Can you follow any religion you want and still have it accepted by God? A common belief nowadays is that as long as you are a “good person” you will get to heaven no matter what you believe. For some time I have wanted to study this idea from a scholarly perspective-that is using references from knowledgeable people and not basing it on my own emotions. I finally found this short booklet by Bilal Phillips, phD in Islamic Studies “Is There A True Religion?”, where it is laid it in a clear way that is logical and easy to understand. Message me or comment if you would like the whole booklet.
”Even though belief in God is prevalent worldwide, belief in organized religion is generally weak, especially in the West. Some feel that because there are so many religions today, how can a person know which one to follow? Others point out that each religion claims to be the one true religion, so the easiest conclusion is that they must all be false since they cannot all be true. The consequence of this position in secular western countries has been to label all religions as personal beliefs and declare equal acceptance of all religions. Furthermore, it has led to official disapproval of any faith which claimed superiority over others. Interfaith dialogues, which have become popular, assert that it does not matter what religion one follows as long as the follower is sincere about it. The idea of insisting that any religion is the only true one has been declared outdated, uncivilized, politically incorrect and extreme.”
“Either one religion must be true and all others are not, or else they are all true. If they all are true, they have to share similar beliefs. It is impossible, however, for all of them to be true because each religion possesses a unique set of ideologies. Therefore, the reality is that only one can be the true religion revealed by God Almighty.”
”Human beings have not changed for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years. Why then should God prescribe one way of life for one set of people and another way for another set of people? The logical thing is that God would prescribe only one way appropriate for human beings from the time the first human being was created to the end of the Earth. If God indeed prescribed such a way of life for His creation, then it should have certain characteristics which make it appropriate for human beings throughout every period of time and in every corner of the world.”
”God has given human beings the ability to discern what the correct religion is. No religion should be considered the true religion simply because it was inherited, i.e., because one’s parents and grandparents followed it. God gave human beings intellect to be able to make correct choices in all aspects of their lives. However, people commonly tend to use their intelligence in their worldly lives but turn it off in their spiritual lives. They often willingly accept ridiculous religious practices simply because it is an inherited custom. However, it is God’s will that people are born into different religious traditions. He will not reward or punish people for the religion they were reared from early childhood to follow. However, each human being is required to reflect on his or her situation and to choose what is, in fact, correct. In order to do so, one must have a set of criteria to determine objectively what the right religion is. One may start by examining the claims of each religion as to why it considers itself to be the true religion of God.”
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