Religions?

Does everyone go to Heaven when they die?  Or do just all the “good” people go to Heaven?  What makes a person “good”?  With so many religions out there, how do you know who has the ‘Truth”?  These are some of the questions that often pop up when folks start to ponder the meaning of life, and what might lie beyond for their soul.  How do we know that we are following the right guy?  Everyone can’t be right.  That would make it some crazy mixed up Spirit World with no leader, no good vs. evil…  But we DO have compelling evidence for at least one religion.  Sadly, most people never give it a thought – and that is what makes it so easy to start a new religion/sect.

If you think about it, all religions (and Protestant denominations) can be traced back to their origins/beginnings.  Someone had to start it.  So who started your religion and where/when did it begin?  The real question is… What gives them the authority to make decisions about God? How credible are they?  How credible is the historical record?  How do we know it is not just made up?  Is there any evidence to support the claim of “God”?  Is there any supporting historical data?  How about miracles and eyewitness support?  Would the founders and/or followers die horrible deaths for their faith?  I hope you will see that there is only one such religion that has all of this.

Virtually all religions are man made and can be summed up in one word: Power.  When you can make up a religion to fit your needs, you have the power.  BEWARE – anyone can start their own religion.  You just start with God (or Jesus – Protestant Christianity) and add you own flavors.  Bingo!  Over the centuries, thousands upon thousands of religions have popped up and have led people astray.  Is it any wonder why the world is in such a mess?  Christianity (and through connection, Judaism) have historical and scientific evidence supporting their claims (from outside sources), as well as bountiful miracles and eyewitness accounts.  There is no historical or scientific evidence that the Apostles and John the Baptist came to visit John Smith in the 1800′s to form the Mormon church/Latter Day Saints.  What evidence is there to support Islam?  Just the sole word of Muhammad.  Who can you believe?  Some religions have no Almighty God.  That makes our fate the same as the ant you stepped on – here today, gone tomorrow.  For most people though, it’s easy to see and feel the Spiritual World.  The difficulty is in seeing who to trust with YOUR spirit.  Who has the “real” Truth?  IF you are at all concerned about life after death, than you owe it to yourself to seek out the Truth, and not just go along with the flow.

Many religions are simply made up to support a particular view point – personal or political.  In Christianity, there are over 40,000 denominations.  If you don’t agree with your church, then you just start your own.  Politically, people are attracted to the POWER that a particular religion gives them.  Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie is God (King of Jamaica in the 1930′s), and that he will return to Africa members of the black community who are living in exile as the result of colonization and the slave trade.  Do you see how easy it would be to gather a following this way?  These people believe they are going to Heaven; BUT, just because you believe something (or want to believe something), doesn’t make it true.

What is your religion?  Do you know where it come from?  Who started it?

What are the beliefs? Ask yourself, “Does it sound made up?” or “Could it have been made up?”  What evidence is there to support it?  Whose authority are you relying on for your Eternal Destiny? These are questions that you should know the answer to if your soul’s ETERNAL DESTINY is relying on it.  You need to seek out the Truth.  Many churches and religions around the world say that they have the Truth.  Are you sure that you do?  Take a look at the basics below and see just who you are putting your faith in. Let’s divide all the worlds religions into 3 categories:

1. The No God – “Good Person” religions (Atheist, Buddhist)
2. The god based religions [god/gods] (Hindu, Tao, Rastafari, Judaism, Islam, Unitarian…)
3. The 40,000 + Christian variants (Jesus religions – Catholic, Protestant denominations)

Group #1: NO god

What goes around comes around – Karma.  Buddhists and Atheists, is there no God?  You have to be pretty self-centered and ignorant to not understand the concept of God, an Almighty Creator.  Aside from the awe of creation, we have sooo much documentation through Judaism, Rome, and Christianity (not Protestant Christianity), as well as bountiful miracles and eyewitness.  So much supporting evidence.  Many people are just not aware of these things and therefore don’t believe them.  That doesn’t mean it’s not true.  Other folks are just too smart for their own britches; they feel they have to completely understand everything to make that leap of faith.

Group #2: god based

God based religions have been around since the beginning of time (or since humans came to be).   Starting with Judaism, in their Holy Books we hear of many gods being worshiped by peoples of numerous nations and tribes.  Hinduism is said to date back to these roots.  There are far too many religions to look into for this topic.  Find detailed information on the BBC website – they cover over 20 different world religions and their variants.

The question is… Which one do you stake your soul on?  Judaism has credibility on its own, but it gains much more credibility when seen it in its continuation through Christianity which we’ll see below.  Judaism is backed by many miracles and eyewitness accounts which are then backed up by Jesus and Christianity.  The other god/gods religions don’t have much in the way of credibility.  Basically, you take God the Creator and spin it with your own limitless imagination and ideas into a new religion.  That’s it.  Start a church, gain a following and lead your people to where ever you want.  Some religious sects are WAY out there worshiping made up gods.  Some say you will become gods after earthly death, or inherit a harem of virgins after you die for Allah.  Sounds good, huh?  Even if you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.  You need to think about the credibility of a religion’s claims.  Does it sound made up?  Is there any supporting evidence?  Are there documented miracles proving a supreme being?

Group #3: Jesus based

Let’s start with the Catholic Church which is where Christianity began some 2,000 years ago.  It is supported in depth by historical records, and works within a logical structure. Catholic Christianity is supported through Roman historical records, Jewish Historical records, and the numerous writings of the Apostles and Church Fathers.  Many miracles have been documented as well, with plenty of eyewitnesses.  Almost all the Apostles and early Church leaders died horrible deaths defending Christianity (martyred).  Would so many walk to a horrific death for a lie?

Now let’s look at the 40,000+ Protestant denominations (of Christianity).   Remember, ANYONE can start their own religion, and it is even easier to start a new Christian denomination (church).  Basically, you take Jesus and do one of two things.  One – you can pick and choose what beliefs from the Bible you like and disregard any you don’t agree with or understand.  Or two – you can get really creative and add your own ideas, using your own imagination to spin up a new Christian denomination.  Some denominations are WAY out there claiming that YOU will become a god when you die – Wow, that sounds great!  Where do I sign up?  Although it is very complex, the basic truths of the Protestant Reformation is that anyone can simply start a new “church” on their own authority.  Can anyone see the problem with this???  Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.