Why do people give their own religion more merit than others?

Question

Wouldn't each religion have the exact same likelyhood of being the right one? Why do you hold yours closer than all the others? Does it just seem more convincing, or...?

Answer 1

It is a form of ethnocentrism. People are brainwashed from their childhood believing that their own religion is superior to others. They believe everything in their religion without questioning it.

Answer 2

Everyone believes his religion is the best because it is the religion he is following. It seems that for some people who are born into a certain religion, a religion is not chosen because of its merits. Instead, people will grow up following a religion assuming it is the best religion and make up merits for the religion. If I am a Christian, I would find it difficult to respect certain parts of Islam and Judaism which deny that Jesus is our Saviour. How can I TRULY respect an idea which is in complete disagreement with my idea? Note that i mean respect as in believing the idea has some merit. Of course we must respect everyone's beliefs.

Answer 3

Mr.Phoenix, have you ever read the story of the six blind men and the elephant. I believe this one poem hold more truth than all of the Bibles on the planet:

The Blind Men and the Elephant

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant~(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation~Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side, ~ At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the Elephant ~ Is very like a wall!"

The Second, feeling of the tusk,
Cried, "Ho! what have we here?
So very round and smooth and sharp? ~ To me 'tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant ~ Is very like a spear!"

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands, ~ Thus boldly up and spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant ~ Is very like a snake!"

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee.
"What most this wondrous beast is like ~ Is mighty plain," quoth her;
"'Tis clear enough the Elephant ~ Is very like a tree!"

The Fifth who chanced to touch the ear,
Said: "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most; ~ Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an Elephant ~ Is very like a fan!"

The Sixth no sooner had begun
About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail ~ That fell within his scope,
"I see," quoth he, "the Elephant ~ Is very like a rope!

And so these men of Indostan
Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion ~ Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right ~ And all were in the wrong!

Moral

So oft in theologic wars,
The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance
Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant
Not one of them has seen!

-John Godfrey Saxe

Answer 4

What is called Christianity is the only way to reconciliation with God. Forget the Methodists, or Baptists, and other "christian" denominations. In the long run, they are meaningless and have no more rightness before God than any other "christian" denomination. All other religions are built on works, and that is what makes them a false hope for anything. Man deludes himself through the idea that he alone is all that there is and will answer to no one other than to himself for his actions. This simply is not true. The one thing that sets Christianity apart from all others is that the prophecies made about Jesus all have come 100% true. All of the prophecies made for end of age events are rapidly coming true. No other religion comes even close to the record of Christianity. Our philosophies are meaningless words, that the Bible continuously dispels. Why bother with them, unless there is a desire to not have to be responsible to God for the decisions that you have made. It is a waste of time to try to argue God out of existence, because on day you will meet Him face to face, and give account for yourself.

Answer 5

To say that all ideas have as much truth value as all other ideas is not true. If we're standing next to a pink corvette and I say that this is an automobile and my freind says it's a pink elephant, pluralism goes down the drain at that point because his view obviously does not have as much truth value as mine. The 3rd law of logic is the 'Law of Noncontradiction'. It says that 2 things that diametrically contradict each other cannot be both true. All religions diametrically contradict all other religions and they all say they are from God. The Law of Noncontradiction only allows you 2 possibilities in that case: 1) One religion is true and all the rest are false 2) They're all false[that's got to be considered a logical possibility]. They can't all be true because they all contradict each other. I don't believe they're all false either, for this reason.......If you look at archeology about half of the artifacts they find have to do with religion(they find burials grounds that are religious in nature, they find temple areas, all cultures and all the different empires had some kind of a religion....). Also, man cannot do away with religion. Communism tried to eliminate christianity and all religion. Lenin said that religion was the opiate of the people. He outlawed it and persecuted anyone who practiced religion. Yet Communism could not conquer religion. It eventually conquered communism. Man just seems to have an innate desire to know about God. He seems to have been created that way. For that reason I don't believe all the religions are wrong because if that were true than God would have created man with an innate desire to know about him(not necessarily to know him personally) but never left any revelation about himself. Logically, that leaves only one possibility and that's that there is one true and all the rest are false. Which one is true? First of all you would look for one of the big religions. It couldn't be one of the smaller sects that only a few thousand people know about because that would be to say that God only revealed himself to a few thousand people worldwide. I would look at all the big religions and pick one that seems to have the signature of God. My pick is Christianity. The signature of God is prophecy. In the Old Testament(39 books that were all written anywheres from 400 to 2000 years before Christ was born there are 333 prophecies of his first coming and 456 specific details about his 33 year life on earth. There are over 500 prophecies about his 2nd coming which is still to come. What does that mean? The gospels, namely Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John are the story of the life of Christ. Suppose Mathew, Mark, Luke and John had just said 'I don't have time to write a book about the life of Christ, I'm too busy preaching the Gospel' and they never wrote those books. We still could have re-created the life of Christ from the Old Testament(all written between 400 and 2000 years before he was born). In fact, for the first 20 years after the death of Christ that is how the gospel was preached...from the old testament. The new testament hadn't been written yet. The bible also had amazing insights into scientific principals thousands of years before those principals were discovered. Seventeen times in the old testament the bible says that God is 'stretching the heavens'. For thousands of years bible scholars were puzzled about what that phrase could possible mean. Then in 1929 Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe was expanding and for the first time we knew what that phrase meant. No other religion or Holy Book has this kind of knowledge. All this tells me that these prophets in both the old and new testament were not nutcases but true prophets of God.

Answer 6

Hi Phoenix,
I respect other's religious views and attempt to give them the opportunity to express themselves. I have studied a number of different religions and denominational Churches. I have attended a number of different denominational Churches in my years. I have not found any more convincing then the one I am attending. I continue to read, study, and obey the BIBLE as much today as I did twenty years ago when I was first Baptized. Have a wonderful weekend.
Thank YOU,
Eds



.

Answer 7

I feel that all religions are looking at the same thing but just have different perspectives of it. For instance let's say that you have a house, then you place 4 people on eace side of that house (one in front, one in the back, and one on each side), now proceed to ask them to describe the house. You're gonna get 4 very different answers but basically describing the same thing. Does that make sense to you?

Answer 8

No religion permits its practitioners to merit ones' religion more on others as far as I know. A true practioner will never try to do it , he believes that by doing so he will invite rath of his creator upon him. A person who is not a perfect practioner of rligion may do so with a bad intention.This kind of gesture may give birth to ethnical/political promlems. If by any chance u come across such person please do ignore him and advise him to refrain himself from such activities.

Answer 9

I agree. there is an old asserting that faith is for persons who're apprehensive of going to Hell and spirituality is for persons who've already been there. i think of it particularly is a technique. religious each physique isn't inevitably "undesirable", yet they seem to be a splash blinded. in section, this has to do with the buzz that comes from ultimately finding your genuine religious course, or way. you sense so great and stunning, that the 1st element you prefer to do is share that feeling with each physique else. while you're actually not careful, that would come for the time of as illiberal; i.e. "My way labored for me, for this reason it may be ultimate and you way isn't as stable. right here, enable me show you the final way, so which you are going to be as chuffed as i'm." i exchange into that way as quickly as, too. via the years, nevertheless, adventure, existence, and a few not undemanding cases wore down those sharp edges and notwithstanding i'm nonetheless a training Christian, i like to think of that i'm a greater compassionate and tolerant one. What labored for me would possibly not paintings for each guy or woman else, or anybody else for that count. the significant element for me is to stay genuine to my faith and what i think and to supply any counsel i will to others alongside the way. Roses are actually not inevitably greater fascinating than daisies, nor daffodils greater attractive than violets, yet jointly all of them make a fascinating backyard. a similar is genuine for the distinctive faiths and ideology of the international.

Answer 10

As a transformian, I resent that question. Grace be to Optimus Prime who protects us from Megatron, now Galvatron by the way, who's greatest trick was to convince the general population that he does not exist, thereby making any argument against his existence null and void.