Why are we forced to follow particular religions?

The Vikings were not Christians what happened to them?

.[30] Christianity had taken root in Denmark and Norway with the establishment of dioceses during the 11th century, and the new religion was beginning to organise and assert itself more effectively in Sweden. Foreign churchmen and native elites were energetic in furthering the interests of Christianity, which was now no longer operating simply on a missionary footing, and old ideologies and lifestyles were transforming. It was not until 1103, however, that the first archbishopric was founded in Scandinavia, at Lund (in the southernmost part of present-day Sweden, previously part of Denmark).

The assimilation of the nascent Scandinavian kingdoms into the cultural mainstream of European Christendom altered the aspirations of Scandinavian rulers and those Scandinavians able to travel overseas, and changed their relations with their neighbours. One of the primary sources of profit for the Vikings had been slave-taking. The medieval Church took the position that Christians should not own fellow Christians as slaves, so chattel slavery diminished as a practice throughout northern Europe. This took much of the economic incentive out of raiding, though sporadic slaving activity continued in the 11th century. Eventually, outright slavery was outlawed, and replaced with serfdom at the bottom rung of medieval society. Scandinavian predation in Christian lands around the North Sea and the Irish Sea diminished markedly.

The Vikings were the aggressors they converted to Christianity. Why would they do something like that? Sounds like a good course of study for you!

You are not being forced to do anything that sounds stupid to you! First off if you have a brain then start using it and then you won't fall for any of the religious lies of which they all are except one passage that i know is in the bible and it might be in all the other religious dogma also and it is: Do unto others as you would have others do unto you! Now those are words to live by but they did not come from any god, they are too simple logical and sensible and they do not need any belief or faith for them to work!

Well thank whoever you were born in a free country where you are free to make such statements and free to choose what you believe... in some places people have fought, been imprisoned and died to having such thoughts. People really should be free to choose... whatever, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.

How do you really know that a ball will fall towards the Earth when you throw it upwards???

Physics right....aka Evidence that is established with proofs and backed up with facts...

In the same way, I'll ask you to study all the religions that you are confusing between, from Authentic sources and see which one is based on facts and evidences....Then you'll find the truth.

Wanna know about Jewish religion? Ask a sincere and practicing Jew

Wanna know about Christianity? Ask a sincere and practicing Christian

Wanna know about Buddhism? Ask a sincere and practicing Monk

And wanna know about Islam? Ask a sincere and practicing Muslim....

And ask them all sorts of questions and do not hesitate, coz its your right to know about the One Who created you and His religion....

Once you are convinced, then You can know why it is the truth....

The reasons which make great number of people become Muslims.

* It is the last Divine Religion revealed to man.

* Islam recognizes previous divine revelations. On the other hand, Jews do not recognize Jesus, and the Christians do not recognize Muhammad; whereas, Muslims recognize Moses and Jesus, may Allah exalt their mention

* In Islam humans relates with their Lord in all matters and conditions.

* Islam is the only Religion which has not been distorted or changed.

Harry G. Dorman said:

'It (the Quran) is literal Revelation of God, dictated to Muhammad by Gabriel, perfect in every letter. It is an ever-present miracle witnessing to itself and to Muhammad, the Prophet of God. Its miraculous quality resides partly in its style, so perfect and lofty that neither man nor jinn could produce a single chapter to compare with its briefest chapter, and partly in its content of teachings, prophecies about the future, and amazingly accurate information such as the illiterate Muhammad could never have gathered of his own accord.'34

* Islam is the Religion which covers the material and spiritual aspects of life. It did not neglect even the slightest of things in a Muslim's life. Abdurrahmaan b. Zaid said that it was said to Salman:

'Your Prophet has taught you everything, even how to relieve yourselves? Salman said: 'Of course, he forbade us to face the direction of the Qiblah while defecating or urinating, or to clean oneself with his right hand, or to use less than three stones, or to use bone or dung (to clean oneself).' (Muslim)

W. Thomas Arnold said: 'Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Quran I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.'

* Islam satisfies the man's bodily and spiritual needs in equilibrium. It refuses that one aspect be given precedence over the other.

* Islam does not conflict with man's intellect and natural disposition.

* Islam is the Religion for humankind at large, regardless of their education, time and place which, in contrast to previous religions were sent to a specific people during a specific time. For example, if a person wants to become a Jew, he has to be born a Jew. Jesus said about Christianity: 'I was sent to the lost sheep of the Children of Israel.'

Read more on the link:

http://www.thekeytoislam.com/en/why-become-a-musli...

When the child matures in youth and clear proofs of the falsehood of its religion are brought to it, the adult must now follow the religion of knowledge and reason. At this point the devils try their best to encourage him to stay as he is or to go further astray. Evils are made pleasing to him and he must now live in the midst of a struggle between his innate pure nature and his desires in order to find the right road. If he chooses to follow his innate nature, his fitrah, Allah will help him overcome his desires even though it may take most of his life to escape, for many people enter Islam. in their old age.

Are you not aware of the Islamic Principle: There is no Compulsion in Religion

The verse from the Qur'an which states this principle of no compulsion in religion is the following:

* "Let there be no compulsion in religion: Truth stands out clear from Error: whoever rejects Evil and believes in Allah hath grasped the most trustworthy hand-hold, that never breaks. And Allah heareth and knoweth all things." (Surah 2, Verse 256).

The holy Qur'an reminds us that there must not be compulsion in religion. It states that the truth stands out clear from error, and that those who reject error and believe in God are the saved ones.

This means that Muslims are not allowed to force people to convert to Islam. Muslims should only seek to make the truth clear to others, and talk to them about Islam, then let them decide for themselves. In fact, most people who study Islam without having made a decision to hate it first come to love its message and convert to Islam after learning about it's values and principles.

Another verse that also states this principle is the following:

* "If one amongst the Pagans ask thee for asylum, grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah; and then escort him to where he can be secure. That is because they are men without knowledge." (Surah 9, Verse 6).

This wonderful verse instructs Muslims to grant asylum to non-believers, and make them safe, and allow them to hear the word of Allah. Then they are to be escorted to whatever place they will be safe and secure in. This is because these non-believers simply have no knowledge of Islam, and no knowledge of the word of Allah.

What a wonderful religion Islam is! How can this be compared with the way that Christians spread their religion? They spread it by genocide, mass murder, kidnapping of children and wiping out of entire nations and civilizations! Ask the natives of the Americas, Australia and Africa about it!

People are brainwashed thinking Quran teaches violence and hate. Read BELOW

Myth: Islam teaches suicide bombing and terrorism

Fact: Islam prohibits killing others and suicide Quran 4:29

Myth: Kill all disbelievers

Fact: Kill disbelievers only if you are attacked by them, but if they stop, you must stop Quran 2:190 2:191 2:192

Fact: Islam teaches to live with the disbelievers in peace Quran 8:61 43:88 43:89

Fact: You cannot force a woman into marriage in Islam Quran 4:19

Fact: Islam teaches to be kind to your enemies, unless you are attacked by them, then fight them Quran 41:34

Fact: You cannot force the religion on anyone Quran 2:256

You see the "violent" verses are only the verses of self defence, last time I checked self-defence was the law

Primarily because the most violent and unethical

people usually take control... whether it be in religion,

politics, or any social situation.

That's just an older, outdated tradition. Believe in what you want to believe. You control yourself, not other people.

Mahatma said "God does not belong to any religion."

righteous men and woman from every religion, culture, tribe and tongue can go to heaven after they die.. it doesn't matter whether you are Bhuddist, Christian, Jewish, Muslim etc...

TLDR

Another atheist seeking proof or justification.

You are asking a lot of questions here so forgive me if I don't get to every point that you bring up.

First of all, people are born with a sin nature. Joining a religion doesn't cancel that out. God never told Christians to spread His Word by the Sword. He told Christians to pray for the lost and to be ready to explain to people why they have the hope of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ and what He did to pay for their sins on the cross. When sinful people are in charge of a religion and they don't do what God has said then that's their fault. God doesn't tell us to look to our fellow human beings for perfection or salvation. He says that we need to look to Him because only He can save us and all of us are in need of salvation because we all sin even after we get "saved".

Christians are not called to be ministers of God's wrath. They are called to warn people of God's wrath if they don't accept the payment that He made for their sins in the person of His Son. They are called not only to love their neighbors as them self but also to even love their enemies and to demonstrate this love by praying for them and by doing good deeds that demonstrate God's love.

So why does every person have this ultimatum?

It's one of the themes of the Bible. People were originally created without sin. They chose to rebel against God by disobeying Him and instead of recognizing Him as the sovereign Creator they wanted to be "like God" and make their own decisions about what is right and wrong.

Basically people don't want their Maker to rule over them. But when you study the Bible and learn about how good God is and how merciful and longsuffering and most of all, how God sent His beloved Son to take our place of punishment, you can start to realize how inadequate we are to take God's place in this universe.

God doesn't demand that people go through the motions of worshiping Him. Instead He wants people to get to know Him and how good He is and how much they depend upon Him and then worship comes from the heart.

As to eternal punishment, think about it this way. God pleads with people all of their lives to turn from being their own "god" and to recognize the truth about who the real God who created Heaven and earth is.

If a person goes their whole life rejecting God and saying "I don't need You" then when they leave this earth God honors their choice and they will be separated from Him and His love for all eternity.

The decisions that we make in this life have consequences in this life either good or bad. When we go our whole lives saying "I don't need Jesus to pay for my sins" then we are telling God that He made a mistake by sending Jesus to earth. We want to be judged by our own standards and we want God to agree with us instead of agreeing with God that we have broken His laws and being grateful that God has made a Way for us to be saved and to be with Him and to experience His love for us for all eternity