Is it smart to claim "my Religion is superior"?

[Link]

Saying religions claiming to be the truth and above others are lesser religions for doing so kind of makes a contradiction. You saying they are false for deeming other religions inferior but deem them inferior for that.

 

[stvdv]

Saying religions claiming to be the truth and above others are lesser religions for doing so kind of makes a contradiction. You saying they are false for deeming other religions inferior but deem them inferior for that.

Your words, I NEVER said that. That is just your sneaky twisting of my words. I just called out your Adharmic "belitting" (hurting others), trampling their "soul".

BUT, I have seen your kind of argument plenty

Your argument (feeling 'superior') goes like this:
1) You belittle my Faith (trample my feelings)
2) I tell you "STOP hitting me, that's Adharmic"
3) You cry "You hurt me by telling me what I did"

Analogy:
A judge tells a murderer "It's Adharmic (not a righteous act) to hurt others.
Now the murderer weirdly defends himself by saying "now you do the same as I did". The judge called out "murder is wrong". That is different from "committing murder", Both do have the word "murder" in it, but that's all.

I hope you see the absurdity in your reply

Others definitely will see it

 

[stvdv]

I basically agree. The important thing is to treat others with decency, respect, inclusion and common sense.

Lots of people who have various religious beliefs and lots of people who have no religious beliefs try their best to do the right thing by other people every day.

I am curious what you think of my below idea:

We've rid ourselves of discrimination, at least it's worldwide accepted that this is not okay (acceptable) or in Sanskrit "Adharmic"

Coming straight to my point now:
Discrimination example is "My skin color is white, so I am superior than those having a black, brown, red, yellow or green skin color"

Is discrimination really gone, when a Christian claims "I am a Christian, and my Religion (skin color) is superior than your Religion"?

I know it's not about your skin color, and exactly the same, it's not about your Religion whether you are a good (who act Dharmic) person or not

To me, this whole concept of "my Religion is superior than your Religion" feels like discrimination, so I take it very serious

Note:
Best translation for Dharma I can think of is "righteous action", meaning in harmony with nature; without the need of the concept of sin. I use Dharma, because it's free from judgment, as far as I understand it. Dharma teaches that actions create reactions, be vigilant to act in such a way that you like your own created reactions

 

[blü 2]

I am curious what you think of my below idea:

We've rid ourselves of discrimination, at least it's worldwide accepted that this is not okay (acceptable) or in Sanskrit "Adharmic"

Coming straight to my point now:
Discrimination example is "My skin color is white, so I am superior than those having a black, brown, red, yellow or green skin color"

Is discrimination really gone, when a Christian claims "I am a Christian, and my Religion (skin color) is superior than your Religion"?

I know it's not about your skin color, and exactly the same, it's not about your Religion whether you are a good (who act Dharmic) person or not

To me, this whole concept of "my Religion is superior than your Religion" feels like discrimination, so I take it very serious

Note:
Best translation for Dharma I can think of is "righteous action", meaning in harmony with nature; without the need of the concept of sin. I use Dharma, because it's free from judgment, as far as I understand it. Dharma teaches that actions create reactions, be vigilant to act in such a way that you like your own created reactions

Those of my friends and relatives who are believers are not out to sell anyone anything. They're decent people treating others decently as they go through life. Their religious beliefs are personal to them.

The problems start with the proselytizers, I think ─ "I have something YOU need!!"

 

[Glaurung]

I don't think all religions are equally true or valid.

 

[stvdv]

Those of my friends and relatives who are believers are not out to sell anyone anything. They're decent people treating others decently as they go through life. Their religious beliefs are personal to them.

The problems start with the proselytizers, I think ─ "I have something YOU need!!"

Thank you, a good reminder. I believe I know, or am capable to get to know, everything I need to know (about belief)... so do others

And even much more fun, and rewarding to figure these things out ourselves

Thank you for sharing, you seem a very nice person, from what I've read from you so far.

Wish you all the best

 

[stvdv]

I don't think all religions are equally true or valid.

Do you believe Religion offers to us guidelines, directions to the Path which leads to the "Goal in Life", or do you believe Religion is the "End Goal" itself?

Do you believe we can reach our "Goal in Life" without Religion, without a Guru (spiritual Teacher), like Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Bahaullah or newer Prophets?

 

[Muffled]

I believe that superiority is based upon a value system and not everyone has the same values.

 

[Muffled]

What is truth?

I believe that is Jesus. Everything else is less than complete truth.

 

[Muffled]

Superior in what way?

That it validates my personal experiences more than other religions? If it didn't, what reason would I have to identify with it?

That it is objectively better than others? Given we have all had different experiences and varying beliefs based on these experiences, how would one even measure this?

Superior in that it offers eternal life. However that is only the case if you value eternal life and prefer not to be in Hell.

 

[SalixIncendium]

Superior in that it offers eternal life. However that is only the case if you value eternal life and prefer not to be in Hell.

IIRC (it's been a few years), it's Jesus that offers eternal life, not one's religion.

I may be eternal, but I certainly have no desire to live for eternity.

 

[Glaurung]

Do you believe Religion offers to us guidelines, directions to the Path which leads to the "Goal in Life", or do you believe Religion is the "End Goal" itself?

Christianity at its core is neither a religious philosophy nor a school of thought. Christianity at its core is a historical claim: a claim of divine revelation. That a little over two millennia ago the one and only deity became a man and paid the penalty of sin on our behalf. This claim upsets a lot of people. It has upset them for two-thousand years. The incarnation offends the Jews and the Muslims. Christ's exclusivity offends the pagans. And the moral law offends the secularists.

Do you believe we can reach our "Goal in Life" without Religion, without a Guru (spiritual Teacher), like Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Bahaullah or newer Prophets?

No. I am a conservative Christian rediscovering his faith. I believe there is either Christ or falsehood.

 

[Muffled]

IIRC (it's been a few years), it's Jesus that offers eternal life, not one's religion.

I may be eternal, but I certainly have no desire to live for eternity.

I believe then you are destined for Hell unless you fall into the exception.

 

[SalixIncendium]

I believe then you are destined for Hell unless you fall into the exception.

How do we know if I "fall into the exception?"

 

[Regiomontanus]

Below facts should make people wonder, who see their Religion as superior to other Faiths:

Truth has nothing to do with Religion

Righteousness has nothing to do with Religion

Peace has nothing to do with Religion

Love has nothing to do with Religion

Non violence has nothing to do with Religion

So,

Neither Theism nor Atheism is superior

As

Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non Violence can be achieved with or without Religion or Faith in certain systems, and were there long before Religion originated

Well, that is my view on this
What do you think, believe?

There is one truth = reality.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Below facts should make people wonder, who see their Religion as superior to other Faiths:

You are calling these things, "facts," but they are not. They are you own personal beliefs. That's fine. We all have our beliefs. But it is very difficult for folks to understand that not everything we believe is the same as a fact.

Religion serves multiple purposes, and one religion may be better at any one thing than another. Before I begin, it is worth noting that atheism is not a religion, so i will not be discussing it.

1. Religions give people a way to express our awe, reverence, and adoration. Historically, this began with our awe of the powers of nature. As time went on, some cultures developed a more nuanced understanding, being in awe of some source outside of nature.

2. Religions give us ethical codes. Not universally, but certainly as time went on, the old religions that merely appeased fickle gods fell away, while religions that offered something more substantial flourished. Part of this is giving to its community the tools they need to become better people if they so wish.

3. Religions give us close knit communities where we thrive and care for one another. Within these communities, we experience love, joy, structure, and safety.

4. Religions explain the inexplicable (or at least try).

5. Religions help us cope with the struggles and suffering of life, from losing a job, to dealing with death.

6. Religions help us bring order out of chaos by offering a structured framework of beliefs and practices that give meaning and purpose to human experiences.

7. Religious communities, when healthy, increase our wellbeing. Those involved with healthy religious communities are more likely to have better health, longer lives, and a buffer against anxiety and depression.

Now, returning to the question at hand....

Some religions are clearly going to excel at some things while others flounder.

For example, one religion may meet quite regularly and worship with incredible beauty, and have an abundance of festivals, holy days, and other joyous occasions. Other religions, hmmm not so good. Maybe they meet in a warehouse because they find no meaning in beauty. Maybe they don't sing. Maybe they have no holy days. But if I could use a metaphor, they are simply more plain and grey.

Another example... One religious community may be extremely loving, making all feel welcome, caring about the health and well being of all, even welcoming difficult questions. Another religious community may be a place of fear, where problems and doubts are kept secret lest one be shunned, where only the right kind of person is accepted.

You get the idea.

Now, apply the same sort of evaluation, but "add the scores" for all the purposes of religion. No religion is going to be perfect. But some will "score" better overall than others. Ideally, a person should be convinced that their religion is the one that scores highest, and then work from within on the areas that need improvement.

 

[Link]

A lot of religions don't believe there religion contains clear proofs and evidence. And that's subject to experience and views. So from that perspective, it's more understandable if a religion sees itself relatively equal to others.

 

[CG Didymus]

But my religion says it's superior, and since my religion is superior it must be right, therefore my religion is superior.

It wasn't that long ago that most people were just born into a religion... And probably told it was superior for one reason or another.

But now, I think more and more people are questioning their old religious beliefs.

There's a lot of bad religion. So being able to say that one practices good religion means it's superior to all the bad ones by default.

But some sects of some religions still make themselves out to have the right way to believe, therefore superior. And that also makes it the "only" way, which makes all the other not only inferior or bad... but false.

But for me, I get the feeling that all religions have a lot of stuff that is said to be true... but isn't. And what's bad, is that those religions insist on their followers to believe it as being the absolute truth.

In a way, the less unprovable, unbelievable stuff in it, should be good. But can people follow and believe in a religion that doesn't have a God that offers them peace and tranquility if the obey and that threaten them with fire and brimstone if they disobey?

 

[McBell]

My opinion is that if you believe your religion is SUPERIOR then you’ve fallen into the trap

What "trap"?

I did not vote simply because I would in good conscious have to select all the options.

 

[osgart]

But can people follow and believe in a religion that doesn't have a God that offers them peace and tranquility if the obey and that threaten them with fire and brimstone if they disobey?

Depends what you mean by religion. I'd like to see more seekers religions that don't put an emphasis on having the absolute truth. Maybe that would be classified as philosophy though. Religion as systems of faith and belief can perhaps reach a knowable truth. I feel that I've reached knowable truths in my religious pursuits. I'd love to see religions with ultimatums regarding their eternal fate or destiny disappear. There's a lot of unknowns a religious person needs to recognize to approach religious beliefs honestly.

I don't like to think of religion on terms of superior or inferior. Obviously the false ones are inferior. I like to think of religion in terms of what works for me and others as well and does not impede on living life.

If religion is all about the afterlife, moral authority, and faith in God or a higher power, then I really don't need it at all. I have beliefs about those things, but it's not knowledge.