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Sun 7 Dec, 2003 04:09 am
Some people say that all religions are paths up the same mountain, ie God loves us all. Sometimes this seems reasonable but so many religions seem to completely contradict each other! What do you think?
I think religions are guesses about the unknown -- guesses that have gone amok.
Insofar as they all seem to be "guesses gone amok" -- they are indeed "paths up the same mountain."
But not Mt. God loves us all.
The mountain is Mt. I'm afraid to acknowledge that I don't know, so I'm gonna fake it.
Many spokes from the wheel to the hub.
My personal belief? There are about six billion ways of expressing God. One for each person on earth.
All different, all same.
(Sometimes I feel like a package of Dr. Bronner's soap.)
Dr Bronners almond or peppermint?
All One! Exceptions? None!
Too easy
But don't they sometimes disagree with each ohter strongly? Is this an easy way out?
Each person on earth, and one point or another, wants to understand his relation to the universe. With some people, they have focused on God, or Gods. Many people have clustered into discrete groups (religions), and each grouphave found similar ways to express their belief in a God, which varies from group to group.
If one assumes that all religions point to the same God, there is a presupposition that there IS a God. In our world, there are people who don't believe in God,others who don't know if there is a God, and others who think that their particular group has the "edge" in the knowledge of a God.
I'd rather listen to a good symphony!
So if people believe so many different things, how can it all be one and the same?
I was wondering the other day if all the stories could just not be true, but they are all a way of leading you to God. If this was the case, some literalists could have just grabbed completely the wrong end of the stick. What do other people think?
It isn't all one and the same. The fundamental beliefs are quite different in the various root religions that still exist today. Abrahamic religions are followed by the majority of believers, and their concept is directly in opposition to the beliefs of religions derived from Hinduism, Chinese beliefs, and shamanism. Some root religions are quite open to the idea that other religions have validity, and others do not. Some believe in a finite universe, and others in an infinite universe without a begining or end. Some follow an all-powerful single god, and others divide up divinity among a whole bunch of gods who have limited, or no powers. Some don't even have god(s), or admit to the concept of "souls".
I think that while the practices and rituals of religion are quite different, the ultimate goals, hopefully some sort of enlightenment, are all the same. Mind you, I'm the sort of person who tends to 'feel' my way through life, and while it may not always reap great rewards, it gives me insight into all human beings, and I tend to see more similarities than differences, despite religion.