my family has a religion (christianity) and i dont know if its wrong or right, i tried asking help from my family but they tell me to have faith, and pray, and believe the lord will save me but i dont know if i should believe that, i tell them everyone thinks their certain religion is right and they tell me that they know theirs is right. I believe Gays are ok, im friends with some and im not saying its right or wrong but im saying i dont care if it is, im just so frustrated with myself and need help on how to know if i should just believe it just because my family believes it or not. im scared any answer i choose is wrong and ill go to hell.
How do you know if a religion is wrong or right, or what you have been taught is right ? help?
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- 3+ months ago by questiona...
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- family, religion, christianity, faith, right, asking
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Responses (18)
It is not reliable to ask people to tell you what the bible says. Many people will make up stuff because they don't know what it says, and many will make up stuff because they wish it would not say what it says. You just have to read it for yourself. Read a chapter of Proverbs every day. Proverbs has 31 chapters so you can keep your place by just looking at a calendar. There is no religion or nothing in Proverbs and you don't have to believe anything. Just read to find wisdom. When you are comfortable with that, then read the bible from Romans to 2 Thessalonians over and over until you start to remember what it says. That is the part that applies to Christians.
Here is a book to help you to understand the bible. It's a free download and you can get a hard copy at any bible book store.
philologos.org/__eb-htetb/ "How To Enjoy The Bible"
What is important is knowing how God wants to be served. In order to do that you have to study the Bible, that's the way God speaks to us. It takes time and effort. The Bible at James 4:8 says: If you draw close to God, he will draw close to you.
Christ Jesus, God's son sat the example we are to follow. If you read the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, You will learn much about Jesus's life course. Who better to follow. To learn more I would like to direct you to the JW.org website. But, really no one can convince you to believe in something, but you. You have to apply yourself to investigating how God wants to be served.
thank you for your help.
The apostle Paul wrote: “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) Accurate knowledge of the Bible is essential if we are to avoid the pitfall of reducing religious devotion only to what is convenient or pleasing to us.
Religion that pleases God cannot inculcate or allow for hatred of fellow humans. The Bible’s simple command is, “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) That means separating from this world’s hatreds, prejudices, and conflicts. It means learning war no more and pursuing peace.—Isaiah 2:2-4
For more information on this subject and others, please go to www.jw.org and read on line or download the book "What Does The Bible REALLY Teach."
thank you for helping me. I will definitely look at that.
The Bible is like a reliable road map that can help a person find the correct religious path.
Jesus taught that God must be worshiped ‘with truth.’ So reason dictates that if two teachings are opposed to each other, both cannot be true. For example, either humans have a soul that survives death or they do not. Either God is going to intervene in human affairs or he is not. Either God is a Trinity or he is not. Truth seekers want factual answers to such important questions. God has given us the answers in his Word, the Bible. To gain accurate knowledge on "What Does the bible REALLY Teach" more questions and answers from the bible, please go to www.jw.org also for free downloads, publications or read on line the book mentioned above.
That is an excellent question. So many people do not even consider the possibility of right and wrong in their beliefs. Knowing the truth is so vital, because what we believe will affect us in so many ways. It will affect our outlook on life as well as the decisions we make through out our life. There are so many different religions. I too had the same question many years ago. I asked myself as you did, which one is correct. They all seem to use the bible, but can all these ways of worship be acceptable to God. The teaching varied from one church to the other. So what I did was say to myself even though there are a lot of religious books on earth there is only "one" that claims to be inspired of God. Even though he had it penned by men (the same way a boss will have a secretary write his thoughts down for him) God is the author of the book.
So your beliefs should align with what the bible teaches. The Bible should be the authority on which you measure what is right and what is wrong. As you go about examining what the bible teaches you then compare what the religions teach and if it falls short of the bible's teaching, it becomes a process of elimination from there.
If you would like I would love to show you have I have examined the bible and found out what it actually says and teaches which has enabled me to so convinced about what I beliefs. The bible answers questions such as What is God's purpose for the earth? Who is Jesus Christ? What is the ransom" Where are the dead? What is god's kingdom? Why does god allow suffering? Worship that God approves! Please contact me if you are interested. You will be able to draw your own conclusions and your beliefs will be your beliefs..based on facts.
Thank you, These answers are really helping me and definitely lowering my doubts. Even if i find out that this religion is the one i believe in then what am i supposed to do when i have many friends who are either Gay or trans, and i don't want to treat them any different or say they are wrong.
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
God gives everybody that choice, subject only to hearing or reading enough to make the choice. There is no condemnation for choosing not to believe.
When a person asks this question I always ask, do you really want the truth or something you want to hear to please your ears? The Bible says at, John 8:31,32
“If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free". John 17:3 says we must take in knowledge of God and His son Jesus Christ. Here is a website that can assist you in your search. www.jw.org
It helped me.
Every believer, in every religion says that his or her religion is right. Your parents believe their faith is right, because if they did not they would have ceased to be believers. In the same way, if you ask a Hindu if his religion is right, he will say it is. Most of the answers to this question will be written by Christians, and invariably they will say their religion is right. So you will get no objectively useful information by asking people if their religion is right.
You will not find the answer by reading and re-reading a scripture, because if the scripture is wholly or partly untrue, then all you have done is learn something that is wholly or partly untrue. Praying might remove your doubts, but only by stopping you from thinking about the question you asked in the first place - it won't tell you if the God or gods to whom you pray are true.
It is also a tenet of philosophy that it is usually impossible to prove a negative. So it may be impossible to prove that any of the world's religions is 'wrong', although you could perhaps prove each of them to be quite unlikely to be true. You can not absolutely prove atheism to be the right answer to the question.
First you should decide if you even need a religion to hold onto. If the answer is that you do, then decide on a religion that you are comfortable with, even if you know it may not be true. For you, that religion could be the religion of your parents.
It is a common belief that it is impossible to prove a negative, however tjis is a fallacy since there are many proofs that substantiate negative claims in mathematics, science, and economics including the example of what is know as "Arrow's impossibility theorem".
Additionaly proof of impossibility or an evidence of absence argument are typical methods to fulfill the burden of proof regarding a negative claim.
Concerning your advice to choose the religion a person is comfortable with: This advice might very well be acceptable to an atheist but is reminiscent of the serpents advice to Eve so she could have the ability to decide for herself what is right and wrong.
A person that believe in the existence of God, on the other hand, should desire to assure him or herself that his chosen religion is acceptable to his creator, not just to himself.
The Nazis believed that they were the ubermenschen and would rule for a thousand years, this certainly made them feel good at the time, however their euphoria was ephemeral at best.
A Christian would make sure that his religion is in harmony with the father of Jesus, he certainly did this:
(John 4:34) . . .Jesus said to them: “My food is for me to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. . .
Josephus, please remember that I only said "it may be impossible..." which is not an absolute statement. It would be a wrong statement in mathematics, but nearly always a correct statement in philosophy, which is really what this question is about: "It is also a tenet of philosophy that it is usually impossible to prove a negative. "
It is also certainly true that a Christian would make sure that his religion is in harmony with the father of Jesus, but by doing so the Christian is simply accepting that his Christian religion is 'right', which is not what the question has asked. I proposed that the OP would probably follow the religion of his or her parents (which would probably be the Christian religion).
The religion a person is brought up in certainly will have a strong influence in his life.
Believing that it is automatically the "right" religion from God's perspective lacks insight.
Ultimately the one who created all things is the one who decides what is right or wrong. Using the potter as an analogy, the pot does not tell the potter what shape he should be.
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Today, hardly anyone would openly support cutting someone open, and offer his heart to the sun in an effort to incite it to keep shining, and yet, this was the religion the Aztecs practiced and were brought up in.
This example clearly reveals that simply because we were taught something doesn't make it right.
Atheist , Agnostics and other who do not, or only marginally believe in God, take it upon themselves to decide ethical, moral and other issues. Usually this decision is based on feelings, upbringing, material gain or public opinion. The outcome of these beliefs is clearly evident in our time.
As for your first question -How do you know if a religion is right- the answer is simple, the application not so easy.
Get to know for yourself what the Bible "really teaches", not what others say about it.
The first step is getting to know what is different to the Bible compared to any other book, religious or otherwise, those difference has convinced many of it's divine origin.
The next step is understanding it's principle, regulations and doctrines and applying them in our life.
I'm sorry if this is not the quick and easy answer you might like , but Jesus said the the road to life is narrow and cramped and few are the ones finding it, not because God stops them finding it but because few are willing to go to the trouble. The alternative is the broad road, it's the easy way, however it leads to destruction according to Jesus's words.
regards
* IN MY OPINION * No religion is right or wrong. I believe what is. I believe it is 100% okay to love anyone you want, and to be anyone you want. I dont believe in any religion inparticular, but i dont completley disagree with the religion of christianity. Some people need somone to look up to when there is no one else (God). But others (like me) feel you choose your path in life, not god. I like to believe that i'm in control of my life. Not some guy who MAY have existed a LONG time ago. I just dont believe in the stories of god and jesus ( no offence, really :/ ) Im 13, and i go to a catholic school, although my family is mormon. My whole life (when i get into a friendly debate about beliefs) i'm told that is's okay if i dont know what i do or dont believe in. But i do, and it can be frusturating. Just believe what you think is right to believe in this world. You can be cristian, and pray and believe whilst still believing what may be considered "against your religion". Like being gay or trans or bi. because i believe those are right in this world, and you might too. Hopefully this helped a bit. Mostly this was my personal opinions, but it may open you're mind to different options :)
Everyone will say that their religion is true, and in a way they are right, because it IS true to them.
I personally do not believe in God but neither do I believe that those who do are wrong. What I think you should do is just think for a while, and decide what you believe in.
Remember that if you believe in something, stand by your beliefs and do not let others tell you that you are wrong.
You say you do not believe in God ! Can you tell us who or what made you , the clouds , rain , snow , birds , cows , pigs , monkeys , food you eat , water you drink and everything else that was made ? You are human , right ?
Of course I am human. I don't quite understand your question. Do you mean who/what made the human race as a whole? Do you mean who/what made me as in just me?
And I have a question for you. Why do you believe in God?
Everyone will say that their religion is true, and in a way they are right, because it IS true to them.
I personally do not believe in God but neither do I believe that those who do are wrong. What I think you should do is just think for a while, and decide what you believe in.
Remember that if you believe in something, stand by your beliefs and do not let others tell you that you are wrong.
What I found out is about 25 years ago a muslim named Iotollah Komeni in Iran rewrote the muslim bible so that male muslims would kill themselves when told by their leaders to thin out muslim country's. Also In America Minister's, Priest's & Preacher's did'nt agree with the bible so through the hundreds of years each time they had new bible's rewritten or printed. They changed many areas from what they did'nt agree with it & rewrote to take its place in their way. So I decided that its a waste of time reading the bible since after many changes through the years. I'm not reading the real bible, but only what each has changed to live their way. Mike
Let uus look at the meaning of the word: : A form of worship. It includes a system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices; these may be personal, or they may be advocated by an organization. Usually religion involves belief in God or in a number of gods; or it treats humans, objects, desires, or forces as objects of worship. Much religion is based on human study of nature; there is also revealed religion. There is true religion and false.Here is something for you to keep in mind.
A recent tabulation concluded that there are 10 main religions and some 10,000 sects. Of these, some 6,000 exist in Africa, 1,200 in the United States, and hundreds in other lands
Now ask yourself this can these religions be right? Because there is one Bible also we know that there is only one way of doing things right. Therefore we must find it. How do we do that examining the scriptures. You may want to consider this.
Romans 10:2.3 “I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God; but not according to accurate knowledge; for, because of not knowing the righteousness of God but seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”
Think about this if you work with money and you need to find out what is counterfeit do you look for all counterfeit money or do this. To illustrate: In many lands, there is a problem with counterfeit money. If you were given the job of picking out such false money, how would you go about it? By memorizing every kind of counterfeit? No. Your time would be better spent if you studied real money. After you knew what real money looked like, you could recognize a counterfeit. Similarly, when we learn how to identify the true religion, we can recognize those religions that are false.
Does the religion that I belong to teach what the Bible says? Does my religion have love among themselves? Genuine love means more than not killing others. True Christians unselfishly use their time, energy, and resources to help and encourage one another. (Hebrews 10:24, 25) They help one another in times of distress, and they deal honestly with others. In fact, they apply in their lives the Bible counsel to “work what is good toward all.”—Galatians 6:10.I would also suggest something else please go to jw.org and put in the search box true religion that should help to make the right decision.
I understand it could be frustrating. I was at one time in a similar, situation like you. I grew,up in a Christian home but was not satisfy with its teachings, so I decided to take the bible advice and look for the identifying marks of a true Christian. Let me discuss a few bible scriptures that help me identify the true religion :
1) John 17:3 says," This means everlasting life, their coming to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ ."
In this scripture God is telling you, the first step is to come into a beautiful relationship with him and his son. The best way to get to know them is by studying God's word regularly. Who is offering free bible studies to their neighbors, family and acquaintances to come into a personal relationship with the only true God? Of all the many religions on the earth only Jehovah's witnesses are freely offering themselves willingly to help others reconcile with God
2) Psalm 83:18 says, "May people know that you, whose name is Jehovah, You alone are the Most High over all the earth." In this scripture God wants you to know him by his personal name. Let's illustrate, you ,I ,animals and even the stars in the sky have personal names, is it not logical the one who created us and everything else will have a name also? There are so many gods that people worship today . Jehovah wants you to identify him by his name as the one and only true God who you worship so your worship will not go to any other false gods. Only Jehovah Witnesses on the earth today are using the only true God's name Jehovah in their worship.
3) Matthew 28:19/20 Jesus himself give the command , "Go, therefore, and make disciples,of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you." Who is carrying out this commandment today? Jehovah's Witnesses are the only one on the earth carrying out this command. Like Jesus they go from village to village, hous to house on the streets and everywhere they find people to accept the personal invitation from Jehovah to become his friend.
The above scriptures help me to form an everlasting relationship with my God Jehovah . It also help me to see relying on God to direct and help me in my quest to know him and come into a beautiful relationship with him involves getting to know his requirements. Today I could proudly say I am whole heartedly serving my God Jehovah with a joyful heart.
Hope the above scriptures could help you identify the ones who worship the only true God Jehovah. If you need more information or have other questions, please contact me or visit JW.Org.
thank you, i'll definitely do that.