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All religions: one and the same?
- Thread starter Sundance
- Start date
The question was 'are all religions the same?" not are all life viewpoints the same?
Religions within religious groupings are pretty similar, the grouping themselves are quite different
Abrahamic - Judaism, Christianity, Islam are similar, based on hebrew scripture but are somewhat different to Indo European faiths which tend to Gnosticism.
Further away still are Indian religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism etc. Then the far east has Taoist type religions including Confucianism and many folk religions which are very different from African folk religions.
1robin
Christian/Baptist
Why would a good God put a few nuggets of divine truth in thousands of different mountains of man made garbage?
All the worlds religions make contradictory claims to absolute truth.
1. At best only one could be true.
2. Truth is exclusive.
3. Specific claims ought to be true and would be exclusive by default.
4. There is only one answer to 2 + 2 = it excludes every answer except 4.
Thank you for the sentiment. My argument is based on the logical law of non-contradiction. It is formerly stated as X cannot = X' at the same moment. You can't imagine how many arguments can be based on this simplistic principle which has no known exception.
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The Emperor of Mankind
Currently the galaxy's spookiest paraplegic
No, all religions are most definitely not one and the same. Some religions focus on eventual reunification of our souls with a monolithic god, some help aim us towards breaking a never-ending cycle of birth, death & rebirth, others are escapist faiths that teach us to dream of better days that will happen when we die, other religions teach us to focus on the here-and-now in order to make the world a better place.
Some religions preach the presence of one god (who may or may not be the Universe & everything in it), many religions preach the presence of multiple deities, some talk about spirits. Some religions teach pre-destination, others do not.
You would have to be wilfully ignorant to insist all religions are the same. If you sit down and look at even the basic tenets of other faiths you will see differences in just about all of them. Religion encompasses a kaleidoscope of beliefs.
Aye, I suppose such an assumption made me sort of ignorant in the past, dear Scots. Thanks for the response, dude.
I am not seeing it, myself.
Quite on the contrary. I don't think anyone can honestly help but put such limits at some point, although many a person would prefer not to.
Rasainthiran Menayah
New Member
I voted No, because I believe that there is and can be only ONE GOD; but millions do not practice this.
Unconsciously people practice what they believe, so all religions cannot be one and the same.
Unconsciously people practice what they believe, so all religions cannot be one and the same.
VioletVortex
Well-Known Member
Yes, with the exception of a few.
Erebus
Well-Known Member
Eh, depends on how broad a net you want to cast. There's always the argument that every human endeavour can in some way be traced back to a need to survive and breed. Religion can certainly be viewed in the same way if you wish.
I do think that's probably boiling things down a bit too much though. I'd liken religions to literature instead. There are many books to read and a lot of them tell similar tales. That doesn't mean they're all the same book though. It also doesn't mean that it's pointless to pick up another when you've already read one.
Socratic Berean
Occasional thinker, perpetual seeker
I think there is merit in the argument that the vast majority of religions are the same, in that they require adherents to perform some type of works to approach the end goal, whether that be some form of heaven, reincarnation at a higher level, oneness with the universe, cosmic connection with Gaia, or other. One must perform a certain number of prayers each day, do good deeds, meditate in a certain fashion, or engage in some form of ritual or sacrifice to make progress.
There is only one belief system that I am aware of that takes a very different approach--where a deity tells adherents that they simply cannot do it on their own and where adherents must accept that they are inadequate for the task and put their trust in a spiritual lifeboat, so to speak, to move toward the goal. That said, there may be other religions out there besides Protestant Christianity that take this different approach.
(Based on unsound exegesis, often including confusion over old covenant and new covenant issues, some will argue that the Christian scriptures also command good works to reach the end goal (salvation), but if you carefully study those passages, the behaviors and actions are not to achieve the end goal (salvation), but are the expected outward signs of those who have made the commitment to this particular path, an expression of adherent's identity with this path. As Martin Luther said, reaching the end goal of Christianity--all that is needed--can be summed up as "by grace alone, through faith alone, in the Messiah alone." No rituals, no works, as laid out in scripture.)
There is only one belief system that I am aware of that takes a very different approach--where a deity tells adherents that they simply cannot do it on their own and where adherents must accept that they are inadequate for the task and put their trust in a spiritual lifeboat, so to speak, to move toward the goal. That said, there may be other religions out there besides Protestant Christianity that take this different approach.
(Based on unsound exegesis, often including confusion over old covenant and new covenant issues, some will argue that the Christian scriptures also command good works to reach the end goal (salvation), but if you carefully study those passages, the behaviors and actions are not to achieve the end goal (salvation), but are the expected outward signs of those who have made the commitment to this particular path, an expression of adherent's identity with this path. As Martin Luther said, reaching the end goal of Christianity--all that is needed--can be summed up as "by grace alone, through faith alone, in the Messiah alone." No rituals, no works, as laid out in scripture.)
Hell no. That's monotheist universalist nonsense and just flat out wrong.
Socratic Berean
Occasional thinker, perpetual seeker
Can you elaborate? Do you have another belief system in mind that has a faith-based, instead of works-based, path to the end goal?
I wasn't directly replying to you, but to the OP in general. I do think your post makes a good point about Christianity. I'm not a Christian at all but my religion is about works.
Socratic Berean
Occasional thinker, perpetual seeker
Fair enough. Thanks for the clarification and for sharing about your belief system.
All religions: one and the same?
What is religion? If you use the word real loosely, differing religions can never be the same. They can never co-exist, as the bumper sticker says. If they are the same, are you going to worship my God? Or will I be expected to worship your god? There are pieces within each and every religion that is the same throughout the universe. Praise, worship, prayers, singing, fellowship, discipleship, education, and much more that happens within each and every religion. But the bottom line is that there is a God that is worshiped in most religions that isn't the same from one to the. As for me and my house, we will only serve the Lord. (the Christian God of the Bible)
ronandcarol
What is religion? If you use the word real loosely, differing religions can never be the same. They can never co-exist, as the bumper sticker says. If they are the same, are you going to worship my God? Or will I be expected to worship your god? There are pieces within each and every religion that is the same throughout the universe. Praise, worship, prayers, singing, fellowship, discipleship, education, and much more that happens within each and every religion. But the bottom line is that there is a God that is worshiped in most religions that isn't the same from one to the. As for me and my house, we will only serve the Lord. (the Christian God of the Bible)
ronandcarol