How can anyone know which religion (if any) is true?

[oi_antz]

Received this verse through a daily devotional and I noticed it might be quite pertinent to mention on this thread:

When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!
Matthew 6:7-8, NLT

Repeating the same words over and over like a magic incantation is no way to ensure that God will hear your prayer. It's not wrong to come to God many times with the same requests--Jesus encourages persistent prayer. But he condemns the shallow repetition of words that are not offered with a sincere heart.

We can never pray too much if our prayers are honest and sincere. Before you start to pray, make sure you mean what you say.

 

[HeathenWarrior]

We will never know which religion is true. They come and go and in the years the world has been here, they pass like a wind and are gone. So do not worry yourself over what religion is "true". Instead, find the one that calls to you, that you can spiritually connect with.

The best religion is the one that brings out the best in you.

 

[oi_antz]

We will never know which religion is true. They come and go and in the years the world has been here, they pass like a wind and are gone. So do not worry yourself over what religion is "true". Instead, find the one that calls to you, that you can spiritually connect with.

The best religion is the one that brings out the best in you.

I HeathenWarrior, nice to meet you. Those words are true, but Christianity transcends religion. Jesus brings a sword to divide those who are for God from those who are against Him.

32 “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

34 “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.

When a person is confronted by Christianity they must answer: is Jesus right or wrong? Many people answer this question based upon what they think is fashionable and then you get a hollow, fake faith. When someone has really come along and assessed whether Jesus was right or wrong then we see their true colors and we see that those who love truth will side with Jesus while those who love deceit will side with Satan.

I think we need to be wary of treating true Christianity as a religion, since religion is an institution for answering questions and mind control. Compared on the other hand is Jesus who advocated free thinking and threatened to destroy all religious institution and replace it with truth, but the world desired to have Barrabas a murderer instead because the powerful could not relinquish their control of the religious industry to give to a king of righteousness.

See the story of the vineyard owner in Matthew 21 and also read what Jesus says in Matthew 24:2. That should give you an idea of why I say true Christianity (that is, the discipleship of Jesus the Christ) transcends religion.

 

[choirfiend]

This is exactly the problem. How would god refuse to permit people into heaven untouched by religion or those who have been but by multiple religions and cannot decide. Are they left to go to hell for their confusion? Why doesn't god make himself aware and actually tell each individual what the rules are and what religion to follow?

Not all Christianity is created equal, and not all believe what you are having a problem believing.

In my faith, there is no judgment for us to make. God alone judges, and we don't claim anyone is not going to heaven. This doesn't excuse you from searching and believing, but at the same time, we can't claim that kind of limitation. In the end, God is love, truth, and just. His decision will be right, and His mercy is unending. If God "told" everyone what to do, how is that leaving us with free will? Also, it's been answered--He used messengers and finally His Son to tell us, and it's up to us to choose to listen or not.

Swing by and ask us about Christ. Religion is more than a book, it's interaction with a living God.

 

[HeathenWarrior]

I HeathenWarrior, nice to meet you. Those words are true, but Christianity transcends religion. Jesus brings a sword to divide those who are for God from those who are against Him.

When a person is confronted by Christianity they must answer: is Jesus right or wrong? Many people answer this question based upon what they think is fashionable and then you get a hollow, fake faith. When someone has really come along and assessed whether Jesus was right or wrong then we see their true colors and we see that those who love truth will side with Jesus while those who love deceit will side with Satan.

I think we need to be wary of treating true Christianity as a religion, since religion is an institution for answering questions and mind control. Compared on the other hand is Jesus who advocated free thinking and threatened to destroy all religious institution and replace it with truth, but the world desired to have Barrabas a murderer instead because the powerful could not relinquish their control of the religious industry to give to a king of righteousness.

See the story of the vineyard owner in Matthew 21 and also read what Jesus says in Matthew 24:2. That should give you an idea of why I say true Christianity (that is, the discipleship of Jesus the Christ) transcends religion.

Before I say anything, I better say that I won't be able to respond for about four months due to shipping out to Basic training tomorrow.

First off, it is nice to meet you as well. Christianity itself, I must disagree, it is as much a religion as the next. However, I will say this. Religion is useless unless you do not just honor it, you live it. That act alone makes a "religion" far more then simple religion.

For you "confronted by christianity" words, I actually once thought myself a christian. But I found that I simply could not identify with it's, what I personally felt, confining dogma. I became Asatru and I feel spiritually attuned to it. It is as if I am not learning it, but remembering it. As if it had been there all along.

BUT, does this mean that I do not respect Christ? Not in the least. I do not feel a bond with christianity, but I admire Christ. I strongly admire him. He was someone who preached unconditional love, if my information is right, and died for it. No matter my faith, that moves me.

Was Christ right? Well, and speaking as a follower of Asatru, yes he was right. And it is a lesson that had been told constantly time and time again. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. That is the golden rule. Confucius in around 500 BC said the same thing. It a universal truth. Christ seems to have gotten it out the most widely.

All religions teach rather the same thing in terms of how to act. But unless we choose to live it, then it is useless.

Thank you for the kind words, and I hope to chat with you again.

 

[razeontherock]

Asatru is the religion of my ancestors. Underneath the surface layers, it teaches much the same things as Christianity, with one marked difference:

they never had anyone worth following. Maybe not so surprising from a land where making your own tracks is a virtue in and of itself (within skiing, that is)

 

[Grannen]

This is where faith comes in, but ultimately God provided the clues so sinners are without excuse:

1. You parents told you God is real and you are to honor your parents. I think 50% of atheists at least are atheists because they want to rebel against their parents, teen-agers are like that, but if you let Satan deceive you, there might be no getting out of it even in adulthood.
2. Miracle of Jesus Christ as a historical truth.
3. The results of the Christian culture surpass those of any other culture: Universities, hospitals, even the principles of modern SCIENCE were set up by Christianity. Without Christianity there would actually be the same violent ancient society with slaves and selective morality (good for peasants, but not for the Emperor, with Christianity, EVERYONE, even emperors had something to fear therefore a reason to be moral and help people.)

All other cultures imported Christian values, even if they didn't change their religion. That's why the rest of the world "keeps up" with Europe/USA.

Should I go on?

 

[Birthew]

This is where faith comes in, but ultimately God provided the clues so sinners are without excuse:

1. You parents told you God is real and you are to honor your parents. I think 50% of atheists at least are atheists because they want to rebel against their parents, teen-agers are like that, but if you let Satan deceive you, there might be no getting out of it even in adulthood.
2. Miracle of Jesus Christ as a historical truth.
3. The results of the Christian culture surpass those of any other culture: Universities, hospitals, even the principles of modern SCIENCE were set up by Christianity. Without Christianity there would actually be the same violent ancient society with slaves and selective morality (good for peasants, but not for the Emperor, with Christianity, EVERYONE, even emperors had something to fear therefore a reason to be moral and help people.)

All other cultures imported Christian values, even if they didn't change their religion. That's why the rest of the world "keeps up" with Europe/USA.

Should I go on?

Explain the slave trade, two massive recessions within 100 years, 2 worlds wars, a cold war, oh yeah and colonizing America, land belonging to native Indians. There are religions older than Christianity, if you say other religions imported your values the christian values must of been imported from other religions also.

 

[oi_antz]

Explain the slave trade, two massive recessions within 100 years, 2 worlds wars, a cold war, oh yeah and colonizing America, land belonging to native Indians. There are religions older than Christianity, if you say other religions imported your values the christian values must of been imported from other religions also.

Actually when it comes to values I think good values are pretty much common-sense to all of us. We get problems due to some bad human characteristics: greed, selfishness, sloth. Sloth is interesting because this is the attribute that empowers the powerful. Instead of someone using their God-given brain to think for theirself and to commune directly with God, they seek the answer from someone else and even idolize the people they come to respect as their wise teachers. I've even heard preachers telling their flock not to vote for a specific political party, now whether they are right or wrong shouldn't be the issue so much as the fact that anyone who consults Jesus will know who He wants them to vote for and that is how the body should operate. See we are all part of the one body but connected to Jesus Christ who is the head, but not everyone in the flock actually nurtures their relationship with God, they are "Sunday believers". These lazy ones are the ones that are likely to be swayed by popular opinion, gossip, media, religious and political leaders etc, and this is why democracy isn't even a perfect system, because ultimately the power of the masses is manipulated by those in a position to manipulate them. It's not how we should behave as a race of obedient children, but it demonstrates that we are a race of lost sheep.

1 Corinthians 12:28
New Living Translation (NLT)
28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.

 

[Spectrox War]

There are 4 major monotheistic religions - Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Imagine it's your last day on earth. You're on your death bed about to meet your maker. You take your last breath and all of a sudden you are travelling down a tunnel towards the light. Then you are standing in front of the 4 Gods - Vishnu, Yahweh, Jesus and Allah. You know your God. You recognise your God. You walk up to him and say "You are the one true God. I want to spend the whole of eternity with you." Then your God produces a little piece of card from beneath his cape and on it is written the word "Bluff!" Ouch! That's gonna hurt in the morning!

 

[Pure760]

Hello
I have had a number of encounters with various people from different religions. The times where people have tried to get me to join their religion, they have told me that what they know is the truth. They refer to their holy books as proof.

My problem with this is that every religion there is claims this too, every religion claims to be the truth. So what religion is the true religion? Holy texts is not proof to someone outside of a religion.

This makes me think there must be something universal that people are putting their beliefs into. Is there something holy that all religions are following independently? Or is faith just something a human can have if they are convinced god is real.

I then think if religion is necessary in humans' lives, why is it not put into our genes so that we know from birth what the rules are. How can god send people to hell who have never been touched by religion? Imagine a isolated tribe, how can a god punish them if they have never known there was a god. But then imagine a christian, a jew and a mormon all trying to convince these people that their religion is the real one? How can this tribe know which religion to follow?

There is no true religion, they seemingly exist only as a crutch for those who want to believe in somthing but not acctually learn the true way of God. A way of saying "I want to continue being sinful, but with God on my side." Theres really no point of being religious when you're unwilling to follow a path of true righteousness.

 

[Birthew]

There is no true religion, they seemingly exist only as a crutch for those who want to believe in somthing but not acctually learn the true way of God. A way of saying "I want to continue being sinful, but with God on my side." Theres really no point of being religious when you're unwilling to follow a path of true righteousness.

What is the parth of true righteousness? How do you know its righteous?
Many other people believe their faith to be righteous. How can an outsider really tell?

 

[razeontherock]

Good choice of words. You really have to become an insider first. There's a wonderful picture of that given ...

 

[Pure760]

What is the parth of true righteousness? How do you know its righteous?
Many other people believe their faith to be righteous. How can an outsider really tell?

There is only one truth, one reality, one true state being. It is the same for everyone. Really we are all on our own paths of true righteousness because we will all end up in the same place, however they're all different, making the paths themselves untrue.

What makes you an outsider to reality? Only that which you consider unreal as real. You have your OWN definition of reality which cannot possibly be true because reality simly is, it cannot be altered in any way, it cannot differ from person to person. Thats what God is, the changeless pure state of being everyone shares but refuses to percieve.

 

[Birthew]

There is only one truth, one reality, one true state being. It is the same for everyone. Really we are all on our own paths of true righteousness because we will all end up in the same place, however they're all different, making the paths themselves untrue.

What makes you an outsider to reality? Only that which you consider unreal as real. You have your OWN definition of reality which cannot possibly be true because reality simly is, it cannot be altered in any way, it cannot differ from person to person. Thats what God is, the changeless pure state of being everyone shares but refuses to percieve.

Not to be sounding offensive but arguable I could say the exact thing back at you (except the last sentence). I do not know if religion is a delusion or reality. All I know there is no evidence, except that so many people believe in something. I've tried asking god things, I've read the bible and struggled, I just don't know what else God wants me to do, if he is real.

 

[razeontherock]

I just don't know what else God wants me to do, if he is real.

Assuming you are sincere, is there anything in your life the Bible suggests you should "repent of?"

If you've read it the answer is yes. Even if you've not read the overwhelming majority of it. How do you handle that?

 

[Pure760]

Not to be sounding offensive but arguable I could say the exact thing back at you (except the last sentence). I do not know if religion is a delusion or reality. All I know there is no evidence, except that so many people believe in something. I've tried asking god things, I've read the bible and struggled, I just don't know what else God wants me to do, if he is real.

Everything outside of God is delusion, all beliefs and religions are delusional. God does'nt want anything its up to you to decide if you want him instead of delusion and no matter what, you will someday.

 

[Tears4You]

I would say that there is no "true" religion. I think the beliefs are "true" to those who believe them and chose to worship whichever one in they they feel fit. I believe all religions are truly beautiful.

Also, all religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc) teach the same basic principals: treat other the way you want to be treated, help those in need, etc. So, I guess they're all "true"

Coexistence.