Concerning Religion

You are right when you say we should give up on religion. Religion is man reaching up to God in desperation to please Him by devising his own systems and "spiritual" nuances. The religion of God can be summed up by the last verse of the book of Ecclesiastes: 13 ¶ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

Each religion has an element of truth attached to it. But over time, men have added to that truth and that is what creates "religion". Man bends over backwards to try to please God in any way that he can, often oblivious to the fact that God has already told us how to please Him. The religion of man says the same thing that the serpent said in the garden, "God didn't really mean what He said when He told us how to live and worship Him. As long as we are sincere, surely He is a flexible God that will accept this form of worship or that..." The religion of God has this line of thinking: "I will attempt to find out how the Almighty wants to be worshipped and regardless of how I feel or the consequences, I will run to that end, even if I be alone in my offering."

So, is there a true religion? Yes. But it is the religion that is from God's perspective and not ours. To often we try to please God in ways that we THINK He will appreciate because it has the appearance of being "spiritual". True love loves someone in the way that THEY want to be loved. True love and devotion is putting self aside for the sake of another. In the same way, true religion is putting our selfish ambitions of servitude aside and seeking what the Father alone desires.

Proverbs 30:6 says, "Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar." The religion of God gets twisted into the religion of man when man adds to or takes away from the already written Word. This was the problem in the first century. The religious leaders of the day had added so many rules to the Law of God that the people could not bear them. Jesus spent most of His time tearing down the man-made "fences" so that the people could serve God with no burdens. Today, man spends most of his time putting those fences back up without even knowing it. It is my opinion that it is high time that we step back and evaluate all that we DO and BELIEVE and find out what is of God and what is of man. 
As far as what you mentioned about the Jews not believing in hell...you are right. They do not believe in it the traditional way that the Christian church teaches it. And that is because the traditional Christian view is incorrect and needs to be adjusted in the light of scripture. If you have read the article "Where Do We Go When We Die?", then you are familiar with the biblical teaching on hell.

So, what is the conclusion of it all? "Fear God", and seek to know how HE wants to be worshipped and served. That is "whole duty of man". 
Jim Staley

http://www.passion-for-truth.com/Articles-New/is-there-a-right-religion.htm