If you believe in God, do you believe that every religion has a "different" God?

Question

I know a lot of religious people, Muslims, Jews, Christians, Hindu's, etc. They all believe in "different" God's. However, I'd like to pose a question to those religious enthusiasts. If you really believe in God, then why do you see your brothers as false believers. If I believe avidly in Krsna and you believe avidly in Allah then what, we both wait til we die and see who goes where? That's ridiculous!! There's only one God, and no matter the name, he's the same. My dad may call me son, my wife: husband, my teacher: student, my friends: friend, my children: father. Are they talking about a different person? No! Please give your opinions and answers without any "flaming" as I just honestly am looking for peoples reasoning behind their supposedly "different" beliefs.

Answer 1

I think you make an excellent point, and I've always believed that if there is a God, he's been the subject of many of the world's monotheistic religions.

Thusfar, out of interest alone - I've read the bible, and have gotten about 1/2 way through the Qu'ran. There's absolutely no question that those two Gods are the same... the Qu'ran repeatedly references Abraham, Moses, Mary, Jesus, and many others. What's really interesting is this... in both the old testament bible, and the Qu'ran, God is asserted as the 'one and only' God. In the Qu'ran, this belief is held constant. But in the new testament bible, Jesus is given place as the son of God. The Qu'ran, in contrast, gives him equal footing to Muhammed... that of a prophet. It's really amazing to me how THREE of the world's major religions can diverge and distrust each other to the extent Christians, Muslims, and Jews have when their holy books make it obvious that they're worshiping the EXACT SAME DIETY. I think this is an excellent example of how man's 'religion' often overwrites, distorts, and supplants the true teachings of God. Whether out of profit or out of ignorance, men take the simple messages of their respective 'books' and recreate them to fit their own needs.

I look forward to studying other monotheistic religions. I have no doubts that when I do, I'll find more evidence to support the 'One God' theory.

Answer 2

You are correct, the name is different bases on languages. However they all refer to the same Divine being.
However, there is a difference between the 3 monotheist religions Islam Christianity and Judaism, and Buddhism. Buddha was a man of flesh and blood venered and adored and given divine status. God in those 3 other religions was not a "living being", but rather a "concept".
I cannot speak of Hinduism, forgive me I never read anything about it. But I do agree with you in the sense, the same High Authority is called with a different name but represent the same exact being.
Atheist, Agnostics will not see any of this as believable or real or true, and I respect that. Religion is for who believes it, that's all.

A simple correction to one of the answers: the 3 monotheist religions believe in God as in the One and only, Jesus also being his prophet but not the messiah, as opposed to Christians. Islam is closer to Judaism than Christianity.

Answer 3

Thank you for your excellent question.

I believe in the One True God who has a Son called Jesus Christ who is the Salvation for Mankind.

There is only One God and yes other religions believe in other Gods or Spirits. Some religions believe in Stone, The Moon, have sacred animals and even idols made of rich metals. Some blatantly believe in Satan who is also a spirit but not Holy. So when people worship their Gods, worship is divided and therefore all the worship does not go to the One True God, only a portion.

The One True God who has a Son named Jesus Christ is a Holy Spirit, NOT a Stone, Moon, Animal or Idol made of rich metals and therefore people who worship different spirits or objects are not worshiping the ONE TRUE GOD!

Answer 4

i beleive there is only 1 god but as i have learnt about diffrences in each i beleive only in the end 1 religion 2 be right i think we have 2 look back at the first religion which was judism which was dictated my prophet moses and he mention the coming of a holy prophet after him then along came prophet jesus who perfected it and dictated the coming of a holy prophet whose name in the sky is Ahmad and on the ground is mohammad who perfected the religion then every1 wanted 2 change it 2 suit the era they were living in and applied there own rules 2 suit there lifestyle if u look in the TORAH which is the jewish book of revelations then look at the BIBLE (old testament not the new testement) and look at the QURAN u will fnd they are very much the same now u tell me what u think happened after that
now we have religiong popping from left right and center who created those religions no prophet i know or heard of

Answer 5

I would agree with you that there is only one God. The difference between beliefs comes down to what do we accept as the true revelation of that God. In other words, what is the basis for one's belief? God could poke His face through the clouds and tell us, but He has not chosen to reveal Himself in this way. How has He chosen to reveal Himself?

As a Christian, I believe it is through His Word, the Holy Bible. God has placed certain distinguishing marks in the Bible to make it clear that it is truly the Word of God.

1. It claims to be the word of God (2 Tim 3:16)
2. It speaks of future events before they happen
3. It's names, places and history have been verified through archaeological discoveries and secular literature.
4. It was written by forty authors over 1500 years in three different languages, yet there is unity throughout from Genesis to Revelation.
5. The teachings of the Bible work in everyday life. They help me get along with my wife, children, neighbor, etc. We would expect this from a document that is handed down to us by our Creator.

Answer 6

In Quran (Al Baqara 136) قُولُواْ آمَنَّا بِاللّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالأسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى وَعِيسَى وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمْ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ states that the core of the religions is the same for we all worship one God, The One And Only. Regardless of names, Allah, Yahweh, Jehovah

Answer 7

Actually, Muslims' and Christians' faiths are closely related. They both believe that Jesus was the Messiah. And the Jews believe in the same God also, just that Jesus was NOT the Messiah.

Good comparison though with being called son, husband, father, etc and still being the same person.

"A rose by any other name..."

Answer 8

If I am wrong, may God forgive me!

I am sympathetic to your question and I am pleased that you merely want honest and sincere responses.

What I have learned is that when we say God, we are calling upon the one and only God, just as you say. I do not believe when we say Krishna we are calling that same God. But hear this, God knows His name and He knows when we call Him - when we say God; when we say Father - whether we are calling in truth or in vain. By this token, we can expect a response from Him because we called His Name, regardless of where we worship. This is my belief!

I have friends, neighbours, colleagues, etc in every religion and they can attest to calling on Him and having Him respond to their call; to helping them in their time of need. God answers fervent prayer, the Bible teaches; so when we pray fervently, God hears and He answers! He knows His Name!

Answer 9

I think that there is only one God/Creator but we call our Creator by many names. God, Jehovah, Allah, and the Great Spirit are just a few names that different groups of people call the Creator.

Answer 10

God is God...by whatever name He is called. I certainly think that a person with an honest persuit of what is right and good for the community of man has found the Way...I have no qualms with other religions of honest belief systems...it is greed, hubris and zealousy that causes the problem.