this problem is proof that something is wrong with religions in general. In my mind, there's no way any omnipotent being (God or a god) can condone killing others in the name of becoming worthy to live in Utopia upon your death. Of course, Christianity went through the Crusades and basically had the same desires as do the funamentalist muslims of today.
I think it has to do with people being blind to what the real world is all about. We don't even have a clue as to what the orginal intent of early Christianity wanted because not only were many of those writings lost or destroyed, churches pick and choose those that they want to incorporate into their laws. But, people don't want to hear that, they want to blindly follow what someone else has told them and do not think for themselves.
I can live a "moral" life without a belief in any god and still be ok with that. If there's a judgement day, I think I'll do pretty well.
2007-11-12 15:53:25 · answer #2 · answered by Bach 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Most religions follow the same general values and ideals. Even the native americans religions were very similar to christianity. VERY similar. The problem is, the wording and generalizing can be interpreted in so many different ways.....sh*it, even Hitler used religion to justify his cause, the same as extreme Muslims. The KKK uses Christianity to justify themselves. Religions can be interpreted in so many different ways by different people, even though they are reading the same words. But almost all religions have one God and basic human values are the same. We all have the same conscience.....and if you follow that you will be abiding by pretty much any religion out there. Who's to say you have to believe in the one "correct" God......maybe they all are the same ones, just over the years different cultures have changed things a little, interpreted things differently. After all, it may be the Lord's words that we read in our bible, Koran or whatever.....but all of it was written by men, not God. Who's to say some of these men didn't have their own agendas? If they are as human as we are today, then I'm sure some of the words were written from their own views and not necessarily from the true "God."
2007-11-12 15:50:37 · answer #3 · answered by Insanity 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Okay, so, I'm glad you realize this doesn't include ALL Muslims or Christians. Only a specific number of extremists believe in this notion, which frankly I believe is absurd. To ask why they do it is absurd too because apparently these people THEMSELVES aren't doing a good job in matters of believing - Christianity and Islam are both supposed to be religions of TOLERATION and PEACE. Talk about irony...
And it's a common misconception about the treatment of non-believers. Islam OR Christianity do NOT condemn non-believers for eternity. They are both very active missionary religion and this is why The Quran and the Bible focus primarily on 'peaceful preaching'... and on 'combat' ONLY if the non-believers begin it. Indeed, God curses those who don't believe but only to WARN them to fear the consequences. Nowadays the matter of interpretation is causing many skepticisms.
As for dying for the 'right' God... that is very unorthodox and unIslamic since to God, your life is the most important thing. God condemns suicide and he does not just want you to throw your life away based on something you are not sure of. If there's doubt, it's better to ward off. Also, suicide is among the Gunah-e-Kabeera (Big Sins) in Islam. In fact, one's life is so important to God, that He allows Muslims to eat pork (which otherwise is haram/not allowed) if they are starving and there is nothing else available.
If someone starts believing in God... and then DIES for Him, as you say... then God would indeed NOT punish him for putting down his life for Him... but He could punish him for not being sensible enough to realize that it was not required. Although, of course... God alone is the judge of that.
Of course I, being a Muslim, don't believe that people who don't belong to Islam deserve to die or anything. I believe in freedom of thoughts, freedom of will, and freedom to live just the way you want to. And that's exactly what God wants you to do too. That's why, humans have freedom of will. This also answers the question about what God's ultimate plan ... if He knows what's going to happen anyway... and if He knows what everyone is going to do ... (since he is the All-Knowing) why are we even alive? It's because this is a test for us not by God so He can determine who's good among us. He already knows that. It's a test for us to test ourselves. To see, if we'd suffice for Heaven.
Furthermore, God says He'll forgive those who are unable to practise His rights (i.e. belief, prayer etc)... but He won't forgive those who are unable to practice the rights of other beings.So, it's better to help someone than to pray if you can't do both.
Your good deeds might suffice and might be a way of your appreciating God's creations because a prayer is the same thing as that.
Hope this helped.
2007-11-12 16:07:05 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
and even worse, that is the reason they are killing. But Christians kill far more because, unlike Muslims, they believe Jesus has already died for their sins. This means: you can go to Iraq and elswhere and start shooting with no problem as long as you are a Jesus fan. He already died for the sins you commit.
This is why the Crusades, Inquisitions, and other atrocities could not get replicated by any other group.
2007-11-12 15:51:29 · answer #5 · answered by Question Time 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I am a Christian and this is what I believe.
The Greatest Love Song
Do You Know Jesus
By Mike McCracken
(chorus)
Do you know Jesus?
And how He loves us
How He died just to save us
Just because, He loves us
Judas betrayed Him
Who once was His friend
They beat, flogged and scourged Him
To where He didn’t look human
A crown of thorns on His head
Just another place where He bled
Humiliated in every way
Why, they even tore His clothes away
And there wasn’t any time loss
To where, they made Him carry the cross
To drive nails through His hands
He’s more than just a man
And Jesus still loved them
After all they did to Him
He did this for us too
When He said, “Father forgive them,
for they know not what they do.”
Jesus said that there is no greater love that a man can give than that he lay down his life for another. Jesus did this for all those who believe. I wrote this out of the Bible so everyone will know how great God’s love is.
2007-11-12 15:45:11 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
its the fault of the person who does not have faith in himself.
there is no fault of any religion
A picture is worth a thousand words. An experience is worth a thousand pictures. The more 'real' something seems to us, the more empathy we have for it. Likewise, when we are trying to consider a matter of which we know little, we find it hard to summon much enthusiasm. If there is no photograph or drawing and just some vague description, we simply turn our attention towards something more interesting. large and small are all, ultimately, about communication. If you now need someone to understand something, draw them a picture or better still, give them an experience they can relate to.
!O!O!O!O!O!
2007-11-12 15:43:14 · answer #7 · answered by ♥SpIcE uP♥ 5 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Yahweh, or Jehovah, is the God of the Bible and the Qu' ran. Islam was probably created because of the trinity doctrine- but I do not believe in the trinity. Nor do I believe in hell-fire.
2007-11-12 15:45:34 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
No matter what Teachings,Doctrines,Beliefs etc.We all serve
the same God.
One Faith,One Baptisim,and One God.
The Father,The Son And The Holy Spirit:
2007-11-12 15:46:54 · answer #9 · answered by qunette b 1 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Islam, Christianity and Judaism all believe in the same God. They split at the story of Abraham.
They believe in a different prophet, but the same God.
2007-11-12 15:45:30 · answer #10 · answered by Fester Frump 7 · 1⤊ 3⤋