Thank you people for your honest comments in my previous post! And the conclusion is: almost 66% of the voters are DO NOT agree that all religions lead to God, whereas almost 28% agree that all religions lead to God.Now, the reason for my provocative post was to know whether most people subscribe to the idea of relgious relativism..
which is the belief that ALL religions are simply different pathways to the SAME ultimate reality.
Anyway as the result suggests, most people (at least the ones visiting this blog) do not subscribe to religious relativism. (thank God!) Seriously, to believe all religions lead to God is a nonsensical stance simply because different religions have different concepts of God. For example in Hinduism God is the universe (pantheism) whereas in Christianity we have the concept of a personal God (the Trinity; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) who knows us by name and loves us. Besides that, the concept of salvation between religions is drastically different. Correct me if I am wrong, in Islam; salvation is to enter into a Paradise of sensual pleasures whereas for in Christianity; salvation is to have conscious personal fellowship with God for all eternity. Oh and by the way, pure Buddhism is atheistic.
So tell me how can one reconcile the idea of religious relativism when the differences are so significant?
10 comments:
U said Hinduism is Pantheism??? Where did you get your facts...
In hinduism, WE have the trinity of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma, which translates to God as the Preserver,Destroyer and Creator.
The universe is no doubt created by god, according to religious views/doctrine.In hinduism, the Supreme being(also known as God) is called "Brahman"- not to be confused with brahma, an aspect of god that deals with creation.
The reason why hinduism has many gods is not because we pray to many god but to symbolise his aspects. God as the "Lord of Obstacles -Ganesha and many other gods. Each god has a story associated with it which is meant to 'humanise' and 'personalise' it so that the universal moral values can be imparted to people(via a medium which they're comfortable with...i.e. that's why in hinduism you have stories of god coming to earth on human forms or via saints like St Agasthiya(Argathiya) ). You can not superficially look at hinduism and call it Pantheism or by any other words.
I am not an expert on hinduism. My religion is so rich that my knowledge is perhaps smaller than an atom of the vastness of knowledge contained in it.
Don't be too quick to castigate or to talk(or quote) about other religion(s) without getting information about the religion. Getting information means talking to people who really know about the religion(i.e. the temple priest or visit the Hindu Sangam).
For more information on hinduism kindly visit www.hindu.org
Welcome to Jesus! Suresh! :)
Here is where I got my facts:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheism#Hinduism
Anyway, Hinduism is a complex religion and as far as I know there is no authoritative voice (i.e. the Vatican for the Catholics) to say what exactly is Hinduism or what Hindus believe.
Just a note: the Trinity (i.e. the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) is not to be confused with the similar concept of trinity found in Hinduism.
God bless,
Celestine <><
Hello.I'm a Catholic as well, i think its a great thing u have here, keep up the good work(esp for religion enthusiasts like me)
As for Hinduism, it is so complex there are so many ways to practise and intepret it.In a nutshell,Hinduism can be viewed as a way of life or as an organized religion.Hindu creation beliefs, if memory serves is that Visnu,(an avatar of Krsna/Krishna) emerged from a churning cauldron of milk,and from his navel, came Brahma, who created the universe,and all its being.By that logic, I doubt Brahman is the Supreme Being from that sense.I think Visnu should be viewed as the Supreme Being.Brahma is the Creator,Visnu-Krsna the Restorer and Shiva the Destroyer(of evil).
Of late there has been a blurring of lines between distinct Hindu teachings(such as the Saivates and Vaishavates) with the emergence of new influential organizations like ISKCON and many new spiritual gurus that have come up.It makes it more complex.
There is no obvious authoritative body per se for Hinduism, not like Watchtower,the Vatican or the English Monarchy.Intepretations of the Gita,Mahabarata and Vedas depend heavily on the teachers viewpoint, with some even having theories that the Pandava Wars have not yet happened and are in fact a prophecy, and some who believe a nuclear and biological weapons were used in that war(which happened VERY long ago)
Diversified?I think so.
And imho,you are almost correct when you said that the Hindu Trinity is unlike ours and that Buddhism is a form of atheism.
The Hindu part of it-They believe all three are individual gods that complements each other.Our belief is that all three are three, yet one.Separated by function, not by personality.
brother Suresh-I like to use the apologetics anology that the father,son and spirit is like a commando unit of exact physical natures and attributes with a Commander, a Captain and a Scout.They are three different units with different personality(and possibly, ranks) and are components of the commando unit,collectively(God).This is my favourite and least technical argument in defense of the misintepretation that 'The Father is Greater than I'(Jn 14:28)i.e God is a Commander and Jesus is a Captain with the Holy Spirit as a Scout
Atheism is the rejection of god,or the idea of god whereby Buddhists actually strive for Nirvana/Nibbana which in essence is both a state of Godlikeness and nothingness.Or can be percieved as a state of nothingness to be a/a part of of God.See, the way I see it, Buddhist follow Siddharta, who has already attained the desired form of Godhood.So in essence, they are following a god.
My personal view of Buddhism is that is a great philosophy with a lot of noble values to be followed by adherents of all religions.Though I find it hard to reconcile the slightly nihilist views of the afterlife with my faith in heaven I still appreciate Gautama Buddha's teachings and the beauty it reflects in his followers.
Peace be with you all.
* sorry minor correction
Line 6"...by function not by ** identity"
Different people have different beliefs. The problem is people tend to make the judgment that their religion is better or lead them to the right direction than others.
As long as u hold on to your faith, be a good person and contribute to the society, it doesn't matter which religion you are from.
We can't judge which religion is superior than the others. None of us can judge that.
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) 253-256
The dogma of the Holy Trinity
253
The Trinity is One. We do not confess three Gods, but one God in three persons, the "consubstantial Trinity." The divine persons do not share the one divinity among themselves but each of them is God whole and entire: "The Father is that which the Son is, the Son that which the Father is, the Father and the Son that which the Holy Spirit is, i.e., by nature one God." In the words of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215): "Each of the persons is that supreme reality, viz., the divine substance, essence or nature."
254
The divine persons are really distinct from one another. "God is one but not solitary." "Father," "Son," "Holy Spirit" are not simply names designating modalities of the divine being, for they are really distinct from one another: "He is not the Father who is the Son, nor is the Son he who is the Father, nor is the Holy Spirit he who is the Father or the Son." They are distinct from one another in their relations of origin: "It is the Father who generates, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who proceeds." The divine Unity is Triune.
255
The divine persons are relative to one another. Because it does not divide the divine unity, the real distinction of the persons from one another resides solely in the relationships which relate them to one another: "In the relational names of the persons the Father is related to the Son, the Son to the Father, and the Holy Spirit to both. While they are called three persons in view of their relations, we believe in one nature or substance." Indeed "everything (in them) is one where there is no opposition of relationship." "Because of that unity the Father is wholly in the Son and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Son is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is wholly in the Father and wholly in the Son."
--
From the above CCC, we could derive that the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit are equal to each other (i.e. none is greater/lesser than the other). The Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit are in total agreeability (i.e. one will) and all persons in the Trinity work together. E.g. Genesis 1:26 "Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..."
For more information please look up the CCC.
i don't know. i see nothing wrong in loving God for Him and Him alone.
and I see a lot of wrong things in loving God because one is afraid of where he'll end up in after he dies.
Which i scary... i mean, what's this with the 'where do you go after you die'... it's scary. this is not what its supposed to be. at least, it's not what i think it's supposed to be.
you know we shouldn't call religion religion anymore, these days, really, can i call it 'fear of death' instead?
seriously. *sorry celestine, i love ranting... and this is just one of those days...*
Great to see those comments coming in like that! :)
Sorry for the delay, will soon post entries in response to...
Cypher's question:
Now supposed that the other guy is Adolf Hitler. He murdered millions of innocent people and he allowed his army to rape and pillage at will. However, let's say that on his death bed, Hitler suddenly and truly saw the errors in his way and repented for all his sins and embraced God, Jesus Christ, and Christianity with all his heart. And I don't mean some desperate bid for salvation, I mean he REALLY and TRULY believed in Jesus and God.
Now my question is, based on Christianity, who goes to heaven and who to hell when both of them dies here? According to my religious Protestant friend, it's gonna be Hitler. All is forgiven. Disbelievers are condemned to hell, no matter what their other attributes and past actions were.
And I definately cannot see the fairness in this.
and
HCFoo's statement:
Different people have different beliefs. The problem is people tend to make the judgment that their religion is better or lead them to the right direction than others.
As long as u hold on to your faith, be a good person and contribute to the society, it doesn't matter which religion you are from.
We can't judge which religion is superior than the others. None of us can judge that.
minishorts: no worries. ranting to Jesus! is encourage :D
i would have to agree with HCFoo's first statement that it is not anyone's place to pass judgement on someone else simply because of their worldview.
for me, it only seemed logical to first examine any evidence for the existence of god and then to examine the idea of god in all different worldviews. this would help me to determine which philosphy measures up.
there are many different methods in which we can induldge our minds and our thinking that all have real effects. but i believe that truth is absolute and if there was a "god" who is going to make himself known through prophetic or revelatory means, then by examining all the belief systems' doctrine relating to "god" one will come out on top, as truth.
This statement:
"As long as u hold on to your faith, be a good person and contribute to the society, it doesn't matter which religion you are from."
i definately see the point here, but i don't see the logic. the idea of faith (from nearly every religion) is to agree with absolute truth (exclusiveness) so you wouldn't be able to effectively hold onto a faith with that mindset because the very meaning of it wouldn't be rooted in anything.
an alternative idea might be to understand that you're place is not to judge others, it is to desire truth. to be honest, no reliions do it well. except for atheists, their really good at it.
http://www.frankiejarrett.com/blog
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