There are many different ways that faith systems approach the whole belief vs deeds debate. I, of course, cannot list them all here, nor is it a comprehensive description as this blog is dedicated to me leaving the Christian faith I list other religions here as a general comparison only.
Judaism, for example, focuses far less on what you believe as long as you do what you should. In that religious culture (and I am generalizing of course) you don't have to feel certain ways about God, the Bible and everything else. Depending on your level of orthodoxy within Judaism you may not believe in God at all. It is the nature of mitzvot (good deeds), tzedakah (charitable giving/justice), tikkun olam (healing the world) and Shabbat (honoring the day of rest) that bring meaning and purpose to life. To be Jewish you must ACT Jewish and participate in the community.
Islam focuses on a combination of faith and action. Combined with the beliefs that a Muslim must have in Allah, the Qur'an, the prophets and other articles of their faith; they must also follow the five pillars of Islam which list out the primary active responsibilities including: the testimony of faith, prayer, giving, fasting and pilgrimage. Islam does not rely merely on faith nor on action but believes in the combined power of the two.
Then there is Christianity, which can hardly be called a monotheistic religion in the strictest sense of the word (as many Christians believe in a triune deity consisting of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit who are all distinct and yet one). However, that is not the purpose of this post. Christian tradition tells people that "All have fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NIV) and so it is impossible for any human to make themselves right with God through any action of their own. Their answer is Jesus' death on the cross.
The unintended consequence of this is that it means that Christians don't have to try. They don't have to do good things and perform good deeds because it has no bearing on whether they are "saved" or not. It occurred to me the other day that it just may be the laziest religion. You don't have to do anything but recite a prayer, "ask Jesus into your heart" (which of course is NOWHERE in the Bible) and that's it your saved. Poof! Yeah, they tell you should "live for the Lord now" and all that junk but there is no motivator to do it. You're already saved. Perhaps that is why so many people have had horrible experiences with Christians and hypocrisy is so rampant. If you believe that your eternal destiny is all wrapped up and good-to-go then why bother being a good person. (I say it is the laziest religion also because if any of you have looked into converting to another organized religion they put you through the ringer to make sure you are committed; none of this one prayer and you're in nonsense. It may begin with a statement of faith [as in Islam] but there are other commitments to make to be truly a member of that religion.)
The irony in all of this is that Jesus, the founder of the Christian religion, spoke much more about what people needed to DO that what they needed to believe to be saved. He commanded people to walk in order to heal their crippled legs, he told his disciples to leave everything they owned, he told others that in order to be saved they would have to sell all their possessions and follow him (yeah, don't see people signing up for that one these days). Jesus had all these things that people needed to act on to show their faith and yet, once he was gone his followers somehow turned it into something that was based on faith alone and any good deeds done were and added "jewel in your crown" so-to-speak. It speaks about what you should do in the New Testament the Christians added to the Bible but the focus is always on what you believe not on what you do. Let's face it, it's just plain easier to make the religion about what you think about rather than what you do because no one can really know what goes on in your head but they can all see what you do. If you can blame all your negative actions on being a sinner and no one can tell whether you really repent or even believe then what's stopping you? It's the perfect out.
I say all this because I believe that there is power in choosing to what you believe but I am far more adamant about people acting out what they believe that what the belief actually is. I just want people to be genuine. I want them to do what they say they believe. If you want to make the world a better place, do it. If you say you are commanded to love people, do it. The focus on right belief for Christians has only led to divisiveness within their church and the alienation of seekers. The hypocrisy makes it hard for people to understand and yet it is so easy to become a Christian you can do it practically by accident. Whatever your faith base, or if you have none at all, just be true to it. Please.
