I started thinking awhile back about how all the major world religions profess to bestow some type of benefit to its faithful. For instance, many Christians believe that only Christians will go to heaven, many Muslims believe that only Muslims will go to heaven, etc.
And then I started thinking about how a person's circumstances play a large part in their faith. If you're born into a Hindu familyin India, for instance, you have a much higher chance of being a Hindu than someone who is, say, born into a Christian family in the Bible belt. In fact, most people, some might say the vast majority of people, practice the same faith as their parents. Some do it half-assed, others are devout practictioners. Regardless, if you are born into a family of a particular faith, that greatly increases your chances of being a member of that faith.
So let's suppose, hypothetically, that Christianity is the one, true faith and that if you don't accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you will go to hell.
And let's suppose that you are born into a Hindu family in India, and I am born into a Christian family in the Bible Belt. Haha, you got effed in the A! Even though I'm not a better person than you by any means, I got lucky because I was born into a Christian family. Even though you have the 'opportunity' to convert, we all know you probably won't. Even though we would both probably have just practiced whatever faith we were born into, you got the shaft and will spend eternity in hell.
Sucks to be you.
My point is that given their vastly different circumstances, it would just be wrong for everyone to be judged by the same standard, such as whether or not they accept a particular faith. Asking someone born into a Muslim family to accept Christianity is a completely different situation than asking someone born into a Christian family to accept Christianity, and vice versa.
It would be analagous to giving the SAT to a college-educated economist and a four year old. Sure, it's the same test and the four year old has the 'opportunity' to do well, but their circumstances are too different for it to be a fair standard.
The funny thing is, a common thought process among people of all faiths is "Wow! I'm so lucky to have been born into a family that practices the one, true faith.
Thanks, God!" Everyone thinks they just got lucky. But it would be unfair and wrong for anyone to go to heaven or hell just because they got lucky or unlucky.
One of the common first responses I get from people who hear this is that maybe God's concept of right and wrong is simply different from ours. However, this is a ridiculous idea. If God created human beings with a moral sense, expected us to go against our moral sense, and punished people that followed it, then God would be evil by our own definition.
A common response from Christians is that since all human beings are 'fallen' because of original sin, then no one deserves to go heaven, and it is only by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and God's mercy that anyone goes to heaven at all.
That's fine, but if everyone deserves to go to hell, then it is still wrong for some undeserving people to go to heaven just because they got lucky and were born into the right circumstances. They are not better people, and are not more deserving of heaven than anyone else, so why should they be rewarded?
Of course, the whole circumstantial aspect of faith argument can be used for Islam as well. If one must accept Islam to go to heaven, then people born into Muslim families have a ridiculously large advantage over other people, and that would be unfair.
Some common Muslim responses include that it is not just Muslims that go to heaven, it is all of the good, believing 'People of the Book' which includes Christians and Jews as well. However, people born into, say, Hindu families would be screwed in that case, and that would be wrong.
Another common Muslim response is that all good people go to heaven, but that Muslim people perhaps go to a 'higher level' of heaven, either because their faith gives them extra brownie points with the man upstairs or because the Qur'an gives them guidance and a code of behavior with which to live by and be a really really good person. Either way, it does not resolve the inherent unfairness of being born into a Muslim family. If you are born into a Christian family and go to heaven because you are a good person, but a person who was born into a
Muslim family gets into a higher level than you because he followed the Qur'an and you followed the Bible, then that would be unjust and wrong.
So, given the huge role that circumstance plays in the faith people choose in their lives, religion cannot be a standard by which we are judged. The only fair way to do it would be to determine how good a person was given their circumstances.
Religion can't have anything to do with it.
And we've all observed this. There are good people in all faiths who don't deserve to go to hell, and there are ******* people in all faiths who probably do.
So if you've just read all that and still believe that your religious beliefs somehow entitle you to a better afterlife than me, explain it to me. Please.
And then I started thinking about how a person's circumstances play a large part in their faith. If you're born into a Hindu familyin India, for instance, you have a much higher chance of being a Hindu than someone who is, say, born into a Christian family in the Bible belt. In fact, most people, some might say the vast majority of people, practice the same faith as their parents. Some do it half-assed, others are devout practictioners. Regardless, if you are born into a family of a particular faith, that greatly increases your chances of being a member of that faith.
So let's suppose, hypothetically, that Christianity is the one, true faith and that if you don't accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you will go to hell.
And let's suppose that you are born into a Hindu family in India, and I am born into a Christian family in the Bible Belt. Haha, you got effed in the A! Even though I'm not a better person than you by any means, I got lucky because I was born into a Christian family. Even though you have the 'opportunity' to convert, we all know you probably won't. Even though we would both probably have just practiced whatever faith we were born into, you got the shaft and will spend eternity in hell.
Sucks to be you.
My point is that given their vastly different circumstances, it would just be wrong for everyone to be judged by the same standard, such as whether or not they accept a particular faith. Asking someone born into a Muslim family to accept Christianity is a completely different situation than asking someone born into a Christian family to accept Christianity, and vice versa.
It would be analagous to giving the SAT to a college-educated economist and a four year old. Sure, it's the same test and the four year old has the 'opportunity' to do well, but their circumstances are too different for it to be a fair standard.
The funny thing is, a common thought process among people of all faiths is "Wow! I'm so lucky to have been born into a family that practices the one, true faith.
Thanks, God!" Everyone thinks they just got lucky. But it would be unfair and wrong for anyone to go to heaven or hell just because they got lucky or unlucky.
One of the common first responses I get from people who hear this is that maybe God's concept of right and wrong is simply different from ours. However, this is a ridiculous idea. If God created human beings with a moral sense, expected us to go against our moral sense, and punished people that followed it, then God would be evil by our own definition.
A common response from Christians is that since all human beings are 'fallen' because of original sin, then no one deserves to go heaven, and it is only by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and God's mercy that anyone goes to heaven at all.
That's fine, but if everyone deserves to go to hell, then it is still wrong for some undeserving people to go to heaven just because they got lucky and were born into the right circumstances. They are not better people, and are not more deserving of heaven than anyone else, so why should they be rewarded?
Of course, the whole circumstantial aspect of faith argument can be used for Islam as well. If one must accept Islam to go to heaven, then people born into Muslim families have a ridiculously large advantage over other people, and that would be unfair.
Some common Muslim responses include that it is not just Muslims that go to heaven, it is all of the good, believing 'People of the Book' which includes Christians and Jews as well. However, people born into, say, Hindu families would be screwed in that case, and that would be wrong.
Another common Muslim response is that all good people go to heaven, but that Muslim people perhaps go to a 'higher level' of heaven, either because their faith gives them extra brownie points with the man upstairs or because the Qur'an gives them guidance and a code of behavior with which to live by and be a really really good person. Either way, it does not resolve the inherent unfairness of being born into a Muslim family. If you are born into a Christian family and go to heaven because you are a good person, but a person who was born into a
Muslim family gets into a higher level than you because he followed the Qur'an and you followed the Bible, then that would be unjust and wrong.
So, given the huge role that circumstance plays in the faith people choose in their lives, religion cannot be a standard by which we are judged. The only fair way to do it would be to determine how good a person was given their circumstances.
Religion can't have anything to do with it.
And we've all observed this. There are good people in all faiths who don't deserve to go to hell, and there are ******* people in all faiths who probably do.
So if you've just read all that and still believe that your religious beliefs somehow entitle you to a better afterlife than me, explain it to me. Please.
