see topic
opinions are welcomed
for a start there are many different religions in the world, but assuming you mean do they all follow the same guiding principles, i would say that there are different versions.
if you look at the progression of anchient religions, such the the conversion of the roman numina into the anthropomorphic gods that appeared later, there is a distinct difference in the principals and worship of the new religion.
although some religions follow some of the same principals, for instance judaism and christianity, there are still many differences, and it would be too much of a generalisation to state that they are basically the same.
i accept that most religions follow the concept of a deity (or deities), and have a basic moral code, however these similarities do not necessarily mean that all religions are basically the same. look at the differences between mithrasim and christianity, and then try to establish that all religions have the same basic principals.
I agree. I agree there are many different religion(s).
Do you think there is only one TRUE religion?
Conceding this would seems a bit harsh, therefore, Id like to remain neutral on this topic.
Id like to think there is more than one way to salvation. Some dont see it that way thought. I attended a Christian Bible study recently and this question came up. The volunteer heading the study session, was bruttally honest and concluded Christianity was the only way to “be saved” and enter eternal salvation. I wasnt that shocked though. It makes sense. (There is only one way to eat…and thats through your mouth) likewise there can be only one way salvation…if it even exists right???
But im still neutral. There can be different verisions of the same religion, a lot of religions share the same foundations and myths(heaven/hell)
Are all religions based on myths?
Are all gods false?
I like to think not…whether it is a sense of security, or a spiritual pacifier, I like to think there is more out there. Without faith (in an unseen god) direction may become distorted…( Tolstoys life)
(what follows is not spell checked, nor grammr checked because im not at work but it shouldnt be that hard to follow)
After taking religions courses i can say yes their are many religions
even though i personally see jewish, christianity, and muslim religion as following the same god. Jews dont belive in christ, christions dont belive in alha, but its the same god. I was told by a friend of a muslim since i have had little conversation with muslims is that in joking the muslim friend said to sum up the diffrence between the three religeons is “when i pray i just skip the middle man.”
As far as hindu religions and other religions they are not even comparable to the rest.
Most of the rest are aboriginal and are to early to turn into monotheism and probably wont evolve again because of other culture’s influences. but if not touched they probably would have developed into a monotheisitc culture which holds its belife in a halfling god/man who does something great in their eyes.
I agree.
Do you think there is only one religion/way to attain eternal salvation/heaven?
i wouldn’t call Hinduism primitive, since it is the oldest surviving religion in the world, and strangely, the more i research, the more it, buddhism, gnosticism seem right on the money
No hinduism isnt primative, its just polytheistic.
This is from the top of my head so please correct me if I’m incorrect
In the Hindu tradition everything is part of Brahman who is the daddy of the Gods. Brahman has three main aspects which are worshipped as Brahma (creator), Vishnu (maintainer) and Shiva (destroyer). They are all part of Brahman. In the same way that a prism refracts a single beam of white light to form many colours, likewise the Hindu Gods are all aspects of the one Brahman. It could be argued that Hinduism is actually monotheistic in this way because everything is just an aspect of Brahman.
The doctrine of the three Gods is known as the Trimurti. Sounds strikingly like Trinity doesn’t it? I think it is a very western view to see Hinduism/Buddhism/Jainism/Taoism as poles apart from the monotheistic religions of western civilisation. There are more similarities than you would think. As well as doctrinal likeness they also share moral outlooks on life which is probably where the whole religion idea sprung from anyway.
what about ancient religions that are no longer followed, or have a minimal following. it’s been a while since i studied them, but as i recall they are very different to the religions practiced today. just because they are not popularly followed now does not mean that they are no longer revlevant. i think that the diversity of these religions, or cults proves how different religions are.
also, this brings up the question of smaller relgions. i don’t know enough about this to put together a decent argument, but smaller religions such as wiccan are very different to the major institutes such as christianity, in terms of sturcture, belief and practice.
(non spell chked non gramer chked)
Sure if God is the creater, Jesus is the maintainer and the holy spirit turns into a destructive force that rips whole citys or the planet itself for no reason other than to keep the circle of life going.
Its not comparable because they start in 2 diffrent ways and end in 2 diffrent ways and they dont meet in the middle. just because #s match doesnt make it a good comparasian.
trimurti sounds like trinity since sanskrit and latin/greek are both descended from the same lost language.
Basically the problem with smaller religions is the fact they do not have a set book to go by. The established religions all have a religious book to draw from. If say the wiccan churches could draw up a book then that would not only help their religion get more respect but also help it get a bit more wide spread.
But I could be wrong about wiccan’s not having a book. But its the same idea. The established religions established themselves by having a holy book to call on. And this doesnt just go for christianity, jewish, muslim, but it goes on earlier, older, dead religions that had a book.
Once things get in print it makes the spread of the words easier.
Now as for salvation admist all of the religions, no. Christinaity and jewish belifes hold that you must belive in their god and no other god, and you cant swear any oaths or have any ties to the other religions. Its a catch 22.
I think there must be different routes to ‘salvation’ if it’s a concept you choose to believe in. For example, Islamic doctrine acknowledges that it springs from the same roots as the Judeo-Christian tradition. People often say, “oh but Muslims believe in a different God, he’s called Allah.” What people should note is that ‘Al’ is Arabic for ‘the’ and ‘lah’ is a classical generic Arabic term for ‘God’ or ‘deity.’ It is the same God as that worshipped by Jews and Christians, and hence it must be true that this God accepts different paths to his bounty.
Imagine that there is only one ‘correct’ religion, and it is Islam, and all its followers are guaranteed redemption whilst members of other faiths are damned by default. That’s great for Muslims, but it means that Mike Tyson is going to heaven, ear biting, rapes and all, whilst Mahatma Gandhi, despite unshakeable pacifism and a true love of peace, is doomed to damnation because he was brought up in the Hindu tradition. Is that an acceptable outcome? No, so surely it must be the case that there are alternative routes to ‘salvation’ if the good guys are going to get saved - religion should be about living a good life, not about divisive labels.
Personally, I think people are too easily side-tracked by such labels and the ‘fine print’ of religious doctrine. The way I see it, most world religions have at their heart a message of peace, love, harmony (kumbaya!), moderation and cooperation - that should be the route to ‘salvation,’ whatever label you choose to give to it.
I agree with Jawaad. ( do u think Muslims condone Rape, and ear biting though?
)
I believe that there are several ways to salvation.
Im pretty sure In the bible it says Jesus is the only way, however.
Like i said. its a catch 22 in all salvation based religions.
It would be rather hard to have one true religion. A religion is basicly one of man’s ways of expressing something deeper.
It’s a persons experience with something bigger. Or it can be just some persons nice lil’ idea of getting some fame and glory. I don’t think there can be absolutes with the issues of religion, the super-natural, everyone sees everything different.
“One God Many faces”?
I hope you understand me. it’s late here if I stay infront of this screen any longer I might start drooling on my keyboard. 
Report this postReply with quote"One God Many faces"
by FrozenViolet » Fri Aug 02, 2002 9:00 pm
It would be rather hard to have one true religion. A religion is basicly one of man’s ways of expressing something deeper.
It’s a persons experience with something bigger. Or it can be just some persons nice lil’ idea of getting some fame and glory. I don’t think there can be absolutes with the issues of religion, the super-natural, everyone sees everything different.
“One God Many faces”?
there is one religion many parts… [size=150]humanity[/size], love it or leave it but leave us humans alone