Is duality just too limited a way of looking at religion?

Question

In another thread, a poster made the assertion that:

"1) Not all "gods" are the same. They are vastly different. Therefore either one religion is correct and the rest are false, or all religions are false."

Am I the only graduate of college Logic 101 that sees the problem here? Why *couldn't* it be true that all religions are true? Does there HAVE to be "One True Way™?" Why couldn't it just be true that certain *claims* of various religions to be THE One True Way™ for *everyone* are false?

Am I the only one who doesn't see an either/or here?

There are some very interesting answers here and a couple horribly bad ones! I should probably explain that personally, I come from an indigenous folk religion worldview, loosely called Asatru (an umbrella term now, much like Pagan or Christian) . . . and as is the case with most traditional folkways, there is no presumption of One True Way™ . . . just "Our Way," the customs and thews and values of our particular people, with our particular, ethnic, cultural, ancestral godhs. To our way of thinking, ANY folk religion can be "true" for its own people without extending that truth to the whole world. So there's really no contradiction in conflicting "truths" or beliefs with us, just our ways and . . . other people's. It's more logical, to me, to assume that all religions are cultural . . . and the one from MY culture, while certainly not right for everyone, is "righter" for ME than anyone else's.

Answer 1

Duality: Simple things for simple minds.

Answer 2

The literal:

In the doctrines of all religions, they declare their religion to be the one and only truth. They declare the word of their deity as infallible. And since different religions preach different things, they are not compatible whatsoever.

The philosophical:

The basis of all monotheistic religions is morality. This isn't true with multitheistic religions. You can't really have a multitheistic religion based on morality because the power of the universe is distributed among the gods. And when it comes to morality, there can be only one opinion. (Otherwise priests of the same religion will argue morality- "I think Appolo is right", "No, I think Zeus is right.")

The Practical:
The central purpose of religion is to control people. Usually, this means starting and winning wars. If you count the number of wars that have NOT had religion at their center, you wouldn't end up with much to count. Even if two nations war over food, they are motivated by religion, always. "We're taking their food because it's The Right Thing To Do Because They're Evil."

The Exception:
Multitheistic religions can include other gods. So, in theory, some of the multitheistic religions could be "true".

The Exception to the Exception:
Except that even they have incompatible declarations. For example, "Life began right here". I can promise you, not a single religion on earth claims that life on earth began on a different part of the planet than where all of the (original) believers lived.

Answer 3

The Vedas describe God using the example of the Sun planet. The sun is one but in India they see and call the Sun Surya. The Hawaiian people called the Sun La. The Egyptians called the Sun RA. Somewhere the sun is rising and another place the sun is setting. The sun is the same sun no matter what anyone calls, or describes it. God is similar. He is all accomedating for all souls. According the the Vedas, like Mata has said, God has many different qualities that His different names describe. Allah, Buddha, Rama, Krishna, Jehovah, and Isa are just a few of His unliimited names. According to your qualification and your personality God appears to you. Someone may describe the sun as Life giving, another may say the light planet, or the Hot one, or the Sun Globe, or Solar or whatever. No matter what it is always the same Sun.
Duality is a very broad way of looking at religion. Yes excelent.!
Caitanya Mahaprabhu explained that God is simulteneously one and different (inconcievably). it is called,
"acintya bhed abheda tattva".

Answer 4

Sure man, I don`t see any contradiction between most religions.
I believe that all religions contain nugs of truth and that usually they were born out of mystical experiences by individual people. The experiences may vary but that isn`t to say that they can`t all contain truths. The problem with religion is that words are used to communicate it`s principles. Words are like boxes that stifle true understanding. How can the infinite mysteries of God be described by a few thousand words? It can`t, so people get in arguements over whether the elephant is really a snake or a wall.

Answer 5

I think it's true that PARTS of all religions are "The Truth". I don't think anyone has all of it right. Ponder this...if there is only one god period, why in the Bible does God say not to put any other gods before Him. I don't think it really matters what any of us believe. The important thing is to have faith and share it with the world. We are all a part of the same thing.

Answer 6

All religions cant be fully true because certain religions contain absolute truths that contradict one another - truth cannot contradict itself

There are actually a few possibilities
-One religion is true
-No religion is true
-Different religions contain different degrees of truth, but neither is completely true

Answer 7

All religions are right in one respect. They have been and are the catalyst to finding your true spirituality within. Religions represent the Savior model that was necessary to wake us up to our own Savior/self understanding. We "save" ourselves when we become enlightened allowing us to advance spiritually and dimensionally. Religion was necessary to our awakening, but we are past that now. Why else do you think the Christians and others are so angry? It's time for the truth and the time for religion is over. WE must evolve.

Answer 8

here is the answer according to the Vedas- There is one Only one Supreme God -He has expansions but they are all still Him just like when you go to work you put on one outfit-perhaps a suit) when you go swimming you put on another (perhaps shorts)--when you hang with the guys you look and act different then when you hang with the ladies or wife and you even talk different when you talk to a baby-- so God-being all powerful assumes many incarnations to for different engagements- I bet if you were God you would want to have fun and interesting pastiimes--otherwise whats the point of being God?
Then there are the demigods-like the gods of heaven the gods of death the god of rain the sungod--theses are only servents of God and act for the maintainance of the material creation--(not in Gods spiritual world-)_
Gods many forms and incarnations are indicated by His many holy names such as Govinda--He who protects the cows--Gopala -cowherd boy--Hari -the thief (He is a big thief by the way -- who steals the hearts of anyone who sees Him, he steals butter, he steals our pride and arrogence and helps us) Krsna--the all atractive one-- and Rama -abode of bliss-- plus many more...............love to you

Answer 9

It relies upon on what you're indoctrinating. yet once you desire to flow returned and look at our childhoods and how we've been all raised, it incredibly is a type of indoctrination consistent with our stories at homestead/at school and etc. it incredibly is abuse if somebody is harmed bodily and emotionally. there's a incorrect and appropriate thank you to indoctrinate somebody, maximum of it quite is subjective. yet once you utilize the term 'abuse' which capacity some thing you're assume to rfile and placed a quit to -- that could desire to be incorrect.

Answer 10

I may only have a high school diploma, but I'm still smart enough to know that if two religions have opposing teachings they can't both be true. If one says that turning away frpom sin and getting saved is the only way to be able to get to Heaven and another says that you can be a homosexual pedophile and still go to Heaven as you are then (to me) it's blatently obvious that both can't be true.