Multiple Religions

[docbrown49]

How is it possible that there are so many religions that exist? What if you asked me a question and I gave you ten different answers!

[Elderman]

The Bible is a book that at one time was widely respected. In these days, unfortunately, fewer and fewer people read it. Yet when we are discussing religion, we cannot do so in a satisfying way if we fail to refer to the Bible, because, religiously speaking, it has had more effect on mankind than any other book.
The Bible tells us that man originally believed in only one God. This was not his own idea. According to the record, God revealed himself to man at the very beginning as the great Source of life. He offered help and guidance, so that man could make his way successfully in life. (Genesis 1:26–2:25) Hence, everything started with just one religion. How, then, did today’s confused situation come about?
According to the Bible, this stemmed from a rebellion against that one original Source. In a document that is more than 3,000 years old, a man named Nimrod is identified as initiating this rebellion. Nimrod became a city builder, constructing cities in the ancient region known as Mesopotamia. Today that area is a part of Iraq. Some of the cities that he built were named Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh.—Genesis 10:10-12.

At what eventually became the greatest of these ancient cities, Babel (or, Babylon), the Bible tells of an effort to thwart God’s express will that mankind should spread around the earth and populate it. The people said: “Come on! Let us build ourselves a city and also a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a celebrated name for ourselves, for fear we may be scattered over all the surface of the earth.” (Genesis 11:4) However, because of divine intervention they failed in their purpose and gradually dispersed to different parts of the earth. In doing so, they carried their rebellious religious ideas with them.