Tuesday, September 05, 2006

A Healthy Religion

Here is my ideas on what a healthy religion (HR) or church should be:
1) A HR does not con, threaten, bribe, coerce or make false promises to people to join the religion. It can persuade people to join though.
2) A HR does not tell its members they will go to heaven if they kill themselves and people around them.
3) A HR does not try to kill members who stray from the religion. It should try to understand why they strayed, pray for their well-being, and optionally persuade them to come back.
4) A HR should not tell the members and outsiders that God hates a certain group of people. He may disapprove peoples behaviors, but he does not hate the person. God is a god of love and peace.
5) A HR should not isolate a member from his/her family that is not part of the religion or from the rest of the world for that matter. A HR respects and cherishes family.
6) A HR should not encourage blind obedience to the leader of the religion. No leader is perfect, and no leader knows the mind of God completely. A church leader should be more of a coach, a guide, or a mentor than a dictator.
7) A HR religion should not punish members who questions the religion. A religion may not like questions about the religion, but it should try to help the individual answer the questions. A HR religion should be stable and cohesive enough to take questions and criticisms about it.

1 comment:

Muti Ur Rehman said...

Hahaha... I can answer your all points in detail but I will summaries that do not call these thought HR. Find meaning of word R.