isn't this proof?

Question

the fact that there are so many different religions with so many different beliefs as far as the afterlife, seems to tell me that people will believe whatever they want to believe regardless of whether or not it's true. isn't this proof that they're all made up then? please spare me the, "it's true for me" lines. 1+1=3 may be true for you too. that doesn't mean it's a universal truth.

sdb, gee, that's funny, i didn't realize one dog created the universe... guess i was wrong...

Answer 1

I have studied many religions and I am almost done with my Theology degree. What strikes me as utterly amazing is all the similarities between the faiths. All the similarities could not be by chance. It is the I am right you are wrong mentality of many humans which blurs the truths present in them.

Answer 2

Religion is whatever you feel is right.
How do you know what you feel is right? Haven't your feelings ever turned out to be wrong? Are you are saying that what you feel determines truth? If so, then you are putting yourself in the place of God, and looking to yourself for what you "feel" is right.
If religion is whatever you feel is right, then that could lead to chaos. What if some people had a religion where they felt stealing was acceptable? And what about lying and cheating? Would you trust someone who believed in a religion that felt it was all right to steal, lie, and cheat?
Hitler felt killing Jews was right. He was wrong. The Bible says that the heart is deceitful and untrustworthy (Jer. 17:9). If you could come to know truth by what you felt, then the Bible, which is the revelation of God, didn't need to be written. But it has been written, and it has revealed that only God is the Source of truth, not your feelings.
I've never known truth to contradict itself. What if someone felt that something was right, and another person felt it was wrong? Would they both be right? If your statement is true, then how could there be a contradiction like that, if feelings determined truth?
All religions are different paths to the same place.
If all religions are different paths to the same place, then why do the paths contradict each other? Does truth contradict itself? Let's review the teachings of just three religions:
Buddhism is pantheistic and says there is no personal God and everyone can reach "godlikeness" on his own. Islam says that Jesus was just a prophet, and not the only way to God. Christianity says that there is a personal God, and that the only way to Him is through Jesus (John 14:6). If these three religions are, as you say, different paths to the same place, then why do they contradict each other? Does truth contradict itself?

Answer 3

I think they hold a kernel of truth, if you scratch below the surface, sometimes you've got to dig really deep, to see what they have in common. I'm reading a book called 'The Jesus Mysteries' It shows what Gnosticism had in common with paganism and how Catholicism has similar traits b/c of it. That's just Christianity based religions. Since there are more, I would think a comparative religion class might help lead a person in the right direction :-)

Answer 4

A human being should be inquisitive to know these things: Who am I? Why am I put into this condition of working very hard to get only a few grains? Why am I in this uncomfortable situation? Where did I come from? Where do I have to go? The Vedänta-sütra begins by stating that a human being should be inquisitive to know who he is, where he comes from, and where he has to go. Is not question of this religion or that, nor this belief of that belief, is proper to a human being, cats, hogs and dogs can not inquire about these subjects.

Answer 5

my thoughts exactly, with so many religions in the world. How can any one, discount the other?

My theology teacher taught us that the bible in it's early days were stories passed on by story tellers. These stories were passed on for years and years before they were ever documented. Each story teller would add their own "twist" to the stories to make sure there audience was kept interested. They passed their stories on to the next generation and the next, and the next.

So? What was true? Maybe the "essense of the story", Maybe none of it. Maybe they were just developed to teach people Right from Wrong.

I'm not going to tell a Buddhist, that Buddha doesn't exist, I'm not going to tell a Christian, that God Doesn't exist.. etc.. etc.. Maybe they all exisited? Maybe, none of them existed..

Answer 6

It really only shows that people of every culture would like some answers--even if someone else made them up. The questions that plauge mankind seem to be:

1) What is the point of life? What is my purpose, in other words?
2) What happens to me when I die?
3) Do I belong to something greater than myself?

Most Atheists would claim that there is no "point" to life, and when you die you die--period. This makes answering the third question largely up to the one asking. We have no real reason to believe otherwise.

Religions of every stripe have answers to the above quesitons, and that makes people feel good. So they embrace that religion, ignoring that little "hic up" they feel in the back of their minds when things go wrong or people die. I fully believe, based on their actions, that they know they're fooling themselves.

But the numbers of believers really only supports ideas. Thousands of years ago, millions of people sincerely believed that the world was flat. It's not.

Answer 7

I'm an Atheist. When it comes to me.

You are preaching to the choir.

IMO religion, that is all the God stuff, was invented by some lazy guy somewhere that felt he was entitled to a good portion of your earnings.

Sorry if that offends anyone but it is the way I feel.

Answer 8

That's not proof, just because people believe it. So, you're right about that. The real and living God knows all truth. That is what scares people so much. They aren't sure they've got the right god. And sometimes they'll go into deep denial avoiding that very issue.

Answer 9

Yes, very scientific, your approach. Why hasn't someone thought of this before ? I think you have wrapped up the question of the ages beyond doubt. Please advise YA that this category is no longer required. Oh well, it's off to Polls and Surveys for me.

Answer 10

Truth is truth and man alone does not have the truth this is obvious. The truth is beyond man's limited understanding and comes from God's revelation. Show me the man who has total understanding. We are limited in what we know. God reveals his truth to those who love and seek the truth.