Thousands of Religious Sects - Which one is right?

A few peripheral differences:

You mean like if you don't get baptized in water and accept Jesus as God himself then you will go to hell?

Or that Jesus is the King of The Universe and will return and be King of the Earth?

Or how about the Holy Ghost? Do Hindus even believe in him?

According to you LG, Hindus dont believe that Jesus is equal in power to God and all other angels bow down to Jesus.

What about Satan? The fall of lucifer? Do Hindus believe in that?


Yeah, a few peripheral differences.

The only things similar between the two religions are:

1) Blind belief or faith
2) Worship
3) Sacrifice or Service (and this is even rare today)

So I could worship the sun with those same fundamentals in place and you would say I'm all set. I'm going to heaven.

 

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The title of this thread reminds me of a thread that I started:

http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?t=57114

 

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regarding the bold, its not clear how a person can receive a religious designation simply by birth.

Regarding the italics, that gets back to what I mentioned previously about contemporary hinduism functioning as an orthopraxy (superstitious rituals) as opposed to orthodoxy (philosophical focus)
Its not clear how a hindu, by your definition, determines such elementary things as what is to be done and what is not to be done.
(in other words its not a very appealing definition for one eager to apply their sense of discrimination)

As for forcing a scripture down your throat, not even Krishna does that

BG 18.63: Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do.

Anyone is free to do anything they want, but getting free from the results of our choices is another matter

BG 18.58: If you become conscious of Me, you will pass over all the obstacles of conditioned life by My grace. If, however, you do not work in such consciousness but act through false ego, not hearing Me, you will be lost.

So anyone can do anything in the name of hinduism - but it if they think they are also eligible for what is clearly established as the goal of hinduism, they are probably mistaken

so you mentioned the 10 commandments - how do they define the quality of god? (after all they are normative descriptions for human society, not references to the qualities of god, except to say that god doesn't recommend sin)

BG 3.37: The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: It is lust only, Arjuna, which is born of contact with the material mode of passion and later transformed into wrath, and which is the all-devouring sinful enemy of this world.

even though sin is not an absolute consideration

BG 4.36: Even if you are considered to be the most sinful of all sinners, when you are situated in the boat of transcendental knowledge you will be able to cross over the ocean of miseries

a successful theistic practitioner is expected to be free from it

BG 7.28: Persons who have acted piously in previous lives and in this life and whose sinful actions are completely eradicated are freed from the dualities of delusion, and they engage themselves in My service with determination.
and you mentioned god as a father

BG 14.4: It should be understood that all species of life, O son of Kuntī, are made possible by birth in this material nature, and that I am the seed-giving father.

anything else?

 

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Every thing will be clear if you use your brain as brain rather than as your little prick.

You asked about the nature of YEHWEH, first few commandments are quite descriptive.

an answer, without bullshitting all around.

 

not much to respond to here - better if you shift focus from the inappropriate language and ad homs (italics) and elaborate on your point (bold) , because I can't understand what you are trying to say

 

use brain as brain rather than ....

 

If this is really in Christianity then this is definitely not in Hinduism

Actually the descriptions of the Kalki Avatar and Jesus's 2nd return are quite similar, for instance they both involve a white horse and God (in the form of Kalki or Jesus) waging righteous war...

The Holy Ghost is God, so yes Hindus do, the kingdom of God Jesus describes is identical to Brahm or Brahman in Hinduism.

Most gurus and sages in India easily accept Jesus as an incarnation of God or at least a partial incarnation, or a great guru (spiritual master).

The Bhagavad Gita states:
BG 14.2: By becoming fixed in this knowledge, one can attain to the transcendental nature like My own. Thus established, one is not born at the time of creation or disturbed at the time of dissolution.

Therefore if Jesus really did attain a transcendental nature, then he really would be just what he said he was, "alpha and omega", and also equal to the Father

Hindus don't really believe in Satan, there is the Buddhist Mara (the Evil One), and Kali (irreligion), but its not the same because in Hinduism all things indirectly happen through God and reality itself cannot exist without God, God is the one who is the supreme observer, smaller than an atom, existing the same before the material world, after, and in between. If God was not unchanging, eternal, etc...then he wouldn't be perfect, he wouldn't be the absolute truth, etc...

 

What makes you think any of them are right?

First of all, these two statements are neither true nor false.

- "There can only be one correct belief system." "
- "There can only be one truth."

I could make a statement that a wavelength of light of about 475 nm is the color blue, and assign it a value of true. I can also say that yellow light has wavelength of about 570 nm and also assign it a value of true. Both are different statements of belief. Yet both are true.

Most people can't even agree on a definition of what a religion is. No wonder they disagree about the rightness of any of them.

What if I had a religious beleif that said the exercise of power in any form, by anyone, was right? Caeser, Hilter, Lenin, Stalin, Idi Amin, Saddam Hussien were all prophets and holy men of this religion. When they became weak, they were rightly deposed. And another holy man will someday rise up to take his place as King of the Hill.

Guess what? That 'religious' view is just as valid as any of the others.

Personally, I prefer a philisophy of, "Do what you will, though it directly harm none."

 

Wrong. Both these statements are 100% true.
A statement that would be neither true nor false is:

There can only be one belief system.

But my statement was:

"There can only be one correct belief system.
And the 2nd statement in your list can only be true.

Wrong again. Your analogy is very poor and makes no point at all.

1) Yellow light has wavelength of about 570 nm

True. This can be measured. Yellow has a range 565 and 590 nm.

2) A wavelength of light of about 475 nm is the color blue

True. This can be measured. Blue has a range of 440-485 nm.

Maybe you misinterpreted my statement: There can only be one truth.
This means that there is only ONE set of individual truths. Let's say there are 10 million truths out there. One truth means that we could list off many sets of statements of beliefs, but only 1 set of those beliefs would be true.

Then your religious belief would one of two things: TRUE or FALSE.

Either Hitler pleased God by killing millions of Jews, or didn't please him. It is one or the other Dr_Zinj. True or False. Hitler's actions couldn't ave both pleased and not pleased God.

Also, if you choose to believe God doesn't exist, then saying Hitler's actions did or didn't please God would be FALSE in both cases. That would be like saying: Our second Sun either does or doesn't provide us 2 times the heat of the first sun.

If you believe in no God, then yes, no religious views are valid. They are all 100% FALSE, and are 0% true in all their claims.

However, if you do believe in a God, then each of the 'religious' views that exist today are a certain percentage true in their claims, and know a certain percentage of the total truths which exist in terms of a God.

 

Clearly the act did not please god.. only he can kill millions of jews, (hell, all jews), and get away with it.

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Thats not correct. Say there is one absolute truth, lets say its 12 x 14 = 168, mathmatically there are infinite methods to arrive at the answer. Although the methods all appear completely different, they are really accomplishing the samethings and are in reality non-different from each other, only appearing different in form.

However, one who is wise and sees the actual truth (the answer) does not see much difference between the methods, knowing they are truly non-different from each other.

Your logic is fatally flawed, to the very very very highest degree....

 

VitalOne,

There is a law of reality which exists called the Law of Contradiction. This means that if our solar system has one sun, then if we said it had 3 or four suns we would be wrong because that would contradict the truth.

So if one religion says that God is a Trinity (God, Jesus, Holy Ghost) and another says that God is one entity which isn't pluristic, then one of these religions is incorrect because a God can't be both a Trinity and a single entity.

Also, if one religion says that Jesus is the King of everything and is the ONLY way to God, and another religion says that Jesus is simply one of a group of Avatars and he is NOT the King of everything, then one of these religions is WRONG, because Jesus can't be both. It is one or the other.

If one religion says that Jesus saved the ENTIRE WORLD from their sins, and another says that he didn't, then one religion is wrong.

If the Muslims believe that Muhammud's visions of Gabriel were real and Jesus is not the Son of God, and Christians believe the visions WERE NOT real and Jesus IS SURELY the Son of God, then one of these religions is wrong, since both cannot possibly be right.


See how it works VitalOne? A sqare cannot be a circle. A cannot be B. Can you possibly grasp this concept?

So your 12X14=168 analogy is referring to something completely different than the truth of reality. There can only be one 168. 12X14 can't be anything other than 168. See the logic? It really is simple. The 168 (God) cannot be anything other than 168. If it is 167, then it is that far from the truth.


Your 12X14=168 analogy made "168" represent the reward of servitude on this earth, the reward being heaven or oneness with God. The way you use this analogy is the same thing as LG's vessel and water analogy.

VitalOne's logic: It doesn't matter what two numbers you multiply, as long as you get 168 from it.
LG's logic: It doesn't matter what vessel you use, as long as you get water from it.


Now here's what you both are saying:
It doesn't matter what religion you follow, as long as you still get to heaven.


Here is the problem that follows:

If all religions provide the same reward (heaven), then what religion should I choose to devote my life to?

If I have ten mugs in front of me, each different color, and all filled with water, what mug should I choose to drink out of?

If I have to multiply two numbers to get to 168, what two numbers should I multiply?


VitalOne, all you have done with your number analogy is reitterate the main problem with the journey to heaven. With an infinite number of religions to choose from (include sects and possible sects), what religion should I choose?

Now you and LG claim every religion out there is equal in terms of beliefs, sacraments, requirements, and code for living (fasting, no red meat, etc.) and that we can choose whatever religion we want and still go to heaven and live happiky ever after.

I on the other hand see that every religion is different in some aspect. So my question in, what religion is the most truthful, or optimum religion to follow?

I don't see how this a hard concept for people to understand. There are thousands of religions and sects. They all differ in certain aspects. So logically, if I want to serve God, unite with him, and go to heaven, I will want to choose the BEST religion or sect that exists, or create my own religion or sect.

What is the "BEST" religion or sect?

That question is what this thread is trying to resolve.

To me, the BEST or OPTIMUM religion out there must:

1) be the most truthful in its claims of reality and the nature of God
2) be the most pleasing to God in terms of its Code of Living (fasting, no red meat, no meat at all, follow the Spirit ot Holy Ghost, pray 5 times a day, etc.)

So which religion is the "BEST"?

Some say Christianity. Some say Hinduism. Some say Islam. Some say Buddhism. Some say Catholic. Some say Protestant. Some say Lutheran. Some say Evangilist. etc. etc.

Which one is it? You can't follow every religion at the same time since each religion is different and contradicts the other one in certain aspects. So which one is the BEST religion?

 

unless you have another bonafide teacher and process to develop transcendental knowledge, yes

many glorifications of the spiritual preceptor can be found

hä hä prabhu koro doyä, deho more pada-chäyä,
ebe jasa ghusuk tribhuvana
O spiritual master, ocean of mercy and friend of the fallen souls, you are the teacher of everyone and the life of all people. O master! Be merciful unto me and give me shelter. May your glories now be proclaimed throughout the entire creation.

yes -of course there is a bit of variety around what the term "holy ghost" actually signifies in christianity, so there are a few different approaches to defining it in hinduism

http://hinduism.about.com/od/basics/a/christianity.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Para_Tattva

http://www.stephen-knapp.com/christianity_and_the_vedic_teachings_within_it.htm

god is established as having some qualities that can be possessed by other living entities, and some qualities that cannot.

Amongst the qualities that cannot are

(56) He has inconceivable potency.
(57) Uncountable universes generate from His body.
(58) He is the original source of all incarnations.
(59) He is the giver of salvation to the enemies whom He kills.
(60) He is the attractor of liberated souls.
(61) He is the performer of wonderful varieties of pastimes
(62) He is surrounded by devotees endowed with wonderful love of Godhead. (63) He can attract all living entities all over the universes .
(64) He has a wonderful excellence of beauty which cannot be rivaled anywhere in the creation.

it would be difficult to establish by biblical quotations, how jesus fulfills these criteria, particularly when he (the son) is talking about god (the father) in a mood of service/submission/surrender

However despite not being god, there are numerous scriptural descriptions of pure devotees of the callibre of jesus being worshiped by caranas, apsaras, gandharvas and devas (different grades of angels)

yes, but under a different name with a few extra added details maya

correct

perhaps from the view point of one who cannot separate a peripheral aspect from an essential one

probably wouldn't be enough to grant the theistic perfection, but it could be spiritually elevating to a degree, since you would at least be acknowledging some power that is greater than yourself

 

LG,

You still haven't answered the main question of this thread.

Great, you and VitalOne have pointed out how every religion is equal in where it gets you (heaven, hopefully). So what religion do you pick then?

You said yourself that some religons are better than others. When I talked about worshipping the sun and sacrificing to it, you responded:

"probably wouldn't be enough to grant the theistic perfection, but it could be spiritually elevating to a degree, since you would at least be acknowledging some power that is greater than yourself"

So if worshiping the sun can be "spirtually elevating to a degree," than what religion will spiritually elevate me to the HIGHEST DEGREE?

I know what your view is: Hinduism and whatever your specific school or sect of Hinduism is. This is your view of the best religion available to us today.

Maybe it is. Maybe not.

Here is a list of people considered to be avatars (wikipedia):

Hans Ji Maharaj (1900–1966)
Jagadguru Kripaluji Maharaj (1922-present)
Mahavatar Babaji
Meher Baba (1894-1969)
Mother Meera (1960-present)
Narayani Amma (1976-present)
Sathya Sai Baba (1926?-1929?-present)
Shirdi Sai Baba (1838-1918)
Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886)
Sri Sarada Devi (1853–1920).
Adi Da (1939-present)
Bahá'u'lláh (1817–1892)
Gautama Buddha (563-483BC-543BC)
Jesus (4 BC-36)
Mahavira (599 BC-527 BC)
Samael Aun Weor (1917-1977)
Zoroaster (Zarathustra)


LG,

I don't see Mohammad on that list.

Also what Avatar did Jesus represent?



Here is an analogy to consider:

In life, when we have a goal or want to accomplish something, there is always a BEST or OPTIMUM way to accomplish it.

For example, when NASA sent men to the moon, they wanted to send them there in the BEST or OPTIMUM way possible. They analyzed every single way they could accomplish that goal before deciding on a specifc way (the apollo series of rockets with the lunar module). They decided that this was the BEST way to get man to the moon with the budget and resources available to them.

Now after they decided on an optimum way to get to the moon, they executed as BEST as possible on that belief they had. The execution involved building a rocket or vehicle as close to perfection as possible, so that the millions of individual parts of the vehicle (Saturn V) all were functional and worked together in an amazing way. The execution also involved the astronauts performing their tasks as best as possible with as most skill as possible.


Of course, there were probably some small insigifigant malfunctions in Apollo 11, but they still got the job done.

The point though, is that there was and is an optimal way to get to the moon. The perfect combination of parts in the vehicle, the pefect ratio of explosive liquids in the gas tank, the perfect angle of the nozzle.

The execution of these beliefs of how to get to the moon can also be optimal. The astronauts must perform every task to perfection. They must land the lunar module in the best landing area possible and at the best speed on descent.


So there are two things in any goal or religon (the goal is heaven) which can be optimal:

1. Beliefs
2. Execution

In religion, if all the beliefs about God and his nature are true, and if every belief about what God requires of us is true, then the belief area is optimal.

If the execution of the beliefs is done to perfection in terms of how one lives one's life and the decisions they make(Jesus, etc.), then the execution area is optimal. There is an optimum decision which can be made in any life situation. If the best or optimum decision is made in every temptation, every trial, every problem in life, then this would constitute the BEST execution of a belief possible.

 

None. Organized religion is a pointless, dogmatic, and inherently ignorant lifestyle choice.

 

One thing we haven't talked about ehich I know LG and Hinduism supports, is the idea of different levels of heaven. or different levels to the afterlife.

So in order to get to the lowest level of heaven, you must serve God and please him minimally, not maximally, or optimally.

However, in order to reach the highest or best level of heaven, one must serve God as optimally as possible and choose beliefs which match the truth the closest.

LG, here's some information I got in 5 minutes from some random websites:

Comparison Christianity and Hinduism - What are the differences?

Hinduism is a religion with many beliefs and practices, so offering a comparison of Christianity and Hinduism is challenging. It would be doing Hinduism an injustice to reduce its theology and philosophies to a scope that would be required to truly offer a comparison with Christianity. However, there are some tenets to Hinduism that are universal to all Hindus.

The first difference between Hinduism and Christianity is that Hinduism embraces Christianity as a valid religion whereas the Bible does not. Hinduism is a religion that advocates tolerance. It teaches that all religions are different paths leading to one goal; all religions are different means to one end. Hinduism is not exclusive and accepts all religions as valid. Christianity, however, teaches that Christ is the only way to God. John 14:6 says, "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

Philosophically, it is impossible for religions with mutually-exclusive doctrines to be equally valid. Where we find contradiction, we must find error. Either Christ was wrong or He was right when He claimed to be the only path to God. It is simple arithmetic, not spiritual elitism.

A comparison between Christianity and Hinduism reveals ancient practices which appear similar. In all ancient religions, Hinduism included, we find reparation for sins being done through sacrifices to an enraged God. In Hinduism and Judaism, this sacrifice is an animal sacrifice. Both theologies preach a divine commandment of righteousness, and failure to comply requires a penalty. This ancient instinct to make reparation for wrong doings suggests that Romans 2:14-15 is true: "Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law. . .they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them."

The culmination of these sacrifices for sin is found in Christianity. We have all done things we know are wrong. Both Hinduism and Christianity preach a divine commandment of perfect righteousness and that we are held accountable for our actions. The difference is that Christianity preaches the penalty for our sin has already been paid by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. To become a Christian is to accept the ultimate sacrifice to avoid the ultimate penalty

Source: http://www.allaboutreligion.org/comparison-christianity-and-hinduism-faq.htm






Comparing Christianity & Hinduism PETER KREEFT


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Kreeft outlines the main theological and practical differences, as well as the important common elements, between Christianity and Hinduism..
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Peter Kreeft
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There are two basic kinds of religions in the world: Eastern and Western.
The main differences between Hinduism and Christianity are typical of the differences between Eastern and Western religions in general. Here are some examples:


1. Hinduism is pantheistic, not theistic. The doctrine that God created the world out of nothing rather than emanating it out of His own substance or merely shaping some pre-existing material is an idea that simply never occurred to anyone but the Jews and those who learned it from them. Everyone else either thought of the gods as part of the world (paganism) or the world as part of God (pantheism).


2. If God is in everything, God is in both good and evil. But then there is no absolute morality, no divine law, no divine will discriminating good and evil. In Hinduism, morality is practical; its end is to purify the soul from desires so that it can attain mystical consciousness. Again, the Jews are unique in identifying the source of morality with the object of religion. Everyone has two innate senses: the religious sense to worship, and the moral sense of conscience; but only the Jewish God is the focus of both. Only the God of the Bible is absolutely righteous.


3. Eastern religions come from private mystical experiences; Western religions come from public revelations recorded in a book and summarized in a creed. In the East, human experience validates the Scriptures; in the West, Scripture judges experience.


4. Eastern religions are esoteric, understandable only from within by the few who share the experience. Western religions are esoteric, public, democratic, open to all. In Hinduism there are many levels of truth: polytheism, sacred cows and reincarnation for the masses; monotheism (or monism) for the mystics, who declare the individual soul one with Brahman (God) and beyond reincarnation (“Brahman is the only reincarnator”). Truth is relative to the level of experience.


5. Individuality is illusion according to Eastern mysticism. Not that we're not real, but that we are not distinct from God or each other. Christianity tells you to love your neighbors; Hinduism tells you you are your neighbors. The word spoken by God Himself as His own essential name, the word “I,” is the ultimate illusion, not the ultimate reality, according to the East. There Is no separate ego. All is one.


6. Since individuality is illusion, so is free will. If free will is illusion, so is sin. And if sin is illusion, so is hell. Perhaps the strongest attraction of Eastern religions is in their denial of sin, guilt and hell.


7. Thus the two essential points of Christianity — sin and salvation — are both missing in the East. If there is no sin, no salvation is needed, only enlightenment. We need not be born again; rather, we must merely wake up to our innate divinity. If I am part of God. I can never really be alienated from God by sin.


8. Body, matter, history and time itself are not independently real, according to Hinduism. Mystical experience lifts the spirit out of time and the world. In contrast, Judaism and Christianity are essentially news, events in time: creation, providence, prophets, Messiah, incarnation, death and, resurrection, ascension, second coming. Incarnation and New Birth are eternity dramatically entering time. Eastern religions are not dramatic.


9. The ultimate Hindu ideal is not sanctity but mysticism. Sanctity is fundamentally a matter of the will: willing God's will, loving God and neighbor. Mysticism is fundamentally a matter of intellect, intuition, consciousness. This fits the Eastern picture of God as consciousness — not will, not lawgiver.
When C.S. Lewis was converted from atheism, he shopped around in the world's religious supermarket and narrowed his choice down to Hinduism or Christianity. Religions are like soups, he said. Some, like consomme, are thin and clear (Unitarianism, Confucianism, modern Judaism); others, like minestrone, are thick and dark (paganism, “mystery religions”). Only Hinduism and Christianity are both “thin” (philosophical) and “thick” (sacramental and mysterious). But Hinduism is really two religions: “thick” for the masses, “thin” for the sages. Only Christianity is both.

Hinduism claims that all other religions are yogas: ways, deeds, paths. Christianity is a form of bhakti yoga (yoga for emotional types and lovers). There is also jnana yoga (yoga for intellectuals), raja yoga (yoga for experimenters), karma yoga (yoga for workers, practical people) and hatha yoga (the physical preliminary to the other four). For Hindus, religions are human roads up the divine mountain to enlightenment — religion is relative to human need; there is no “one way” or single objective truth.

There is, however, a universal subjective truth about human nature: It has “four wants”: pleasure, power, altruism and enlightenment. Hinduism encourages us to try all four paths, confident that only the fourth brings fulfillment. If there is reincarnation and if there is no hell, Hindus can afford to be patient and to learn the long, hard way: by experience rather than by faith and revelation.

Hindus are hard to dialogue with for the opposite reason Moslems are: Moslems are very intolerant, Hindus are very tolerant. Nothing is false; everything is true in a way.

The summit of Hinduism is the mystical experience, called mukti, or moksha: “liberation” from the illusion of finitude, realization that tat tvam asi, “thou art That (Brahman].” At the center of your being is not individual ego but Atman, universal self which is identical with Brahman, the All.

This sounds like the most absurd and blasphemous thing one could say: that I am God. But it is not that I, John Smith, am God the Father Almighty. Atman is not ego and Brahman is not God the Father. Hinduism identifies not the immanent human self with the transcendent divine self but the transcendent human self with the immanent divine self. It is not Christianity. But neither is it idiocy.

Martin Buber, in “I and Thou,” suggests that Hindu mysticism is the profound experience of the “original pre-biographical unity” of the self, beneath all forms and contents brought to it by experience, but confused with God. Even Aristotle said that “the soul is, in a way, all things.” Hinduism construes this “way” as identity, or inclusion, rather than knowing: being all things substantially rather than mentally. The soul is a mirror for the whole world.

Source: http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0008.html

 

But in Christianity the Father and the Son (Jesus) are equal, the holy spirit is above them both, so in a sense there is only one (the holy spirit). As it says in the Bible, if you blaspheme against the Father or the Son it is forgiven, but if you blaspheme against the holy spirit it is not forgiven, not in this world, nor the next.

Did you read that correctly, here it is:

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6)

Jesus says he is equivalent to the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father but by the truth, the way, the life, which Jesus is equal to. Therefore anyone who follows the truth, the way, the life, is also following Jesus.......he doesn't seem to be saying he is the only way to God at all...

The Buddha had also said that he had come for the salvation of the entire world (well actually he said he saved millions of worlds)...according to The Buddha anyone who is a light among men like himself is also a savior of the world...according to Jesus those who attain the kingdom of God will do greater works than himself.......according to the Qu'ran different spiritual teachers arise to different nations across the world...

Actually, if you spin a square fast enough it will become a circle, but thats besides the point....you don't really understand what I'm saying

Let me ellobarate my point....look at this:
7*2*4*3
6*2*7*2
42*4
28*3*2
7*8*3
6*7*4

At first glance, they all appear different from each other, however they are all 14*12 or 168. For someone without knowledge of the truth (in this case 168) or the way, they will continue to appear to different, even though they are really all the same, non-different from each other, only appearing different.

"The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste]" (BG 5.18)

Well, 168 was used as an analogy to represent the absolute truth, my logic is rather that it doesn't matter what you do as long as it leads to the truth,

But my actual point going back to your original post is that all religions although appearing difefrent can all be equally correct

Not really, your whole point was that only one religion can be correct, our point is really that they can all equally be correct, nothing to do with heaven....

Choose which ever one suits you best....

There are a variety of ways to learn something, choose which way suits you best. For instance when learning math someone who is a visual learner will prefer something different than someone who is an audible learner, etc...

The "BEST" one for you would be the one that would help you achieve the truth, the way, etc...the fastest...

 

Why do people keep denying that A cannot be B?

Our solar system either has one sun or two. The earth is either round or flat.

God is either a Trinity (pluristic) or a singular entity. Jesus either was or was not the Son of God.


The Bible says God is a Trinity.

The Quran says:

"People of the Book (Jews and Christians)! Do not exceed the limits in your religion, and attribute to God nothing except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, was only a Messenger of God, and His command that He conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and in His Messengers, and do not say: ‘God is a Trinity.' Give up this assertion; it would be better for you. God is indeed just One God. Far be it from His glory that He should have a son. To Him belongs all that is in the heavens and in the earth. God is sufficient for a guardian" (Quran 4:171).

The Bible says Jesus is God's only son:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (Bible: John 3:16).


The Quran says otherwise:

"Say: "God is Unique! God, the Source [of everything]. He has not fathered anyone nor was He fathered, and there is nothing comparable to Him!" (Quran 112:1-4).

"Such was Jesus, the son of Mary; it is a statement of truth, about which they vainly dispute. It is not befitting to the majesty of God, that He should beget a son. Glory be to Him! When He determines a matter, He only says to it, ‘Be' and it is" (Quran 19:34-35).


Hinduism claims that Jesus was just another avatar. Islam says that Jesus was just another messenger.

The Bible paints a picture of Jesus completely opposite to the beliefs of Hinduism and Islam (and all other religions):

Col 1:16-20
16 For by him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven
KJV

Heb 1:1-4
1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
NKJV


Matt 28:16-20
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.
NKJV


LG and VitalOne. You are seriously in error if you state that every religion has the exact same beliefs on who Jesus was.

If I told you both that the earth was flat, you would say:

No, it is flat and round at the same time. LOL, good one.


If you can't see any contradictions between beliefs of religions which I have presented above, then, well, you cannot grasp the concept of the Law of Idenity and the Law of Contradcition.

 

Religion is a human sociological construction and has evolved in human culture to manipulate and control human behaviour. It has no basis in truth and thus all hold equal merit and truth.

Arguing semantics between cultures is like banging your head against a wall. It gets you nowhere.

 

Hey, Lightgigantic and VitalOne,

You both claim that no religion contradicts each other in beliefs.

Adstar, a Christian member of this forum seems to disagree:

There you go. So don't try and tell me that all religions have the same beliefs on the nature of reality, because YOU ARE WRONG.

This is why all religions aren't alike.

According to VitalOne and LG, I can simply choose either Islam or Christianity, which both contradict each other in beliefs and practical application, as long as it "suits me." Great advice.

So here is LG and VitalOne's solution to the problem of what religion to choose:

Choose the religion that best suits you.

Great. So I can pick and choose my beliefs to suit me. Good deal.