Not indisputable fact, simply belief.
With regards to religion, people are either one of two things:
1. A believer.
2. An atheist.
There is no 1.5. - agnostic. People can flip between 1 and 2, but not repeatedly, usually once only. There is no in-between, one or the other. It’s like a light switch that you can only use very sparingly, no matter how much doubt is forming regarding either. A note sandwiched between them might say ‘denial’ on it, if anything. I have no problem with atheism, at all, and will happily discuss my beliefs with either of the above. What we would be discussing is forever completely unprovable though (unless we both die, and neither of us would be sharing with anyone else after that) and getting into a heated argument would be a ridiculous thing to do.
The Prophets are very close to the core of many religions, and that core is very solid ground. No one can really argue with the Prophets. It’s the layers that grow further up on top that are much more prone to corruption and misinterpretation. A simplified view of some of these religions’ layers from the center outwards might be:
1. God.
2. Universal rules.
3. Prophets.
4. Followers.
5. Documentation.
6. Propagation.
7. Hierarchy.
8. Accepted interpretation.
9. Dogma.
10. Persecution.
The first 3 are the truths, and are (hopefully) unchanging over very long periods of time, but variations occur in 4 onwards. Things begin to get unstable at 7, and what comes after is also by proxy not necessarily very stable either, or sometimes even sane. The instability depends on established dogma, what era it currently is, and who’s in charge of the corporeal side of things. That’s what affects when things can become arbitrary, illogical and misguided. 7 spawns 8, and so it goes on. It’s not a template that can be applied to all religions that worship one God, and / or have central prophets, I’m sure there is many it doesn’t fit, or the order is wrong.
I can’t prove to you that God exists, and you can’t prove otherwise, but due to other beliefs I have about the nature of things, I firmly do believe that it’s the case. Some religions don’t accept a God, but revere their prophet(s). I don’t think God minds too much about that, why would they? Here are the things I believe in, pretty much in order of impactfulness. Each spawns the next.
1. Time.
2. Infinity.
3. Creator.
4. Universe.
5. Matter.
6. Natural order.
7. Life.
8. Learning.
9. Death.
10. Stasis.
11. Evolution.
12. Rebirth.
13. Imagination.
14. Prophets.
15. Believers.
16. Religious framework.
17. Stupidity.
Time comes before everything. It’s eternal and so is infinity, so therefore everything further, is also infinite. The Universe is a set of rules laid down by the Creator, that lead to infinite possibilities, then infinite matter was sown. Order was dictated by the rules. Life is the result of perfect conditions, and complex life relies on water. Life learns as it lives, or it doesn’t live. Everything dies eventually. Stasis is time spent between death and life. Evolution is the result of learning. Stupidity is not associated with anything else on the list, it’s just something that I also believe in, and which is definitely also infinite. Imagination is placed before Prophets, because Prophets need imagination to be able to understand their souls and therefore the word of God, and imagination allows believers to understand the word of the Prophets.
I believe that nature is ultimately benevolent to the benevolent, and they are the ones who stand most to learn and spend shortest time in stasis. Those who learned the most, evolve. I don’t believe that God punishes the wicked with eternal fire, or outsources it to another anti-god-like being with infinite heating bills, it’s more efficient to have rules and outcomes that apply to all regardless, and the Universe is a highly efficient place. The wicked just also enter stasis, and can only inevitably review their chaotic behavior, repeatedly, until at peace and ready for rebirth into an ordered Universe, perhaps as something lesser due to the regression they embraced while alive. I think if the truly wicked knew what they were in for, they would simply stop being wicked and save a lot of that miserable time. It’s never too late.
So to summarise, I believe in God, and I believe the prophets possessed Universal wisdom, which is the same as understanding the will of God. Religion itself is not naive and misplaced, and the core is usually solid and pure. However, the framework that is built on top of it, especially the devised dogma and resulting punishment for not adhering to it, is not always grounded in the truth and is fully the product of human interpretation.
Peace.
