How to deal with "Every religion thinks it's the right one"

[Servant19]

How would you interpret this line by Jesus ?

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

7 If you had known me, you would surely have known my Father also: and from henceforth you shall know him, and you have seen him.

Hi there Slaney.

Did you read my post quoting St.Basil about 10 posts back at all.

My understanding of these passages you quote is as St Basil stated that The Son is “the express image of the invisible God”

When you have a perfect (ABSOLUTELY PERFECT) image of something that is unimaginably glorious, then when you approach the image, you are approaching the something. Because it’s a PERFECT IMAGE, there is no discernable difference to us diminutive human beings.

Please share what you understand from St.Basils passage dear friend

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[tonyrey]

But you would be required to concede that Buddhism predates Christianity by hundreds of years, and Hinduism predates Christianity by thousands of years. The logical line of your argument would lead to the claim that Christianity is too young to be a true religion. So, I would only advice this line of argument with those who profess Christianity.

You are assuming the moral precepts of Buddhism and Hinduism are in the same category as the teaching of Jesus. Seniority is significant but the most important criteria are credibility and moral authority.

 

[Slaney]

Not sure what Muhammad did (the history is not very reliable), but I know Baha’u’llah and the Bab (who’s historical accounts are undeniable) did all of these things. Baha’u’llah and the Bab proclaimed Muhammad a true Prophet, so I believe them.



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Mohammed is dead ! Saint Paul said " even if an angel proclaims a different Gospel do not believe it " Mohammed preached a different gospel, so that’s the yard-stick I stick too.

 

[Slaney]

-]/-]

The Bahai Faith considers itself a chapter in the Book of the eternal Faith of God.

In answer to your question therefore, this religion does not have a beginning, since God is eternal.

“***This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future.” ***- Baha’u’llah



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Don’t know alot about the Bahai faith, don’t need to, if you want to nit pick about the Alpha & Omega then you should consider the Catholic position, which had the Word become flesh. Now if the God that Catholics believe in is/was not eternal (always there) then He has to be invented, we Catholics don’t believe this, we believe in an Eternal God. All others gods are an invention of over active minds, some of them demoniacally inspired. Mohammed was supposedly illiterate ? then he was supposed to have known the Bible, the Quoran is numbered similarly, that great mocker of God was at it then as he is now, come Lord Jesus +++ After further reading iv’e learned the Bahai it was invented 150 years ago, so how is this older than the Catholic Church which has been around for 2,000 years, and further ? Not that this matters since The Word was always there and the Word became Flesh which is preached by the Catholic Church +++

 

[Slaney]

I am sorry but **everybody could claim that s/he is God **so everything at the end could be man made.

They can claim all they like, when they heal the blind, make the dumb speak, cure the crippled, cure the lepers, raise the dead, drive out demons, cure the blind & RISE FROM THE DEAD +++ then get back to me, I want to meet that man.

 

[Orangebookbag]

Any advice for how to deal with it when this is brought up? How can I kind of elevate Christianity/Catholicism above all of the “other” religions that would swear they are the truth?

They don’t. Hinduism, Buddhism, most Eastern philosophies, and most local/indigenous spiritual and religious systems are pluralistic, if not outright relativistic. The claim of absolute truth is unique to the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The question “which religion is the right religion?” can be better phrased as “who was Jesus Christ?”.

 

[MacQ]

You are assuming the moral precepts of Buddhism and Hinduism are in the same category as the teaching of Jesus. Seniority is significant but the most important criteria are credibility and moral authority.

Hinduism and Buddhism is credible and has moral authority to Hindu’s and Buddhists.
And you might find their “moral precepts” are not all that different from Jesus’.
Just sayin’ maybe you need to come up with better criteria.

 

[Aloysium]

Hinduism and Buddhism is credible and has moral authority to Hindu’s and Buddhists. And you might find their “moral precepts” are not all that different from Jesus’. . . .

Even if one concedes that their teachings are about the way, Jesus is the Way - not an insignificant difference.

 

[Servant19]

Mohammed is dead ! Saint Paul said " even if an angel proclaims a different Gospel do not believe it " Mohammed preached a different gospel, so that’s the yard-stick I stick too.

Can you show me an area where the “Gospel” of Muhammad is different to the Gospel of Jesus please?



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[Servant19]

Don’t know alot about the Bahai faith, don’t need to, if you want to nit pick about the Alpha & Omega then you should consider the Catholic position, which had the Word become flesh. Now if the God that Catholics believe in is/was not eternal (always there) then He has to be invented, we Catholics don’t believe this, we believe in an Eternal God. All others gods are an invention of over active minds, some of them demoniacally inspired. Mohammed was supposedly illiterate ? then he was supposed to have known the Bible, the Quoran is numbered similarly, that great mocker of God was at it then as he is now, come Lord Jesus +++ After further reading iv’e learned the Bahai it was invented 150 years ago, so how is this older than the Catholic Church which has been around for 2,000 years, and further ? Not that this matters since The Word was always there and the Word became Flesh which is preached by the Catholic Church +++

If the Word can become flesh once in history, why can’t it become flesh again…why do we restrict God?

The attributes of God in this material world are many, but there is one God.
The “becoming flesh” of the Word is also many throughout history, but there is only One Word.

Might I remind you that the God Catholics believe in is ABSOLUTELY the SAME GOD as what Muslims believe in. It’s right there in black and white in the Church’s de fide teachings.

Might I also remind you that in the “age competition” that you are creating, that Judaism is even older that Catholicism, so is Hinduism, so why are we not to believe that Christianity was not “invented”??

“let us reason together”

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[MacQ]

If the Word can become flesh once in history, why can’t it become flesh again…why do we restrict God?

The attributes of God in this material world are many, but there is one God.
The “becoming flesh” of the Word is also many throughout history, but there is only One Word.

Might I remind you that the God Catholics believe in is ABSOLUTELY the SAME GOD as what Muslims believe in. It’s right there in black and white in the Church’s de fide teachings.

Might I also remind you that in the “age competition” that you are creating, that Judaism is even older that Catholicism, so is Hinduism, so why are we not to believe that Christianity was not “invented”??

“let us reason together”

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[MacQ]

Even if one concedes that their teachings are about the way, Jesus is the Way - not an insignificant difference.

For you and for me, He is.
But I reckon someone else might read your grand pronouncement as “the debate is over, you’re wrong because I say so”.
Sorry, but I doubt it’s convincing to anyone outside the choir.

 

[Aloysium]

For you and for me, He is.
But I reckon someone else might read your grand pronouncement as “the debate is over, you’re wrong because I say so”.
Sorry, but I doubt it’s convincing to anyone outside the choir.

Mark 4:21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

 

[Aloysium]

If the Word can become flesh once in history, why can’t it become flesh again…why do we restrict God? . . . “let us reason together”.

First of all, your question betrays a lack of understanding of Christianity.
Secondly, No one is restricting God. I am restricted to having faith in the revelation of the Word within history and His becoming a man in Jesus Christ.

My view sees Catholicism as complete in itself. It is more than a set of dead teachings but a walking of the Path that is Jesus.

One can round off the edges of the polygonal pegs that constitute the various religions to fit the round hole of some proposed universal religion; in doing so, most of each particular expression of truth is lost.
Picking and choosing from the various faiths what one likes, in order to reconstitute a new belief system, one runs the risk of ignoring one’s relationship with God in favour of what is merely a philosophical and/or theological mental exercise.

 

[Servant19]

First of all, your question betrays a lack of understanding of Christianity.
Secondly, No one is restricting God. I am restricted to having faith in the revelation of the Word within history and His becoming a man in Jesus Christ.

My view sees Catholicism as complete in itself. It is more than a set of dead teachings but a walking of the Path that is Jesus.

One can round off the edges of the polygonal pegs that constitute the various religions to fit the round hole of some proposed universal religion; in doing so, most of each particular expression of truth is lost.
Picking and choosing from the various faiths what one likes, in order to reconstitute a new belief system, one runs the risk of ignoring one’s relationship with God in favour of what is merely a philosophical and/or theological mental exercise.

So are you saying that when Jesus issued forth his New Commandnent of loving all, he was simply reconstituting the previously held stronghold of Metta, the Buddhist principle of loving-kindness towards all?

There is no picking and choosing here dear friend. It’s prioritising on the priorities according to Gods Will for this age. We are living in an Age where we have a new heaven and a new earth, it’s time to focus on what commandments are needed to live within it.

Without Gods commandments we have nothing to direct His grace towards as a sign of our gratitude for His benevolence and providence.

The shape of the hole is clear.

God has given the shape that fits in it. Everyone is clinging onto man made devices.



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[Aloysium]

So are you saying that when Jesus issued forth his New Commandnent of loving all, he was simply reconstituting the previously held stronghold of Metta, the Buddhist principle of loving-kindness towards all? . . . God has given the shape that fits in it. Everyone is clinging onto man made devices. .

No man made devices here other than those revisionist forces who may be preying on those without solid foundation.
Not always known as such, the Word, who became flesh in Jesus Christ, has revealed Himself in history and individually to countless people. He came to establish His church, through which we re-establish a loving relationship with God.

 

[Charlemagne_III]

If we ask why every religion thinks it is the right one, we answer that this is because the principle of infallibility is alive and well in every religion; no matter that it is affirmed by only one and denied by all the others.

 

[Servant19]

No man made devices here other than those revisionist forces who may be preying on those without solid foundation.
Not always known as such, the Word, who became flesh in Jesus Christ, has revealed Himself in history and individually to countless people. He came to establish His church, through which we re-establish a loving relationship with God.

I would humbly propose that “if” the Word made flesh has truly revealed Himself in His purest form to countless millions we would not have seen atrocities by those Christians.

Words and deeds must go hand in hand dear friend

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[Oreoracle]

I’m not sure if this has been said, but regarding the OP:

It’s not so much that every religion thinks it’s right that raises my suspicions. It’s the fact that every religion thinks it’s right in spite of having the same amount of evidence and using the same methodologies, such as faith, revelation, or intuition, to arrive at competing versions of the truth. Surely if faith, revelation, or intuition were reliable means of obtaining knowledge, they would provide consistent answers?

 

[tskrobacz]

The question raised by the OP beckons back to original sin and the problem of our fallen nature. It is God’s prerogative alone to determine good vs evil. When Adam/Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the did so because they believed that they could know and act as Gods. They could not, and nor can we.

Instead of debating who’s system of beliefs is most in sync (“the right one”) with the will of God, each person should be a living witness to the God of their understanding. For the Christian, and particularly the Catholic Christian, this means following Jesus…not merely proclaiming Jesus but actually taking up your cross and the spirit of the Beatitudes in your daily living. By our fruits we are known.