Food For Thought

[rebelrunner26]

food for thought...just some ideas i've thought up being bored and having nothing better to do..i don't necessarily believe these, but i'm still happy to have imput as long as:
1)you don't just say it's stupid. that accomplishes nothing.
2)you don't back it up with a bible verse that can be easily negated with a different bible verse (people used the bible to support slavery. you can't just pick and choose which parts you want to use)
**not to be picky or anything...that just irritated me a good bit with the whole choose/born gay argument**

here goes...

what if heaven is universal for all religions? if man was made with one of the primary thought processes to be the capacity for religious belief, to me that somewhat proves that there is a god. look at the aztecs, the egyptians, the inuits, native americans, vikings, etc...just about everyone that i can think of throughout history had some form of worship for a higher/more powerful being, whether it be the ground, the elements (rain, snow, wind, etc.), the sun, or a theoretical figure (i.e. gods/goddesses) that can't be seen but is still believed in and worshiped through various rituals and what not...to me that says yes, there is a god by virtue of the fact that religion has been present across the globe for thousands if not millions of years.

to take that one step farther...what if god designed it to where various religions were created only to appeal to whichever culture it best fit? in other words, god rigged the system so everyone that is devout in their faith (as long as it's not like satanic or anything) can have access to heaven. now before you start going off about how jesus is the only way and all that stuff..i'm not sure i can believe that. perhaps jesus is the only way for us because that is the religion that we have been raised with and is a large part of our culture, but i guarantee there are some blokes in the middle of the jungle/forest/desert/wherever in south america/africa/siberia that have absolutely ZERO CHANCE!!!! of being exposed to jesus or christianity. i do not believe that god would design humanity so that if some christians did not do their job to full potential the chaps that never even had a chance of exposure to "the light" or whatever you want to call it would just be screwed over and damned to hell. it's just not fair and it doesn't really make any sense...and i guess you can argue that of course it doesn't make sense to us because it's god...i still say i don't think it works like that. i say this BECAUSE: look at the details in most religions. a code is laid down (as in a series of laws, ten commandments, whatever..) and the "eternal reward" whether it be a bunch of virgins or eternal honey and manna or 1000 years on a beach in the sky somewhere is granted to those who abide by the religious code. these codes generally all consist of the usual "be good to people and don't rip 'em off at all" (murder, adultery, theft, jealousy, revenge...it's all generally frowned upon except revenge to a point...it's still there in christianity, it just says god gets to be the executor of it instead of the one that is wronged). so they all pretty much say BE A GOOD PERSON. therefore...if there are good people that are never exposed to the "one true religion" because they never get a chance...i can't seem them burning in hell.

bottom line..compare and contrast religions. they're all basically the same thing. there is a deity or higher power of sorts and a code of morals that influences the society in which the religion is present..therefore is it possible god made humanity to be able to accept the religion of their culture (as long as it's not like satanic or anything) and still have access to heaven?

**jews are the "chosen people" yet they don't believe in jesus...i'm pretty sure that they are WAY more devoted in their practices of faith than i am, therefore shouldn't THEY be the ones to get into heaven over me???**

next thouht...
mankind is selfish and an individual will always do things to benefit his/herself. now, can it be said that an individual will not do ANYTHING without some kind of personal reward? in other words, is it possible for there to be a truly selfless act?

examples...

someone takes a bullet for someone they care about...could they be thinking subconscientiously that they will remembered in a good light because of that action, thus bringing them an "epic death" that will be long-remembered?

christians witness to nonbelievers because they are called to do it...do they do it to truly help those people or to just further their standing in god's good books?

etc. i can come up with more but i'm getting tired of typing....

ok, well i'll stop there for now..once again i don't necessarily believe these things, i'm just kind of wondering about them as possibilities..i still believe what i've always believed, but i'm just questioning potential tangents that may be there...don't just take any of that as pure fact or bullcrap, because i'm just throwing it out there to think about.

also, just because i know you may jump on me for it..i kind of wrote from a nonbiased viewpoint, like talking about all religions as though i'm not a part of them...that was intentional, but only to put them in equal light for the sake of the thought i was trying to get across...just so ya know

i'm done for now...i hope somebody responds before i go to bed so i dont feel like i wasted half an hour...


**note..i sent this to some friends so sorry for possible strange wording..directly copied and pasted out of another thread.**