How to compile your religion
Organized Religions like Islam and Christianity are already established in the world with millions of followers. Surely there is no need to compile your religion when you can just join one of the established ones and have the whole belief system already built for you. Most people receive their religion from their parents and cling to it for their entire lives, passing it on to future generations as the true path to God.
But what is the true path to God? Is it Islam or Christianity? Muslims and Christians will tell you that their ways are correct, but they both have different teachings. The Christian will tell you that the only way to God is salvation through Jesus Christ, while the Muslim will tell you that he is doing good works. Due to the many differences and arguments that arise, it is not surprising that most people either stick with the family religion or ignore the religion altogether.
There is a common belief that one should choose a religion and stick solely to its teachings. To find one with all the answers. Actually, there is no such religion, and here is the reason why.
Religions have different sects. Islam, for example, has Sunnis and Shias. Both sects follow Islam but there are differences in their beliefs. To this are added fatwas (religious rulings) that are established to deal with various situations, such as Can Women Drive. One sect will call something Halal (permitted) while another will call it Haram (Forbidden). The average Muslim takes the easy solution by simply accepting what his Imam tells him to believe, whether or not the Muslim agrees with the decision. Christianity has the same problem with many churches, such as Protestant and Catholic, having similar teachings and differences on certain issues. So with so many paths on offer, how can you find the right one?
On several occasions I have been asked questions about religion for which I usually have a fixed answer. Therefore, I am generally prepared. However, I have been surprised by unexpected questions that have caused me to panic. Questions that have made me doubt my faith. Questions for which I have not been able to find a logical answer in my inherited beliefs. This was because I never tried to find errors in my beliefs, nor did I want to accept that there were errors. Here are a couple of sample questions.
1. For a Christian: Why does a kind and loving God need his son to be tortured and killed in order to forgive sins? Why can’t he just forgive those who repent?
2. To a Jehovah’s Witness: If your child needed a blood transfusion to save his life, would you let him die to obey the Jehovah’s Witness teaching that blood transfusions are prohibited?
These are difficult questions to answer. A Jehovah’s Witness would probably say yes to the blood transfusion question rather than admit that part of his religion is wrong and secretly hope his child never needs one.
Now we see the problem of sticking to the beliefs of only one religion. Therefore, the best solution is to collect your own beliefs, which you can accept as true without error. Ignore all these teachers telling you that you need to stick with a religion and what they say. Take time to compare the different teachings and select those with which you are satisfied. This does not mean that you should stick to that teaching forever. Finding the true path always means adjusting parts of your beliefs that you find wrong with. Here is an example for you.
I am a Muslim but there are things in Islam that I do not accept. This does not mean that I am going to leave Islam. It simply means that I reject certain teachings until someone convinces me that the teaching is correct. I accept the teachings of both the Bible and the Qur’an and choose the more accurate teaching of either that contradicts the other.
One teaching of Islam that I do not accept is Apostasy. I don’t think someone should be killed for leaving Islam. The reason is that there is always the possibility of a person coming back and killing them makes that impossible. The Bible teaches the parable of the lost sheep that not only allows people to return to God, but there is great rejoicing in heaven when they do. As you can see, this is a more acceptable and logical answer.
So it is not necessary for you to leave your current religion if you prefer to remain in that community, but I recommend that you do not blindly follow things that you do not accept as true. By all means, ask questions until you feel you can accept or reject that teaching. Remember that it doesn’t mean you have to give up your entire religion, just certain beliefs. You will probably find that there are many people in your community who can honestly say that there are things they do not accept. So, start compiling your religious belief system and start your journey towards the truth.
