The Daunting Task of Choosing a Religion

At a point in people's lives, some, when faced with a life event such as a failing marriage, an illness, or an inexplicable feeling of emptiness, will reflect on their religious beliefs searching for an answer or a cure. A person's first inclination is to try to fix the situation himself, but recognizing that the dilemma is beyond his limited resources, he will turn to the only answer, God. The people who had a religious upbringing will usually fall back on the tenets they were taught as a child and pursue information from that venue. If their search for peace isn't realized, they find themselves searching other resources. It can be at this time that a person decides to change religions. Or when those with no particular religious affiliation come to believe that there is something missing in their lives and decide to join a church, they find themselves with the daunting task of finding the congregation that is right for them.

There are thousands of churches and religions in the world, each claiming to be the "true" church of God. This poses quite a dilemma. People will seek advice from a friend, a family member, sometimes a minister or priest, Internet sites, television shows, etc., to find something that is historical, but more important, sensible. But on what can a person rely for something to make sense? What makes perfect sense to one person could be beyond the imagination of another. Can a person really depend on his own limited intellect to determine that something is feasible? Committing to a particular religion is very serious decision and will have ramifications, not only in the life of the person embracing that belief, but also to everyone else in his life. If, for example, a person changes from a belief in Sunday worship to one that believes that Saturday is the Sabbath, his entire weekly routine will be adjusted. Family members with whom he lives may find this annoying or even totally unacceptable especially if they don't share his beliefs. What if the new sect is ritualistic and neighbors or family find it embarrassing or objectionable?

Some people change religions for peculiar reasons, their favorite singer or actor belongs to a particular church, their best friend just joined a church, they're getting married and join the church of their spouse. These reasons are superficial, at best, and close to blasphemous. It's comparable to becoming a Hindu because they have pretty statues.

What about the written words of the religions, the Bible, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita? Is it feasible for a person to read and understand each of the sacred books and then make an educated decision? People have devoted lifetimes trying to understand just one passage or chapter of the book, much less all of them.

There is a prevalence in belief these days that worshiping any god is acceptable and better than no god at all, but is that really true? If a person thinks that he lives a "good" life, is not a murderer nor a thief, is nice to others, is he guaranteed a spot in heaven? When selecting a religion should one pick through until he finds one that is comfortable for him or choose one that would be the hardest to follow? These days there is so much talk about the "prophesied end times" and the Mayan Calendar coming to an end on Dec.21, 2012 along with the simultaneous end of the world. More and more people are starting to wonder if the world events and natural disasters really are the signs of the eminent destruction of life on this earth as it is today. Unfortunately there are a number of people who consider all of this as just another money making opportunity. They recognize the fears of naive individuals and take full advantage of them for their own personal gain.

Again, choosing a religion is an extremely difficult task, which should not be taken lightly. "Follow your heart." is an old adage that often stands as the last words from the advice givers. This may be sound advice, but some research is necessary. Keep in mind that "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."