i'm not asking for opinion or scripture answering why your particular religion is the one true path. my query is more simple than that. presumably "God" is HUGE, is omnipresent so why assume that "God" can only be reached by a singular belief or practice? why must one path be right and all others wrong?
and "because the Bible/Quran/Gita/Whatever says so" is not a sufficient answer.
PS. i realize not all religions have such a strict bias. if your religion/spirituality is accepting of other paths please feel free to answer anyway.
2007-01-18 08:12:57 · 16 answers · asked by nebtet 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
C'mon girl, your asking a relative question here! The "way" to God is anybody's guess! I personally believe that there is only one way to heaven and to God-accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior-but that's me!
2007-01-18 08:21:07 · answer #1 · answered by godlyteengirl 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
"Why can there not be more than one path to God...?"
There might be, but logically it's not a given.
The view that all religions are just different approaches to one deity, "different paths up one mountain", has a certain popularity but it is itself only one splinter view amongst many.
Start with the basic divide, as to whether a deity does or doesn't exist. It's not at all easy to see a reconcilation of those two stances, or for them both to be equally correct or leading to the same enlightenment.
If God exists, then he(?) may well have a particular character, in which case some beliefs about him(?) and his values are going to be better approximations than others.
It's difficult to see reincarnation being true only for some.
Or Karma and Grace being fundamental principles in the same universe. They are essentially at odds.
Again, logically: if it IS true that all religions or spiritual paths lead to the same end, then those that insist, as key doctrines, that they do not are fundamentally flawed. But that jars with the initial assumption.
So, there may be one mountain, or no mountain, or more than one and some of them illusory.
To quote an expert:
"The great religions are talking at cross-purposes"
Professor Zaehner (Late Spalding Professor of Eastern Religions and Ethics, Oxford University)
2007-01-18 09:05:34 · answer #2 · answered by Pedestal 42 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This has always been my main argument as well when 'debating' the matter with... Hell, I'd like to say 'lots of different people' but it somehow always ends up being a Christian. Anyway:
There are over 6 billion people on this planet from a myriad of different cultures and backgrounds, and up until a few hundred years ago they all developed in isolation. Now, if God is a fair God, He'd reveal himself to everybody so that everybody could have a chance to know him, right? This would obviously be a traumatic experience for the people He appeared to, and they would try to make sense of this event as best they could. So, due to their cultural background, language and environment, they would interpret the event DIFFERENTLY than another group. The deity would be given a different name, different attributes would be highlighted, etc.
So, if God appeared to the, Odlle tribe from Banzibwe say, they being warlike tribe, would remember his power and stature, name him Dunga and sshow him weilding lightning. The Zamba tribe from meanwhile, having discoverd a precious herb that causes them to say 'Shoowow duuude' alot, would remember most vividly how funky and peaceful God was, and remember him differently.
2007-01-18 08:36:44 · answer #3 · answered by dead_elves 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no right path, and there is no wrong path. There are enlightened people from all different faiths, so clearly every faith has some idea of how to reach God. I have been taught that unwavering love, devotion, and chanting of God's names is the best and easiest way to God, and I believe is the best for me. Other paths do involve great austerity and a need to shut oneself from societal distractions, and those are fine too. Each person has their own set of needs, and the fact that there are so many different paths makes it easy for people to choose one that best suits them.
2007-01-18 08:20:53 · answer #4 · answered by lotusmoon01 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Before you get to the base of the mountain, there are all kinds of paths wandering around in the desert. The Almighty is YHVH, and the savior is Yahoshua (that is yod he vav shin ein) His name means YHVH is my Savior. And without a savior, no one can be saved, and He is the only one. Its like the mountain is very high, and steep, and He is the only one who could climb it, and He in me is my only chance to get there. Sorry if it sounds intolerant, but the Almighty said " I am the way". He did not lie. He is the way. He is tolerant of many things, but if you aren't on His side, you lose in the end. He has promised to give you wisdom, and strength, and endurance, and if you will not receive these things from Him, sorry, you won't make it.
2007-01-18 08:31:23 · answer #5 · answered by hasse_john 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I was told when I was younger that because there was only one god (the southern baptist god, at that time), there was only one path to said god and that path was through whichever church we were currently attending at the time.
Thankfully I grew out of that.
2007-01-18 08:21:32 · answer #6 · answered by jenn_smithson 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Like it or not, the Bible does answer your question. There is only one way to God and it is plain enough for a child to understand: Jesus said (and God ,by His Spirit had it written up in the bible) "I am the way,the truth,and the life..no one cometh unto the Father but by me."
Do you know of any of so called gods/religions that died for your sins so you would not spend eternity in hell/seperated from God?
The devil wants us to believe we can b e good enough,go to church enough,work hard enough,etc. to get ourselves to God.
You answeres are so under that dillusion it is terrifying.
2007-01-18 08:34:57 · answer #7 · answered by marlynembrindle 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably because God gets to decide where and how people can approach him, not the other way around. That is a perk of being god; God gets to make the rules.
2007-01-18 08:22:41 · answer #8 · answered by Randy G 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There is more than one path to the top of the mountain some are just easier than others.
2007-01-18 08:16:59 · answer #9 · answered by PaganPoetess 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I cannot accept there being more than one path because my God said so. My Jesus said "No one can come to the Father EXCEPT through Me."
2007-01-18 08:21:32 · answer #10 · answered by Cristina 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋