Is it possible to believe in several religions at once?

[George-ananda]

A university professor of theology (who did his PhD at Harvard so this suggests that he is intelligent person) Mark W Muesse, has an interesting approach to religion.

He doesn't subscribe to one religion but instead sees himself as different percentages of various religions including Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Jainism, Hinduism, Sihk etc. He adopts and believes in different aspects of these religions and makes it so that all his beliefs are compatible with one another.

My question is do you think such an approach to religion is workable or do you think it contradicts principles from the respective religions?

I think Truth is One but can be reached through different paths. Each major religion starts from an existing culture and time period so they may look different at first. When you reach the highest experience of each religion, then they shake hands.

 

[Vinayaka]

Personal progress has often been hampered by indecision paralysis. I'll think that my Christian roots can be reconciled with certain insights gained through other practices, but it just ends up causing confusion and frustration as I try to force squares into circular holes. Then I become discouraged, lose hope, and become more apathetic or egocentric. Single-mindedness is essential whenever pursuing a path. This doesn't mean one must be closed-minded, however.

Wise words indeed. Consider the heat from the sun when put through a magnifying glass. It burns only because it's narrowed down. Try burning off anava or karma by the sun at it's ordinary strength.

 

[Rational_Mind]

From a different perspective I do believe all major religions of the World originated from one God. Although, I don't believe them to have preserved their teachings as revealed.

It is a concept of Universality of Religions. It teaches me to love on another. I believe that Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, Krishna, Confucius, Peace Be Upon Them all were all true Prophets of God. There have been more than a hundred thousand of whom we only know of a few, moreover many of whom were later taken to be God by their followers.

Essentially all scriptures contain a call to One God, which can still be found upon close examination in their text today.

So I am perfectly in harmony with the followers of other Prophets, whom I am compelled to believe in and respect. It is not possible for me to offend their followers by disrespecting a Prophet of God.

 

[BruceDLimber]

>Is it possible to believe in several religions at once?

OF COURSE!

Baha'is do this all the time given that they believe almost all religions are legitimate and God-sent!

(That said, we can only be a member of one at a time, but that's a different question.)

I quote the Baha'i scriptures:

"There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly Source, and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except a few which are the outcome of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you."

—(Gleanings, CXI, pp. 217-8)

Peace,

Bruce

 

[Philomath]

A university professor of theology (who did his PhD at Harvard so this suggests that he is intelligent person) Mark W Muesse, has an interesting approach to religion.

He doesn't subscribe to one religion but instead sees himself as different percentages of various religions including Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Jainism, Hinduism, Sihk etc. He adopts and believes in different aspects of these religions and makes it so that all his beliefs are compatible with one another.

My question is do you think such an approach to religion is workable or do you think it contradicts principles from the respective religions?

He sounds like an Omnist to me.

 

[Jainarayan]

He sounds like an Omnist to me.

Interesting. I just looked that up Omnism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia It sounds complementary and supplementary to prisca theologia Prisca theologia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Contemplative Cat]

If. You can find a common thread they all have you can mix all of them together.
like in the other thread about Jesus.
Example: Jesus is one with God, yoga is union with God. Muslims worship the one true God, while some worship a one true. "Monad". Etc.

 

[Philomath]

Interesting. I just looked that up Omnism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia It sounds complementary and supplementary to prisca theologia Prisca theologia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I never heard of prisca theologia before, interesting.

 

[BSM1]

I think Truth is One but can be reached through different paths. Each major religion starts from an existing culture and time period so they may look different at first. When you reach the highest experience of each religion, then they shake hands.

To believe in many religions is to believe in none. However, finding truth in many places is a different matter.

 

[Aupmanyav]

My question is do you think such an approach to religion is workable or do you think it contradicts principles from the respective religions?

I do not think it is workable. Yes principles of one religion conflict with those of another. But of course, we can live together (in our own particular shells).

 

[Caladan]

Is it possible to believe in several religions at once?

No, but you can have your own ideas about their sensibilities or traditions and make your own conclusions for their merit while broadening your own worldview. To believe in the theological truth of all religions doesn't make sense and sounds like a new age brain melt which promotes the idea that superficial cherry picking from different sources can create a wholesome and informed world view... it doesn't. However one can interact with other cultures and religions and keep a life long habit of studying world religion. This at least doesn't demand charlatanism.

 

[crossfire]

Have you ever read anything by the Catholic monk Thomas Merton by chance? He said that his study of Buddhism made his Christianity jump out at him in ways he never expected.

Yes. I've seen the same thing.

 

[Sha'irullah]

It seems to me that if you truly are a practitioner of multiple religions at once you are just either forgetful or suffer from Dissociative Identity Disorder. I would not consider such a person sane obviously.

But lets keep in mind that there is a difference from theo-eclecticism which is the fusion of "elements" from multiple religions and religious universality.

 

[Philomath]

Back the OP's question yes it is possible to believe in several religions at once, I do. I believe all religions hold varying amounts of truth, some more than others. That's not to say I believe every religion is the "truth" though.

 

[sindex.1983]

In my opinion, all religions are based out of Truth, which is Natural Law, but then confounded with misleading dogmas that give people the wrong idea about some aspect of the world.

So in unifying all the dogmas of religions, one only becomes very confused - one has to shed the dogmas, and focus on the core spiritual teachings that most of the purported followers of these religions obviously ignore because of how they act...

Personally I read the teachings of Buddha right beside teachings of Christ, and if my moral compass - my conscience - tells me that they are in the right, then I integrate them. That way I know I am not being misled

Food for thought, hope you enjoy

 

[Philomath]

In my opinion, all religions are based out of Truth, which is Natural Law, but then confounded with misleading dogmas that give people the wrong idea about some aspect of the world.

What would you say this natural law is?

 

[sindex.1983]

What would you say this natural law is?

Sure, I'll explain it. We must go at it systematically.

First let's remember what Truth is: Truth is objective, meaning that is not based on the perception of human beings (which is capable of wavering). Truth is simply that which is. It is that which occurred in the past and that which is occurring in the present.

Perception on the other hand, is not reality. It is often out of alignment with Truth. So our Work is to align the two (such as learning Natural Law).

Now before I define Natural Law, let's look at what 'definition' means: Definition is a state of the exact meaning of a word. It is an exact statement or description of the nature, scope, or meaning of something. It is the degree of distinctness or clarity of an object, image, or sound. The more accurate our definitions for words or concepts are, the better our clarity of meaning, and therefore, our understanding, of what those words or concepts will be. It boils down to "clarity of meaning".

Natural Law is two words: Natural and Law. Natural is defined as "inherent; having a basis in Nature, Reality and Truth; not made or caused by humankind." Law is defined as "an existing condition which is binding and immutable (cannot be changed)."

Therefore, a working definition of Natural Law is: A Universal, non-man-made, binding and immutable set of conditions that govern the consequences of behavior. Natural Law is a body of Universal Spiritual Laws which act as the governing dynamics of Consciousness.

Natural Laws can be discovered - because they already exist, and have always existed. Beliefs on the other hand, are invented by the mind, in order to help align the perceptions with Truth (but of course, they often end up distorting it away from the Truth instead). If you jump off a cliff proclaiming that you don't believe in gravity, you will still plummet to an untimely death. There is a law at work which governs your behavior when you jump off cliffs; if you jump off a cliff, you must plummet. Therefore, Natural Law should be discovered, because it gives us an 'edge on reality' for discerning what behaviors to take, and what behaviors not to take, based on what consequences we desire to see happen for us.

In other words, in terms of Natural Law, belief is irrelevant. "There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what is not true; the other is to refuse to accept what is true." (a quote by Soren Kierkegaard)

Since we are analyzing Natural Law by way of our Consciousness, we should examine what Consciousness is too: It is the ability of a being to recognize patterns and meaning with respect to events taking place, both within oneself and in the realm in which the self exists and operates. (As I said in another post I made, your relationship to the universe is not optional.)

Consciousness expresses through actions, emotions, and thoughts (mind).

It takes great Love (openness) and discernment to uncover all the Natural Laws, even as they exist all around us, because by the time the mind has reached a stage in the being's life where it begins to wonder about Natural Law, it has already become clouded with its own erroneous beliefs.

There are Eight Principles which form the basis of the general principles of Natural Law. It would be possible for you to discover them on your own, if you were in the right frame of mind, but it is far easier for them to be told to you directly:

1. The principle of Mentalism: The ALL is MIND. The Universe is Mental. Thoughts lead to the manifestation of things and events. Thoughts create our state of existence and the quality of our experience here on Earth. Therefore, be responsible for everything you create by being responsible for everything that you think.

2. The principle of Correspondence: That which is Above is like to that which is Below. That which is Below is like to that which is Above. The Macrocosm (the very large; the totality) and the Microcosm (the very small; the individual units which comprise the whole) are reflections of each other. The Universe is Holographic; it is self-similar across all scales.

3. The principle of Vibration: Nothing rests. Everything moves. Everything vibrates. At the most fundamental level, the Universe and everything which comprises it is pure vibratory energy manifesting itself in different ways. The Universe has no "solidity," as such. Matter is merely energy in a state of vibration.

4. The principle of Polarity: Everything is Dual. Everything has poles. Everything has its pair of opposites. Opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree. Extremes meet. All paradoxes may be reconciled.

5. The principle of Rhythm: Everything flows, out and in. Everything has its tides. All things rise and fall. The pendulum-swing manifests in everything. The measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left. Rhythm compensates.

6. The principle of Cause and Effect: Every Cause has its Effect. Every Effect has its Cause. Everything happens according to Law. Chance is but a name for Law not recognized. There are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the Law.

7. The principle of Gender: Gender is in everything. Everything has its masculine and feminine principles. Gender manifests on all planes.

8. The eighth and MOST IMPORTANT principle - the principle which encapsulates all the previous seven - the Generative Principle: What you give attention to, you help to grow. CARE in this sense is not compassion, not love, but rather, direct attention to something and its related details. It also works inversely - by ignoring the negative, you are ensuring that more of it occurs. CARE is what you're giving your energy to, this is what you're focused upon, this is what you actually care enough about to do, to spend your time and attention on in the manifest world. What we care about on a day-to-day basis acts as the driving force of our thoughts and actions. Therefore, Care can be seen as the ultimate Generator of the quality of our experience. This Principle has been often referred to as the Generative Principle. The word generative is derived from the Latin verb genere, which means "to create". Before your heart, mind or your gut instinct can be honed - you must focus your CARE first.

(Incidentally, the 'G' inside the compass-and-square logo of the Freemasons represents the Generative Principle, or Genesis; it is only loosely related to God, Geometry, Gnosis, etc.)

You might have trouble accepting these laws as Truth because you believe that everything is an illusion - and in a way, you would be right to think so. But you must again refer to the fact that your relationship to the universe is not optional - you are being compelled to face your reality no matter what; this should indicate to you that there are systems in place that are all-binding, all-existent and beyond your control. Again, it does not matter what you believe, when it comes to Natural Law - you will always plummet off a cliff if you choose to jump over its edge.

Sorry for the length of this post

Food for thought, hope you enjoy, and Take Care