only one correct religion with the truth?

[eddie_too]

Jesus is the fullness of truth.

Jesus possessed the power and exercised that power to make Himself and His teachings present to every generation that followed His generation.

Jesus knew what human beings would need if He and His teachings were to remain present to them until the end of this world.

Jesus created the Church for the sole purpose of keeping Himself and His teachings present in this world.

the Church, relying on the apostles whom Jesus taught specifically for the purpose, is the sole source of Jesus’ authority on earth.

while truths about our Creator can be discerned from His creation, God acted specifically and supernaturally in history only through Judaism and the catholic church.

consequently, it is only by obeying the catholic church that one can be confident that one is behaving in a manner that is according to our best knowledge of God and His will for mankind.

 

[Contarini]

Allow me friend to add a bit of perspective here.

If one were to ask this question about the Old Testament times, I suspect, we would find very little objection to this fact.

Rather the reverse. I don’t think that “chosen people” automatically translates into “only one correct religion with the truth.”

A much better case could be made that until the coming of Jesus there was validity in many religions, although one particular people had been chosen for special revelation to prepare for the incarnation of the Light that Enlightens Everyone.

Rather than “there was only one true religion in the OT so there must be only one now,” I would argue “there were many valid ways in which people related to God before the coming of Jesus, though one of them was better than the others, and the question is to what extent that continues to be the case between the First and Second Comings.”

Edwin

 

[PJM]

=Contarini;11634417]Well, they can, but not if they contradict each other.

The question is: what can we say for sure about what spiritual things contradict each other?

One that particularly exercises me is the apparent conflict between the Christian affirmation of an eternal, infinite, perfect God and the Buddhist doctrine of impermanence. I am not entirely convinced that these two things can’t both be true, which many folks on this forum would hold to be absurd.

But I think it is important to have some account of how the reality you believe in relates to other people’s reality. It may be a working hypothesis rather than the absolute certainty many would prefer. But simply accepting contradictory narratives without any attempt to reconcile them is a bad habit, I think, because it creates a complete disjunction between our critical faculties/love of truth and our spiritual impulses.

Edwin

Here my friends is God’s perspective:

Biblically and historically provable too

“I AM” the One true God and I AM Good and Perfect

Because I AM God; Good and Perfect I can possibly have only one set of faith beliefs [true in the OT as well as the NT]

And I AM God who freely choose only One chosen people in the OT and followed this tradition in the NT Founding Only One New Religion in One Church:thumbsup:

“One” is chosen by me precisely to avoid what has taken place when man decides to add numbers to my Plans, My wish, My Commands. With only 'One" there can be to debate about other options And That is WHY I AM One.

 

[tonyfish58]

Here my friends is God’s perspective:

Biblically and historically provable too

“I AM” the One true God and I AM Good and Perfect

Because I AM God; Good and Perfect I can possibly have only one set of faith beliefs [true in the OT as well as the NT]

And I AM God who freely choose only One chosen people in the OT and followed this tradition in the NT Founding Only One New Religion in One Church:thumbsup:

“One” is chosen by me precisely to avoid what has taken place when man decides to add numbers to my Plans, My wish, My Commands. With only 'One" there can be to debate about other options And That is WHY I AM One.

The I Am is not unique to Christian Scriptures, as one could expect if all Religions share the source of all Truth, that is God.

Following the brief introduction is the Tablet to the First Disciple of the Bab, in this you will note that “I Am” is given as such “He is I, Myself, the Sovereign, the Omnipotent”.

The Bab was much like John the Baptist and came to prepare the way for the Promised one of All Religions, that is Baha’u’llah. His mission, message, sufferings and Martyrdom mirrored that of Christs. Thus the first Tablet to the First Disciple of this time of promise, the time of resurrection reads such

TABLET TO THE FIRST LETTER OF THE LIVING Mullā Ḥusayn Bushrū’ī ]

هذا ما نزلنا الىاول من آمن بمن يظهره الله تنذيراً من عندنا للعالمين

This is that which We have revealed for the First Believer
in Him Whom God shall make manifest, that it may serve
as an admonition from Our presence unto all mankind.

بسم الله العزيزالمحبوب

In the Name of the Almighty, the Best Beloved.

LAUDED and glorified is He Who is the sovereign Lord of the kingdoms of heaven and earth and whatever is between them. Say, verily unto Him shall all return, and He is the One Who guideth at His Own behest whomsoever He pleaseth. Say, all men beseech His blessings and He is supreme over all created things.

He is indeed the All-Glorious, the Mighty, the Well-Beloved.

This is an epistle from the letter `Thā'  الثاء ] (= the Bab) unto him who is the First Believer.  Bear thou witness that verily He is I, Myself, the Sovereign, the Omnipotent.  He is the One Who ordaineth life and death and unto Him shall all return. Indeed there is none other God but Him and all men bow down in adoration before Him.  Verily Thy Lord, God, shall presently recompense every one as He ordaineth,  even swifter than uttering the words `Be thou, and it is'.

God hath in truth testified in His Book and so also have testified the company of His angels, His Messengers and those endued with divine knowledge, that thou hast believed in God and in His signs and that everyone is guided aright by virtue of thy guidance.

This is indeed a boundless grace which God, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, hath graciously conferred upon thee aforetime and will confer hereafter.

And since thou didst believe in God before the creation, He hath in truth, at His own behest, raised thee up in every Revelation. There is no God but Him, the Sovereign Protector, the All-Glorious.

It behooveth you to proclaim the Cause of God unto all created things as a token of grace from His presence; no God is there but Him, the Most Generous, the All-Compelling.

Say: All matters must be referred to the Book of God; I am indeed the First to believe in God and in His signs; I am the One Who divulgeth and proclaimeth the Truth and I have been invested with every excellent title of God, the Mighty, the Incomparable.

Verily I have attained the Day of the First Manifestation and by the bidding of the Lord and as a token of His grace,

I shall attain the Day of the Latter Manifestation. There is no God but Him and at the appointed hour everyone shall bow down unto Him in adoration.

I render thanks and yield praise unto God for having been chosen by Him as the Exponent of His Cause in bygone days and in the days to come; there is none other God save Him, the Glorified, the All-Praised, the Ever-Abiding. Whatever is in the heavens and on the earth is His and through Him are we guided aright.

O people of the Bayan!

Those who embrace the Truth must turn unto Me, as ordained in the Book and divine guidance will be vouchsafed to whosoever attaineth My presence. (Trans. Habib Taherzadeh et. al from SWB: 9-10).

God Bless & Regards Tony

 

[tonyfish58]

More on the “I Am” bahai-insights.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/birth-of-bab.html

Extracts from the above link

**"I am, I am, I am, the promised One! I am the One whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at whose mention you have risen, whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten.” **

“O My beloved friends! You are the bearers of the name of God in this Day. You have been chosen as the repositories of His mystery. It behoves each one of you to manifest the attributes of God, and to exemplify by your deeds and words the signs of His righteousness, His power and glory. The very members of your body must bear witness to the loftiness of your purpose, the integrity of your life, the reality of your faith, and the exalted character of your devotion. . . The time is come when naught but the purest motive, supported by deeds of stainless purity, can ascend to the throne of the Most High and be acceptable unto Him.” (The Bab, Farewell Address to the Letters of the Living)

God Bless and Regards Tony

 

[tonyfish58]

Lets take a break and listen to a song about We Are One from Dan Seals of Seals and Croft - May He rest in Peace.

youtube.com/watch?v=2-n8sPkE6gE&feature=share&list=PL48A656CA22CAE57D&index=18

Regards Tony

 

[eddie_too]

of course, God’s name of I AM is not only found in christian scriptures. it is present in the hebrew scriptures from at least one thousand years before the advent of christianity.

all of the writings quoted from bab contain nothing of eternal consequence that had not previously been revealed.

those words appear to me to be, in some respects, a simple rephrasing of earlier writings.

i would be interested in knowing what a bahai finds so new and profound in those writings. like is said, i found nothing new in them.

and my conclusion is that anyone can copy what others said and wrote in an earlier time.

bahai might call it revelation, but surely revelation should produce information that is both new and of value to those who hear and read it.

what is new and of value in those words quoted above from bab?

 

[Rence]

I really don’t think it’s morally right for any one religion to say they are the only true religion and that everyone else is wrong. If any one religion claims to be the only truth, then they must surely be a lie? What do you think?

Don’t they all teach that they are the only religion with the only truth? I don’t know of any religion that doesn’t teach that they are the only religion with the only truth. Do you? Which ones? It goes the same for people who belong to a particular religion. Why would they be a follower of that religion if they thought another religion had the only truth, while there own didn’t?

 

[Lokadottir]

Don’t they all teach that they are the only religion with the only truth? I don’t know of any religion that doesn’t teach that they are the only religion with the only truth. Do you? Which ones? It goes the same for people who belong to a particular religion. Why would they be a follower of that religion if they thought another religion had the only truth, while there own didn’t?

Many newer religions don’t claim a monopoly on truth.

 

[eddie_too]

that is a curious concept.

why DO people belong to religions that they believe do not possess the truth?

would not a person’s time be better spent searching for the truth than joining a group of people who do not posses the truth?

 

[Lokadottir]

that is a curious concept.

why DO people belong to religions that they believe do not possess the truth?

would not a person’s time be better spent searching for the truth than joining a group of people who do not posses the truth?

Everything possesses truth. I just don’t think any one group has THE truth.

 

[eddie_too]

Jesus is the Whole Truth.

Jesus resides in the tabernacles of the RCC.

but, again, why would a person belong to a group of people and observe their religious practices while simultaneously KNOWING that the religion teaches falsehoods?

supporting and teachings falsehoods, which occurs when one professes a religion he or she knows does not possess the fullness of truth, is not commendatory, nor sensible, nor righteous.

 

[Lokadottir]

Jesus is the Whole Truth.

Jesus resides in the tabernacles of the RCC.

but, again, why would a person belong to a group of people and observe their religious practices while simultaneously KNOWING that the religion teaches falsehoods?

supporting and teachings falsehoods, which occurs when one professes a religion he or she knows does not possess the fullness of truth, is not commendatory, nor sensible, nor righteous.

not being THE truth doesn’t make it false. One size does not fit all in religion. My religion doesn’t have a rulebook. It has values and I go from there.

 

[eddie_too]

i am not familiar with the logical system whereby not being the truth equates to something other than being false.

 

[Lokadottir]

i am not familiar with the logical system whereby not being the truth equates to something other than being false.

It’s not that its not true. It’s that it isn’t the ONLY truth. The “THE” indicates some sort of ultimate truth, an “answer to life, the universe, and everything” sort of thing.
And if there IS only one truth i don’t believe ANYONE can say what that one truth is.

 

[eddie_too]

the Roman Catholic (RC) believes that the uncreacted Creator of All Things, visible and invisible, is Perfect Being.

the RC believes that Perfect Being has pro-actively revealed Themselves to mankind.

the RC believes that because of Perfect Being’s self-revelation to mankind it is possible for men to know the ultimate meaning of life and how to pursue it.

by becoming a Perfect Man, Perfect Being has made available to mankind and to each individual man everything that is needed to fulfill his or her God-willed destiny.

the RC knows that the wholeness of Perfect Being’s self-revelation can only be found in and through the RCC.

what truth exists in non-RC religions varies by degree and completeness.

people who deny sin cannot become RC. the RC faith is only available to those who repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ.

RCs, for the most part, understand completely that faith precedes knowledge and understanding when it comes to the mysteries of creation and grace.

 

[Veedar]

the Roman Catholic (RC) believes that the uncreacted Creator of All Things, visible and invisible, is Perfect Being.

the RC believes that Perfect Being has pro-actively revealed Themselves to mankind.

the RC believes that because of Perfect Being’s self-revelation to mankind it is possible for men to know the ultimate meaning of life and how to pursue it.

by becoming a Perfect Man, Perfect Being has made available to mankind and to each individual man everything that is needed to fulfill his or her God-willed destiny.

the RC knows that the wholeness of Perfect Being’s self-revelation can only be found in and through the RCC.

what truth exists in non-RC religions varies by degree and completeness.

people who deny sin cannot become RC. the RC faith is only available to those who repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ.

RCs, for the most part, understand completely that faith precedes knowledge and understanding when it comes to the mysteries of creation and grace.

Basically, you equate truth with a bundle of thoughts in your head. A set of propositions. Not everyone thinks truth can be conceptualized in that manner, that all language is relative and socially constructed, and that people may express the truth of experience using different symbols.

 

[eddie_too]

actually, i equate truth with the Person of the Incarnate Word and the thoughts in His head that He revealed to His apostles.

try reading what i wrote again in light of the above.

 

[Veedar]

actually, i equate truth with the Person of the Incarnate Word and the thoughts in His head that He revealed to His apostles.

try reading what i wrote again in light of the above.

A bundle of thoughts, a set of beliefs. For my part, I am more interested in the mystical experiences found in different spiritual traditions (including Catholic ones, of course), than I am in medieval formulas of “right belief”. But that is just me That is not to say that faith stories and statements of belief are without value. I just don’t think they ought to be used to whack someone over the head with.

 

[eddie_too]

it is good that a person knows the tenets of the faith he or she professes.

it is not very illuminating to describe what is taught and believed as a jumble of thoughts.

in fact, the RC faith is cohesive, consistent, logical and rational in all of its teachings.

that does not mean that all of its teachings are easy to learn and comprehend.

it is true however that the essence of the RC faith is the grace the individual receives in placing his or her complete trust in Jesus Christ. in other words, knowledge of the details is not required to receive the graces inherent in RC belief and practice.