If Christianity the true religion, how is it observably different from other, false, religions

[2PhiloVoid]

I hope that this is a clarification of my initial post not starting a 500 post argument that ends up being back and forward on semantics

Many religions claim that their holy books include revelations that the people of the time would not know. For one religion to stand out against the rest, the revelations in its holy text would require much less interpretation than those of other books. Or be very clearly better in some other way or ways. E.g. I find the claims for unknowable science in the Christian Bible, the Vedas, and the Qu'ran to be similar in this respect. And, I suspect that if I search further, I'll find more of the same. I'm looking for something that's clearly different from that.

EDIT:



I'm happy to issue clarifications, though there may be a gap in my responses as I fly over Russia in a short while.

Get some good pictures while you fly over.

 

[A_Thinker]

There was Zeus. He was known for having relationships with his believers. Often with interestingly physical consequences.

That was LUST.

And then there's Allah:
A Muslim’s Obligation of Love for Allah
"When we love Allah, that love draws us closer to Him and helps us build a strong relationship that can help us in this life and in hereafter. As Muslims, our faith requires that our love for Allah and his prophet supersedes any other type of love for any other object or creation."

Love and relationship within Islam is one-way. We are commanded to love Allah, but Allah is capricious ... and reliably indifferent to humanity.

And there's Judaism:
What is the Jewish God
"Jews are commanded to love God. The love to God should reflect in every part of life. Throughout history many Jews died for the name of God, because of their great love for Hashem. Whenever Jews were persecuted to abolish the Jewish religion, the great love to God is what kept them from doing so."

You know that Christianity arose from Judaism ... right ??? Christianity more fully envelopes the concepts of LOVE and RELATIONSHIP begun in Judaism.

And plenty of other religions throughout history. Why wouldn't you love your god or gods, when they kept you safe and cared for you? And why would they do so if they didn't love you?

That's just the point. What you stated RARELY represents religion in the world.

For Hindus, God is the all-encompassing one, in whom we seek to LOSE ourselves.

For Buddhists, there really is no predominate god. per se. The Bhuddist way is the search for a release from suffering and striving.

Zoroasterism is much more judicial in nature. The good are rewarded, ... the evil are punished ... without any of the mitigations of relationship.

Egyptian, Greek and Roman gods and godesses are just more empowered human moral figures. There is no real LOVE to be found there.

 

[paul1149]

Unfortunately the distinction between Christianity and other religions has been blurred by the behavior of Christians themselves over the millennia. Jesus tells us to love our enemies, do good to those who abuse us, etc. It's hard to find that anywhere else. And then to back it up He goes to the cruel Cross for us.

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die; but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -Rom 5:7-8​

This is hardly the pattern for using the state to enforce a religious edifice, and yet that's exactly what the church went on to do. Jesus warned against the "leaven of Herod" for good reason. We're slow learners.

And so we had the Crusades. The initial attempt to rescue the Holy Land from the Muslims was, in my estimation, legitimate, though I'm not saying it was done correctly; and it is clear that the whole enterprise went completely off the rails later on, very notably at Constantinople. But the internal crusades against the Waldenses and Albigensian were horrific crimes against humanity from their very inception. So too all the lesser massacres, ad hoc burnings, etc, that pepper church history.

The seed of Christianity survived all this, but it takes effort now to draw the distinction between the track record of the church and the precepts Christ taught and modeled for us. If you want to get to the root of Christianity and its distinction against all other religions, you have to go to the source text, the Bible, to be sure you are understanding it correctly and are not being misguided by the stumbling-block aspect of the church.

 

[SkyWriting]

Your link seems to have nothing to do with history.

You are correct. It does not.

I'll edit that post so it reads better >: Today at 6:06 AM#4

 

[SkyWriting]

Sure.
Easily. There was Zeus. He was known for having relationships with his believers.

But nobody loves Zeus. He does not love people who believe in him.

 

[InterestedAtheist]

Because Christ is a different person than Buddha, Mohamed, Confucius, etc.

In that case, a Muslim could say:
"Islam is clearly the true religion. This is because it is different to all the other religions. After all, Mohammend was a different person than Buddha, Confucius, Christ, etc."
That wouldn't make sense, and it doesn't for Christianity either.

 

[InterestedAtheist]

That was LUST.

Love and relationship within Islam is one-way. We are commanded to love Allah, but Allah is capricious ... and reliably indifferent to humanity.

You know that Christianity arose from Judaism ... right. Christianity more fully envelopes the concepts of LOVE and RELATIONSHIP begun in Judaism.

That's just the point. What you stated RARELY represents religion in the world.

For Hindus, God is the all-encompassing one, in whom we seek to LOSE ourselves.

For Buddhists, there really is no predominate god. per se. The Bhuddist way is the search for a release from suffering and striving.

Zoroasterism is much more judicial in nature. The good are rewarded, ... the evil are punished ... without any of the mitigations of relationship.

Egyptian, Greek and Roman gods and godesses are just more empowered human moral figures. There is no real LOVE to be found there.

Meh. This is just hair splitting. Every religion is different to every other one. If they weren't, they'd all be the same.
Also, I'll take a Christian's explanation of how other religions see things with a grain of salt. If I want to know what a Hindu or Muslim thinks, I'll ask a Hindu or Muslim.

If you're going to argue that Christianity is true because it is different to all other religions, you're going to have to show that the differences are such that Christianity could not possibly be the product of mankind, but could only have been divinely inspired.

 

[InterestedAtheist]

But nobody loves Zeus. He does not love people who believe in him.

Hey, all he said was that no other religion has relationships with the divine. Now we know that is false.

Moving on the the important point: why is the fact that Christians say they love God and say that God loves them evidence for God being real?

 

[A_Thinker]

Also, I'll take a Christian's explanation of how other religions see things with a grain of salt. If I want to know what a Hindu or Muslim thinks, I'll ask a Hindu or Muslim.

Give me a heads up when you've done that ...

 

[SkyWriting]

Hey, all he said was that no other religion has relationships with the divine.

You had to change the words to gain 1/10 a point.
Lust is not included.
Here is what was said:
Today at 6:15 AM#5

 

[A_Thinker]

Hey, all he said was that no other religion has relationships with the divine. Now we know that is false.

Love AND relationship is enduring.

As opposed to the string of one-night-stands Zeus had with various mortal play-things.

He was the original Harvey Wienstein ...

 

[SkyWriting]

If you're going to argue that Christianity is true because it is different to all other religions, you're going to have to show that the differences are such that Christianity could not possibly be the product of mankind, but could only have been divinely inspired.

It could easily be invented. OK...not easily. - An Investigation: What Makes the Bible Unique? - Josh.org


Except it works. We can interact with God - Knowing God Is Real Through Answered Prayer - Steps 1,2,&3

 

[A_Thinker]

If you're going to argue that Christianity is true because it is different to all other religions, you're going to have to show that the differences are such that Christianity could not possibly be the product of mankind, but could only have been divinely inspired.

That's called moving the goal-posts.

And, if I remember correctly, ... they aren't your goal-posts ...

 

[SkyWriting]

If I want to know what a Hindu or Muslim thinks, I'll ask a Hindu or Muslim.

We can Google it:

Core Beliefs of Hindus - dummies
Six Major Beliefs In Islam | The Basics to Islam

 

[SkyWriting]

a way that shows true divine guidance.

Here you go:
Knowing God Through Answered Prayer - Steps 1,2,&3

 

[SkyWriting]

Also - if anyone wants to convince me then they'll need to point out something that believers in other religions can't claim for their own religion. Or, the question will not have been answered.

Only answer you. I am not evangelical myself.

~Unique in Its Authorship~
The authorship of the Bible is amazingly diverse. Authored by approximately 4o different people, and edited and preserved by countless scribal schools and communities, the Bible preserves for us the writings of a vast array of different personalities from widely divergent social circumstances. Among them: kings, soldiers, herdsmen, legislators, fishermen, courtiers, priests and prophets, and a Gentile physician. Says Professor Mary Ellen Chase, “The story-tellers of the Bible … understood men and women of all sorts and in all conditions. There is literally no type of person whom they have neglected.”

 

[SkyWriting]

And - I'm looking for something objectively observable.

Unique in Its Languages~
The Bible is written in three different languages — Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek — each with its unique character and essence. Larry Walker, former professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary shares some of their distinctive traits:

Hebrew, like the other early Semitic languages, concentrates on observation more than reflection. Effects are observed, but not traced through a series of causes. Hebrew is a pictorial language, vivid, concise, and simple, in which the past is not merely described, but verbally painted. Aramaic, perhaps the longest continuous living history of any known language, is linguistically close to Hebrew, and similar in structure. Aramaic served as a transition from Hebrew to Greek, as the language spoken by Jews in Jesus’ day. Aramaic connects Old Testament Hebrew with New Testament Greek. Greek, which is characterized by strength and vigor, is beautiful, rich, and harmonious. Greek was a language of argument, with a vocabulary and style that could penetrate and clarify phenomena rather than simply tell a story. Sermons recorded in the New Testament combine the Hebrew prophetic message with Greek oratorical force.

 

[AnotherAtheist]

If you're going to argue that Christianity is true because it is different to all other religions, you're going to have to show that the differences are such that Christianity could not possibly be the product of mankind, but could only have been divinely inspired.

I just got back from some work. I was going to clarify exactly the above point. It's not just differences, but differences that include the additional ... something ... we'd expect from a divinely inspired religion. Thanks @InterestedAtheist.

 

[InterestedAtheist]

Guys, it's bedtime in my time zone now, so I'll be back later. See you!

 

[Resha Caner]

In that case, a Muslim could say:
"Islam is clearly the true religion. This is because it is different to all the other religions. After all, Mohammend was a different person than Buddha, Confucius, Christ, etc."
That wouldn't make sense, and it doesn't for Christianity either.

I was only addressing how Christianity is different, not whether it is true. The fact that Christianity is unique because of Christ does not, in and of itself, make Christianity true. I understand that. But knowing what makes Christianity unique is an important first step to answering the full question.

Saying something like, "Well, Christianity is the only religion where people are nice," is a false statement because 1) Not all Christians are nice, and 2) people other than Christians are nice. The same holds for any word you want to insert in that statement. Other religions promote generosity, service, self-control, etc. Morality is not what makes Christianity unique.

Therefore, I begin where I begin all these conversations - not with morality or arguing theodicy or whether miracles happened or whatever, but with Christ.