Religion is...

Someone asked me "how can you deny the truths behind these religions if all these major religions around the world all dictate the same things"?
My first reaction, honestly, was "how are you so stupid to ask such a question"?

People are too involved in looking through a tiny viewfinder at the finite details of microsystems, rather than looking at the big picture to understand something.

Why are all these religions around the world so similar? Why is there a God, Jesus, and prophets involved?

short answer, they're all the from the same religion.
Think: zealous missionaries representing these religions running all over the world spreading their belief to silly pagans (people living perfectly content lives not needing to believe in much till religion came into their lives)

In the ancient times goin back to oral traditions + pictographs + tributary customs
( pre-written history )

Most cultures around the world were polytheistic, no rather shamanistic.
Regions in Russia, China, Japan, Egypt, Native Americans, Greece, India, Rome, parts of Africa, aboriginal Australia/New Zealand... etc.
All believed in spirits or gods of nature.
One thing they had in common was a god of death and a god of birth, whether it's a sun god or Hades, these are the similar things all these cultures shared because of what humans witnessed as truth. We cannot deny a birth and death as much as we can argue on the other subjects of truths.

For me these ancient people were closer to truths than what the modern religions are teaching. Modern religions are too involved on an emotional basis. Concentrating on a relationship between the individual and God. But back to the bigger picture.

And this is how these major religions came about...

Egypt - ancient times - polytheism
with an exception
during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten (1364-1347 BC)
- decided to institute monotheism upon Egypt
- took an old sun god, Ra, to be the one and only God
Egypt went back to polytheism after this, however the Israelites (Jews) were already there. Though a specific time for the Exodus was not recorded, their religion was also influenced by the religion of Egypt in one way or another. They took monotheism with them on their departure from Egypt.

Israel - Jerusalem - Jesus
came about with his merry band of followers
it can be referred to as a cult for it was a cult that grew in following, though all originally born of the Judaism faith.

And then Christianity and Catholicism came about.
Christians say "i believe what you Jews believe in but Jesus is God."
Catholics say "i believe what you believe in but Mary the mother of Jesus is holy for giving birth to the son of God."

And thru much hardy missionary work around the world.
Christianity has beget Islam.
Muslims say "i believe what you believe in but Jesus was a prophet, God will show his presence through another in the future."

Egypt > Judaism > Catholicism + Christianity > Islam

Short answer = same damn religion, people just like to be part of a club and have something to hold on to. Fighting each other is defining their loyalty to their family and club members, and expressing primitive anger in a way they can feel righteous about.

violence and coercion aside, think about
many different bibles and korans
Why?
Bible = stories compiled together and became a manual and history book for members of that religion.
Originally, these stories are passed down through an oral tradition, and through the results of playing Telephone, one can understand, orally expressed stories can be remembered and spoken again differently than the previous version heard from one person to another. The basis of the story is pretty much similar but the details and characters can be changed significantly. Remember that a story can be MADE UP quite easily if one person wanted to make a point or create evidence to solidify someone else's belief.
Not to mention
religion have always played a powerful role in politics.
Politics = many lies weaved through truth.

Modern religions are based on their bibles, korans, scrolls, etc.
The content of said text is very questionable, not just by comparing its content to what was originally said, but also the fact that alot of those stories could be very much made up fairy tales in the first place.

What I believe in is my truth. I may be classified in the hazy category of "athiest" because I not a part of the fun club of any religions, nor am I confused about whether one religion is true above others or indecisive about my own beliefs.

I believe

God = source of energy, life force (maybe)
like water, electricity, fire are all natural resources and sources of energy. A battery power for the function of nature.

God ≠ being, conscious entity, has a conscience of any sort

That energy is within everything around us
continuing activity
birth - death - evolution - cycle
it's in the water, sun, plants, people, cells, molecules, atoms, etc

It's pointless to worship it, it's like worshipping wind or electricity, nothing will be granted in return from worship.
Praying is an emotional characteristic exhibited in humans, maybe other animals too, to actively try to manipulate the events to in the future for an outcome that suits the prayee's desires.

But this natural resource made us and lives within us as well as everything else.
You can say God made us.
Because this energy is in everything, and we are part of it as well as being It.
God = us

What we do in life and the inherent charateristics in people as well as all other parts of nature is creating, dying, experiencing, then recreating.

Checks and balances from the experience of interacting with things around each indivdual action creates the ending result.
Those that balance themselves with their environment keeps living
Those that don't, you become extinct

We are not particularly important in present time in the grand scheme of everything.
We can be important if we make a significant move that affects the result of something in the future, but no way to know.

Importance is relative depending on how it is perceived too.

If one needs a reason to be, then that raison d'être can be
"you live to experience + experiment for the future"

.

I've known this since the first class of evolution taught to be in 7th grade.
Apparently it was a very quiet epiphany that made me see things and understand everything around me by reasoning in the bigger picture through time + environment + context.