I personally have never been able to get any more specific than to know in my heart that God exists, so I kind of watch religion from the sidelines. My question though, is do you picture a vengeful God, a God who punishes those who don’t find the “one true path” or are you more prone to believe in a religion that is more along the lines of being all-inclusive?
Mikey’s breakdown of the paths to Heaven, from most selective to most inclusive:
Christianity - I’m pretty sure Catholics and Protestants both are very much in agreement on this actually - in order to get to Heaven, you absolutely must accept Jesus Christ as the Son of God and believe that he died on the cross for our sins. Christianity preaches that all men sin and the only path to salvation is through Jesus. I think most Christians believe you have to get a free pass if you died too young to understand or if you were never were brought in contact with the teachings of the Bible, however.
Islam - Islam is more flexible than Christianity in that the Quran says that Jews and Christians can also make their way to Heaven as long as they believe in the one true God (namely, the creator.) However, the Quran also specifically says that Jesus was a “prophet”, and that he was not the Son of God and that those who believe so are making a man into a God and will therefore go to hell. Therefore, by the very definition Christians apply to themselves, they’re in effect going against God and headed for hell. Given the state of the modern world, I find it a bit ironic then that the Jews have a much better chance of making it to share a Quranic Heaven with the Muslims.
Judaism - Judaism believes in an afterlife, but much the same way they never try to paint the face of God in their temples, there isn’t a specific picture of the afterlife painted either, leaving much to personal opinion. From www.jewfaq.org/olamhaba.htm - “It is possible for an Orthodox Jew to believe that the souls of the righteous dead go to a place similar to the Christian heaven, or that they are reincarnated through many lifetimes, or that they simply wait until the coming of the messiah, when they will be resurrected. Likewise, Orthodox Jews can believe that the souls of the wicked are tormented by demons of their own creation, or that wicked souls are simply destroyed at death, ceasing to exist.” Pretty open to interpretation, then.
Hinduism & Buddhism - I heard someone say that “Jesus saves; Buddha recycles.” I’m not too sure on the specifics of these religions, but I’m pretty sure these are the most inclusive of the religions. You may be reincarnated as a pig, but at least you won’t go to hell. (Any one who wants to elaborate on some of the distinctions between these two religions please do so.)
I think most people who study religions from a neutral stance, perhaps looking to find a good fit, probably end up going along with a religion that’s more tolerant of other beliefs. I think it just feels better to believe in a kindhearted way that despite our differences, those of us who lived good lives (whatever that means) will go to Heaven and in the end, we’ll all be able to get together for a big ol’ party in the paradise of afterlife.
Somehow though, I can imagine it’s just as possible that God, as the creator of these lumps of clay, could be just as apt to trash the clay when it doesn’t sculpt itself to his liking or to his likeness. If you imagine that there is a God, he probably has a house of some sort, and if you can imagine that, I can also imagine that God could be quite discriminating for who he lets into his house, that he could have house rules and that you either recognize the truth, pick the right religion and worship Him for exactly who He is, or he’ll just toss you into the fire like a lump of discarded clay.
What do you think, are you more apt to believe in a religion that’s more selective on who goes on to Heaven or a religion that’s more inclusive?
