Simple question?

Quote: Nareed

Remember: if you don't sin, then Jesus died for nothing.

Jesus died for nothing either way, sin
is fiction, it only exists is the mind of
the brainwashed.

Quote: Dalex64

Still, it looks like you are advocating declaring one religion as the truth because of how much you like the answers to the questions you have come up with.

What comes to mind is a similarity perhaps in calling ice cream healthy because of how good it tastes and how good it makes you feel.

There should be a more objective test then just how some religion might make you feel. There should be coherence of the message and reasonableness as well as historicity. The results of following the precepts of a religion should match what the social sciences tell and show us about healthy behavior and successful. You can clearly show that ice cream may taste good but is not healthy for you. You can also show that religion in general and especially Christianity is a great blessing to people in their lives.

Quote: Nareed

Remember: if you don't sin, then Jesus died for nothing.

If you define sin correctly than it is clear that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/02/22/bible-undamaged-after-suv-bursts-into-flames-on-tennessee-highway.html

Feb 22, 2016

Quote:

Bible undamaged after SUV bursts into flames on Tennessee highway

An SUV caught fire and exploded on a Tennessee road Sunday, causing nearly everything in the vehicle to be destroyed except a Bible left untouched in the front seat.

The Memphis Police Department responded to the scene around 2:30 p.m. Sunday when the Jeep Laredo left Tennessee State Route 385 and went up in flames after it was swiped by another vehicle, Fox 13 Memphis reported.

WOW AMAZING!

So I did a short search.

Jan 24, 2016

Quote:

A copy of the Islamic sacred book Quran (Koran) was salvaged intact after the fire that destroyed the popular electronics dealer in capital Male last Wednesday.

Hassan Niyaz Rasheed, son of Fariva Electronics’ owner Mahuma Hussain Rasheed, said he discovered the unharmed Quran inside the building Wednesday evening.

“We received permission to enter the shop on Wednesday evening. I saw the Quran upon entering. I was astonished. The Quran was kept inside a cupboard in the shop’s office. Everything else in the cupboard was destroyed in the fire,” narrated Niyaz[

http://www.haveeru.com.mv/news/65849


WOW AMAZING!

Quote: FrGamble

If you define sin

Sin: noun; a concept invented by organized religion
to frighten people into obeying their religion and
the false god it represents. Quite effective if introduced
early in childhood. Has been known to ruin lives by
making nervous wrecks out of people. You can spot
them manically crossing themselves, wearing an icon
of their dead god around their neck, and praying
to their dead gods dead mother for whatever it is
they want.

Quote: FrGamble

and especially Christianity is a great blessing to people in their lives.

Yeah, no..

'In 2010, sociologist Phil Zuckerman published 'Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment'. Zuckerman lined up evidence that the least religious societies tend to be the most peaceful, prosperous and equitable, with public policies that help people to flourish while decreasing both desperation and economic gluttony.. Indeed evidence supports the view that religion thrives on existential anxiety.'

'Indeed evidence supports the view that religion thrives on existential anxiety.'

Christianity makes people anxious, not happy.
It makes them doubtful, nervous, worried. It's
what keeps them going back to church again
and again. They want relief from the religion
implanted anxiety, but all they get is reinfected
again. It's a really insidious circle, brainwashing
at it's very finest.

Quote: FrGamble

There should be a more objective test then just how some religion might make you feel. There should be coherence of the message and reasonableness as well as historicity. The results of following the precepts of a religion should match what the social sciences tell and show us about healthy behavior and successful. You can clearly show that ice cream may taste good but is not healthy for you. You can also show that religion in general and especially Christianity is a great blessing to people in their lives.

And still, none of those things will tell you which religion is TRUE.

So again, you are selecting a religion based on an opinion of coherence and reasonability of the message rather than truthfulness or any basis of fact for why the message is what it is.

The most unreasonable and incoherent thing you have ever heard might nonetheless be true.

My ice cream example wasn't about our ability to show that it is in fact unhealthy, but to show that you can not choose something because you like it. To extend the analogy, religion is the ice cream, and there is no way to prove whether or not it is unhealthy, or which one is better for you.

Sin: noun; acts that human beings commit that go against what we know we should do or the failure to act when we know we should. To go against our conscience. To do things that we regret and do not correspond to our beliefs or moral standards, whether they are ones we place on ourselves or that we receive from our religion. Every single human being and culture throughout history has known of and experienced such actions and has had their own way of dealing with reconciliation and healing from such actions involving forgiveness and mercy from God, the community, or self.

Quote: Dalex64

My ice cream example wasn't about our ability to show that it is in fact unhealthy, but to show that you can not choose something because you like it. To extend the analogy, religion is the ice cream, and there is no way to prove whether or not it is unhealthy, or which one is better for you.

I realize that analogies will always break down when pushed but there is a way to prove that ice cream is unhealthy for you. There is also many ways to prove that a religion is unhealthy. There are also ways to prove which religion is better for you that do not involve your own personal tastes. You cannot do this with different flavors of ice cream because they are all just various types of ice cream. However, if you are comparing ice cream to say eating your vegetables than you can show that even if you don't like the taste of vegetables that it is better for you than ice cream.

Loosely related to coherence of message: consistency and contradictions.

Here is another good read that I don't think I linked to before:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problem_of_Hell

This isn't on that page, I think:
God wants to save everyone from hell.
God created hell.

See the problems?
If God doesn't want anyone to go to hell, two possible solutions are for there to be no hell, and for god to not send any humans there.

I'll let you guys read the wikipedia article for the rest of the problems of hell.

The point is, again, that there are many inconsistencies and contradictions in the message, the stories, the lessons, and the historical facts.

That goes for all religions, but I stay focused on christianity because it is what I know the best and there are a lot of english language resources on the internet on the subject.