As far as I understand all religions ask the believer to pray to God and have a personal relationship with him and then love your neighbour?
2007-01-14 23:37:22 · 25 answers · asked by aroundworldsports 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
yes just one big world wide con
2007-01-14 23:40:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
No, not really.
As much as I am a solid supporter of Interfaith work, we have to realistically acknowledge that religions *are* different.
In some, what you would call "prayer" doesn't exist. At least, supplicatory prayers don't exist. Ceremonies of praise, yes...but not begging for things to be different.
Also, the relationship of humans to the Divine is different - not subjects, not servants.
As far as loving your neighbor...well, that's a nice thought, but it's not universal to all religions either. And in some, it's not separate from loving concern for all things n the natural world - loving other humans is NOT more important than loving birds or water or weeds or insects.
And then we have to get into what we mean by "loving" your neighbor. In some religions, what the really means is trying to get your neighbor to be more like you (conversion) or holding your neighbor, in your own mind, as something less than yourself, so that "loving" him or her takes on a smug tolerance of their foibles, kind of like the affectionate superiority that many people feel towards children. And even that kind of "love" for your neighbord has qualifications on it, in some religions...because originally the whole "love your neighbor" developed in a world that was not so diverse in the microcosm. In those days, your neighbor was unlikely to have completely different views of the world from your own.
All in all, then, no, religions are NOT basically the same. Monotheistic religions tend to be similar to each other, and polytheistic religion tend to be similar to each other, but even within each group there are VAST differences.
2007-01-15 11:16:14 · answer #2 · answered by Praise Singer 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Many things are basically the same if you look at is narrow enough. For instance one could say that both Zeus and the God of the Bible are the same because both are supreme in heaven, or you can say that Judaism, Islam and Christianity are all the same because they trace their roots to Abraham. But they are different in many ways; many Jews lack a personal relationship with God; Christianity does not really set many rules on praying or church-going, and the Qur'an tells us not to associate with Jews or Christians or you will be as one of them. Even the most tolerant religions discriminate against religions that say there is only one way to God.
2007-01-15 07:46:02 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
No. That is the nature of Christian, Judaic and Islamic religious beliefs. However there are many othr religions that are completely unrelated ro those belief systems. Some, infact whrere the idea of peace and brotherhood are anthame to the nature of the system. I myself follow a belief system where strength and honor are highly prized and are mort important than other areas. It is a belief system for TRUE warriors. There are several belief systems that have similar ideas. While yes most religions do expect their adherants to have some sort of relationship with THE GODS, that whole love thy neighbor idea is unique to the Christian, Judaic and Ismalic belief systems (although there are some similar ideas id Buddhism as well).
2007-01-15 07:56:17 · answer #4 · answered by kveldulf_gondlir 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
in short yes they are. They all have a moral code which is similar, they are asked to believe in an almighty god and pray to him.
its just changed slightly to suit the diffrent parts of the world and cultures.
basically religion is used as a way to control the masses, by emotionally blackmailing them to live a certain way or believe certain things and because people need to believe in something greater than themsleves it works well and will continue to do so.
2007-01-15 07:42:53 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Actually there is one religion that teaches this as its fundamental principle. That religion is the Baha'i Faith. It teaches that religion is progressive, i.e. God sends divine Messengers in every age, Who bring teaches suited to that time and place. This message is progressively revealed as human civilization develops. The differences that do exist between the major world religions are minor. They relate only to the external, temporary legal systems and other elements which pertain to one place or time only.
2007-01-15 12:30:33 · answer #6 · answered by darth_maul_8065 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not really.
After all, Buddhism is accepted as a religion and has no god at all! It merely asks that someone tries out he Buddha's teachings and if they work, suggests that one follows them.
As others have pointed out, the 'love your neighbour' is another concept that is not shared by all religions. Some early beliefs simply required followers to placate their gods with sacrifices to procure their protection. Try explaining the concept to followers of Woden (WÅdanaz)!
So, no, religions are as varied as man himself. And those who teach "the ONLY way to get to Him is through Jesus Christ etc." are themselves as deceived as the Satan they cite, since both are relatively modern concepts.
.
2007-01-15 09:58:25 · answer #7 · answered by Nobody 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
But most religions now teaches that you can love God and do what you like. The true religion will identify God's laws that you should live by and not just to do and enjoy what you want. That is why we need to study our Bibles to understand that truths in it and find out what is expected of us by God.
2007-01-15 07:42:05 · answer #8 · answered by Damian 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
The idea that all religions are the same is embodied ONLY in Bahaism. Others would tend to say that their religions are the right one; so convert or be condemned to eternal damnation.
Peace and Love
2007-01-15 09:44:25 · answer #9 · answered by mil's 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well yes in a basic manner. Not really hard to believe. There is only one true religion, but of course persons have twisted it into all sorts of beliefs.
2007-01-15 07:41:33 · answer #10 · answered by fire 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Imagine if there were just one universal religion ... no "holy" wars, no religious zealots, no jihads, no crusades ...
Of course, we can still find many other excuses to steal from and kill each other ... such as race, colour, tribe, land, oil, language, greed, envy, possessions ...
But at least we would have one less reason to hate each other.
The choice lies within all of us ... to make a stand for a better world ... or continue our self-destructive ways ...
2007-01-15 09:22:20 · answer #11 · answered by echo c 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋