How do you know which is the true religion?

1. 71

   lovelyjubblyposted 12 years ago

   How do you know which is the true religion?
   
   Okay.. as an agnostic, I have the opportunity to chose any religion should I arrive to believe in God.. but, how to chose? If really, I don't know if maybe there are God's of the sea and the air and the sun, or maybe there is just one God. Everyone seems to think they are right. Hindus think they're right, Christians believe they are, Muslims believe they are etc etc. Everyone genuinely believes, with their heart, that they are following the right religion and that they are making God(s) happy.. but I would never know which to choose.

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2. 47

   Elliefaceposted 12 years ago

   There are no "True Religions," or I don't believe there are. I personally would consider myself a deist; I believe there is SOMETHING out there (or up there,) but I have NO IDEA what it is. Really, a religion can only be true to you. It depends on what you believe. There is no way of really even knowing if God, or Allah or whatever you believe in even exist. It all depends on what you as an individual believes, and what is true to you.

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   1. 74

      lone77starposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      What you describe sounds like delusion or "personal reality."
      
      Truth is beyond these things. Truth has no space, time, energy or mass. Truth is source and unending abundance. Truth is love that is spotless and untainted by its earthly counterpart.

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   2. 47

      Elliefaceposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Isn't that what religion or faith is..... A personal reality? It's a deeply personal thing and very individual to each person. I don't really know how that's "delusional" at all.

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3. 74

   Mikioposted 12 years ago

   Religious truth is subjective.  It is whole arbitrary.  Just as the saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."  It is pointless to argue which one is true, just as it is pointless to argue who is the most beautiful woman or man.  For Christians, Christianity is true.  For Muslim, Islam is true.  It's the realm of tautology.

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   1. 74

      lone77starposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Mikio, are you talking about ego? Ego makes "relative truth" subjective. Absolute truth sets you free. Gautama Siddhartha knew this. So did Yehoshua of Nazareth.

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4. 74

   SidKempposted 12 years ago

   I encourage you to deepen and enrich your agnisticism, and your understanding of religion, as well.
   
   First of all, there is very little relationship between religions and believing in God. Buddhism is a religion, and, historically, the core teaching of the Buddha was agnosticism. In current Buddhism, some are atheist, some agnostic, some believe in one God, some in many, either as pantheists or panentheists.
   
   One can be Hindu and believe in one God, a few, or many.
   
   The Western religions all believe in one God, yet some same that it is the same God for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and others do not.
   
   Secondly, if you think that everyone thinks they are right, then I think you are listening to the wrong proponents of each religion. All religions encourage humility, and that includes the possibility of being wrong.
   
   I incorporate many faiths into my daily life, and am a minister in two. Yet I do not think I am right. Nor do I believe in God. I like him/her/it a lot, but I don't know what "believe in" means.
   
   Listen to the truth of your heart, and you will know.

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   1. 74

      lone77starposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Nicely said, Sid. Moving beyond "believe in" is a beautiful thing. Leaving behind "importance" is too.

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5. 0

   Sarra Garrettposted 12 years ago

   I don't think there was supposed to be any 'true' religion. I have read the Bible several times (the Bible was written by man by the way) Jesus tore down temples and never built one.  I believe that the truth of the matter is simply to do the right thing and be nice to each other and help each other.  Don't wave around your wealth and consider others to be beneath you. Don't break the law, etc. In fact, in the Bible it states do not bow down to idols.  In many religions there are idols.......just sayin.  Jesus did only good as well as his followers (with the exception of Judas).

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6. 59

   Civil War Bobposted 12 years ago

   All religions are true to themselves.  The RIGHT one is a different story.  Seems to me the Born Again Christians are on the mark.

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7. 68

   Ceegenposted 12 years ago

   
   
   Ask Him.
   
   All "religions" are founded on people telling stories. But if God is really speaking to people in the bible, and telling them to write things down for future generations as a warning, that kind of piques my interest.
   
   All other religions I've learned about, have all sorts of gods, that don't really do anything benevolent for humankind. Satan was trying to destroy God's people, in order that you don't get the message of salvation. You see, in the Old Testament, God was vengeful and full of wrath, because He knew that if certain things were not accomplished... You'd never find out the truth.
   
   The bible is a collection of stories, from different people, spanning several thousand years; and is the oldest continuous faith in human history because of it. Doesn't that seem a little odd to you? The numbers don't add up, this religion should have died out a long time ago.
   
   And you know what? It's a very interesting story, of a personally interacting God. I mean, just to reiterate that point, let me say this again: All other religions I've learned about, have all sorts of gods, that don't really do anything benevolent for humankind.
   
   The Creator God, YHVH, is the only God I have learned about, that personally came to earth, simply to pay for the sins of His own creation.
   
   That's huge.
   
   But if it weren't for God, fighting for His people's battles in the past... You would never have heard about this story.
   
   Governments come and go, just as quickly as religions do. Whole peoples get wiped off the face of the earth, never to be seen again... Except when we dig up their bodies, and place them on display in our museums! All those people are dead and gone, and they're never coming back.
   
   But the story of the bible, is alive even to today. The story is still being told, and it has a very interesting ending. A very vivid and living ending. And what the bible claims, is that this is just the beginning, but that the ending is up to ALL of us, as individuals.
   
   The bible, for all intents and purposes, is a living document... And so far, it has kept its immortality status. It's still here, no matter how many times it's been tried to be suppressed.
   
   That is how I know my God is a LIVING God. That's why when I say, "Ask Him." -- I mean it.
   
   Jesus wants you to get to know Him. Jesus is the embodiment of that message. That's how you know it is true.

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8. 61

   violetheavenposted 12 years ago

   Religion and faith is a very personal matter.  The only way to know what you should believe is to figure out what you don't believe.  I suggest researching any/all the belief systems that interest you one at a time.  Keep a notebook and write down what you agree with and what you don't. As well as anything you find interesting.  What rings true for Muslims may not ring true for Christians.  What rings true for Hindu's may not ring true for Jain's.  But there is no 100% for everyone and everything religion or belief system.  By researching many of these belief systems you will lessen your own ignorance of them.  You just have to approach them with an open mind, holding on to your beliefs, spirit and soul, to ensure you don't fall into potential traps.  Meditate and pray.  Even if you are unsure of the existence of God... it is a good way to remain sane.

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9. 61

   Jaggedfrostposted 12 years ago

   I suppose this is the wrong place for a Christian to put their foot in but I am just that kind of fellow. "More is the pity" as it is said.  I see religion as a way for the strong to help the weak.  I see any need for orthodoxy as a way for the weak to know where to get the straight story and for all of the members to be able to get exactly the results from obedience that are promised by the religion in question.  If there is a true religion they should be willing to make promises in the name of the god they worship which will manifest one way or another.
   
   As one searching, the searcher needs to be wary as any such compliance with such promises, if that orthodoxy is genuine, one is dealing with a God. Gods by definition are eternal beings and so a human time table means nothing to them.  If that God is just, however, the responses from him or her will be in accordance with the laws they set. If that God is charitable, then those laws will not be hard and fast upfront but have to be in the end.  In other words, there has to be a way for both the weak and strong to be obedient.
   
   My take on religion is that religion has to be both just and charitable to have any true claim to orthodoxy. Do I believe in a true religion? Yes.  The only problem is that, if there is such a religion, their creed and tenants are not up for debate, so debating such a creed with anyone else would be pointless.  I only wish you luck or blessings on your search for whatever floats your boats. May it keep you well in troubled and fair waters.

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10. 35

    edhanposted 12 years ago

    Religion is the same for all human beings.
    
    It is a different approach of getting the right message.
    
    One God and prophets (messengers) to spread the words. All humans are the same even though we may have different looks & features.

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11. 38

    faisalb87posted 12 years ago

    As a Muslim I want to say something... Look everything is made by someone... so it’s simple that someone is the creator of all things like earth moon son etc there is someone who put life into all living things etc. There is someone who is controlling this all process like life death, day and night. There is someone who has created stars. There is someone who created us. There is someone who knows about every thing... because we can’t say that these all things are created automatically.
    So there is someone who created everything He is (Allah) we Muslims be leave in one God and his messenger Muhammad (PBUH) and one Book Quran.
    I don’t say that you need to accept our religion. I just want to tell you that. You must believe in one God at least because There is one God who has created all things.
    If you don’t want to join any religion then at least believe that there is someone who has created everything because it’s true that we can’t put life into death. So I mean there is someone who puts life into dead seed and it become a plant.
    
    I am not a scholar who is preaching you. I just use common sense.
    I hope this is the answer of your Question.

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12. 58

    The Pac-Manposted 12 years ago

    Being an athiest I would advise you not to believe in any religion. God/s is not your conception, you didnt think up the idea of a higher being/s, its someone else's idea/opinion. Ask yourself this; had you not been told of a higher power, would you have thought 1 to exist? If your answer is no, great. If yes ask yourself this; for what reason should you occupy your mind with the idea of God?, to quote david hume, it is an absurdity to believe that the diety has human passions, and one of the lowest of human passions, a restless appetite for applause.

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13. 0

    Garifaliaposted 12 years ago

    You don't because it's quite immature (to say the least) to believe that there is a true religion. In the same way that each person views the same thing in a different scope there are various religions for various views and beliefs.
    
    I believe the Orthodox Christian religion is closer to the individual than the Catholic Christian and that the muslim religion is too harsh on people, but that is simply my opinion based on what I've lived and experienced and how I perceive the world around me.

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14. 74

    lone77starposted 12 years ago

    The "true" religion is the "one" that leads to full reawakening as a spiritual being.
    
    Most of Christianity does not do this. Most of Buddhism, too. In fact, most of each major religion and all of some do not do this.
    
    So, which "one" do you choose?
    
    I have found some answers in Buddhism, Scientology, Taoism, Christianity, Judaism and Jewish mysticism (Kabbalah).
    
    I have had the experience of being outside of my human body for a few moments with the ability to see as clearly as with my human eyes, but it took me 40 years to begin to understand why it happened.
    
    I have experienced full-blown miracles -- cause-and-effect coincidences (not the ordinary or accidental kind). And I came to understand how such things are possible. I even came to understand how the secrets to that kind of creation are embedded in Genesis, for those who have the humility, patience and hard work enough to find them.
    
    Who is right? Most anyone who thinks they are right are automatically wrong, because 99.99999999% of them are speaking from ego. But why not 100%? Because a very slim minority actually were right. Gautama Siddhartha Buddha was right, because he left ego behind. Yehoshua of Nazareth was right, because he came back to Earth without an ego.
    
    Within each of us is a sleeping immortal. This is our soul -- the true self -- but dead asleep to the world. Ego is the blindfold pulled over our spiritual eyes -- sometimes called the "Darkness" because we depend on physical eyes in order to see. Everlasting life (Nirvana, Enlightenment) are the "Light," because the true self has awakened and no longer needs physical eyes in order to see.
    
    The "True Religion" is following that path no matter what you call it. Labels are for egos and that's the wrong direction.

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15. 0

    JThomp42posted 12 years ago

    Well Budha's tomb is occupied..... Mohommad's tomb is occupied..... Jesus Christ's is empty because he is risen.

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16. 78

    Thomas Swanposted 12 years ago

    As Sid Kemp said, you should probably develop your agnosticism a bit further. If there are 1000 religions, and 999 of them have to be wrong, then why should the 1 that's left be right? All this demonstrates is mankind has a propensity to invent creators. To understand why this happens, I would recommend you explore the cognitive science of religion. We have a number of psychological dispositions that lead us to invent creators. I have written a hub called "Does God Exist? Ask a Cognitive Scientist" which explains this research. It is possible to become "vehemently agnostic", which sounds like an oxymoron, but actually means to believe that everyone else is wrong for forming a belief about the existence of God (atheists and theists alike).

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17. 71

    lovelyjubblyposted 12 years ago

    Thanks for the replies so far. I am agnostic because I can't make a decision either way about the existence of God. I have read the Bible (Just this week actually), and I have read the Quran too and have been studying Islam for a few years now in order to get a better understanding. However, I am still very unsure about it all.
    But, for example, unbelievers go to hell (some say), and you only get to heaven through following the right religion. Fabulous.. if we knew which to follow. Muslims follow the Quran and argue that their religion is the right way to God and hopefully paradise... but non believers and other religions (bar perhaps the other Abrahamic religions but still possibly so), will go to hell. Yet other religions think the same thing.. so there are lots of contrasting religions believing they are genuinely following the message of the real God and hopefully on their way to heaven... it's all a bit ambiguous

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    1. 68

       Ceegenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I've read most of the Qu'ran, and you will not find a single verse in there about anything that guarantees your salvation. Allah is an impersonal god.
       
       This isn't like shopping for food, it's more of a life-altering choice that you make.

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    2. 71

       lovelyjubblyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, I am aware of that. I have Muslim friends and they tell me they can never be sure they will go to heaven but they do they right thing and just hope.

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    3. 74

       SidKempposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Christian beliefs actually vary from universal salvation to many are saved and only the obviously sinful or not, to few are saved, and we know who, to few are saved and we don't know who. Islam is no more confusing and no less personal than Xtianity.

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    4. 78

       Thomas Swanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Is fear of hell the right reason to believe in something?

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    5. 68

       Ceegenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       If you believe in God, because you're afraid of being punished, you are believing for the wrong reasons. I love God of my own free will, and it is only through loving God first and foremost, that we understand the total depravity of self.
       
       God bless.

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    6. 61

       violetheavenposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       It seems like you are aware that there is a God but your just looking for supportive concepts. Any way I think you would benefit from keeping a journal of your ideas as a checklist.  It is possible to believe what you want without a community.

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