Which religion (if any) is the truth?

Question

Please provide evidence as to why you think so. Is there anything that supports your particular religion not being based on man-made ideas or previous religions?

Answer 1

A lot of religions share similar themes. Most have taken ideas from past religions and sort of reformed them. It can be confusing with so many religions out there. I take a anthropological mostly agnostic view on religion. I know there is something, but who knows what, and who knows which religion is the one to follow.

Answer 2

All have some truth, some truth of ideas, some true advice on how to best live your life, but all religious texts have been written by man, and man is fallible, man lusts for power and money and will induce fear into men with weaker hearts to gain control. Man makes mistakes and does not always interpret god's divine inspiration correctly. This includes myself. While I will say that I have had many spiritual experiences and even believe that god has appeared to me, I could be wrong my interpretation of the message god sent me.

The real truth, is that spirituality is a very personal issue for a person. One must decide what one believes on ones own. The truth about god is that no one can ever know god's true nature during their life - one can guess and draw from their personal experiences, but we all make mistakes and believe what we want to believe sometimes. We will never know the truth about god's existence until we take our last breath and our souls leave our bodies to go to the world beyond this one.

This is the real truth - and I think a lot of people are afraid to admit it. They hide behind whatever religion they were taught as child and cling to it because it's all they know. This is not true of everyone, though, we cannot assume to think everyone in a certain religion acts the same way and believe the same things.

The only evidence I have to support the ideas I have expressed here are my own personal experiences and reasonings. As a very analytical, logical reasonable person, I took a step back from the Christian teachings that were forced on me as a child and looked at the religion from a rational point of view. Nothing made sense except the idea of the Golden Rule: Do unto others has you would have done unto yourself, which my parents had taught me long before I heard it in Sunday School. I went through a very dark period in my life after graduating high school, but have since been lucky enough to have been able to see the signs of god's existence for myself in some pretty amazing ways. I have no worries in my life, nor do I fear what will happen to me after I die - and unless god, whatever god is, gives me a reason - I will not classify myself as belonging to one religion or another.

Answer 3

There is no evidence that ANY religion is the truth (and I'm hoping you already knew this when you posted the question), even though quite a few claim to be. Usually the closer a religion is to being a cult, the more likely they are to claim they are the one and only truth (yes, Jehovah's Witnesses, you are a cult).

Religions are based on FAITH. Faith means it cannot be proven or disproven.

So.....the best answer is the one that rings best in your heart and mind, but don't forget to use some logic.

A good religion -
- doesn't constantly point to your inadequacies
- encourages you to use your gifts to the best of your abilities
- encourages you to treat all others with kindness
- discourages lying and hypocrisy
- gives you a moral guideline you can live by and teach to your children
- brings you peace

A LOT of fundamental religions spend their time severely restricting your lifestyle with rules that make no logical sense. Do you really think God is going to punish you for marrying someone of a different faith?

They create a standard of behavior no one can meet, so members will lie to hide their own failings (I never got this one because even if your elders or minister doesn't know..God sees all)

They are quickly judgemental of all that disagree and many, many discourage questions that are perceived to challenge their interpretation of the bible, instead of viewing such questions as a quest for deeper knowledge. They cast off those that question and challenge. Independent thinkers are cast out.

Answer 4

There is no true religion because they are all made up.


There are literally thousands of religions being practiced today. Here are 20 of the most popular, along with an estimate of the number of followers:

Christianity: 2.1 billion
Islam: 1.3 billion
Hinduism: 900 million
Chinese traditional religion: 394 million
Buddhism: 376 million
African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million
Sikhism: 23 million
Juche: 19 million
Spiritism: 15 million
Judaism: 14 million
Baha'i: 7 million
Jainism: 4.2 million
Shinto: 4 million
Cao Dai: 4 million
Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million
Tenrikyo: 2 million
Neo-Paganism: 1 million
Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand
Rastafarianism: 600 thousand
Scientology: 500 thousand
[Source: Encyclopedia Britannica]

If you believe in God, you have chosen to reject Allah, Vishnu, Budda, Waheguru and all of the thousands of other gods that other people worship today. It is quite likely that you rejected these other gods without ever looking into their religions or reading their books. You simply absorbed the dominant faith in your home or in the society you grew up in.

In the same way, the followers of all these other religions have chosen to reject God. You think their gods are imaginary, and they think your God is imaginary.

In other words, each religious person on earth today arbitrarily rejects thousands of gods as imaginary, many of which he/she has never even heard of, and arbitrarily chooses to "believe" in one of them.

The following quote from Stephen F. Roberts sums up the situation very nicely:

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."

A rational person rejects all human gods equally, because all of them are equally imaginary. How do we know that they are imaginary? Simply imagine that one of them is real. If one of these thousands of gods were actually real, then his followers would be experiencing real, undeniable benefits. These benefits would be obvious to everyone. The followers of a true god would pray, and their prayers would be answered. The followers of a true god would therefore live longer, have fewer diseases, have lots more money, etc. There would be thousands of statistical markers surrounding the followers of a true god.

Everyone would notice all of these benefits, and they would gravitate toward this true god. And thus, over the course of several centuries, everyone would be aligned on the one true god. All the other false gods would have fallen by the wayside long ago, and there would be only one religion under the one true god.

When we look at our world today, we see nothing like that. There are two billion Christians AND there are more than one billion Muslims, and their religions are mutually exclusive. There are thousands of other religions. When you analyse any of them, they all show a remarkable similarity -- there is zero evidence that any of these gods exist. That is how we know that they are all imaginary.

Answer 5

I could go on forever about why I think Christianity is the one true religion for me, but that choice has to be made by you. Each person who has a religion thinks that their religion is right for them. And they can give you reasons. You have to decide what you believe based on your own decision and not the opinions of others.

Answer 6

All religions cant be true. Logically, truth cannot contradict itself.
Many religions demand absolute truths that contradict each other.
Saying that whatever works for you is true, is very poor logic.
Its called appeal to emotion, just because you believe something is true, does not mean it is true!!
A few thousand years ago everyone thought the earth was flat, does that mean it was true then? No.
Either there is a right religion out there, or none of them are right. Choose wisely

Answer 7

Jesus came to earth to live life as a man. That is documented multiple times in secular publications of the time. So that He existed there is little room for doubt.

He was a great teacher, but many of the day found Him threatening. He had thousands (not just the 12) who followed Him from place to place. He was such an effective teacher that he intimidated the religious class of the day. They saw the indulgence granted by the Romans at risk because Jesus stated the truth, so they schemed & plotted until the finally got Roman buy-in to crucify Him. Again this is not only documented in the Bible but in other places as well.

Last, to be crucified by the Romans was no great shakes. They crucified dozens of people every day. But Jesus, again documented by secular people of the day (most notable Josephus), and hundreds saw Him. This, coupled with the records of His miracles and His teaching, is proof enough to me. Add to that the actions of His followers (most of whom were martyred) and I have a reasonable reason historically to believe.

But the real proof is in the effect He has on the lives of millions of believers & myself today. I saw the effect His love had on others but thought cynically that it was mass hysteria, hypnosis or perhaps just feeble mindedness. What I found out when I was pouted to the breaking point is that when we ask, He will be there. When we realize that we need Him, He is here for us immediately. And once we have made the decision to be followers, life change in many ways – so imperceptible at first but then the cumulative effect grows overtime and cements our relationship and faith.

I hope this helps you. Even if not, it helped me because I need to remember what I believe& why. I want to publicly thank God for caring enough about a most unlovable personal like me and for offering His son as the bridge to gap the distance between us. May God bless you & your search for freedom & truth.

Answer 8

they are ALL the truth. whatever religion a person believes in is the truth to THAT person. i don't think religion should be put into a truth or lie category. religion is a belief. if you believe in something then it is true to you. it doesn't matter what religion you personally believe in. what does matter is what you feel by believing (or not believing). as for proof look at the world. there are MANY different religions and each and every one is the truth to its followers.

Answer 9

As I'm a muslim I should tell you Islam, and I can give you tens and tens of the miracles - obevious sceintific miracles- that has been stated in the Quran and modern sceince has proved it to come true
But I want you to clear your heart and start searching in all religions, get details from the sources of the schoolars of each, and ask questions, then only you can find the truth and believe in it
Please note that, Muslims believe in Jesus as one of greatest prophets, his bible , his miraclous birth and that he is still alive up in the heavens
Muslims also believe in Moses as one of the greatest prophets and his teachings
At any time if you or anybody wants to know about Islam , I'll be happy to help.

Answer 10

The Truth? The truth of religion is that many claim to have the truth but you must study extensively to understand the truth. All of the mainline religions claim reference to a deity in the form of a man who has claimed enlightenment -- most all of the "isms"
examples Buddhism, Confucius-ism, Hinduism etc. Then there are many that claim source documentation from many different book written by a man, examples Mormon's, Islam. Then there is Christianity. Almost all claim to use the Bible as a reference, but !!! do not follow the teachings in the Bible. After considerable study I have come to the conclusion that only one religion out there truly adheres to the teachings of the book and personage that "founded" the theocracy that is being practaced. That one is Jehovah's Witnesses.

FIRST: They believe that there is only one true God - that person being Jehovah. See Psalms 83:18, Exodus 6:3, and Isaiah 12:2 and 26:4 in almost any King James version of the Bible. His name is represented in the orginial Hebrew and Arimaic texts and the Greek texts of Bible over 7000 times by the Hebrew letters that translates into English YHWH. It is known as the Tetragamatan and represents the Name of God. The literal translation of the name of God is " He Causes to Become"

NEXT: They believe that, 1: Jesus Chirst is his Son. 2. Jesus is not part of a trinity - a three person god. See John 14:28. (the term "trinity" isn't even found in the Bible.) 3. Jesus was sent to earth by Jehovah to fulfill his promise to mankind to supply a ransom for the sin of Adam. 4: That Jehovah will soon bring an end to "this system of things" in a war know as Armageddon. See Matthew 24:1-14 and the book of Revelation. At that time Satan and his fellow angels and demons will be placed in an abyss and bound for a thousand years. See Revelation 20:1-3 Only those that have believed in and followed the directions and commandments of Jehovah and his Son Jesus will survive that war and survive into the new kingdom. 5: Jehovah will then establish is "kingdom on earth as it is in heaven" placing Jesus over it for 1000 years. During that 1000 years the earth will be returned to a Paradise as was orginally intended for Adam and Eve to inhabit. 6: During this 1000 years the resurrection will take place See Acts 24:15. Those that died "righteous" as mentioned in the Bible such as Abraham, Rahab -- those who were declared righteous as to friendship with Jehovah See James 2:21,23,25. Those that were "unrighteous" are those who were never given a chance to learn obedience to Jehovah's laws and regulations as perscribed in the Bible. 7: At the conclusion of the 1000 year period there will be a final test when Satan is and his fellow angles and demons are released to test mankind one final time. 8: Those that survive that final test and remain faithful to Jehovah will be rewarded with the granting of of everlasting life on earth.

Finally: The gift of everlasting life is available to everyone. Revelation 22:17 says "And the spirit and the bride keep on saying: 'Come!' And let anyone hearing say: 'Come!' And let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life's water free." I invite you to approach one of Jehovah's Witnesses for a free Bible study. You probably know one. They will help you understand the Bible and "You Can Live Forever in Pardise on Earth"

Answer 11

In all other religions you work your way up to heaven or Godhood in Chrisitanity we know you cannot work make it to heaven becasue noone is good enough. Therefore Jesus reaches down in grace and says recieve me and I will save you and he does. It is your decision but it is a free gift. The support is in the personal relationship. We can have a personal Relationship with God the evidance is spiritual in nature. And unless you have had the relatinship I cannot begin to tell you what how profound and wonderful it is.