To kill a religion

Peter and John won hands down the first confrontation with the Jewish leaders. Though Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and was very eloquent in his defence, they won for other reasons.
Peter's eloquence was vividly demonstrated with the following exchange.
So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge;
for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:18-20)
Peter skilfully made use of an authority higher than the Roman Empire, viz. God, to counter-attack. Peter implicitly claimed a direct link to God. He was able to listen to God. But why did the Jewish Council fail to challenge Peter's claim, to prove him wrong? Were the Council members not servants of God? Why couldn't they judge whether this Galilean fisherman was an imposer or not? It shows that the Jewish Council had long lost touch with God. Probably they had spent too much time on power politics at the expense of a proper relationship with God. They lost the confrontation not because of the eloquence of Peter. They lost because the lame man whom they could do nothing with was healed by Peter who now had gained popularity. They bent to public pressure. They could only threaten Peter and John but not physically torture them.
Peter and John returned to their friends (Acts 4:23). Were these members of a core group within the Christian community? We can't tell.
After hearing Peter's report, they all prayed together. More and more, they saw themselves on the side of the Messiah and the Jewish Council, Herod, Pilate, Gentiles and the peoples of Israel who had taken part in the killing of Jesus outsiders (Acts 4:27).
Sovereign Lord, who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them (Acts 4:24b, Psalm 146:6).
This is the basic tenet of Jewish creed, that God is the Creator of the universe. This was also the first time Christians confessed their belief in the Creator God. They began to see themselves the true Israelites to replace those rebellious peoples of Israel who banded together with Gentiles and evil rulers to kill the Saviour. Furthermore, they were able to see that all that had happened were actually God's plan.
to do whatever thy hand and thy plan had predestined to take place (Acts 4:28).
But the threats from the Jewish Council were real. The Christians could not afford to ignore them. Nor did they pray to be free from those dangers. Instead, they prayed that they could continue to bear witness in boldness and God continued to work miracles through the name of Jesus (Acts 4:29-30).
Once again, this incident shows that persecutions will never stamp out religions. Persecutions will only strength them, will only prove that the believers are right and the persecutors are wrong. The only way to destroy a religion is to fatten it, to make it corrupt from within. Of course, a government may not have enough resources to do so. Therefore, my advice is to live with it. It will die out if it is not a true religion.
What makes a religion a true religion? I think a religion is true if she is able to make her believers born anew. This is a huge topic and I can only sketch a few broad strokes.
Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1). He secretly visited Jesus at night in order to know more about him. Jesus told him about being born anew.
Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"
Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:4-6).
Of course, Jesus meant a spiritual renewal, not physical. Therefore, if a religion can renew the physical health of her believers, she is not yet a true religion. Only when she is able to renew the spirit of her believers, it is a true religion. Man has spiritual potentials which need to be awakened. When these potentials are awakened, man becomes more powerful.

My Lord, Creator of the universe. You come to redeem this shattered world. You choose to awaken the spirit of mankind to work with You in this redemption mission. Empower us with Your Spirit. Let us work together to make this world a better place to live, Your Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.

Appendix:
Sovereign Lord, who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them,δέσποτα, σὺ ὁ ποιήσας τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐ τοῖς (Acts 4:24b)
τὸν ποιήσαντα τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτοῖς, τὸν φυλάσσοντα ἀλήθειαν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα (Psalm 145:6 LXX, 146:6 MT).

Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things?
The kings of the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed ἱνα τί ἐφρύαξαν ἔθνη καὶ λαοὶ ἐμελέτησαν κενά;
παρέστησαν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ (Acts 4:25b-26).
Ἵνα τί ἐφρύαξαν ἔθνη καὶ λαοὶ ἐμελέτησαν κενά;
παρέστησαν οἱ βασιλεῖς τῆς γῆς, καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες συνήχθησαν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ κατὰ τοῦ κυρίου καὶ κατὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ διάψαλμα (Psalm 2:1-2).