₦airaland Forum

Let’s talk about something I've always had to pointt out to religious people who behave holier than thou when comparing themselves & their religion against another that often goes unquestioned:
[color=#0f017a]Religion[/color]
We grow up hearing that religion is a deeply personal choice, somethin we believe in because it's our truth. But is it really true??

Think about it for a second. If you were born in Saudi Arabia, would you likely be a Christian or a Muslim? Now, what if you were born in India? The odds definitely point to you being Hindu. And if you were born in a largely Christian nation like the U.S. or Italy na? Well, the answer seems obvious. These patterns aren’t coincidences becos they’re cultural.

My argument is simple: most people’s religion isn’t something they consciously choose as it’s a product of where they were born and how they were raised. You’re more likely to adopt the religion that dominates your surroundings. Religion, in thiss sense, seems less like a spiritual discovery and more like a cultural inheritance.

This then begs the question: if where you’re born and the beliefs you’re exposed to from childhood play such a massive role, how much of your religion is really your choice? If religion were purely a choice, wouldn’t the world’s religious demographics be more evenly spread across all regions?

Think about a very devout Christians in southern or west Africa, the Muslims in the Middle East, and the Hindus in India. Are they truly choosing their faith or has it been chosen for them by their culture?

I’m not saying that faith isn’t real or that it does not even matter. But maybe we should challenge this notion that religion is an individual choice when, in reality, it's heavily shaped by external factors and christians of whatever denominstiom, Muslims and the rest should not try to force their religious norms on most of us they feel are nkt being christian enough or religious enough.

What y'all think?

emmy512:
Let’s talk about something I've always had to pointt out to religious people who behave holier than thou when comparing themselves & their religion against another that often goes unquestioned:
[color=#0f017a]Religion[/color]
We grow up hearing that religion is a deeply personal choice, somethin we believe in because it's our truth. But is it really true??

Think about it for a second. If you were born in Saudi Arabia, would you likely be a Christian or a Muslim? Now, what if you were born in India? The odds definitely point to you being Hindu. And if you were born in a largely Christian nation like the U.S. or Italy na? Well, the answer seems obvious. These patterns aren’t coincidences becos they’re cultural.

My argument is simple: most people’s religion isn’t something they consciously choose as it’s a product of where they were born and how they were raised. You’re more likely to adopt the religion that dominates your surroundings. Religion, in thiss sense, seems less like a spiritual discovery and more like a cultural inheritance.

This then begs the question: if where you’re born and the beliefs you’re exposed to from childhood play such a massive role, how much of your religion is really your choice? If religion were purely a choice, wouldn’t the world’s religious demographics be more evenly spread across all regions?

Think about a very devout Christians in southern or west Africa, the Muslims in the Middle East, and the Hindus in India. Are they truly choosing their faith or has it been chosen for them by their culture?

I’m not saying that faith isn’t real or that it does not even matter. But maybe we should challenge this notion that religion is an individual choice when, in reality, it's heavily shaped by external factors and christians of whatever denominstiom, Muslims and the rest should not try to force their religious norms on most of us they feel are nkt being christian enough or religious enough.

What y'all think?

For me all every religion is true . Depends on the Individual... In reference to Duality.. Good and bad. So depends on the person. There are good Christians and bad once .Same goes for other religions..

xtianchris:
For me all every religion is true . Depends on the Individual... In reference to Duality.. Good and bad. So depends on the person. There are good Christians and bad once .Same goes for other religions..

I get what you're saying... & I agree that within every religion, there are both good and bad people. The duality of human nature itself good or bad is universal, and it exists regardless of religious affiliation...but I think this then raises anothet interesting question in support of my main post
If every religion is true, how do we reconcile the fact that each one often claims to be the only truth? eg, many religious doctrines teach that following a specific path is the key to salvation, which directly conflicts with other religions or denomination or a particular religion. Can all these paths really be true at once?

also, while it's true that individuals have the capacity for good or bad, I still believe that the religion a person identifies with is often more about cultural context than personal choice. The "good" or "bad" behavior of a person might be influenced by their environment and upbringing, but so is the religion they happen to follow and to even think further
Who determines what is good or bad sef?
In the end, the individual matters more than their particular religion.

And to everyone reading this I ask again,
how much of ur belief is shaped by ur upbringing rather than Ur own conscious, independent choice eh?

emmy512:
I get what you're saying... & I agree that within every religion, there are both good and bad people. The duality of human nature itself good or bad is universal, and it exists regardless of religious affiliation...but I think this then raises anothet interesting question in support of my main post
If every religion is true, how do we reconcile the fact that each one often claims to be the only truth? eg, many religious doctrines teach that following a specific path is the key to salvation, which directly conflicts with other religions or denomination or a particular religion. Can all these paths really be true at once?

also, while it's true that individuals have the capacity for good or bad, I still believe that the religion a person identifies with is often more about cultural context than personal choice. The "good" or "bad" behavior of a person might be influenced by their environment and upbringing, but so is the religion they happen to follow and to even think further
Who determines what is good or bad sef?
In the end, the individual matters more than their particular religion.

And to everyone reading this I ask again,
how much of ur belief is shaped by ur upbringing rather than Ur own conscious, independent choice eh?

You already answered your questions ... Lemme highlight them. Most Religions are man made. I call him the prime creator... I don't really want to dive in so much .. He has created everything. . Nothing loss bro.. It's left for the individual to connect to him through ways and means. Witches, socoress, pastors, Bishop, Imam. They are all the same .. There's good and Evil.. In Christiandom we use the Bible to connect.. That's why the word hypocritic comes in most don't practice what they preach. The Bible is an analogy..( broadly figurative language).
Literature beautiful story .It only takes us to Victoria but can't get you inside Victoria. And try to study Meta physics..
I love this law very well . Law of divine oneness❤️1 John 4:8 .. Don't read only the Bible read other Books.

And please don't let your Environment and upbringing influence you. You should be the one to influence them.. If you get knowledge and wisdom my bro . Forget... You be like a magnet 🧲.. People will get attracted to you.

xtianchris:
You already answered your questions ... Lemme highlight them. Most Religions are man made. I call him the prime creator... I don't really want to dive in so much .. He has created everything. . Nothing loss bro.. It's left for the individual to connect to him through ways and means. Witches, socoress, pastors, Bishop, Imam. They are all the same .. There's good and Evil.. In Christiandom we use the Bible to connect.. That's why the word hypocritic comes in most don't practice what they preach. The Bible is an analogy..( broadly figurative language).
Literature beautiful story .It only takes us to Victoria but can't get you inside Victoria. And try to study Meta physics..
I love this law very well . Law of divine oneness❤️1 John 4:8 .. Don't read only the Bible read other Books.

And please don't let your Environment and upbringing influence you. You should be the one to influence them.. If you get knowledge and wisdom my bro . Forget... You be like a magnet 🧲.. People will get attracted to you.

You're correct, I do read other books and they've all helped me see things differently.

The law of divine oneness, I've never come across
I'll do well to check it out

emmy512:
You're correct, I do read other books and they've all helped me see things differently.

The law of divine oneness, I've never come across
I'll do well to check it out

Yeah. ..It's all love ❤️.. In all things use it to for your advantage and think positive.. Regardless of religion,tribe, ..Happy Sunday bro ..

Which one of the more than 2500 religions in the world is the true way to God?

If you think yours is, why?

Don't you think you'll burn in at least one out of 2499 hells if yours end up being wrong?

emmy512:
Think about it for a second. If you were born in Saudi Arabia, would you likely be a Christian or a Muslim? Now, what if you were born in India? The odds definitely point to you being Hindu. And if you were born in a largely Christian nation like the U.S. or Italy na? Well, the answer seems obvious. These patterns aren’t coincidences becos they’re cultural.

My argument is simple: most people’s religion isn’t something they consciously choose as it’s a product of where they were born and how they were raised. ..

Presumably you are Nigerian, so I ask, this English you are speaking or the clothes, you wear, are they part of your religion?

I am certain you can even speak and behave better than Americans, yet are these cultures your religion? No.

Religion is a choice because that is what it means when a person grows up and we see him conduct himself in certain way both in action and in speech.

Procashtips:
Which one of the more than 2500 religions in the world is the true way to God?

If you think yours is, why?

Don't you think you'll burn in at least one out of 2499 hells if yours end up being wrong?

Typical atheists brainwashed statement.

Can a tenant have 2,499 Landlords at the same time?

xtianchris:
For me all every religion is true . Depends on the Individual... In reference to Duality.. Good and bad. So depends on the person. There are good Christians and bad once .Same goes for other religions..

Since everyone belief and religion is true, so as Peter Obi believes he is the president of Nigeria, it is True, right?

There is just one quality the true God is looking for in all humans and that is INTEGRITY. Whatever religion you are born into the true God has given you the conscience to identify the true religion whenever you come in contact with the members {Romans 2:15} but if you're not a man of integrity then no matter what people say about you God can read your heart {2Chronicles 16:9} so it's your conscience that will judge you when you see the true religion and turn against it.
Meanwhile the true God has sent His people throughout the earth and they are doing what He promised will serve as sign of true religion in the endtime {Isaiah 2:2-4; Micah 4:1-3; Zephaniah 3:9; Malachi 3:16} so instead of justifying yourself due to the confusion Satan caused with numerous agents representing different religions {2Corinthians 4:4} try to figure out which religion God approves! Malachi 3:18

Dtruthspeaker:
Typical atheists brainwashed statement.

Can a tenant have 2,499 Landlords at the same time?

Does your comment even make sense to yourself?

I'm more spiritual than you self.
But if you're talking religion , I'm not.

Dtruthspeaker:
Since everyone belief and religion is true, so as Peter Obi believes he is the president of Nigeria, it is True, right?

I don't understand your question.. Belief is a noun . Believe is a verb .
As for Peter Obi according to you Believes ( It means to have confidence in the truth) that he won the election... Belief and religion. (It means a religious faith or the feeling of being certain that something is true) So tis how much I can answer.. . Please be precise with questions.

Dtruthspeaker:
Presumably you are Nigerian, so I ask, this English you are speaking or the clothes, you wear, are they part of your religion?

I am certain you can even speak and behave better than Americans, yet are these cultures your religion? No.

Religion is a choice because that is what it means when a person grows up and we see him conduct himself in certain way both in action and in speech.

u have raised an interesting point and i agree that things like ur language, clothing, and behavior can also be adopted from various cultures without necessarily being tied to religion. but then the difference is that religion, unlike language or clothes, often claims to shape ourr identity in a deeper & more fundamental way. religion often defines ur worldview, morality, and even your purpose sef in this life
which r things that go beyond surface-level culture.
....while you say religion is a choice, I would argue that for many, it doesn’t feel like a true choice. If for instance if someone is raised in a deeply religious household, surrounded by a society that reinforces a single belief system, can we really say they had the freedom to explore other options? Or when a child is taught from birth that a certain faith is the truth, do they truly have the space to choose otherwise?

for some people eh, maybe religion is a conscious choice as you have said now but for many, their religious identity seems more inherited than chosen. Just like how I speak as u say English because I was raised in an environment that valued it, many people follow a religion because it’s part of their upbringing

.....does that make their faith less genuine, or does it just reveal how deeply cultural conditioning has shaped us and limited our choices

Procashtips:
Which one of the more than 2500 religions in the world is the true way to God?

If you think yours is, why?

Don't you think you'll burn in at least one out of 2499 hells if yours end up being wrong?

Every religion in the world is not insisting theirs is the only way to God or threatening people with hell.

xtianchris:
■ For me all every religion is true . Depends on the Individual... In reference to Duality.. Good and bad. So depends on the person. There are good Christians and bad once .Same goes for other religions..

So, at least one different deity for each of these true religions, right?

Procashtips:
Which one of the more than 2500 religions in the world is the true way to God?
If you think yours is, why?
Don't you think you'll burn in at least one out of 2499 hells if yours end up being wrong?

True way to which God? There are at least 4000 known deities out there. So far, there seems to be at least one for every religion. In Nigeria alone there is Sango, Obatala, Orunmila, Ogun, Amadioha, Osanubua... so, do you need to see why you ought instead to be specific about the God you refer to?

triplechoice:
Every religion in the world is not insisting theirs is the only way to God or threatening people with hell.

but the majority do.

It is 100% cultural influence.

Kobojunkie:
So, at least one different deity for each of these true religions, right?

Serve your diety and do good ... There's Good and Evil the choice is yours .

emmy512:
but the majority do.

No, not true. The argument often repeated by a lot of atheists that most religion in the world have a supreme diety which they worship directly and an hellfire which they also threaten non believers with is founded on falsehood .

If you're asked to mention at least 20 from the over 20 thousand as support for your claim,you will struggle to come up with a quarter of that figure .

Kobojunkie:
So, at least one different deity for each of these true religions, right?

Every religion in the world don't have a supreme diety like the two major religion of Islam and Christianity.

Some religion are almost atheistic in nature while others have a deistic viewpoint towards what's regarded as a God. Or gods are a personification of natural forces which they venerate but don't worship or pray to like Christians and Muslims.

triplechoice:
No, not true. The argument often repeated by a lot of atheists that most religion in the world have a supreme diety which they worship directly and an hellfire which they also threaten non believers with is founded on falsehood .

If you're asked to mention at least 20 from the over 20 thousand as support for your claim,you will struggle to come up with a quarter of that figure .

majority is this context is not the number of religions but the number of people in a religion

emmy512:
u have raised an interesting point and i agree that things like ur language, clothing, and behavior can also be adopted from various cultures without necessarily being tied to religion. ..

This is because you think religion in the sense of the popular stupid and myopic meaning of worship and belief whereas the true meaning of religion means "a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion."

And every interest pursued with devotion whether worship or fanaticism or morality or immorality are all based on choice.

Which is why a person can be raised up as a youruba man but he grows up and chooses to be as one raised up by an American. And we have all seen this happen so your argument does not stand.

emmy512:
majority is this context is not the number of religions but the number of people in a religion

The person I quoted at first concerning this discussion said that they're over 2000 religion with each one of them having a supreme diety and an hellfire. That's the correct context and not about the "number of people in a religion"

triplechoice:
■ Every religion in the world don't have a supreme diety like the two major religion of Islam and Christianity.
■ Some religion are almost atheistic in nature while others have a deistic viewpoint towards what's regarded as a God.
■ Or gods are a personification of natural forces which they venerate but don't worship or pray to like Christians and Muslims.

1. I said nothing about a supreme deity. Instead, I said that there is at least one deity to subscribe to every religion — even if that deity is the self.

2. Religions you refer to as atheistic are typically the ones with self as the center of focus — the one deity to subscribe to.

3. Again, at least one deity!

xtianchris:
■ Serve your diety and do good ... There's Good and Evil the choice is yours .

Good and evil are also described by the Constitutional Law of the land in which you live, so should you not serve that before you serve your own ideas of good and evil?

RELIGION IS THE ART AND SCIENCE OF RELATING TO LEGENDS.

SOYINKA IS ORISAYINKA. THAT IS A PHILOSOPHY, FAITH AND LIFE (THINKING AND REASONING.

Kobojunkie:
1. I said nothing about a supreme deity. Instead, I said that there is at least one deity to subscribe to every religion — even if that deity is the self.

2. Religions you refer to as atheistic are typically the ones with self as the center of focus — the one deity to subscribe to.

3. Again, at least one deity!

But you have used the descriptive word,God and not gods in what I responded to.

triplechoice:
■ But you have used the descriptive word,God and not gods in what I responded to.

So long as the God(or Gods) in question is one's ultimate choice, it is a God.

xtianchris:
I don't understand your question.. Belief is a noun . Believe is a verb .
As for Peter Obi according to you Believes ( It means to have confidence in the truth) that he won the election... Belief and religion. (It means a religious faith or the feeling of being certain that something is true) So tis how much I can answer.. . Please be precise with questions.

Whether belief or believe they both refer to the same thing and they are both doing something or causing something to be done.

However, the point of my question is that, does belief determine Truth? eg if Peter Obi believes he is the president of Nigeria does it make it True?

Procashtips:
Does your comment even make sense to yourself?

I'm more spiritual than you self.
But if you're talking religion , I'm not.

Definitely makes sense.

Your problem is that you just repeated that stupid atheists statement without thinking about it.

For if you had truly thought about it then you would have real eyesed that one creation cannot have thousands of creators nor servants thousands of masters nor tenants thousands of landlords, hence stupidity of that statement.