Seeking Truth

At an incredibly young age he saw the religious practices of his father and denied them. He felt there was something else. He knew there was something more. Thus began the existential crisis of the biblical patriarch Abraham. After denying the idolatrous ways of his ancestors, he went out on a mission to discover the truth. His search led him to monotheism, and till this very day society attributes all monotheistic religions to him. 

Abraham is lauded as the first kid to ask the tough questions. He is praised as the child who absolutely needed an answer. Someone who refused to just dogmatically accept that which he was taught. His questions led him to realize that his teachers and parents weren’t right about everything, and ultimately to reject their religious teachings. Yet something strange has happened since then. Religion has come to pedestalize Abraham and his experience, to the point that people are discouraged from doing anything even remotely similar. Religion nowadays, to a large degree, is more dogmatic than ever. I personally know children who were yelled at, if not actually punished, for asking tough questions. Obviously, most people will tell you that this is no way to handle the situation, but I merely mention it to show the religious sentiment toward people who are seeking truth. It’s perhaps more common to see a teacher scold children asking difficult questions on religion — by admonishing them for their lack of faith, than it is to see them encourage the children for their curiosity and out of the box thinking.  

Why is it that precisely what Abraham did so many years ago, we’re told is absolutely heretical?

Should we not all be questioning what we are taught, in search of truth?

Should we not all be searching for the purpose and meaning of life??

Indeed, many religious people think that you should question your beliefs, and that eventually you will come to realize that they have the one true religion. 

Yet how could anyone possibly encourage questioning among people they perceive to be wrong, without encouraging it amongst themselves. They are in essence saying, “Everyone who disagrees with me should question their beliefs and join me on route to heaven, while anyone who thinks like me is going to hell if they question and change their mind.”

Is there anything more intellectually dishonest than this?