Granted, it all comes down to your true beliefs, but my pastor gave a pretty good sermon not too long ago. He described how some people want to create their own religion, and pick parts of it that they like, and leave the rest out. He said that you can't do that, otherwise you're just fooling yourself. If you believe in that religion, you can't pick which rules you want to follow. Nothing is ever easy, and following the rules of each religion applies to that. I'm a Lutheran, which doesn't have many of the weird rituals that many religions have. We basically just read the Bible straight up and don't try to interpret it too deeply, or read into something that has nothing to read in to. For me (and Lutheranism as a whole), God doesn't judge us. In fact, they stress constantly how he forgives you for everything you do, hence Jesus dying on the cross. We also believe that in God's eyes, all sin is equal. Murder is no worse than thinking bad thoughts about someone, or stealing, or cheating, etc. Most of the "rules" honestly are simple moral rules, that most people (inside or outside of that religion) believe themselves. Such as murder is wrong, adultering is wrong, etc. Christianity doesn't care much about what you do, but rather that you ask for forgiveness and attempt to change (which really is what people should do, regardless of religion). Religion is a strong motivator for many (and myself) to fulfill that change that we want. It does come down to your actual beliefs, but if you would believe in a God, or a religion, I truly believed what I heard in the sermon that you can't take what you like and leave out the rest.