RE: Non-Practicing
Greetings,
I wrote a post responding to the thread about non-practicing people of good character, and then discovered that I couldn't post it and the advice forum because I'm not Muslim [emoji1] . But I wanted to posted somewhere oh, so here it is:
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It is this very issue that first inspired me to study religion when I was 12 years old. One Summer while in summer camp, I made a good friend named John who happened to be Jewish. I recalled hearing my pastor say that there was no way to heaven except through Jesus Christ (pbuh). Did this mean that John would go to hell?
This created a moral quandary for me. John was a good kid, and he was my best friend that summer. He was open and kind to everyone. Though there were some who judged him negatively for being Jewish, he didn't take offense to this, and did not judge others negatively for believing differently from him. How could it be true that this young man would go to hell if he died today?
By the end of that summer, I had read the Bible from cover to cover, looking for answers. But all I found were more puzzles. I spoke to pastors and priests and ministers, and none were able to resolve my puzzles to my satisfaction.
So I read the Quran. I didn't know any Muslims and didn't have anyone to talk to about it, so I didn't retain much at the time. Then I read the talmud, then the Bhavid Gita, the Tao te Jing, and I was up and running. I started studying philosophy, history, political science, etc., and I continue to study.
I found that most religions have similar morality systems. There is usually something akin to the ten commandments: timeless moral principles that apply to almost every time period and culture. Most religions also have very specific and dated lists of instructions that make the most sense for the time period and culture in which they were written.
To this day, the thing I find most concerning about religion is when believers use it to exclude, judge, and condemn outsiders. Almost all religious communities have hardliners who adopt this view to the extreme, and who view believers in other religions as their enemy. But even moderates tend to agree that believers in other religions are doomed to eternal torture in the afterlife.
For me, I am often reminded of my friend John when I see this kind of rhetoric. I simply could not believe that he deserved to go to hell. I still don't believe it. Never have, never will.
Of course, I don't necessarily believe in an afterlife. Maybe, maybe not. I'll find out when I get there. But I do believe that if there is a higher power, and it is a power of good, that character will be considered independently of adopted religion.
Greetings,
I wrote a post responding to the thread about non-practicing people of good character, and then discovered that I couldn't post it and the advice forum because I'm not Muslim [emoji1] . But I wanted to posted somewhere oh, so here it is:
----------------
It is this very issue that first inspired me to study religion when I was 12 years old. One Summer while in summer camp, I made a good friend named John who happened to be Jewish. I recalled hearing my pastor say that there was no way to heaven except through Jesus Christ (pbuh). Did this mean that John would go to hell?
This created a moral quandary for me. John was a good kid, and he was my best friend that summer. He was open and kind to everyone. Though there were some who judged him negatively for being Jewish, he didn't take offense to this, and did not judge others negatively for believing differently from him. How could it be true that this young man would go to hell if he died today?
By the end of that summer, I had read the Bible from cover to cover, looking for answers. But all I found were more puzzles. I spoke to pastors and priests and ministers, and none were able to resolve my puzzles to my satisfaction.
So I read the Quran. I didn't know any Muslims and didn't have anyone to talk to about it, so I didn't retain much at the time. Then I read the talmud, then the Bhavid Gita, the Tao te Jing, and I was up and running. I started studying philosophy, history, political science, etc., and I continue to study.
I found that most religions have similar morality systems. There is usually something akin to the ten commandments: timeless moral principles that apply to almost every time period and culture. Most religions also have very specific and dated lists of instructions that make the most sense for the time period and culture in which they were written.
To this day, the thing I find most concerning about religion is when believers use it to exclude, judge, and condemn outsiders. Almost all religious communities have hardliners who adopt this view to the extreme, and who view believers in other religions as their enemy. But even moderates tend to agree that believers in other religions are doomed to eternal torture in the afterlife.
For me, I am often reminded of my friend John when I see this kind of rhetoric. I simply could not believe that he deserved to go to hell. I still don't believe it. Never have, never will.
Of course, I don't necessarily believe in an afterlife. Maybe, maybe not. I'll find out when I get there. But I do believe that if there is a higher power, and it is a power of good, that character will be considered independently of adopted religion.
