A Different Twist on Belief, what do you think?

Question

What if I told you that all religions where right and all where wrong, at the same time? In almost every belief structure there is a creation, a flood, prophecies, a savior and ultimately an end of time itself. What if all of this came from the same place and there is only different spins on the same base theology? We all just call it something different, even down to the characters in the same basic stories. If you think about it and do a little research, it seems like a valid opinion.

BTW - this is in no way meant to offend nor convert.

Let me add one more thing here, just to set the record straight a little bit. I'm not an extremist in any way. I have my own set of beliefs and moral standards, but there are alot of things in the bible itself that leave doubts and questions that are simply unanswered. I don't think we will ever know in our life what the true answer will be, therefore there will be no correct anwer to this question.
I'm also not a thoelogist, I just thought this would be an interesting topic of discussion and in the group of people that I worship with, I would be accused of some form of heresy for even asking. Yahoo seemed to be the next logical place to ask.
Thanks for the input so far. For a little more insight of the basis of my question, check out DAKOTA's answer. He seems to be on track with the heart of the matter.

Answer 1

Although Christians believe in only one God, this is not what the original Hebrew scriptures tell us. In the first chapter of Genesis, as well as in 2601 other places in the Old Testament. the word God is translated from the Hebrew word 'ĕlôhîym which literally means gods. It's plural.

In the beginning, the gods created the heavens and the earth. Jehovah (yehôvâh) isn't mentioned until Gen 2:4, after the seventh day. At that point, he took over possession of the earth. The word earth comes from the Hebrew 'erets ,which can mean either the Earth as a whole or an area of land.

The Bible speaks of other gods…either by name - i.e. Baal, Ashtoreth or by insinuation. For example: Ex. 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. And Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image.

Since Christianity is a monotheistic religion, the plurality is, and always has, been ignored. Throughout history the translators of the Bible have always translated the plural word as a singular.

There are many similarities in some of the doctrines and other beliefs (such as creation or the flood) between the worlds religions

I believe that two possibilities exist to explain the similarities between different religions both past and present.

Yhovah may have been known by different names by people that spoke different languages and He may have had different plans for the different cultures. One good example of this is the fact that Muslims, who are descended from Abraham, call God Allah and certainly live by different religious doctrine.

Though as a Christian, I‘m less inclined to believe that explanation covers all the worlds religions. I’m more inclined to believe that Yhovah is the God of Jews and Christians (and as Allah to the Muslims) whereas there were (and still may be) other gods who were (are) in charge of other cultures, civilizations and nations. As a matter of fact, The Aramaeans used the Babylonian pronunciation Bel for Baal; Bel became the Greek Belos who was identified with Zeus. It’s quite possible that many, if not all, of the gods that we consider false or mythical may be quite real.

The scriptures clearly tell us that there are other gods (not to be confused with idols which are mentioned separately). The surviving religions of the world, as well as some extinct ones, show many similarities and there are historical clues that confirm this. Most Christians are simply ignorant of what was originally written about the other gods and simply go along with what they’re taught. It’s considered heresy to acknowledge the existence of the other gods. The idea of only one God comes from a time when Paganism (I’m using the word Paganism as a generic word meaning those that worship multiple gods or idols) was a major religion. To keep people from “becoming Pagans” the Jews (and later, the Christians) developed a monotheistic attitude. Instead of Yhovah being the only god worthy of our loyalty, praise and worship, it was (and is) taught that He was the ONLY god…period.

To summarize: I believe you may be right...at least to a point.

Answer 2

Well, the thing is that many, many people take a firm, unbreakable hold on the details.

You *do* see a lot of similarities in various religions, along with lots of research that implies that many religions were adapted from older religions, that came from the ones before them, etc. etc. There isn't any "what if," it's fairly certain--it's just people's passion (and herein lies the problem) about their various religions.

But... people seem to make conflicts out of the minute details of their varied beliefs. See: the identity of Jesus in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. For Christians, not having the right idea about the guy is enough to condemn you to hell. For Jews and Muslims, he's just one of many prophets.

Humans want to group themselves. It's silly, some of the extents it gets to, but it's the way they (we) work--though I'm not a follower of any particular religion, just an observer. :)

Answer 3

First, you should be asking not telling.

Second, this is a good but relatively unsophisticated observation about common themes in the religions of the world.

The only observation not found in most development of religion theses is that of the commonality of 'the flood.' This is well theorized and the basis is documented in the last 4 references.

Yes, do the research. You might want to look at the references below for details.

Answer 4

Joseph Campbell? Or more like Joseph Smith?

It is interesting and that is the basic premise of the Mormon philosophy, that is that originally there was a pure "primitive" Church beginning with Adam and Eve which has been altered and morphed through the centuries into the many religions we have today.

The Mormon Church contends that there is a restoration of those original principles through the prophet Joseph Smith.

Hopefully your question doesn't offend and hopefully my answer doesn't either, but someone will take offense. Oh well.

Answer 5

you are some how correct

as for the main 3 religions
Jewesh. Christians & Islam
offcourse I ignored all the others as they are man made religions
all the stories & prophets are the same in this 3 religions & they all have the same meanings & rules but differes after that due to man intervension
Islam states Jewish as the 1st book (altawrah) then christian book (Al engeel) then the Islam book (Alquraan)
the 3 books are like one book with 1st edition then 2nd edition to change some of the things in the 1st one, then finally the 3rd book that was complet for every thing in the world & that's why it came protected from any man ulteration & will remain for ever

Answer 6

all religion is wrong.

spirituality is more healthy.

and where most belief systems come from.

the planet is a LOT older than 2007 years old! people existed before 'jesus', 'allah', 'god' etc.

if your faith includes belittling anyone, judging someone, being intolerant, using fear to convert or sustain followers etc, then it based on human power, not any higher being, because humans, especially men, sorry guys!, seek materialstic power and control over others since the invention of money, then coupled it with soem nice words spoken by a kind and spiritual person/prophet some years ago, and hey, we have a god who turns the other cheek AND says an eye for an eye. interesting.

so yes, yuor opinion is valid. keep researching. email me if you need to know more of where and what to research if you get stuck.

good luck and well done for questioning!

Answer 7

I've thought about this before, and I DO believe that each religion could be an interpretation of the same exact thing.
This is just like storytelling. After a story is passed around, told, and retold by many people, for years and years, the end result has been changed so many times. But it all came from that ONE story. :)

Answer 8

What if I told you that none of that made any difference, because that is all window dressing without much to do with the theology of all the religions. A flood doesn't tell you which savior is correct (for while there are various saviors, their teachings are incongruous). I'm lost as to what point you are making here.

Answer 9

How many of them have a Savior who sacrificed his life for them? How many of them have a provision for a Comforter who becomes a very real part of each individual's life? How many of them have a clear revelation of the future? Which are filled with love? Too many other questions to be listed point out that all "religions" do not offer the same things and that they do not have the same origin. If you undertake study to find out the differences for yourself, I wish you the best of luck. The road ahead is very long.

Edit:
Read "The Gospel Restored" by Walter Scott. I dare you.

Answer 10

you have to admit the similarities between religions are endless. And it's not just due to conversion. The Aztecs, Mayas and Incas had religious systems with many similarities that could be drawn toward religions in Europe even though they didn't meet until much much later. I guess a simple way of putting it would be same gift different package.