Inspired by @Trailblazer 's thread here: Atheists, if God existed….
Say a charlatan wanted to create a false religion that people would follow. What would that religion look like?
A few of my own thoughts:
- the charlatan would put himself in a position where he could control the beliefs of the religion. He would be the "official" conduit between the religion's adherents and God: a prophet, messenger, messiah, something like that.
- he would arrange it so that no proof of God - or of his own appointment as God's messenger or whatnot - could or should be independently confirmed. Since he would fail such a test, he would make sure he wouldn't be subject to a test.
What else would we see in a false religion?
Edit: I should point out that I'm not asking about signs that a religion must be false. Maybe some of the characteristics of a false religion might also be shared by a true religion. For now, I'm only asking what characteristics a false religion would have, regardless of whether these characteristics are
exclusive to false religions.
To a Christian, that would be generally any and all and every that lead away from the actual precise instructions from Christ, such as
"Love your neighbor as yourself" for example (which He named as the 2nd great commandment, and the 2 great commandments together are the foundation of God's will, as expressed through the law and the prophets of old).
So, for instance, a church where that teaching of the 2nd great commandment is
removed or missing.
As a specific example, it could be a church where the mistreatment of immigrants is approved of, for instance. No matter if that church tries to claim it is 'Christian', that would then in that case be a false claim, since the term 'Christian' is generally meaning
not only lip service towards Christ, but actual belief in Him
and thus in His words.
Or in the specific verses where He addressed precisely this very exact question, He said:
15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
16 By their fruit [actual deeds and attitudes] you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them."
So, we look to see what those 'fruits', deeds, are -- do they support kindness to refugees, or do they like the president instead support prejudices and exclusion and even slanders against refugees, on our southern border, fleeing violence, trying to come here to the U.S. for safety, such as from drug gangs, for one example.
So, I look to the 'fruits' to know whether a specific church is the real genuine thing, or just a false religion trying to disguise itself as being 'Christian'.