Who is this addressing? "our father" would mean we are his children, negating that Jesus was his only child. How does this even add up?

My sub got deleted from f/reformed because I broke some rule. Is Christianity a religion or faith I Jesus Christ?

A true believer is often described in the Bible as someone who has a genuine faith in Jesus Christ and follows His teachings. 1 John 5:13 states, "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

Why does it matter if I’m Jewish, Protestant or Catholic? The Mod is totally wrong and judgmental.

I’m 18 years old, and I’ve been Muslim my entire life. I was born into a Muslim family, and ever since I was a child, I was taught that Islam is the only true religion. I never really questioned it because it was all I had ever known, and in my family asking difficult questions about religion isn’t really accepted. Whenever I try to ask, I’m usually told to have more faith or to stop overthinking.
But over the past few months, I’ve been going through a serious crisis of faith. I don’t want to leave Islam or attack the religion. Quite the opposite—I want to believe. I want to have genuine conviction, but I feel like I need answers that actually make sense to me. I don’t want to believe just because I was born into a Muslim family or because I’m afraid.
One of my biggest questions is about Allah’s justice. The Qur’an says that Allah guides whom He wills and leads astray whom He wills. If Allah is perfectly just, how am I supposed to understand that? How is it just if some people are guided while others are not?
I also struggle with the fact that most people simply follow the religion they were born into. If I had been born into a Christian family and spent my entire life being taught that Christianity was the absolute truth, I would most likely reject Islam just as many Christians do. The same applies to people born into Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, or atheist families. We all tend to believe what we’ve been taught since childhood.
So sometimes I ask myself: am I Muslim because I genuinely found the truth, or simply because I happened to be born into a Muslim family? Where is the justice if millions of people are raised believing another religion is the truth and naturally reject Islam because that’s all they’ve ever known?
Another question I have is about the purpose of creation. If Allah doesn’t need us, why create us at all? Why create a world filled with wars, disease, suffering, and pain? Why make this life a test? What is the purpose of the test if Allah already knows everything that will happen before creating the universe?
The question I struggle with the most, though, is about free will and divine decree.
People always give me the example of a teacher who knows which student will pass and which student will fail, but honestly, that example doesn’t answer my question at all.
A teacher may predict that a student will fail because they know the student’s habits, but the teacher doesn’t decide whether that student studies or not. The teacher doesn’t determine the student’s choices.
Allah, however, is different. Before I was even created, Allah already knew every single second of my life, and everything happens according to His decree.
So if every decision I will ever make, every action I will take, and whether I ultimately end up in Paradise or Hell were already decreed before I even existed, then where does my free will actually exist?
If Allah determined everything before my creation, then in what sense is this life really a test? What am I actually choosing? And how is it just to reward or punish someone for actions whose outcome had already been decreed before they were born?
I also find myself wondering who created Allah. I know the Islamic answer is that Allah was never created and has always existed, but my mind struggles to fully grasp the idea of an eternal being with no beginning.
I recently started reading the Qur’an in my own language because I wanted to understand it for myself. I began with Surah Aal ’Imran, and right from the beginning I found many verses about punishment for those who disbelieve. Instead of giving me peace, it filled me with anxiety.
Right now, I honestly feel like the main thing keeping me in Islam is my fear of Hell rather than genuine faith, and that scares me. I don’t want to believe only because I’m afraid. I want to believe because I truly understand and I’m convinced.
I’m not asking these questions to mock Islam or to attack the religion. I’m asking because I genuinely want to understand. If Islam is the truth, then I want my faith to be based on understanding and conviction, not fear or the fact that I happened to be born into a Muslim family.

​

In traditional Islamic tradition, the one who deserves Hell is the one to whom Islam came in its purest form, without myths and so on, but who rejected it out of arrogance.

What about me? My situation is this: every form of Islam that exists has reached me. But I am troubled by its very structure.

If, according to Islam, Allah postulates Himself as the absolute Creator of all that exists so that we might find His wisdom and His signature in the fine-tuning of the universe, in the impossibility of life without carbon, in the perfect chemical composition, and so on, then why does He present a completely illogical structure in His scripture, the Quran? All the "signs" and "miracles" like cosmology or embryology fit neatly into the worldview of the people of that time. Moreover, some of it contradicts science.

Science has never set out to disprove religion with its findings or, for that matter, to sweep it away with a flood. "We found the bone of a Neanderthal who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago; let's make sure Christians and Muslims are horrified" — this has never happened. Cosmology? The movement of the Sun and Moon along their orbits and paths was understood in 7th-century Arabia by anyone. Embryology? It perfectly repeats the errors and structure of the works of Claudius Galen, who lived and died centuries before Muhammad. His works were translated into Syriac, and Ibn Kalada studied at a university where these works were taught, and he was a companion of the Prophet.

Based on the text, followers of the religion are forced to reject human evolution. And, of course, not everyone does, but often Salafis consider it disbelief to think that even fish or sheep evolved. They turn the Creator of the universe into a storyteller who sends fully formed creatures to Earth in their modern form.

They call my questions a following of passions. However, the worldview of a materialist is much worse. They do not believe that the absence of retribution for bad deeds is something good that frees their hands. They realize that this is a disadvantageous factor and must be fought. At least they act, whereas in the infrastructure of development and engineering among believers, you can count them on your fingers.

A materialist understands that everything has its material end, and then — eternal oblivion. And in this life, everything must be done to develop the material world and ensure the continuation of Homo sapiens, not to remain idle.

Religion, however, has no logical answer to the dogma that contradicts science; it uses methods of reassurance. Some simply cannot psychologically accept their absolute end after death and cling to the promise of eternal Paradise.

So who among us is more following their passions?

Let's consider the chain. Murder? It's not just "bad" spiritually. It's disadvantageous and unfavorable. If Homo sapiens continues to kill each other (without valid reasons, such as danger to society), it leads to the extinction of humans as a species. Methods for mass destruction are now at their peak. Also, murder is harmful to people's psyche. With the new level in the criminal world, there is also internet intimidation, such as the publication of torture and the like.

If a certain misdeed leads to the death of any representative of Homo sapiens, hunger, extinction, or death — this is formal evil. If something leads to the development of infrastructure, the elimination of poverty as a factor, and harmonious coexistence — this is formal good.

I believe that in Islam, even though the Horn of Israfil, by Allah's command, will announce the Judgment and the end of the material world, the widespread eschatological mood must be eradicated. The fact that this world is finite does not mean that we should give up on it. The fact that Allah, in His Mercy, leads every child who dies to Paradise does not mean that we should just pray and do nothing, since everything is predestined.

We must fight against disease factors. Pregnant women should have abortions up to 120 days if severe defects are detected. Volunteering and infrastructure must flourish. And just because this world will end, it is absolutely unacceptable to ignore its structure and give up on it.

Regarding LGBTQ+: I do not consider it permissible in any way. However, if I meet supporters of this community, I will never shout at them or condemn them. They will not be second-class people to me. I stand above only God, and I have no right to display any narcissism. I will communicate with them, shake their hands if it's a collective. I couldn't care less who is with whom, as long as it doesn't involve propaganda or violate my personal principles. I will not say anything bad about any of them.

But even such a worldview of a Muslim will not be acceptable in some religious movements. There, it will certainly be called spiritual blindness, and someone might even issue a takfir. And I am not exaggerating.

How can such a person even be asked to accept religion?In terms of religion itself? Without the banal "calm down, declare an information quarantine, think less and pray more," or "The Quran is above all science, and trying to find a contradiction in it is pride."

I'm an audio tech at an event centre that recently hosted a Sikh wedding.

Like any other day I showed up in my uniform ready to tackle the day's event and was excited to see that it was a wedding ceremony from a religion I've never experienced before.

There were 4 men officiating the ceremony. They didn't say much to me and we didn't really get a sound check in. As I was seated at my tech table one of them came up to me and said that I had to cover my hair. I politely declined as I believe that God takes me as I am, I'm a Christian.

I was at my job and in my uniform, I had no idea this would be asked of me. They told my manager that I was being disrespectful to their religion and he told me to just cover my hair. I told him that I refuse to. I fully respect their right to practice their religion but we were in an event centre, not a Gurdwara, and it was my place of work.

I didn't face any repercussions. I ended up setting the mics to a decent volume and stepping out during their ceremony. Later in the week I realized that some of my coworkers were gossiping about me not wanting to wear the head covering.

I don't feel bad and I don't think that I didn't anything wrong, I have the same right that sikhs do to choose what religion and cultural practices I participate in.

I'm just wondering what other people would have done? Is it disrespectful for me to not want to cover my hair?

What if God had more than one son? Would you not give your life to the other son? Or the first son? How do you know all of God's sons?

If Muhammad was a historical figure, why are there no hadith sources or Islamic biographies from the seventh or even eighth century? Why did the writing of hadiths begin in the ninth century?

?

Last year, my mum wanted me to travel all the way to Kakande in Kampala for prayers from Nairobi. I was actually about to go, but I stopped and thought about it. Over the past few years, I've become increasingly skeptical of many modern pastors because I've noticed that some seem to rely more on emotional manipulation, promises of miracles, and fear than on encouraging critical thinking or personal responsibility.

Around that time, I had also been watching IQ Watson's content, which challenged many of the assumptions I'd grown up with. In the end, I decided not to go.

My mum was furious, and we didn't speak for about a week.

That experience pushed me to study religion from a historical and philosophical perspective rather than simply accepting or rejecting it.

One thing I've also observed, particularly in parts of East Africa, is the contrast between how some religious communities respond to the needs of their leaders versus the needs of ordinary members. In Nairobi and elsewhere, it isn't uncommon to see congregations mobilized to contribute toward a pastor's new car, house, ministry expansion, or other projects. Yet when an ordinary believer is struggling with school fees, medical bills, unemployment, rent, or trying to start a small business, the advice is often simply to "have faith," "pray about it," or "sow a seed" and trust that God will provide.

That contrast raises difficult questions for me. If the church is meant to function as a community that supports one another, why does financial generosity sometimes seem to flow more readily toward charismatic leaders than toward members facing genuine hardship? Is this an isolated problem limited to certain churches, or has it become an increasingly accepted model in parts of modern Christianity? I recognize that many churches do operate food banks, pay school fees, provide emergency assistance, and care for vulnerable members, so this observation certainly doesn't apply to every congregation. But the pattern I've personally encountered has made me question how priorities are sometimes set.

One book that really made me think was *Hard Times Create Strong Men* by Stefano Aarnio. One of his central arguments is that great civilizations weren't built without a strong spiritual or philosophical foundation. He argues that the Roman Republic, during its rise, was heavily influenced by Stoicism, which functioned almost like a civil religion. According to Aarnio, Stoicism emphasized cause and effect, self-discipline, reason, personal accountability, and denying fleeting pleasures in favor of duty and long-term purpose. This mindset helped produce resilient, disciplined leaders who were capable of building and governing an empire.

Aarnio also argues that civilizations decline when they lose this spiritual backbone. As discipline gives way to comfort, instant gratification, materialism, and decadence, societies gradually weaken from within. One of the recurring themes throughout the book is that a strong civilization depends on people developing four pillars: a strong mind, a strong body, a strong spirit, and the discipline to master their environment and leave a lasting legacy.

Reading this made me realize that religion or philosophy isn't inherently the problem. Throughout history, belief systems have often helped create social cohesion, moral values, discipline, and a shared sense of purpose. The bigger question is what kind of religion or philosophy is being promoted.

More recently, I watched James Jani's 2022 documentary, *The Dark World of Megachurches*, which examines the rise of the modern Prosperity Gospel. While it presents a critical perspective and should be understood as one interpretation rather than the final word, it raised several important questions that resonated with concerns I had already been wrestling with.

The documentary argues that the Prosperity Gospel has drifted away from traditional Christian theology and increasingly serves consumer culture and market-driven values rather than biblical teachings. According to the film, this movement:

* Shifts attention away from social justice and structural problems toward individual miracle-centered faith, often placing responsibility for poverty on the individual rather than addressing wider economic realities. * Presents a view of God that mirrors human desires for wealth, status, and success instead of emphasizing themes such as suffering, grace, humility, and service that are central to much of historic Christianity. * Encourages a transactional understanding of faith, where giving money, demonstrating sufficient belief, or following a charismatic leader is portrayed as a pathway to financial success and social mobility. * Suggests that suffering, illness, or financial hardship are evidence of weak faith or hidden sin, a position that stands in tension with biblical narratives such as Job and with Jesus' own teachings about suffering.

Whether one agrees with all of these conclusions or not, the documentary reinforced an important distinction for me: criticizing certain expressions of religion is not the same as rejecting religion itself. It challenged me to ask whether some modern religious movements have shifted away from cultivating virtue and moral character toward offering hope through promised miracles, financial breakthroughs, and emotional experiences.

Recently, I also came across a post on X that said:

I don't necessarily agree with every part of that statement, but it made me think. If religion is supposed to build disciplined, morally responsible individuals—as Stoicism arguably did for Rome—why do some modern religious movements seem to emphasize prosperity, miracles, unquestioning obedience, and financial giving over personal responsibility, discipline, and character? Why is it that raising funds for a pastor's latest project can sometimes appear easier than organizing support for members facing genuine hardship? Has the role of religion changed, or am I only seeing one side of it?

That brings me back to Africa.

Why is religion still so deeply embedded across much of Africa compared to Europe, much of Asia, or North America? Many Western societies have become increasingly secular over the last century, yet they still tend to have relatively strong institutions and high levels of social trust. Meanwhile, religion continues to play a central role in many African countries, but in some cases it also seems to be intertwined with prosperity preaching, miracle culture, and charismatic personalities.

Is this mainly because of economic conditions? Colonial history? Education? Culture? Or does religion simply fill needs that governments and institutions haven't been able to meet?

I'm genuinely curious to hear different perspectives. Do you think religion in Africa today is serving the same role that philosophies like Stoicism once did in Rome—building disciplined, resilient citizens—or has it evolved into something fundamentally different?

Perhaps the deeper question isn't whether religion is good or bad, but whether any belief system—religious or secular—is encouraging people to become more disciplined, compassionate, rational, and responsible, or whether it is merely promising easy answers to difficult realities.!

Deuteronomy 18:15-22, specifically 18:18.

Not only is this one of the God given criteria to be a truth speaking prophet, but it can logically not have been corrupted because it is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, 4Q33, before Jesus was born; untouched for 2000 years. This implies that it was either corrupted before Jesus, and Jesus can not have been considered a prophet because they did not have the correct criteria, invalidating Jesus as a prophet and therefore the Quran's statement of him as one, or they did have the correct criteria at the time, and the scroll outlines the criteria of the time and therefore must be the used criteria, untouched for 2000 years.

Both Jesus and Muhammed are affirmed in the Quran as Prophets, meaning that Jesus was trusted by the same principles and rules of Deuteronomy 18:18 at the time of his life, and therefore the same rules must be followed when meeting Muhammed and trusting his words.
If you followed the words of God Yhwh, even through the allegedly corrupted texts, you'd have to use this criteria to fact check, or they'd have way more prophets than just Muhammed. How would they then know that the other prophets weren't speaking the truth? Muhammed can't be the decider, because he must first follow the rules imposed on the followers of Yhwh, or Muhammed's God must be an entirely different God altogether.

The Quran states that the Muslims believe in the same God as the Jews, so the criteria must match from the Jewish tradition.

From the Dead Sea Scrolls, we find that the criteria has not changed since before Jesus, and that it cannot have been the root of the current time Bible and Torah alleged corruption because it was sealed for 2000 years.

4Q33 proves that Muhammed is either not telling the truth that the Muslims are following the same God as the Jews, or that he was not a prophet of Yhwh. The Quran cannot claim that the Quran is correctly following the same God as the Jews and Christians unless Muhammed fulfills the criteria of being a truth speaking prophet of Yhwh. Muhammed does not (Deut 18:18), therefore we must conclude that Yhwh is not found through the Quran; it must be a different God.

You can not have both Jesus and Muhammed be verified prophets under the criteria of the Jewish texts because Muhammed does not fulfill the criteria outlined that were used to confirm Jesus. The Quran confirms Jesus, therefore it must have confirmed Jesus through some means, and those means are outlined in 4Q33. The same criteria must then be used to confirm Muhammed before his word can be claimed to be from Yhwh. Muhammed is not of Israel, therefore he cannot speak the word of the Jewish God Yhwh.

Muslims and Jews/Christians do not follow the same God.

The Quran states that they do: the Quran is not accurate.

Now choose if you follow the Quran, or the God Yhwh. You wont find Yhwh in the Quran.

I found myself asking a Christian who created evil and they said it was Satan but that would mean that god didn’t create EVERYTHING which is confusing to me, does that means anyone can have creative rights? I was told that Satan took what god made and made evil from that but how is the creator of everything didn’t create something when every single thing is supposed to be attributed to his power of creation, that would mean he isn’t the only one able to create new or that he allows people to create new things, but also knows about it and lets it happen (since he doesn’t stop it anyways, that “how do you know he isn’t stopping it” talk is invalid if you take an actual look around the world.) And then blaming it on “human sin” due to free will.. that just doesn’t make sense to me. Spare me the “just read the book” , I came asking you for your opinion not the 300th time translated and reworded book.

Hey guys! Hope everyone's doing well 🤍

Just a quick disclaimer before anyone comes for me 😭. This isn't meant to start drama or disrespect anyone's religion. I'm genuinely just curious and trying to learn.

I recently turned 21, and I've been trying to keep an open mind and learn about different religions and beliefs. I know a little about a few, but definitely not enough to say I fully understand them.

So I wanted to ask: Which religion do you personally think is most likely to be true, and why?

I'm really interested in hearing the historical evidence, logical arguments, and reasons behind your beliefs. I'm not looking for people to attack each other or debate for the sake of debating. I just want to learn and hear different perspectives.

Please keep it respectful. I'm here to listen. 🫶✨

I saw this discussion in a TikTok comment section and I can’t seem to find an answer that satisfies what the og comment was asking.

(Please note I’m not trying to discredit any religion, I’m simply an agnostic girl who is confused)

The vid was saying how they don’t believe in religion bc there’s a lot of war and suffering in different countries, innocent ppl dying etc. In favour of religion, people replied that war is due to free will and is mainly because of human actions. While I agree to an extent, someone then commented then ‘Why does God give people (particularly babies who are completely innocent, purest forms of life) cancer and terminal diseases?’

Cancer is not man made and can occur completely randomly and may not even run in the family, which such a high mortality rate. Why does God allow this to happen to people who have done nothing? I would like to know if anyone has an answer to this please

im a 13 year old male just turned 13 july 1 this year and well the thing is i come from a afghan Muslim family where everyone is religious and the thing is whenever I think of religion I think of it as a false fairytale no different than the tooth fairy and since 6 years old I had to read the Quran with a Quran teacher on Skype for 30 minutes a day and my parents beat me up when I didn't want to read it, whenever I was sick I still had to read it in mine mind or couldn't watch my phone for the day and I thought of something recently, if religion was spread starting today it would immediately be eradicated and called a fairy tale and I also noticed how smarter and richer countries are more atheist and not only that but im a deep patriotic afghan pashtun and Islam is the thing ruining my country which makes me want to stay away from islam.

Hola. Soy marroquí, tengo 20-4=... años y en noviembre cumpliré 20-3=.. años. de Rabat, El año pasado estaba estudiando en el primera año de batshirado.Y este año estudiaré para el bachillerato. yo hablar arabe y frances y engles (y estudiar español 2años en el scuela)

Estoy pensando en dejar el Islam. Porque en el Islam, si dejas el Islam por 3 días, deben matarte. Y cómo una mujer no debe levantar la voz sobre un hombre y debe cubrir... Y cómo está Dios en los hilos para que lo adoremos y lo glorifiquemos, siento que esto es narcisismo.

Y me gusta Adele, la cantante británica, y ella es cristiana. Y veo que en el cristianismo hay libertad. Y que Cristo nos ama.

Pero no sé cuál es la verdadera religión

What do mental illness mean to your beliefs?

I(18) have struggled with depression for around 4/5 years ( diagnosed). And have always wondered how different religions perceived mental illness. Is it a punishment for something in your past life ? Paying debts your ancestors left behind ? A sign u aren't believing enough or in the right way?

How do u see it ?

I would like to start off by saying this is not a challenge to anyone's religion. This is simply hypothetical. So if one God or Pantheon was proven true and everyone else's was wrong, what would you do if you are part of one of the wrong religions? Or if one new God or Pantheon of God's showed themselves, do you think there would be a new religion and would you switch? Would you try to include aspects of your original religion into the new one of you joined? Overall what would you do? I am not targeting any religion and will not specify any singular one unless it addressed in replies. I apologize if this is asked frequently, I don't use Reddit much.

In an attempt not to use AI for my usual barrage of random questions and weak stabs at organising my thoughts;I have decided ,as of 10 minutes ago, that I will ask reddit my questions.

In all honesty I did use ChatGPT to quickly see how to increase visibility on here as ideally, I actually want my questions answered. I'm sure there will be this and that about how AI isn't bad, how it is, what's the best one etc etc but I am happy leaving myself open to judgement and simply want to be informed by and to connect with the wide ether that is the world's populous.

Anyway, enough of the waffle, my question is the following...

In the demographic questions that people commonly fill out (in the UK anyway) when it gets to the religion part there is an option for spirituality. Now, I consider myself to be on the spiritual side of things but I want to know what is the spiritual equivalent of the creation/origin of humans?

In the Christianity there's Adam and Eve and there are similar kinds of that in islamic faith and and sikhism has the one creator (waheguru) that created everyone else. I want to know the spiritual equivalent?

I understand I can use google and that it may be a naive question in itself but I know there is at least someone that holds this information in their head and I'd love to give all you lovely people on reddit to provide some light on the subject.

Thank you so much:)

I dont want to say I believe in God, or Allah, or anything specific.

I just want to say I believe in the higher powers of good and evil.

Whats a prayer for someone like that to ask for help? Not to be forgotten :(

I'm 16 years old and grew up in a Catholic family. I decided a while ago not to believe in anything. For me, it doesn't make sense to pray to a God whose existence isn't proven; maybe he does exist. But not for me. Anyway, the point is that I recently had a fight with my mom about it, and I've already explained my position to her in every way possible, always trying to be respectful. However, she refuses to understand me. She tells me I'm going down the wrong path, that I can no longer have my things because they are things God gave her, nor can I eat like before, because I have to earn it since she only feeds God's children. I always accompanied her; everything I did before, I simply did because that's what I was taught, not because I truly believed it. But it seems very difficult to understand that someone can think differently, even within your own family. Anyway, is it wrong not to believe in something you were taught your whole life was the universal answer? As long as it doesn't hurt others, or myself... Why is it wrong not to believe in anything? I'm not against God, nor am I in conflict with Him. Everyone can believe in whatever they want, my question is...Why can't I choose whether to believe or not?

I am 18 years old and I am a Muslim. I wouldn’t consider myself really religious as I typically pray roughly 4 times a day and occasionally touch on the Quran. In the past few years I started to ask many questions and doubts about not just Islam but all religions. My two biggest questions are does God truly exist and what really happens after we die. They are obviously questions that cannot be answered factually from a scientific standpoint but what I read in the Quran regarding death doesn’t quite sit right with me. With so many religions and belief systems in the world how do we know which is right and which is wrong. In my opinion I do feel like Islam makes the most sense to me but it still doesn’t completely fix my doubts about this life. It’s really hard to express my way of thinking like this but overall from what I find the most logical concept of life after death is that we experience nothingness. Just as we experienced nothing before our birth there is a pretty good chance that we won’t experience anything after death either. However I want to explain why I am still holding onto Islam after saying all this. The last string that is holding me onto Islam is the fact that I am aware of my conscience and that I have a free will with the ability to think and make decisions for myself. I feel that this ability cannot be given to me by a human but by a being higher than us. Overall I have a more agnostic stance to life but I don’t want to create a debate rather to receive advice, thanks.

I dont fet the appeal in admitting that I am fundamentalky broken from birth and that somebody else needs to help me. How is Joshua of Bethelhem Nazareth going to help me anyway? Especially not when the alleged reason that I needhelp is because of a fable that involves golem spells like in Pinocchio, magically enchanted fruit like in Snow White, and talking snakes like in The Jungle Book.

Also, people do not raise from the dead. Period. After 3 days a lot of his cells would have decomposed.

Why?

Ya Allah save me from my strict household and allow me to practice Islam freely. I’m tired of this. I even left my ex fiance because they wouldn’t let me practice. But I still pray, even if it’s to Yahweh and Yeshua. I know I might not be forgiven for my shirk but I have no choice.