How do I determine which religion is best?

[durangodawood]

Among all the various religions that are viable in the contemporary world, how do I determine which one is best for me?
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(Please note, I started the same thread a couple weeks ago, but the posts came in all out of chronological order. There was no way to follow the conversation that had only just begun. So I'm starting this again.)
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[andreha]

My fellow Christians, (who should know not to judge me, who know that love is the greatest commandment of all, and again, who have *NO* right to judge me) may still ignore me and call me a devil worshipper. That said.

I would like to present you with an interesting challenge. Go outside. Look up into the sky. Pretend that there is a God on the other side, and say to Him. "God, some people speak about you. I want you to reveal Yourself to me in a way that I wouldn't be able to mistake. Please, reveal yourself."

(Yes, I hear the Christians are already hammering away at their keyboards. Prophetic gift, I know )

It is that simple. I have had awesome reports of people who did just that, and were touched in profound ways. Anyhow, that's my $0.02.

 

[durangodawood]

....I would like to present you with an interesting challenge. Go outside. Look up into the sky. Pretend that there is a God on the other side, and say to Him. "God, some people speak about you. I want you to reveal Yourself to me in a way that I wouldn't be able to mistake. Please, reveal yourself." ....

Interesting. I'll have to contemplate just what this means before I do it.
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Pretend.....?
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[ebia]

Among all the various religions that are viable in the contemporary world, how do I determine which one is best for me?
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(Please note, I started the same thread a couple weeks ago, but the posts came in all out of chronological order. There was no way to follow the conversation that had only just begun. So I'm starting this again.)
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I'm afraid that's something you'll have to figure out for yourself.

 

[andreha]

Interesting. I'll have to contemplate just what this means before I do it.
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Pretend.....?
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Hey

It sounds like a joke, but I'm serious. The God I know is kind enough to take people up on invitations like this. I know God. I am a reborn Christian. I have seen Jesus Christ in person. He is more real to me than the computer screen I look at. But, I acknowledge that some do indeed struggle to accept that He exists. And I understand that. I have led people to Christ before. See, salvation is my goal. By using the word "Pretend", I extend a challenge to all mankind to seek Him. They'll find Him.

 

[Sojourner1]

Read this article: The Uniqueness of Christianity

 

[durangodawood]

Read this article: The Uniqueness of Christianity

Thanks. But I have to say, that article is very unsatisfying. Christianity is certainly unique. But its hardly uniquely unique. All the religions are unique. For example, Islam is unique in that it claims God's final revelation. Buddhism is unique in that it is fully testable in this life. And so on.
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I'm sure everyone has good reasons why their religion is unique.
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[durangodawood]

I'm afraid that's something you'll have to figure out for yourself.

There are no tried and true techniques for discerning spiritual truth from error?
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[Jpark]

Among all the various religions that are viable in the contemporary world, how do I determine which one is best for me?
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(Please note, I started the same thread a couple weeks ago, but the posts came in all out of chronological order. There was no way to follow the conversation that had only just begun. So I'm starting this again.)
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If there is no resurrection, then Christianity is a delusion.

Do you believe that God has raised the Lord Jesus from the dead? Has the resurrection been proven futile? Do the dead rise? Is there is a resurrection of the dead? In the end, it is a matter of faith.

Now without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is. (Hebrews 11:6) For faith is the realization of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

 

[durangodawood]

If there is no resurrection, then Christianity is a delusion.

Do you believe that God has raised the Lord Jesus from the dead? Has the resurrection been proven futile? Do the dead rise? Is there is a resurrection of the dead? In the end, it is a matter of faith.

Now without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is. (Hebrews 11:6) For faith is the realization of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

I believe the ressurection is a matter of faith.
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But I'm not sure how I use that fact to determine which religion is best.
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[ebia]

There are no tried and true techniques for discerning spiritual truth from error?
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It's not that it's about spiritual truth, per-se, but because we are talking about fundamental philosophies and worldviews. Those are the bedrock on-top of which you can start to build "tried and true techniques". No-one can examine their most basic philosophies with the tools that take those basic philosophies as assumptions.

 

[durangodawood]

It's not that it's about spiritual truth, per-se, but because we are talking about fundamental philosophies and worldviews. Those are the bedrock on-top of which you can start to build "tried and true techniques". No-one can examine their most basic philosophies with the tools that take those basic philosophies as assumptions.

I see what you mean.
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It seems that there is no real answer to my question, with the exception that I pretend... and see what happens. That one is interesting.
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I would have thought that the modern emphasis on evangelizing would have produced a variety of methods for determining the "correct" religion.
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[ebia]

I see what you mean.
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It seems that there is no real answer to my question, with the exception that I pretend... and see what happens. That one is interesting.
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I would have thought that the modern emphasis on evangelizing would have produced a variety of methods for determining the "correct" religion.
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Thinking on Missiology and Evangelism has produced a fair bit of material on how to try to show someone that Christianity has (or rather points to) the truth. But that's a significantly different question. Some of it is better than other bits, and some bits work for some people, while other bits work for other people. What starting assumptions and philosophical framework are you going to start from?

The trouble with thinking there will be a straightfoward way of determining truth is that it depends on there being a fixed framework in which to do that - and here it's the very framework we are talking about.

 

[durangodawood]

Thinking on Missiology and Evangelism has produced a fair bit of material on how to try to show someone that Christianity has (or rather points to) the truth. But that's a significantly different question. Some of it is better than other bits, and some bits work for some people, while other bits work for other people. What starting assumptions and philosophical framework are you going to start from?

The trouble with thinking there will be a straightfoward way of determining truth is that it depends on there being a fixed framework in which to do that - and here it's the very framework we are talking about.

Starting framework: suburban materialism cracked open by experience and mystical literature.
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I also tend to evaluate religions anthopologically and historically, in other words: critically. Yet I dont necessarily reserve the last word for criticism. Whatever God "really is", she is real for people in some capacity.
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[ebia]

Starting framework: suburban materialism cracked open by experience and mystical literature.
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I also tend to evaluate religions anthopologically and historically, in other words: critically. Yet I dont necessarily reserve the last word for criticism. Whatever God "really is", she is real for people in some capacity.
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I wasn't really expecting you to answer that - it was meant rhetorically.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

I know I am in the right relgion due to my experience and the experiences of other people who call them selves Christians. To explain this I will share a story of God directing me, then some stories of other people.

MY STORY
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One morning I got up and walked into the hall and I heard a voice say to me "How would you like to be stabbed in the Valley. The valley was the tough end of town, known for its drugs and voilence. It frightened me because I percieved it came from God. It made me wonder had I done some thing to make God that mad with me that he wanted to have me stabbed. But I decided that I would go to the valley any way and ask people out to church, as was my habbit at that time. I walked up to an aboriginal, the first person I saw, and asked him "How would you like to go out to church?" He said to me "I am an athiest, I don't believe in God". I just said "fine", but hoped to talk again to him. After just chatting about some stuff for a few minutes he unbuttoned his shirt and showed me scar marks on the front of his body. He said to me "This is why I don't believe in God. I was attacked by a knife weilding man in the valley some years ago and spent months recovering in hospital, at the time of the attack I asked the question how could there be a God". I did not instantly make the conection but soon enough I became aware of the fact God had spoken to me in the morning and asked me "How would I like to be attacked?" To let me know he knew why this man was upset with God. Latter that day the aboriginal elder in the park asked me to take the man home, I did so. As we drove past the hospital on the way back to his house, it crossed my mind to share with him the story of how I had been told about him in the morning. He bagan to open up, and some weeks latter I took him out to church and he was saved and became a Christian by listening to a minister Clark Talor share the Gospel.

There are other occassions where God has spoken to me directly, or indirectly, and these things all build up my faith in God, in fact they make it unshakable, I could not have unbelief for more than a few minutes.


The Faith of Others
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Secondly I mentioned the faith of others helps build up my faith. See www.johnmellor.org or http://www.aglimpseofeternity.org/content.php?folder_id=1 that last link the guy was dead 20 minutes and met Jesus, who told him he was a "Born again Christian" (he converted just at the point of death so was unsure of some things)

 

[Proud Christian 2]

That is your own decision, brother. Asking in a Christian forum, though, will give you mainly Christian answers. I am Christian. God has influenced my life positively. I love reading the bible, mainly the book of Proverbs. Christianity allows me to live happily. It is one of the only outlets I have. I am a original nerd. But I have come out of my shell through the influence of my Christian friends. I have drawn closer to God. I beleive Christianity is the best. But the choice is yours. No body can force a religion on you.

 

[durangodawood]

That is your own decision, brother. Asking in a Christian forum, though, will give you mainly Christian answers. I am Christian. God has influenced my life positively. I love reading the bible, mainly the book of Proverbs. Christianity allows me to live happily. It is one of the only outlets I have. I am a original nerd. But I have come out of my shell through the influence of my Christian friends. I have drawn closer to God. I beleive Christianity is the best. But the choice is yours. No body can force a religion on you.

Not so. Dont most people essentially force it on their children? They take the kids ONLY to the approved church/temple. They provide them with resources ONLY for the correct religion. They perform ONLY the rituals of the right religion.
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You cant make the kid believe at heart. But you can choose for him what religion he will be exposed to, and participate in.
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But... back to my question. It seems there's almost a consensus that there is no method for discerning the best religion. No reliable test.
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[ebia]

Not so. Dont most people essentially force it on their children? They take the kids ONLY to the approved church/temple. They provide them with resources ONLY for the correct religion. They perform ONLY the rituals of the right religion.
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You cant make the kid believe at heart. But you can choose for him what religion he will be exposed to, and participate in.
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But... back to my question. It seems there's almost a consensus that there is no method for discerning the best religion. No reliable test.
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There's no neutral framework in which to frame such a test. The same is true for the philosophies underlying non-religious viewpoints, it's just less obvious because non-religious people are generally much less aware of their culturally engrained assumptions and philosophies. They are much less likely to name and articulate them, but they still exist and they still aren't decided on by a "reliable test".

There is no neutral place to stand to do an "objective" evaluation.

 

[durangodawood]

There's no neutral framework in which to frame such a test. The same is true for the philosophies underlying non-religious viewpoints, it's just less obvious because non-religious people are generally much less aware of their culturally engrained assumptions and philosophies. They are much less likely to name and articulate them, but they still exist and they still aren't decided on by a "reliable test".

There is no neutral place to stand to do an "objective" evaluation.

I think most thinking people respect the various utilitarian tests for life-philosophies. What produces deepest and most lasting joy?...for example. The wise see beyond immediate gratification, and their findings earn respect over time.
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I would not expect an objective test for spiritual truth. (Well, I think there should be one, if the spiritual intersects the material in any way, but we havent found it yet). But I'm surprised theres not explicit methods for a subjective test.
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