The arbitary nature of place of birth (with regards to religion)

[Rodibidably]

This is a question I often bring up to believers I am talking to, and I thought I'd put it forward here, to see what the JREF crowd has to say.

You were born in , which is a predominantly [insert religion here] country. You are [insert religion here], and presumably you beleive that [insert religion here] is the "true" faith/religion, and that other religions are not correct in their beliefs.

If you were born in the US you'd likely be christian.
If you were born in India you'd likely be Hindi.
If you were born in Saudi Arabia, you'd likely be Muslim.
If you were born in China, you'd likely be Buddhist (or another eastern religion).

If one religion is true (ANY religion, it doesn't matter which one), isn't it odd that so much of whether or not you believe that one to be true is based on the circumstance of where you are born?
Couldn't "god" make it so that all people, regardless of the area of the world they are born in, have an equal chance to follow the "true" religion, so they can avoid hell?
If one religion is the "true" one, why is it so arbitrary who is exposed to it, when it's seemingly such an important part of reality according to believers? [I]In fact according to many christian and muslims, if I don't beleive in the "right" god, and worship them the "right" way, I'm going to hell. That seems highly unfair towards those who happened to be born in the "wrong" part of the world, and are brought up following a "wrong" religion.

[Originally posted at: Rodibidably (http://potomac9499.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/the-arbitary-nature-of-place-of-birth-with-regards-to-religion/)]

[Bikewer]

I have similar thoughts. Also, what about station and opportunity? If one is to be "judged" on one's life experiences, you'd think that a just God would give everyone pretty much the same shot.
But not so, of course.

Who is more likely to live a virtuous life:

The ghetto kid with a crack-addicted mother and 10 "uncles" (all of whom are into some sort of criminal activities), who attends a few years of a sub-standard school and who's role models are pimps and drug dealers....

Or the child of well-to-do parents in the suburbs, gently reared and educated....

You get the idea.

If there is only one "true" religion, then regardless of what it is, there would have been millions of people through the ages that lived and died without ever having heard of it.

[TX50]

If you were born in India you'd likely be Hindi.



You'd likely speak Hindi, but likely be a Hindu. :)

[SnuffSnuff]

Hello Rodibidably,

I honestly had a small headache trying to think about the unfairness and a royal mess-up 'God' has made. Being raised under a strongly held Catholic family, their excuse for something like what you've brought up was 'well, at least they worship the same god'.

...no they don't...apparantly.

~Snuffie

[Tsukasa Buddha]

I used to like this argument, but I don't buy into it too much now. Mostly because each religion will likely be based on the teachings of a certain human revealer of truth, so the regional bases that developed due to the difficulty of long range communication in the past is rather forgivable. Also, many will say that others have realized their truth, but they called it something else, or only got some of it, etc.

[steve s]

If one religion is true (ANY religion, it doesn't matter which one), isn't it odd that so much of whether or not you believe that one to be true is based on the circumstance of where you are born?
Couldn't "god" make it so that all people, regardless of the area of the world they are born in, have an equal chance to follow the "true" religion, so they can avoid hell?



I've often used this argument and they usually fall into their predictable "Even if you're born somewhere else, you still have the free will to reject the false religion of your parents and accept the one true god."

Steve S.

[Toke]

It is obviusly a problem, and that is why the true and only god have commanded the faithfull to go out and convert the world.
They have failed at that and will likely go to hell along with all the worshippers of false gods.
Too bad.

[Rodibidably]

You'd likely speak Hindi, but likely be a Hindu. :)
Ok, I can't sspell/type/think/etc...

[Rodibidably]

I've often used this argument and they usually fall into their predictable "Even if you're born somewhere else, you still have the free will to reject the false religion of your parents and accept the one true god."
And if you grow up in an environment where you never learn about this "true" god? I guess those people are just **********, huh?

[Rodibidably]

I used to like this argument, but I don't buy into it too much now. Mostly because each religion will likely be based on the teachings of a certain human revealer of truth, so the regional bases that developed due to the difficulty of long range communication in the past is rather forgivable. Also, many will say that others have realized their truth, but they called it something else, or only got some of it, etc.
Many of the religions are incompatible with each other (the whole you're going to hell if you worship other gods thing).

If religion A says "bob" is the son of god and he died on "the hood of a car", and you must believe in him to be saved; and religion B says "bob" was not god, but a good wise man who faked his death, and to claim otherwise is blasphemy and you'll go to hell for repeating it; and religion C claims that "bob" was not a god, but a cow is one of many gods, they can't be part of the same truth, since they make mutually incompatible claims.

[Rodibidably]

It is obviusly a problem, and that is why the true and only god have commanded the faithfull to go out and convert the world.
They have failed at that and will likely go to hell along with all the worshippers of false gods.
Too bad.
Based on the fact that the largest religion in the world, by HIGH estimates has less than 30% of the world as followers, it means at BEST 70% of us are screwed for the next, forever...

[godless dave]

Also, many will say that others have realized their truth, but they called it something else, or only got some of it, etc.

Even when their "truths" contradict each other?

[Toke]

Based on the fact that the largest religion in the world, by HIGH estimates has less than 30% of the world as followers, it means at BEST 70% of us are screwed for the next, forever...

Yes, and this proves that whatever god is true it is not a caring one.

[Patsy]

The imaginary friend of the Christians, at least, has no problem with the concept of condemning innocents for the sins of their fathers, so I don't really find it out of the question that he would also condemn innocents for being born in the wrong place. I guess that's what they get for being born to those fathers whose sin is living in the wrong place.