THE DISCREPANCIES OF RELIGIOUS MORAL CODES: WHICH ONE IS TRUE?

There is a popular belief in theists that humans cannot cultivate morals by themselves - humans need to be 'taught' morals from God and the method employed is religion.

But, there is not only A RELIGION; there are many religions and each of what the religions sanctions and propagates is different from another religion. What is righteous in one religion is sin in another. WHICH ONE IS TRUE?

MEAT EATING:

Hinduism expounds ahimsa, non violence and meat eating is forbidden, especially beef. Cows are considered sacred by the Hindus because cows sustain households; they give milk, dung for fuel and fertilizer and till the land. Other domesticated animals are seen as lesser in this context. My atheist friend, he was born into Hinduism but has, since renounced it, eats beef. He says that it's the cow's fault it tastes so good and goes on to say why goats are eaten by some Hindus - what does goat give? Alcohol beverage? And, goats are sacrificed to border protecting Hindu gods such as Muneswarar and the mutton is then cooked and people feast on it. He likes to say that it's hypocrisy.

Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are Hinduism's satellite religions and they too discourage meat consumption.

Judaism and Islam forbid consuming pork but allow beef and other properly slaughtered meat. Eating reptiles and amphibians is also forbidden. Zakir Naik once quoted that if one eats pigs, they will behave like pigs. Well, maybe to behave like humans we should start eating each other up. Christianity allows pork and up until Utah was granted statehood, Mormons allowed pork.

But still, many people decide to go vegetarian and vegan and it is not because they are Hindus or religious. It is because they are against animal cruelty and slavery in any form, driven by the moral compass that any system that involves slavery is inherently evil. Did God or religion teach this? Well, the Bible and Koran sanction human and animal slavery. For vegans and vegetarians, like how they won't eat their pet dog, they won't eat any other animal. And, it is for health and wellbeing purposes as well. Like how some people won't wear fur because it involves extreme cruelty in 'harvesting' the fur from the animals. Did God teach us compassion and kindness and love?

MARRIAGE AND SEX:

Hinduism, Judaism and Islam allows polygamy and Christianity doesn't. In Islam, up to 4 multiple wives are allowed provided the man can treat all his wives equally. Hindu kings of yesteryears and Hindu gods are known to have multiple wives and harem too. Polyandry is still practiced in interior pockets of rural India and in the Hindu epic Mahabaratha, Draupadi has 5 husbands, the Pandavas and the Pandavas had other wives too - Arjuna married Krishna's sister Shubadra and they had a son, Abhimanyu.

Polyandry is prohibited in Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Adultery and sex out of wedlock are described in Hindu epics but their persecution and pardon varies. Sage Apashara has clandestine coitus with Satyavati and Vyasa, the sage that narrated Mahabarata to Lord Ganesha to write was born as a result from that union. Sita was made walk through fire to prove her chastity after she was held captive by Ravan. 

Islam disapproves adultery, infidelity and premarital sex actively. There is no specific prohibition in the Bible against sex between an unmarried man and unmarried woman. However, "sexual immorality" is denounced in about 25 passages in the New Testament. The word translated as "sexual immorality" or "fornication" in English versions of the Bible is the Greek word porneia, which means "illicit sexual intercourse." The Torah does not outlaw premarital sex - as it does many other types of sexual relationships--and the child of such a union is not considered illegitimate Nonetheless, marital sex is considered ideal, and premarital sex is traditionally not approved of. So, the rough conclusion is that premarital sex is frowned upon by most religions and we all know how this prohibition is openly flouted - by free sex culture around the world. Certainly, the pending torture in hell failed to overcome raging hormones and lust. But, polygamy is in decline; the ideal of a single soulmate imbibe the matrimonial culture of today. You are my only one. One can see that morality has progressed leaps on bounds here and this is not initiated by religion; conscience and loyalty trigger this. Unaffordability plays a huge part too, if you know what I mean. Society too, looks down on polygamous lifestyle. Adultery or maintaining a mistress are considered abominations today and some culminate in divorce so to say a divine entity is needed to police human sexual adventures, is subject to much moot. Swans mate for life. Did God preach commitment for life to the bird?

SINS:

In Hinduism, the sin of the highest order is manslaughter. In Islam, to kill an infidel means you get 72 virgins and unlimited booze in heaven. Muslims see sin as anything that goes against the commands of Allah (God), a breach of the laws and norms laid down by religion. Islam teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being. It is believed that Allah weighs an individual’s good deeds and against his/her sins on the Day of Judgement and punishes those individuals whose evil deeds outweigh their good deeds. These individuals are thought to be sentenced to afterlife in the fires of Hell. In Christianity, there are seven cardinal sins to overcome - anger, pride, lust, envy, sloth, gluttony and greed. 3 cardinal sins in Judaism are idolatry, sexual immorality and murder. See the complexity not to mention discrepancies? Which sin is the highest order and the descending order?

While the fundamentals of all religions are similar, they are not the same, divided by denominations, sects, branching and dichotomy; the debate on which one is the true teaching is ongoing. I will stick to the notion that humans are capable of being virtuous and moralistic without God and religion..

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