Religion? "That's Just Your Opinion!"

There seems to be some confusion about what is an opinion; what is a belief; what is faith; what is a fact; and what constitutes a fallacy. This is especially true when dealing with matters of spiritual concerns. It's quite common when sharing a belief to receive the response "that's just your opinion." Unless you have personally created what you believe to be true, then this response is just as wrong as what your created belief might be.

Beliefs
No matter what religion or anti-religion you might practice and believe in, if you are merely adhering to the accepted and established doctrines of that religion, then you are simply confirming and living your belief. This is separated from what your personal opinion is since you are agreeing to what the religion's doctrines are. It is the opinion of that particular religion and it's founder(s) since they claim their teachings are correct and true. You did not create this belief, somebody else did.

This is why the devout Buddhist can claim, "no, it is not my opinion, it is the teaching of Buddha."
The practicing Muslim can state, "no, it is not my opinion, it is the teaching of Muhammad."
This is how the dedicated Christian can maintain, "no, it is not my opinion, it is the teaching of Jesus."
(Insert your religion here)
Etc, etc.

Opinions
But the person who has developed their own set of beliefs, even if it means combining the teachings from various religions, cannot make this claim. They have stepped outside the box of what is established and have set-up a standard which goes head-to-head with what religious founders claim to be true. They have established a set of beliefs for themselves which has no spiritual backing or authentication beyond their claim that "this is what I believe." In this case it's perfectly acceptable to respond, "that's just your opinion!" Unfortunately the vast majority of people living in the west are adherents of baking their own little smorgasbord of beliefs (often oppositional) into this form of spirituality.

Faith
The water muddles even further when breaking down spiritual teachings into what is true and what is a fallacy. This is especially true when dealing with any matter about the afterlife, since this area has no real means of verification. It becomes even more difficult when factoring in the equation that there could (as some religions claim) be spirits of deception which purposely send out false signals about what is true pertaining to life after death. The afterlife is naturally one of the most important areas of any religion or belief since it deals with the one common area which every person has to deal with... every person born has to die! Though our worlds might be drastically different, and we might share very little in common with one another, the one guarantee we all share is that some day we will personally meet death.

With afterlife we are dealing with the one area where religions are guaranteed not to agree with one another, and yet there's no real means of having proof beyond the claims of it's founder. When it comes to our life after death (or lack of) not all religions can be equally true, especially if their teachings conflict with one another. This area cannot be reasoned or explained away, if they don't agree then it means there has to be more than one incorrect view. The reasonable way to view the afterlife is two ways: (1) Either all religions are wrong, or (2) one religion is correct and the rest are wrong.

Fallacy
There is a third perspective which is inconceivable so it is not really an option, and that is (3) all religions are correct. You can never have conflicting, oppositional teachings which are all correct. If this were true then we could eliminate the sciences from our educational institutions since any conclusion is as valid as another. Again it is unfortunate that in our melting-pot, accept anything culture, it is this third 'all religions are the same' option which the majority of people erroneously believe.

Fact
(1) Religion is based upon two parts... belief and faith. We also practice belief and faith in many other areas of our life... it is perfectly natural and part of residing in this physical universe.
(2) Whether you accept or reject a particular religion, that is your personal decision.
(3) When you adhere to the doctrines of that religion (or non religion), it is not your own created theology, therefore it is not your opinion, it is the opinion and theology of your religion.
(4) Not all religions are equal. They all can't be correct and they all don't contribute to society in the same way.

Helpful Advice
When looking into any religion, it's extremely important to thoroughly research every aspect of it's founder. Just as not all religions are equal, not all founders of the religion are equal... there's a huge discrepancy between one and the other. You should look into their teachings and how they lived out those teachings. You must scrutinize every facet of their lifestyle. Look into their humanity, their prejudices, their appetites, their strengths, their weaknesses, and any facet which shows hypocrisy in them. Look into the miracles and amazing things which they performed. Ask whether their miracles were for their own comfort or for the benefit of others. Check into whether they fulfilled all the prophecies regarding their coming. Look into their claims... both those about God and those about themselves. In general, look at their birth, their life, and their death.

Make your belief and your faith mean something. Make it count.

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