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Do you think that the different religions are just using different ways to describe the same god?

Originally posted by Pax Chizzic
Do you think that the different religions are just using different ways to describe the same god?

ummm duh?

Originally posted by Pax Chizzic
Do you think that the different religions are just using different ways to describe the same god?

They are struggling to say the same thing, but not the same god.

No, some do but not all.

A lot of the differences certainly are very subtle.

They are struggling to say the same thing, but not the same god.

I thought that they were all the same god but with a different name?

I thought they were all the same God but with different implications.

Originally posted by Pax Chizzic
Do you think that the different religions are just using different ways to describe the same god?

Well, obviously.

Originally posted by spadoinkle
I thought that they were all the same god but with a different name?

God seems to be a common icon in most religions, but I think it is just way to express the unknown.

no. judaism is a straight transition from the polytheism and philosophy of the greeks but puts in the single god twist.
christianity takes the idea further and adds the concept of avatar of god into the mix as well as the trinity, which bases off, but doesnt limit to the previous judaic traditions {avatar is similar to many dharmic relegions in sum way, although that way is not god's trancendance} the concept of sacrifice is also sumwhat unique.
islam bases of both judaism and christianity, reduces a lot of the apparent mysticism and makes the rules a lot stricter and more in accordance with arabic custom.
all abrahamic relegions have hell and heaven as very similar.

the norse and greek gods are very similar and are very much like humans with little concept of morality and ultimate justice. there is no real judgement, just transition and glory in ragnarok n stuff.

hinduism has different parts. some deal with the philosophy of trancendance of conciousness and uniformity of all things and the creation of the world/ on the other hand, you have pantheonic type beleifs and long fables and love tales and tales of petty character/revenge etc etc which are just basic mythology also found in the relegions of japan of amaterasu.

zoarastrianism ive forgotten about. wicca is just worshipping beauty and nature and trying to be in tune with nature and gaea and stuff.

eastern chinese beleifs and stuff about yin/yang and shintoism n stuff talk about philosophy n harmony and lotsa other stuff.

buddhism is very unique as a relegion{if u take it as such} having the major aim of ending suffering and explaining that its besis lies at desire. and trying to find the truth of your ownself and the world around you which leads to hapiness according to the philosophy.

lotsa different things there.

All religions delineate the relationship between phenomenal reality (which certainly includes human beings) and a transcendent reality, (which may or may not center on a single god). Broadly speaking, the major Eastern religions (starting with Hinduism) have tended to focus more on the mystical aspect of this relationship; the major Western religions (beginning with Judaism) have focused more on the ethical relationship.

Originally posted by Pax Chizzic
Do you think that the different religions are just using different ways to describe the same god?

All rivers end up in the sea...

There are many differences in any religion. But yes, there are also broad and unifying themes that can be drawn between them.

A great (probably the best) source for this line of thinking would be Joseph Campbell, who during his lifetime was the world's foremost expert on comparative mythologies and religions. The Hero With a Thousand Faces is his magnum opus and is dedicated to this very theme. Most of his other works extrapolate on the nuances of this and similar ideas.

The connections can go beyond simply the concept of God, all the way to the most basic stories, motifs, hero/savior figures, and lessons. If I could impart one religious truth to people, it would be this idea, and how it should unify people rather than divide them (which it inevitably does).

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
God seems to be a common icon in most religions, but I think it is just way to express the unknown. The unknown goes by many different names to comfort the many. To explain the unexplainable and make it personal would mean to give it names. To understand it would give you privilege to teach it. To give you privilege to teach it gives you followers, to give you followers gives you power, to have power would give ego and dominate. To have such a voice would take away from what a personal relationship is all together.

afterlife, sum sort of justice, divine purpose, companionship to an extent, explanation of unexplained phenomenon, justification of morality , justification of social norms and conformity, a way to channel prejudices and spite. etc etc etc

Originally posted by leonheartmm
no. judaism is a straight transition from the polytheism and philosophy of the greeks
That statement is unbelievably retarded when you consider that Judaism predates greek philosophy.

Originally posted by leonheartmm
eastern chinese beleifs and stuff about yin/yang and shintoism n stuff talk about philosophy n harmony and lotsa other stuff.
Boy you've sure shown the depth of your insight here....

^for the less thick among us, i was trying to be overly general and hurried. and by greek, i do not necessarily means zeus, i just cudnt think of a very good term to use for the region before greece. im generally talking about the evolution of ideas as karen armstrong describes in sum of her books like the battle for god n stuff.

Originally posted by Pax Chizzic
Do you think that the different religions are just using different ways to describe the same god?

That's not possible. The Koran asserts that "There is no god but God." and then Shintos believe that rocks and trees have spirits, as well as in hundreds of personified gods.

Now unless the Koran is being metaphorical or just joking around (as well as any other religion that states its the one true path), then that's simply not possible.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Now unless the Koran is being metaphorical or just joking around (as well as any other religion that states its the one true path)

Would these asinine claims extend to Christianity, in your estimation? It is, after all, the one true path to salvation through Jesus.

Originally posted by DigiMark007
Would these asinine claims extend to Christianity, in your estimation? It is, after all, the one true path to salvation through Jesus.

Why is it asinine? But to answer you, yes, from the Christian viewpoint. But my point still stands that not all religions can be valid.

Maybe its Christianity, maybe its Islam, maybe its Buddhism, I don't know. But they all can't be correct.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Why is it asinine? But to answer you, yes, from the Christian viewpoint. But my point still stands that not all religions can be valid.

Maybe its Christianity, maybe its Islam, maybe its Buddhism, I don't know. But they all can't be correct.

maybe. but if there is a god, maybe he's taken pity on the other beliefs and created a heaven specific to there belief, if they've been true to their belief structure. chew on that 1

Originally posted by chickenlover98
but if there is a god, maybe he's taken pity on the other beliefs and created a heaven specific to there belief, if they've been true to their belief structure.

Yeah, it's called Hell.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Yeah, it's called Hell.

thats a new one, hell is now heaven. you try saying that seriously to anyone religiousand they'll laugh at you/hit you

Can you think of a religion that has an alternate Heaven for disbelievers?

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Can you think of a religion that has an alternate Heaven for disbelievers?

no, but if your god truly "loves" all of his creations then wouldnt there be. o wait, your god isnt compassionate, he's just an *******

Originally posted by chickenlover98
no, but if your god truly "loves" all of his creations then wouldnt there be. o wait, your god isnt compassionate, he's just an *******

I think compassion has its limits. When people constantly spread the word of God, and others stubbornly ignore it, or treat it like a lie or the rantings of a crazy man, I don't think God takes too kindly to that. It reminds me of the old addage "You can't help those who don't want to be helped".

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Can you think of a religion that has an alternate Heaven for disbelievers?

and unfortunately, the real religion, would be mormonism. after being punished for 1000 years that is

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
I think compassion has its limits. When people constantly spread the word of God, and others stubbornly ignore it, or treat it like a lie or the rantings of a crazy man, I don't think God takes too kindly to that. It reminds me of the old addage "You can't help those who don't want to be helped".

well, eternal love kinda is.......eternal

Originally posted by chickenlover98
well, eternal love kinda is.......eternal

Who know's...

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Who know's...

Chuck Norris

Originally posted by chickenlover98
and unfortunately, the real religion, would be mormonism. after being punished for 1000 years that is

What? It's not that old.

Originally posted by chickenlover98
Chuck Norris

Got killed by Bruce Lee in Return of the Dragon.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Got killed by Bruce Lee in Return of the Dragon.

and then bruce lee died from having his brain swell he got WTFPWNED by painkillers

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
What? It's not that old.

thats what the mormon doctrine says

Originally posted by chickenlover98
and then bruce lee died from having his brain swell he got WTFPWNED by painkillers

That's bull. He was killed, and it was blamed on pills in the same way as Marylin Monroe.

Originally posted by chickenlover98
thats what the mormon doctrine says

That's what it says. Mormon scripture also says that Native Americans are descended from Israelites, which is factually untrue.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
That's bull. He was killed, and it was blamed on pills in the same way as Marylin Monroe.



That's what it says. Mormon scripture also says that Native Americans are descended from Israelites, which is factually untrue.

i never said it was true. you asked for an example of a religion where the non believers got to go to heaven. WALLAH!

Lol, you guys know more about my religion then most! Just to specify though, it is true (as far as I can tell) that the native Americans are genetically from Russia, not Jerusalem. It is also true that popular Mormon belief believes them to be from Jerusalem, not Russia. Of course I'm going to dodge this little point with technical details...I'll let you decide whether technical details matter!

Popular belief has nothin to do with it though. Here is how you tell whether it is actually Mormon doctrine:

You find it in the Book of Mormon
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/contents
You find it in the Doctrine and Covenants
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/contents
It is specified to be official (not personal) church beliefs by the quorum of the twelve or the president of the church


I'll admit though, in this case, you happen to be correct. I'll even give you the reference for you. The book of Mormon does imply that the residents of the American continent that Europe meets after Columbus' expedition include the descendants of Lehi.

1 Nephi 13: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/13 (hate to break it to you, but verses 4-7 probably doesn't refer to the Catholic church!).

If you read the prophesy, there is nothing to specify whether the Gentiles are European or Asian or anything else. So while science disproves popular Mormon theory, it really doesn't contradict the Book of Mormon (yeah, I know it comes darn close).

Just a little more about science too: the natives of North/South America are genetically three different cultures (one for the Aztec, one for the Incas, and at least one other), but I don't know which one except that some of them migrated from Russia.

Oh, plus one culture for whoever pre-dated the Incas, I just remembered.

I always feel like I'm cheating when I bring up little technical details like this though.

Originally posted by Quark_666
Lol, you guys know more about my religion then most! Just to specify though, it is true (as far as I can tell) that the native Americans are genetically from Russia, not Jerusalem. It is also true that popular Mormon belief believes them to be from Jerusalem, not Russia. Of course I'm going to dodge this little point with technical details...I'll let you decide whether technical details matter!

Popular belief has nothin to do with it though. Here is how you tell whether it is actually Mormon doctrine:

You find it in the Book of Mormon
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/bm/contents
You find it in the Doctrine and Covenants
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/contents
It is specified to be official (not personal) church beliefs by the quorum of the twelve or the president of the church


I'll admit though, in this case, you happen to be correct. I'll even give you the reference for you. The book of Mormon does imply that the residents of the American continent that Europe meets after Columbus' expedition include the descendants of Lehi.

1 Nephi 13: http://scriptures.lds.org/en/1_ne/13 (hate to break it to you, but verses 4-7 probably doesn't refer to the Catholic church!).

If you read the prophesy, there is nothing to specify whether the Gentiles are European or Asian or anything else. So while science disproves popular Mormon theory, it really doesn't contradict the Book of Mormon (yeah, I know it comes darn close).

Just a little more about science too: the natives of North/South America are genetically three different cultures (one for the Aztec, one for the Incas, and at least one other), but I don't know which one except that some of them migrated from Russia.

So if you know that American Indians come from East Asia and not Israel, why do you still adhere to the religion?

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
Why is it asinine? But to answer you, yes, from the Christian viewpoint. But my point still stands that not all religions can be valid.

Maybe its Christianity, maybe its Islam, maybe its Buddhism, I don't know. But they all can't be correct.

I called them asinine because you did, just with different wording (I think you called them a joke).

And yeah, I agree, they can't all be right. In fact, with the infinitely more choices available outside of man-made religions, I'd say that the actual truth lies outsides ANY of them.

Originally posted by Quiero Mota
So if you know that American Indians come from East Asia and not Israel, why do you still adhere to the religion?

There are at least three possibilities in history that are compatible with the original prophesy from the Book of Mormon and with the genetic evidence that indicates the Native Americans were from East Asia.

From a purely logical point of view, I'm not going to pretend any of them are very likely, but I'd like to know for sure before I throw my religion out the window.

Originally posted by Quark_666
There are at least three possibilities in history that are compatible with the original prophesy from the Book of Mormon and with the genetic evidence that indicates the Native Americans were from East Asia.

From a purely logical point of view, I'm not going to pretend any of them are very likely, but I'd like to know for sure before I throw my religion out the window.

your religion is very recent, and also very unlikely. the southpark mormon episode just about sums it up(just kidding, but i still dont think the mormon religion is very likely)

No, I'm not going to pretend it's a likely religion. A boy goes out and prays about religion and is visited first by Lucifer, then by God the father and his son Jesus Christ and later confronted by an angel who lived from descendants of the Jews on a continent that wasn't supposed to have Jews...yeah. I know the odds are stacked against Mormonism. We're an odd one, I must admit!

But I think many Christians of many faiths would agree that if there is a God who actually loves his children all equally, he will eventually create a way to offer equal chances to all people, even those who never heard his word. I would simply argue that he already did it with the founding of Mormonism.