So many battles go on between different religions over who is right and who is wrong. I'm sure this has been posted here before, but I've just gotta say, I think we're all right. Because I believe we're all following the same god.

In studies done over each of the religions, they all come down to the same 7 principles. Though worded slightly different from religion to religion, they all say these seven things:

1) The Fatherhood of God
There is a supreme being who created us.

2) The Brotherhood of Man
We should all be good to one another. *The Golden Rule

3) Communion of Spirits
There's a place where we go after death. Whether it's a form of heaven, reincarnation, or recycling into the earth.

4) Continuous Existence of the Human Soul
The soul never dies.

5) Personal Responsibility
Everyone is responsible for their own actions.

6) Compensation and Retribution for all Good and Evil Deeds Done on Earth
If you do good things, you get rewarded with a better afterlife. If you do bad things...you're going to be sucking in the afterlife.

7) Eternal Progress Open to Every Soul
There's ways to progress to a higher being.


If every religion says all of this in one way or another, what's to say it's not the SAME religion. Christianity can be looked at with some hundred different sects (ways of belief. I.E. Luthern, Methodist, Catholic, Southern Baptist, etc.) All based on the way someone felt that their religion should be conducted. So why can't religion be the same. Why can't there have been the first christians saying, 'We will simply call our god God." And the Muslims be with them saying, "We don't like that. Our god (The same god) should have a name. And we will call him Allah." and so on and so forth throughout all the religions until people just start fighting over who's way is the right way. Christians do this all the time with Christianity. So I see logic saying that religion in general works this way.

Agree? Disagree? Well post a reply then!

-C

I've been thinking these things for years. I completely agree. We all argue and say there is only one path to our God or whatever one believes in, and that everyone else is wrong, but I've always kinda thought that They were all the same. But who am I to say?

I would say that most Christians would disagree that everybody worships the same God, including me.

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6

well i DO disagree but that does not mean i am against other religons. My point of view is that we all have our gods, we all have souls, we all have afterlifes, so why start wars and violence over it? what is the benefit of war?

Well the problem is that some religions think that they have to save us or we will suffer so they have to pester the other person/People who have their own belief so this causes bickering which then can lead to violence.

Or some religion demand that any other belief should be crushed which is a shame because there is no need for violence just stick with your own religions and live your lives and everyone can be happy.

The world would be a better place if people could just except that other people think and believe in different things. We do not need to have one religion or no religion to get on in this world.

First, thank you for your service.

On to the topic. By we did you mean only Jews, Christians, and Moslems?

Plenty of religions lack a supreme being, or the creator god is not the supreme being. The soul does die in some religions (the gods die in some religions). Personal responsibility can be at best nuanced (in the Bhagavad Gita, the Dark Lord tells Arjuna to get over himself and not to overestimate the consequences of his own puny choices).

Cosmic accountancy also differs among religions. In Tibetan Buddhism, for instance, everybody is offered the "clear white light" (the best afterlife in their system), and all anyone need do is to step into it. No questions asked.

But even if you meant only the "Abrahamics," I am unsure about #7 on your list, "There's ways to progress to a higher being." Maybe I'm unsure what you meant. There surely are different ideas about that among Abrahamics.

Mormons, for instance, believe that they can become gods. Other Christians do not. (Mormons also have a family-based notion of salvation which cuts against other items on your list).

Indeed, even among Abrahamics, there are divisions about #1 on your list.



Those are two different ideas, two different relationships between a human being and God. All the Abrahamics agree about the supremacy and creatorship of God, but there is a diversity of views about any other relationship, such as fatherhood would connote.

My understanding of Islam is that Allah is a different order of being from humans, and that any intimate, personal relationship with Allah is beyond human reach. Within Islam, Sufis, for instance, have long had to exercise care how they describe their mystical communion with Allah to avoid persecution (not always successfully, apparently).

And, of course, there is the Temple-based Judaism which dealt with Jesus. The formal religious complaint against Jesus was blasphemy by his claiming to be the (or a) son of God, suggesting some real resistance to the "father" metaphor in that indisputably Abrahamic faith.

Ok, so I don't quite know how to make all the individual quotes yet, so I'll put in my two bits within yours.




I am kinda happy to see you had no issues with the brotherhood of man principle though. That was the first principle I noticed in all of the religions. The golden rule saying, 'Hey! Stop being a bunch of pricks and be good to each other!'
Variations are to be expected. I probably should have gone more in depth with each of the principles, but I didn't want to make a super huge post and I do tend to ramble quite a bit when I make such a post.

Do you see where I'm coming from now though?

-C

Yes, I do see where you're coming from much better. Thanks.

Now, for the hard part: where do you go with this?

I am surprised this thread has been up as long as it has without someone posting "You're right, all religions are the same - religion is the most divisive thing that humans have ever invented, and it's only an excuse for sharpies to amass wealth and power at the expense of the ignorant anyway."

You read that a lot around here .

So, seriously, how do you convince people to head for the common ground that is there, rather go straight for the differences (that are also there, after all)?

Well the 7 principles were just brought to my attention 2 days ago by one of my coworkers. It was just what was needed to truly enhance my thoughts about the same god theory. I'm not really trying to push off my beliefs on anyone else, just point out the truth of the matter.

I'm really surprised I haven't gotten more feedback on this already... Especially from the Christians. Oh, and the atheists I really would like to hear what they have to say about my thoughts.

I guess right now all I want is feedback. Once I get that I'll see where I go with this.

-C

I'm not saying everyone should drop their beliefs and take up a different viewpoint all together. We (as a race) should simply drop the whole, "My religion is right and you're wrong. Now either join us for it, die, or just rot in hell when your time comes." Such thinking is what is the cause of religious wars. Which unfortunately, is the cause of a vast majority of the wars in history. Why religions see fit to cast aside their golden rule and start killing other religions off just blows my mind...

-C

The idea that some Religions have common ground has been around for some time - Try Googling InterFaith.

Exactly, Jesus is God because we don't know anything specific about Him, except from hearsay, hand-me-down knowledge that were written down by other archaic people..., and the fact that Christianity is the most powerful religion in the world even to this day! If that's not a sign from God, Himself, then Pres. Bush and Dick are lovers. Besides, Jesus actually never wrote down anything, Christ is totally anonymous, and humans have a tendency to worship those that they don't know anything about because once found out, these so-called gods lose their mystique..., and as we all know by now, most people are quite capricious when it comes to their tastes and what-have-you.

Jesus Christ is God to me because I don't know anything about Him, except the fact that Christianity is THE most powerful religion in the world. And that sign is enough for me. Then again, I follow my own version of Christianity.

If I'm not mistaken, the Koran also says this (not exactly, but regardless) but in regards to 'Allah' instead of 'God'.

-C

If you live in the U.S.A., it is to keep your middle-class or upper middle-class lifestyle intact. War is never about religion.

Thanks for the name Tiggs. I know it's been around for some time now, just didn't know what they called it

-C

Wars in history were about religion many many times. True, the US wars were more about political power. Which brings up one of my favorite quotes, "When the rich wage war it's the poor who die." I've seen enough of my poor buddies, who joined the army cuz it was the only job that would hire them, end up dying over here to see that this quote is true.

-C

I know your not and I do agree.


To be honest all paths lead to death there is no escaping it. No one knows what is on the other side no matter how hard they will claim they know, if there is something on the other side then it is just another hurdle to overcome when we get to it.

i question

2 be good to one another
this is only in question because it conflicts with natural selection naturel laws [too wide spectrum]

4 the soul never dies
yes it does and it rots and stinks and diseases others with its stench[true hatred].

Many wars in history are disguised as religious wars. War is so complex and has many levels and to say that it's religious in nature is to just quickly cover it up, simplify it, make it palatable. To die for you belief system is one thing, but to die because God commanded you is completely out of the ordinary, perhaps even non-existent. Therefore, anything that is human based is always a suspect.

Ah yes, I nearly forgot one of my old 'truths': There is no religious war. Only decrees that a war is for a religion by the war's starter.

For instance: The crusades were started by the king of england in an attempt to give the people something to do other than uprise against the king. The king knew if he claimed that this war was 'for God' the people would be more apt to do it. Of course, he was also only expecting 10,000 men to show up to his call to battle...Boy was he surprised when there were 100,000 ready for battle

-C

nature is my religion and as i stated before being nice somtimes conflicts with natural selection [a natural process]

and as for the soul it can die before the body and the mind [if youve tasted the true venom of hatred then you know what i mean] why do you think your golden rule exists its to prevent this truly ugly event.

It's always best not to say one is right and others are wrong, especially if one has not met God in person. And probably those who have met God would probably keep silent (unless God has placed a time-released program in their brain circuitry to basically help shift the mind-set of the inhabitants of this world, when the perfect time comes). Have you ever wondered why this GLOBAL internet was invented??? It's definitely a fast way to reach people around the world without going through an otherworldly miracle that would freak people out. To most people, the internet is concrete, human made, etc. But is it really that concrete and scientific? We all know too well the many connotations of the web, don't we??? Why do you think Communist China is having a hard time with it? It is certainly beyond the U.S. politicians' control... If you hang on long enough, you'll probably experience the real power of nanotek..., but that's going ahead of the game. I know one thing, it's going to change this world, the way we think, the way we see things, and so much more. Even these so-called manipulators of nanotek, they don't really know what they are really up against, and like children, they think it's fun and cool... Just another thought.

Six (out of seven), not bad! I believe
Eternal Rest exists..., but I've talked about this on my many posts; therefore, search for my posts if you wish to read on.

Peace.

I basically agree with the main idea that there is only one god.

After that it all goes to pieces however.

Because of physical human nature, we are not really fully able to understand or comprehend the totality of god.Thus we all tend to see bits of him. This creates a lot of legitimate confusion.

Because of psychological human nature, we all interpret differently what we see, according to our social and personal cultural filters.Thus, even if we see the same element of god, we interpret it differently, and act/build further belief in what we saw in different ways. This creates a lot of illegitimate confusion.

A classic case is the one you quote below

"I tried to word this to fit both afterlife only religions and reincarnation. Christianity says you can become a saint, or some sects, an angel even. In reincarnation religions, if you do good you come back as a higher being and can eventually ascent into the afterlife."

THe definition of saint to"fundamentalists", is simply a believer or follower of christ. If catholics attach a degree of divinity to a "saint" this is something they do through the authority of the catholic church rather than through christian, or biblical authority. Certainly, the idea that humans may progress to angels has no christian/biblical authority, and I have not yet encountered those sects who say otherwise (although I take your word that they exist)

A much greater difference from your seven principles, at a fundamental level, is that biblically based christianity does not, in fact, say that we all have souls which are eternal. What the bible says is that we have souls while alive.

When we die those souls go to sleep/their rest. At the second coming, all bodies and souls are resurrected. Certainly, those saved souls are given a new immortal body in which to inhabit the new earth, but the bodies and souls of those not saved are cast into a lake of fire, where they experience the second (and eternal) death.

Again, biblically, only a small percentage of humans are likely to be saved, even though the potential exists for all to accept salvation. Thus, only a small percentage of humans are likely to have any experience of an immortal soul.

I agree with your analysis above to a certain extent. i agree that most religions worship the same god, to me this means the message has been the same and consistent throughout mankinds history. The message being worship only the one and true god. Your right many people hav names for God, the Bible calls him God, the torah calls him Yaweh and the quran calls him Allah, hindus, krishna etc.

As for establishing the true religion amongst the many, is quite simple. No other religions in the worlds, claim exclusivity, other than Christianity and Islam. They are the only two which claim, its their way or the highway, so to speak. Judaism at large is only for jews and hinduism claims there are 16 different ways to get to the top of the mountain, metophorically, which means, this may be the truth, or there might be something better out there.

At close analysis of christianity and islam shows that, there is not much difference, overall theyboth contain similar messages, but different prophets. Jesus was sent to the lost sheep of the house the jews and muhammed, according to the quran was sent to the whole of mankind and the universe with his message.

What i learnt about the name Allah, is that its unique, most of you wont know this, but they arabs have the equivlant word to God, its ilah. If you add ho-ilah in front f it, this would then mean gods, if you al-ilah, would mean that allah is god. But when you put al- and get rid of I- and join it with lah. It becomes totally unique, there is nothing like it in the world, no equivlant to this word. Why? well when you put the word Allah together, it the means the 1 true god. At the same time, the name and the letter together, dont show any gender in the word, its neither female or male, and at the sametime there is nothing like it in other languages or in arabic. Therefore it also aknowledges that there is nothing like god. This is truely amazing. Allah is the 1 true god.

You see just the word God, can have plurals and additions, like gods, or godfather, god mother etc. But with the word Allah, you cant have plural, sex or an equivlant which man could use for himself. Its truely amazing.

Just to make a small down payment on everybody getting with the same religion, Catholics use the word saint to describe a dead human being whose soul resides in heaven. There is no element of divinity involved, nor any blurring of the distinction between angels and people.

Language, not Catholicism, does introduce some confusion. Saint is also a title meaning Holy, and so an angel might be addressed or spoken of using the title, as, for example. Saint Michael. John Travolta cleared this up for us in his theological comedy Michael. When confronted about his smoking and other dissolute behaviors, Travolta's Michael explains "I'm an angel, not a saint."

Ironically, the rest of the sentence hints at the stubbornness of sectarian division, even within very closely related religions, like Catholicism versus Protestantism. The latter movement typically favors sola scriptura, a reliance on the Bible alone for spiritual information. Catholics supplement the Bible with other writings, such as early Christian writers' commentaries on theological matters, and ultimately, what they believe is a unique guarantee from God regarding the reliability of the Church's own teaching authority.

In the present case, this cashes out as Mr Walker believing on Biblical grounds that dead human beings are in some sense asleep, and not yet in Heaven (if I understand correctly). Catholics think that the souls of the dead are already at the final destination (or perhaps Purgatory), according to their traditional and authority-based interpretation of (almost) the same Bible.

Yep, you got that right. My point was you won't get humans to agree on 7 principles, and I used the divisions you talk about as an example. I make no bones about the fact that I hold to one end of the theological spectrum, based on my own experience. Right or wrong this is what we all do (and really have little choice about)

Thank you for your information about saints and catholicism. As a complete outsider to catholicism, all my life I must admit that what I have read about it, seemed to suggest that saints were people especially raised by a process instituted under the authority of the church, and the pope in partricular, with steps like beatification included. This, to an outsider, does seem to suggest that these people are raised beyond the normal human level of divinity to a special one, particularly if they must have performed two? authenticated miracles to achieve the state of saint hood. Thus "our own" Mary Mckillop is undergoing this process at the moment. Is this a different type of sainthood to the general status of dead people you referred to?

Of course you are right about Christians saying that, but the truth of the matter is Christians are unknowingly "worshipping the dragon". Yahweh, right down to his wings, fiery breath, virgin sacrifices, great flood, garden of eden, etc. etc. can be traced back to the "Great Dragon Enki who stands in Eridu". But these "dragon gods" believed in throughout the world were only tribal guardians, just as the Bible says of Yahweh. The were servants of a far greater entity called Elohim in the Bible. That is why there are two creation stories in Genesis. The evolution friendly Elohim creation, with life beginning in the sea, then fish, then dragons (dinosaurs) and birds, then the mammals, and finally man, and then the mythic Yahweh creation with adam being created before everything else, and then the animals because he was lonely.

Dragon dieties are a common thread throughout world religions including Judaism and Chrisianity, though these facts have largely been covered up in recent times.

U dont need to take stories like beowulf and the sort for real, no dragons, yaweh is not a dragon. all of it is supposition and fantasy. A good movie.

Do you believe in God?



And I think you are getting yourself in the deep end with Draconic there lol You will wish you never said that.

Just curious, but if one religion says "You must wear a pair of pants wrapped around your head or else you will forever be cut off from God", then what does it matter what else has in common - if you don't wrap a pair of pants around your head, you're screwed. Boil the religion down to any amount of similarities and you still have that one glaring difference that is a major point of contention.

I know this is a silly example, but you get the point - how can two religions that show two completely separate ways to God, both claiming to be the only way, both be right? Either all are wrong, or only one is right. Logically, that is the only conclusion.

That said, I don't agree with all seven similarities provided in your post. I don't believe all religions have them all in common. No's #1, #2, #5, & #6 are all highly debatable (particularly #2 and #6). Thank you for sharing though, it was an interesting read

~ Regards, PA

I have spoke with the fiery dragon before. There is no real proof for what he says, its all assumption, conjecture and imagination.


Yes i believe in GOD

enjoy the journey

Hmmm I have a little difficulty believing that.





Then dear Ozi I shall use your own words

Not all Christians, DC. I'm a Christian, but I don't believe in a god-like dragon called "Yahweh." My God is a nameless one, and Jesu Christu is It's incarnata magnifica.

Sorry guy, but if you "believe in the the Judao Christian "God", you believe in dragons by default. If you accept the existence of Yahweh you have no other choice. This is not to say God is a dragon, but Yahweh is not the Biblical God. Elohim is the creator god of the Bible. Yahweh is the "Watcher"/Bene Elohim of the Hebrews.

We cannot "prove" any supernatural deity is real, but if you acknowledge the bible is inspired, then Yahweh is what we generally call a "dragon' complete with all of the typical dragon stereotypes, just as I have shown in the Yahweh/Dragon thread. Unless you want to believe some bearded white guy on a golden throne in the clouds, breaths fire from his mouth, smoke from his nostrils, has wings, hordes gold, has other dragons as his closest associates, made the hebrews worship his flying serpent idol and ate 32 midianite virgins as a single sitting.

Or maybe the God you believe in has nothing to do with the Bible.

Well said. But even Jesus acknowledged the existence of the Yahweh dragon worhipped by the Jews. For he called him "the murderer from the beginning", and that is probably a fair estimate with over 2 million deaths in just the ones actually cited by numbers in the bible. If we add the flood, local or all encompassing, Sodom and Gomorrah, first born of Egypt, etc. etc. then there could easily be ten times that number. Of course, Yahweh worked for the creator, like all of the other dragon gods aroud the world. This may not make him "evil" but just not very good "people person" er "people dragon?"

Virtually all of the human cultures with dragon gods, acknowledged a greater, non dragon God that the dragns were subservient too. While you call him the nameless one. both cannanites and hebrews referred to him as El, Eloi or Elohim.

I'm sure the Yahweh dragon existed at one time, or perhaps still around to this day, but I don't believe, or should I say, I don't worship this dragon.

Spirit can manifest as anything including but not limited to a Dregon, So if someone thinks God is a Dragon, when it is his time to meet with God, he may very well see a Dragon, which can comunicate at faster than the speed of Light his thoughts and Love.

Love Omnaka

I call mine Father and Mother, Mother being the Holy spirit.

I practice the way of life , or religion, lived in our Heaven .
It is Love unconditional.

I look for no followers , Iam responsible for the love I share, and if others don't like that love or agree with it, They will be damned, Just Kidding, But it will not affect my love one Iota if theirs is not reciprocated. All I can do is lead by example and hope others see something they would like in this way, which by no means is the only way, But is My way.
It is the way God , or Father and Mother love me.

Love Omnaka

Yes. Every human being who is in heaven is a saint (except Jesus, of course).

The different status is that the Catholic Church professes to know that some specific individuals are saints. That claim of knowledge is usually based upon a long inquiry to establish that this or that specific person has made it. Miracles are a traditional part of the process, along with a lot else. Beatification is a step along the way, and canonization is the successful conclusion of the inquiry.

The process has enriched our language. A devil's advocate is a church official who is appointed to generate evidence and arguments against a proposed canonization.

In the case of a matyr, the inquiry can be more straightforward. Matyrs are saints, a point on which Catholics and Islam agree (an 8th principle?).

Canonization of a matyr is still not automatic, however, since it must be excluded that the person was killed for, say, political reasons. Thomas More would be an example (canonized in 1935, 400 years after he was executed by Henry VIII of England).

I am reporting these beliefs, not endorsing them nor saying that I hold them myself.

Thanks, eight bits, for that enubilisation of any obscuration on my part. It was pretty much what i thought, but as my knowledge was picked up from general reading and conversation, it was good to have it confirmed.

Actually I thought it was a very stupid movie, geared to the mentality of video game playing adolescents. It was an insult to the intelligence of any normal adult, and had virtually nothing to do with the original poem, which actually had considerable religious undertones not brought up in the film.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims generally acknowledge that they worship the same being, the Creator. Some Native American tribes also worship the Great Spirit, and some Hindus believe that Shiva, Vishnu, and Khali are all aspects of one supreme being. There are also many non-denominational people, who, while they don't attend an ecclesiastical order, still believe in God. So while many worship the same God, they still also will claim to have the one true way.

That said, there are many who do worship a multitude of limited beings: such as the various pagan gods, angels, demons, dragons and other entities. Some do so while also acknowledging the supremacy of the Creator.

I guess if your talking about Christianity then maybe but when you include other religions I think not.
I don’t buy into one God not one male God anyhow Life can not come from just one being there is no balance with it. It takes two to create life & I believe that stands for Gods too. I do see too many Christians agreeing on doctrine they fight & fuss among themselves on whose right & wrong . Maybe on here they might just because the rules say they have too but outside of this forum more then likely all best would be off.
I see some of you teasing DC which makes me believe that I’m right on this point. American Indians were Pagan sorry yes they did pray to the great spirit but they also had other Gods as well. A true Buddhist does not worship any deity. I think your reaching when you say that all religions led to one path I think that’s a system of thought for some people who refuse to see another’s POV.

Very observant of you Norwood,

Heavenly Father , and the spirit most call Holy Spirit, is the Mother, together they make One God.

The father Son,(You) and the Mother.

As in heaven so is on our Mortal world.

She is Father's wife, our Mother.

Love Omnaka

we dont worship the same god
what we worship is born of the lack of "spiritual" satisfaction available to us in life so we begin to substitute these gaps with stories of the divine, its happened since the dawn of man. The reason all these stories are so similar is no reflection of the god/gods we worship but a reflection of ourselves and what perhaps what we require on a primal level before we can even attempt to be content with our lives here on earth.

I totally agree. it's common sense .

Man has always worhipped one God, from dawn of man. Why? Well if yuo look at all the religions even those who worship more than one god, always have one God who superior overall, one god, who is th god of Gods, for example, hindus believe in many gods today, but they also acknowledge that there is one god more powerful than everything, Brahma. This shows the evolution of man worshipping God, started as one, then throught he ages man thought, that like a king, God needs servant, who will watch the seas, or the winds etc and thus become god of the sea. An as a result today hindu sects ahev their own personal gods, but the ultimate god is brahma.

This clearly shows the message from god has always been consistent, worship only one and the true god. Its was man through who added gods, and to cover various duties and thus has carried on through the ages, but ever so often god sent his messengers, to bring man to the truth of monotheistic GOd.
The similarity of the stories only shows the consistency in Gods message, it never changed, its always been worship one god, in all religious scriptures. whether it was moses, jesus muahmmed, buhda or krishna. the similarities testify to the true message, the differences occured due to man, and his selfish needs to change the message to best suit his individual needs.