Are almost all faiths pieces of a large puzzle

[Theweirdtophat]

I always thought almost all faiths had some truth in it. None of them all the answers, but they all had some answers. Perhaps the universe was never created and will never be destroyed, like how the Jains believe, and that there is not just one after life but multiple after lives to visit, such as the one described in Druidry, Heathenry, Christianty, Judaism, Islam, Baha'i, Buddhism and so forth, and that maybe you can visit one or all of the after lives. Maybe there is reincarnation like it described in Buddhism or Sikhism and perhaps we all merge with "God" or what some people might call "The Source" like in Sikhism.

Perhaps all of the mythological creatures as well as battles that took place also happened on Earth at some point in time. And quite a few have similarities on what happened on Earth. Notice how many religions mention of the great flood as well. Maybe by looking at them, we put together the pieces and they all come out on a giant puzzle. Just food for thought though.

 

[Thief]

and it is written....They shall be consumed....

 

[Father Heathen]

I suppose you could say it's a lot like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant
(In this case the "elephant" has a few prosthetics and deformities.)

 

[Father Heathen]

and it is written....They shall be consumed....

 

[arthra]

Maybe by looking at them, we put together the pieces and they all come out on a giant puzzle. Just food for thought though.

Since we Baha'is believe there is only one religion of God I think we can agree with that generally... of course there are pieces of the "puzzle" that relate more to the periods when they were revealed.

 

[wizanda]

Just food for thought though.

When God is one, then everything in reality is a part of that understanding...

The only way to ever establish what is truth, is by putting all the bits together, to examine the faults, so only by looking at the whole, do we ever come close to seeing the truth.

Not sure how people can say they follow Oneness, when they separate and divide, making distinctions of which god, book, and belief they like best.

one after life

Having had a NDE, there is only one afterlife; yet peoples perceptions shape it... As in a realm made of consciousness, what we perceive we manifest.

So to a Hindu, they will see what they've always expected, and the same for the rest....

By putting all the religions together, NDEs, it is possible to quantify what will happen from the many accounts.

Maybe there is reincarnation

Science has proven reincarnation, Christ taught reincarnation, Quran teaches it, Judaism has always accepted it (Gilgul), by placing all the religions together, we realize some have misunderstood their own text.

perhaps we all merge with "God"

The ultimate goal is the same, when we remove concepts of death, desire, and ego, to become selfless, we can then become one again with the pure consciousness of Oneness, and thus be near to God.

If you ask questions on how they fit together, can show lots of things we find in all, and how they're misconstrued not to fit together.

 

[LuisDantas]

Religions differ, obviously. It is painfully evident that they do not tend to cooperate or coordinate with each other either.

Quite on the contrary, many go out of their way to misrepresent the beliefs of other religions even as they co-opt those. It is not always or necessarily often a conscious or malicious decision, either. Even the OP misrepresents at least Buddhism.

That is natural and expected, really. Religions are not meant to be accurate far as representing other beliefs go. The average adherent is more likely to avoid such a burden than to pursue it. Therefore, it goes against the interests of survival of the faith if it gives a lot of importance to that worry.

It seems to me that religions are conditioned by cultural circunstances and we should simply accept that and work from there.

 

[bobhikes]

I always thought almost all faiths had some truth in it. None of them all the answers, but they all had some answers. Perhaps the universe was never created and will never be destroyed, like how the Jains believe, and that there is not just one after life but multiple after lives to visit, such as the one described in Druidry, Heathenry, Christianty, Judaism, Islam, Baha'i, Buddhism and so forth, and that maybe you can visit one or all of the after lives. Maybe there is reincarnation like it described in Buddhism or Sikhism and perhaps we all merge with "God" or what some people might call "The Source" like in Sikhism.

Perhaps all of the mythological creatures as well as battles that took place also happened on Earth at some point in time. And quite a few have similarities on what happened on Earth. Notice how many religions mention of the great flood as well. Maybe by looking at them, we put together the pieces and they all come out on a giant puzzle. Just food for thought though.

All faiths are either created by humans or God as such there would have to be a common thread. If created by humans it would be based on human knowledge and experience but even with a God that allows choice communication would have to be done though human knowledge and experience. If god makes the person believe than there is no choice. God has to teach through human knowledge to allow choice. If you were to look at all religions and science for a common thread based on experiences and knowledge you could define a God and you might be surprised at what is possible.

 

[viole]

I always thought almost all faiths had some truth in it. None of them all the answers, but they all had some answers. Perhaps the universe was never created and will never be destroyed, like how the Jains believe, and that there is not just one after life but multiple after lives to visit, such as the one described in Druidry, Heathenry, Christianty, Judaism, Islam, Baha'i, Buddhism and so forth, and that maybe you can visit one or all of the after lives. Maybe there is reincarnation like it described in Buddhism or Sikhism and perhaps we all merge with "God" or what some people might call "The Source" like in Sikhism.

Perhaps all of the mythological creatures as well as battles that took place also happened on Earth at some point in time. And quite a few have similarities on what happened on Earth. Notice how many religions mention of the great flood as well. Maybe by looking at them, we put together the pieces and they all come out on a giant puzzle. Just food for thought though.

Many religions mention a great flood because people have the habit to live near water storage systems which overflow sometimes. Add this to the ignorance that drove their belief to be the whole world, and there you have your "global" floods.

Ciao

- viole

 

[Theweirdtophat]

Religions differ, obviously. It is painfully evident that they do not tend to cooperate or coordinate with each other either.

Quite on the contrary, many go out of their way to misrepresent the beliefs of other religions even as they co-opt those. It is not always or necessarily often a conscious or malicious decision, either. Even the OP misrepresents at least Buddhism.

That is natural and expected, really. Religions are not meant to be accurate far as representing other beliefs go. The average adherent is more likely to avoid such a burden than to pursue it. Therefore, it goes against the interests of survival of the faith if it gives a lot of importance to that worry.

It seems to me that religions are conditioned by cultural circunstances and we should simply accept that and work from there.

I'd say it's obvious that there are similarities. People focus on the differences so much, they don't look at the similarities. Of course there will be differences, but they have some things in common. I don't misrepresent Buddhism and of course, there is no such thing as "just Buddhism". There's multiple branches with it's own belief systems.

They almost all mention realms that are inhabited by god or deities and they mention creatures in mythology as well as beings like angels, nature spirits ect. A lot of them I think are right in some ways. Buddhism does not have all the answers. Christianity doesn't or any religion but they do have some answers involving mythological beings, battles that took place in history, the afterlife, the fact that almost every religion practiced magic or energy work, ect.

Lots of religions mention a great flood which did happen in real life. I don't believe the entire world was flooded but quite a few areas were. And really it's not a stretch. I don't think it was caused by deities, but by natural means. An ice age happened and that is believable, but not a massive flood? Why would so many religions mention it. They are legends but legends always have some truth. Otherwise, they wouldn't be legends in the first place.

 

[بِسْم الله]

They all have commonalities because they are based on real events. And as time has passed different people added slight variations.

 

[Thief]

They all have commonalities because they are based on real events. And as time has passed different people added slight variations.

too bad the variations result in agression

 

[Neo Deist]

Many religions mention a great flood because people have the habit to live near water storage systems which overflow sometimes. Add this to the ignorance that drove their belief to be the whole world, and there you have your "global" floods.

Ciao

- viole

I'll add that oceanographers have found an ancient shoreline several hundred feet beneath the Black Sea. The logical theory is that a regional flood happened thousands of years ago, and the story of the flood grew from that event. The "world" to those people was that Africa-Asia-Europe greater Mediterranean area.

Incidentally, the oceanographer that found that shoreline, Robert Ballard, is the same guy that found the Titanic, the Bismarck, the Yorktown, JFK's PT-109 torpedo boat, etc. He is sponsored by the National Geographic Society. It does not get more credible than that.

 

[بِسْم الله]

too bad the variations result in agression

Indeed

 

[LuisDantas]

I'd say it's obvious that there are similarities.

People have fairly similar needs along the world, so of course some popular strategies to deal with them will develop.

There is a certain point where the similarities end and it takes wishful thinking to bridge the gaps, though.

People focus on the differences so much, they don't look at the similarities.

Not for lack of trying. It is commonplace for attempts to gloss over the differences to take place. It is a core component of several religions, as a matter of fact. I can name several that make a point of presenting themselves as the most recent, purest, correct implementations of other religions - and then go on to show basic misrepresentation of same.

People can and should care about the ill effects of misrepresentation of religions. Even and perhaps most of all when it is somewhat well intentioned.

Of course there will be differences, but they have some things in common.

There is having some things in common, and there is being completely different and incompatible. Those are not mutually exclusive categories.

I don't misrepresent Buddhism and of course, there is no such thing as "just Buddhism". There's multiple branches with it's own belief systems.

You call Buddhism reincarnationist, and that alone establishes misrepresentation.

 

[ThePainefulTruth]

Are almost all faiths pieces of a large puzzle
.

No. In most cases they are blots obscuring the Big Picture--especially Christianity, and above all the religion of peace through surrender, Islam.

 

[Ouroboros]

I always thought almost all faiths had some truth in it. None of them all the answers, but they all had some answers.

I think so now. I didn't used to think so when I was fundamentalist Christian. But I got better...

My view now is that religion, philosophy, and science are all in the same business of trying to understand ourselves, our world, and our existence and meaning in it. They have different approaches to it, and they're not equally successful in finding the answers. Religion tends to base their search on belief and revelation. The inner light turns on and you have a belief. The philosophers wants to think about the problems and solve it with their minds. Searching for the answers in logic. The scientists wants to find it in testing the actual things in the world. Meticulously mapping and experimenting on the rocks they find and hope to find the answer there. I think all of them have answers, none of them all answers.

 

[Ouroboros]

I suppose you could say it's a lot like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant
(In this case the "elephant" has a few prosthetics and deformities.)

Well, it's better than a group of blind elephants and one single man...

 

[Riverwolf]

The human brain is (generally) the same throughout all cultures (at least, relative to the brains of other apes), and there are many experiences which are universal to every member of our species (such as the Day/Night cycle). It only makes sense, therefore, that many independent cultures would have similar behaviors and stories.

This is only compounded in the cases of cultures that frequently interacted with each other throughout the years. Even before written records, there was plenty of interaction between the various peoples of the Mediterranean, West Asia, and Central Asia, which can be inferred simply from the vast reach of Indo-European languages even during Caesar's time. Such constant interaction and trade would naturally result in an exchange of ideas, and thus result in several similarities between their stories and cultures.

However, caution must be used when looking at cultures other than our own. Something we very frequently do when examining other cultures is to misunderstand, misinterpret, and misrepresent their ideas based on our own cultural conceptions. (Not deliberately, mind; something as simple as a language barrier can cause this). As a result, it's VERY easy to read in similarities between cultures where none actually exist, simply because we focus only on the cultures' superficial elements. Understanding other religions requires understanding the cultures they come from, because most religions are wholly inseparable from their native cultures.

 

[Walter Russell]

I always thought almost all faiths had some truth in it. None of them all the answers, but they all had some answers. Perhaps the universe was never created and will never be destroyed, like how the Jains believe, and that there is not just one after life but multiple after lives to visit, such as the one described in Druidry, Heathenry, Christianty, Judaism, Islam, Baha'i, Buddhism and so forth, and that maybe you can visit one or all of the after lives. Maybe there is reincarnation like it described in Buddhism or Sikhism and perhaps we all merge with "God" or what some people might call "The Source" like in Sikhism.

Perhaps all of the mythological creatures as well as battles that took place also happened on Earth at some point in time. And quite a few have similarities on what happened on Earth. Notice how many religions mention of the great flood as well. Maybe by looking at them, we put together the pieces and they all come out on a giant puzzle. Just food for thought though.

I spent several years as a Christian studying other religions. I've concluded that they all are allegorical teachings of AstroTheology, mixed in with spiritual wisdom.
Their are more similarities than differences when you see them for what they are.