I respect religious people, in fact the majority of my closest friends are strongly religious. If you are religious then this is not an attack on your religion, it is not an instigation. But there are many different reasons for choosing a religion and i believe that too often the decision is taken far too lightly.
There are millions of children who were born into a religious family and raised religiously. They have subsequently taken that religion as their own. Their reasons for accepting that religion may be out of love for God and they may have made the right choice, but the question i want you to consider is; have they really chosen this religion? People in the circumstance i described believe that they chose their religion. I believe that they did not. They believe it passionately and have given their heart to it above all else which is all well and good since that is the very foundation of religion. but what puzzles me is that people in that circumstance are so passionate and doubtless and believe these things so strongly when they have never considered any alternative points of view. It is like a man who looks for treasure on only one island and believes that the treasure is there because of a map his father gave him, when there a hundreds of other islands and treasure hunters with maps that say the treasure is somewhere else. Many have not even considered for a single moment in their lives any other possible theory or religion in the universe. Those few who have considered alternatives would have stopped themselves the moment they doubted, never mind actually researching other religions to make an informed decision.
i believe that the only way for a person to truly decide their beliefs is from a completely neutral and impartial point of view. You cannot -for example- be a Christian and consider Buddhism, because this would make your decision bias and 99% of people who try this will pick Christianity over Buddhism simply because they are thinking from a single perspective that will not allow them to properly consider it. To all who read this i urge you; for one month let yourself see things from a truly neutral point of view and consider all things as possible truths. Research other religions and theories, formulate your own theories, even things that may be far fetched. If your religion is absolutely correct, you will only return to it with stronger faith.
A Christian cannot expect a Muslim to seriously consider becoming Christian unless the Christian is willing to seriously consider becoming a Muslim.
i believe that on an unconscious level, religions are taking advantage of young impressionable minds all over the world, being raised into a religion is unfair in my opinion. Like the old Jesuit saying: "Give me a child before the age of seven and I'll give you a Catholic for life". Is it really fair to make the most important decision of your life at such an early age?
I want people to open their minds, to consider the endless possibilities. let yourself take a look around and let your mind think freely. if nothing else it will be an interesting experience.
"If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things." - Rene Descartes
