Why are there so many religions, when there is only one God?

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   Michele Travisposted 10 years ago

   Why are there so many religions, when there is only one God?
   
   The major religions on this earth are Christianity, Muslim, and Judaism.  If you go back into the old testament Genesis 16  A'bram who later became Abraham was the father of both Ishmael, (from whom Muslims came), and Issac, (from whom Judaism came).  Christianity came from Jesus who was born Jewish. 
   There is only one God, and we are all His children, why do people hate other people, because they belong to another religion?

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   Cre8torposted 10 years ago

   Your question is based on your belief. Your reference is based on your belief. Perhaps there is a Muslim or Judain who is asking the same question somewhere else about why you believe the way you do??? As for hate, it has to do with ignorance, not religion. Just as we drive on one side of the road while others the opposite, it's because it began independently at one corner of the earth and there was no problem until the other corners came to meet. Of course no one cares which side of the road you drive on but everyone wants everyone else to believe what they do because deep down, they feel it's right and the only way. Perhaps we should all stop to think that ultimately, human nature has us all believing in the same basic principles and that the way in which we worship is the only difference accompanied by to what name we refer to "Him" as...is that so bad?

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      Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      No, that is not so bad.  The name "Him" When we are praying, He does know we are praying to Him. Well, at least it is what I believe.  Even if we use the word God, or Jehovah.  And you are right about hate based on ignorance.  Thank you.

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   dashingscorpioposted 10 years ago

   God made man and man made religion.
   The only reason there are so many religions is because people don't agree. This why you hear one group say "We believe....etc" while another says "We don't believe that...etc"  Organized religion is a lot like government in that they are designed to control the behaviors of people by creating a certain order to live by. In fact many nations were built with the laws of religion ruling them initially. Naturally if one group does not like or enjoy life under the current system they will probably create their own.
   Personally speaking I have no love for any organized religion.
   I think one's relationship with god, universal mind, infinite spirit or whatever term one decides to use is a personal one. There is no need for a "middle man", minister, priest, rabbi, bishop, or whatever. You can talk (directly) to god whenever you want. It's not rocket science. God knows your heart and mind. Just as every child in a family has (different) relationship with their parents so is it with individuals and their relationship with God.
   Just as there is no need for a "middle man" to tell you how to relate to your mother or father you have no need to for someone to tell you how to relate to your "heavenly father". One man's opinion! :-)

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      Maggie Bennettposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Fabulous answer!

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      Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you.  I also do not belong to any religion, but am Christian and love God.

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      Pollyannalanaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If that father writes down instructions though for His children, He expects them to follow them, especially since he left so many copies. Just because one or more of the children rewrote them is no excuse. We have the original.

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      dashingscorpioposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Pollyannalana, According to most accounts there are 66 books contained in the bible. To my knowledge God did not write a single one of those books. In fact the canonization/selection of which books to "include" in the bible has man's hand all on it!

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      cherihutposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I have always wondered... why is "organized" only considered bad when it refers to crime or religion? Without organization everything would be chaos (we have plenty of proof of that).

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      dashingscorpioposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      cherihut, I think having a relationship with God is as simple as breathing. It doesn't require an organization or leader to tell us how or when to breathe. There will always be people (a flock) looking for a shepherd. I'm just saying it's ok not to.

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   gabgirl12posted 10 years ago

   You are entitled to your beliefs as others are entitled to theirs....all of it without evidence. Some people believe in the tooth fairy, the loch ness monster, the city of Atlantis, the flying spaghetti monster etc. What's makes them less real and your deity more real? None have evidence but Christians think that not having evidence makes it even more real because they're deity told them 'its okay, those people who don't believe in me are just stupid and I'm going to burn them forever'. You really think this is going to sit well with rational people? You can't sugar coat reality. This information always comes from another human being, not a deity. Yet the human beings involved want to convince us they are messengers.
   
   Religion has gone so far to make others believe they are incapable of morality! So they invent a religion with its own moral code, stamp it with approval and give others crap about it. Then they get paranoid and attack them by calling them immoral and terrorizing them with hell. Grow up.. With the advances in telecommunications, people are finding out the truth faster, becoming more skeptical and they want to know what's real vs what is fake.
   
   Only by shaking off the cocoon of religion, will we learn how to work things out by ourselves and with each other.
   
   Belief provides consolation of death and continuity. Everyone is afraid to die the moment they learn about it. The fact however is everyone will die and no one has come back from the dead. That is a reality. Not even a 2000 year old manuscript can convince me. I would have to see it to believe it.
   
   ..if it was true that would be nice, but the problem here is there are so many religions claiming a deity and all have different places for you to go. Some threaten you with eternal punishment, You all say that yours is the 'one' true god. Will the real 'god' please stand up and speak for thyself instead of another religion popping up to claim 'authority'? We are sick of it! Heaven, Valhalla, Allah world, Hindi, Wicca, Judaism etc.  Unless your deity decides to make an appearance as opposed to giving people a nasty 2000 year old attitude accusing people of unbelief, promising torture and regret after healing them forget it! (Luke 10:13)

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      Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sometimes, well this is what I think, is that people fight war, they say it is for God, but it is not.  In the past it was for land etc.  Now it is for oil, or hate.  They say it is for God, but it is not.  Saying it is for God is a sin.

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      Pollyannalanaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      He will be making an appearance very soon. One must read the book to know if it is a fairytale or not. It may read like sci-fi but be sure if is not. Already we see it coming true, all around you,,,it is all in there.

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      gabgirl12posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I read holy books everyday, more so now than when I was religious. I have an even stronger conviction that 'god' doesn't exist. And I'm not intimidated by people who  have 'certainty'. Christianity was certain the world was flat...they were wrong.

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      cherihutposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Problem is... when He does show up self-professed "rational" people still won't believe. Said it before... "For those who believe, no explanation is necessary. For those who don't, no explanation is possible."

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      gabgirl12posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Said it before. I'm used to christian certainty and confidence in their personal deity. When sugar coated nonsense doesn't work they resort to threatening manipulative undertones. For those who truly care about sharing belief with others, it shows.

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   aguasilverposted 10 years ago

   Imagine the scenario, somewhere Heaven eons ago, God tells His Angels what His plan is: "I'm going to create humans with the right to free choice whether they come to Me or turn from Me"
   
   Lucifer revolts, thinks God is mad, crazy, losing the plot, and gets kicked out of Heaven to a lone planet called 'earth' where he is given dominion, knowing that God will use that planet for the human experiment, he seeds it with as many false gods as he can dream up, one for every type of belief, a pick and mix of gods and goddesses.... the rest is His Story!
   
   But God knows the plan, and has His plan...

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      dashingscorpioposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like a great movie idea! :-)

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      Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Very interesting comment.  Thank you so much.

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      aguasilverposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      dashingscorpio, Try getting the book rights first! )

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   Pollyannalanaposted 10 years ago

   Everyone says whatever you believe is OK but here in these last days you will see all religions coming together in the name of peace and justice...but they will and are already trying to take out Jesus Christ. (even from the churches that bear His name) They will let him be a prophet or something less but not the Son of God. Only one god heads these people. The one that fears the coming of this Son and His dominion over that god that will be cast to the fires of Hell.

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      Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The United Nations has a church.  A church that is supposed to bring all together.   http://www.unitednationschurch.org/locations.html
      Very interesting comment.

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      gabgirl12posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      What's scary is Christian discrimination and treating others as less than 'human beings' because they believe their 'god' is punishing them or what they are doing is a 'sin'. It's easy for religious minds in groups to 'forget' we're ALL human.

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      Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you.  That is wrong, very wrong.

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      Pollyannalanaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Our God sent His Son to cover our sins. Just because some radicals call themselves Christian does not mean they are. Christ=Christian.

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      Disappearingheadposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      This is the problem with Christianity; though its roots were in Jesus, the organised church turned it into a man made religion focused on control and instilling fear.

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      gabgirl12posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      They're all Christians. Some lousier than others. If an atheist discriminates, they are wrong to do it. It's not an excuse to say 'oh well those weren't real atheists' I've seen some lousy atheists & they suck. That doesn't change they are atheis

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   Ericdierkerposted 10 years ago

   I think you must have left out Hindi, Buddhism and Shinto on purpose. Along with atheism they comprise far more of the earths population. I think China and India should rightfully be counted as "major". With that said -- allow me to address "Western" doctrine.
   
   The Bible, Koran and the Tanakh or "Jewish bible" are complete with passages that reference "this way is the only way". Most thumpers of books need this concept. One fellow came along and said basically "I am the Word". And He was known for His love. And so put to death the laws as contained in books. The Word replaced the book. And the Word was Love.
   
   Now love does not lend itself to ownership. Laws do. Laws require judges and prosecutors and teachers and juries. If you take those functions away from folks, folks are going to get angry. And if you make them share their authority they are going to get angrier still.
   
   Everyone everywhere can belong to Love. The laws are of man. Rules set forth by God prior to the Love concept or after are stepping stones not chains. When Buddha finally came to this conclusion he was enlightened. When Mohamed came to this conclusion his works thereafter were buried, when the Hebrews came to this knowledge they crucified the teacher.
   
   Religions are man made. They generally are a xenophobic tradition. One thing is for certain Love knows no boundaries. Love is in us all. Love is the only thing that we understand that is omnipotent and everywhere and is alpha and omega. This knowledge is hard on and dangerous to thumpers. It is as though they are all doubting Thomas's and count there exclusionary rules as something empirical. Something to hold on to because they have faith in a book not in Love. They can only Love with strings attached. Strings they like to hold onto like the marionette.
   
   Someone is running a forum right now who conjured up calling something like your question the "Oneness Doctrine". That is totally different, and wrong. The Oneness that you elude to is justified as a doctrine of Love.
   
   I am feeble but know one thing: My God is everyone's God.

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      Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      That is pretty much what my question was about.   There is only one God, and we are all His children.

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      gabgirl12posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      My god is everyone's god  *facepalm* That fellow you claim said I am the word? Jesus? He never said it. Known for what love? He said 'woe to chorazin' in Luke 10 after healing them because they didn't repent. Where did unconditional love go? Space!?

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   cherihutposted 10 years ago

   It's a long and short answer. I'll go with the short one... free will and pride. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.
   
   As an analogy, think of a traditional family where all the siblings share the same parents. Do they always get along? Do they not sometimes fight and disagree? Sometimes they even "disown" each other... they all belong to the same Father, they generally profess to love one another in most cases, but... pride, selfishness, etc. gets in the way. Free will. People are free to act as they will, and they will make mistakes - sometimes big ones, and often divisive ones.

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      Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your answer.   It makes a lot of sense.

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   lone77starposted 10 years ago

   Differences arise because of ego.
   
   Ego is the blindfold of separateness that we put on when we disobeyed God. The forbidden fruit (product, result) is of the "tree" (source) of the knowledge (intimacy) of good-evil (dichotomies, like generous-selfish, right-wrong, wisdom-stupidity, etc).
   
   Ego is all about self (isolated identity) separate from the whole, thinking that it knows better or knows "all."
   
   When you give up the ego self (die), you gain everlasting life -- the continuity of consciousness of spiritual reawakening. This is consciousness and perception (the light) without the need for artificial (physical) means (brain and eyeballs).
   
   True religion sees no difference; only love. Ego-driven religion sees literal differences and "I'm right, you're wrong."
   
   Everything the skeptics decry about religion comes from ego -- the heart of selfishness.

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      Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thank  you very much for your answer.  I agree with you very much.

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    Oscarlitesposted 10 years ago

    People that truly love God, have less to criticize about others. they are focused on Who he is, and "how can I serve him".  when I see or hear of fighting over God, or religion, I cringe at the effort that is lost towards helping others know him.  I believe the parable of the good Samaritan shows us Gods desire that we do his work by serving and helping others. How could the man who was beaten and robbed fail to see that God lives, due to the man that embodied the works of Christ. the one who said, "whatever it costs" help this man, and bill it to me!.  in short, those who hate are the opposite of the children of God.  Identifying this True God, is by revelation on a personal basis.  We are called to be True witnesses of what we have seen and heard. More of You God, and less of me. More of your Love for men to see.  "Good" is born in the heart. Evil is corruption of the heart. An unsaved or un-reconciled person is who Jesus came to deliver from death.  True Life is in Jesus Christ, who as the Son of God in the flesh is the "Jehovah" who has become" my salvation.  Its also evidenced of 29 Old testament prophecies were fulfilled when he came to earth and became our Savior. Its says of him : beside him there is no savior, and that in him was life and he is the light of the world.  He appeared unto all.  If he hasn't appeared unto you, then I pray that he will.  No other story of God has the claim and proof of a crucified and resurrected Savior. that's why your statement of there being only One god stands alone and unchallenged.  To wit God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. To "not believe" is a losing matter, but Know..  Saul didn't believe, and God brought it to His attention.  Paul was serving the Roman Government prior to his conversion:  Who are you serving? I've heard even Christians say " I spent my life as a Christian but serving the wrong thing, before I realized who Jesus Really is and that he is now my Lord and my God."   Its personal when you meet him.  Michelle, thanks for this question. And I hope I can grow to know him more, and hate less.  God is going to deal with the nations, and the religions and the false Gods.  read the book.  We don't really have to be afraid.

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       Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you Oscarlites  that makes so much sense to me. We should help others, we should serve God and not just ourselves.  Love, not hate.  There is so much hate in the world today.  That is not God's fault, it is our fault.

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    JThomp42posted 10 years ago

    Because there are so many different cultures and different beliefs. I do not believe anyone should "hate" those who have different beliefs. They believe in their religion as strongly as we believe in ours.

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       Michele Travisposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       No,  no one should hate, that is very wrong.

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       JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Definitely not Michelle.

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    whonunuwhoposted 10 years ago

    There are many societies in the earth's population that see and know there is a higher power, and interpret this in their own ways and according to their own social make-ups and cultures.

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    Andy McGuireposted 10 years ago

    The concept of a God(s) is a great idea that mankind just f**ked up royally.

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