what if all religions were real

[zoechantel]

what if all religions were real and jehova and allah were the same person and the hindu gods were just facets of their personality and all gods were just part of a superior figure and religions were just different takes on this being. I was thinking about religion I while ago and I thought about this

[fennec-fox]

The problem with that is that different religions do disagree quite a bit. The Bible forbids creating and worshiping idols, which is practiced in some religions, particularly polytheistic ones. Different religions have different interpretations of the afterlife. So, for instance, Christianity and Hinduism can't both be true because it would be logically impossible for someone to go to either Heaven or hell for the rest of eternity after they die AND be reincarnated every time they die. Some religions don't even have any gods/deities. Buddhists, for example, don't believe in any deities but instead believe that the universe as a whole is alive and interconnected. It doesn't make logical sense to assume that a religion that states that a certain god(s) must be worshiped and a pantheistic deity-less religion can both be true.

[sam1234]

Your question depends on which way you view it. There could be one superior being that is worshiped in hundreds of ways, each defined by the group, what they choose to call their religion and how they choose to define God.

If you take the question strictly as each religion being completely isolated from the others, with no connections, then I don't think it would work. Since So many religions believe that if a person does not subscribe to their religion they go to hell or just die or are reincarnated, then each contradicts the other and all are wrong.

Part of religion is believing in something that is neither tangible nor can it be proved scientifically. It relies on faith that what the believer holds as their religion is true, regardless of what other religions say. It is an interesting question, but one I don't think we are meant to be able to prove as we are, alive on this earth.

sam1234

[Lady Smith]

That's a good point actually zoechantel; - and by the way Jehovah and Allah are different names for the same deity which is something a lot of folk don't realise.  Syriac versions of the Bible written in Arabic use the word 'Allah' for G*d.
Meditative and contemplative spiritually aware people have been aware for a very long time that there are crossovers and similarities between the major religions of the world.  Historically this made things difficult and dangerous for many Christian contemplatives who had to be very careful in their writings so as to not attract the attention of the Inquisition.
I've been in the situation of being stared at in disbelief by local Catholics when I stop to chat to Krishna Consciousness monks on the street.  The simple reason is there is far more that we have in common as people of faith than there are differences that divide us.  As a social worker I was very privileged to work with Muslim refugees and I learned so much about loving faith in G*d from them.

[awilliams1701]

What if hell is life as a cockroach and heaven is life as a dog or something pleasant.

The problem with that is that different religions do disagree quite a bit. The Bible forbids creating and worshiping idols, which is practiced in some religions, particularly polytheistic ones. Different religions have different interpretations of the afterlife. So, for instance, Christianity and Hinduism can't both be true because it would be logically impossible for someone to go to either Heaven or hell for the rest of eternity after they die AND be reincarnated every time they die. Some religions don't even have any gods/deities. Buddhists, for example, don't believe in any deities but instead believe that the universe as a whole is alive and interconnected. It doesn't make logical sense to assume that a religion that states that a certain god(s) must be worshiped and a pantheistic deity-less religion can both be true.

[RobynD]

That is basically Universalism - all spiritual paths and even no spiritual path ultimately leads to God.

That is a hard one for people to buy into because much religion is about "us - the believers" vs. "them- the non-believers" and how we got it right and those poor people do not.

At some point you get back to the fear that you place in the heavenly realms/ afterlife, whatever you want to call it is dependent on absolutely nothing, there is no performance basis. That really messes with people because they believe this life is so important and they are so important in the scheme of things. Surely i will not be sharing heaven with Evil person XYZ, they were super evil! I wasn't that evil.

I really lean towards universalism at times, because in some ways it makes so much sense.

[Tysilio]

The simple reason is there is far more that we have in common as people of faith than there are differences that divide us.

I'd reword that a bit...

"The simple reason is there is far more that we have in common as human beings than there are differences that divide us."

Historically, "faith" has done more to divide people than to bring them together, which is a pity, to say the least.  But people will go on wanting answers to unanswerable questions -- I have no solution to that.

The belief systems I respect and value the most are those which, like Buddhism, focus on perceiving the world as it is and on seeking to reduce the suffering of all beings.  The Jewish concept of tikkun olam, repairing the world, is a kindred core value. I know many people who embrace both traditions, and. . . they're pretty cool.

[Jill F]

I am one to believe that there are as many nuanced religious views as there are people in the world.   Because some people believe what is antithetical to others' beliefs, some people necessarily will have things wrong regardless of what is right.   

All religions are real to those who believe in them. 

[cheryl reeves]

Allah is a moongod look at the symbol on the Islamic flags,and not the same elohym that Jews worship. Islam was created by the Jesuits so to contain the mideast under Vatican control til the revolt which lead to the crusades. I know the history of the 3 religions claiming Abraham..Yehuah proclaimed he was the mighty one of Israel and their is no other.

[DriftingCrow]

All religions are true, according to Sikhism.

In Sikhism, it is believed that all religions have a core of truth in them and all religions can lead you to the same goal -- eternal enlightenment (sometimes called nirvana, heaven, etc.). It's like there are different hiking groups all trying to reach the top of the mountain.  Some groups follow the trail with the blue marker, others follow the trail with the red marker, another follows the green marker, etc.  Some take longer to reach the tops than others (Sikhs think they're on the ski lift  as we think we have the most direct path to the Great Spirit). 

The One Spirit shows itself to different groups of people in different ways.  People developed around different weather patterns, different physical environments, etc. and therefore developed a variety of cultures.  The Spirit can all be found in all religions and spiritualities. 

[Tysilio]

Islam was created by the Jesuits so to contain the mideast under Vatican control til the revolt which lead to the crusades.

Er... sorry, but no. This hoax was perpetrated by a con man named Alberto Rivera, and it has been thoroughly debunked:

Prominent Protestant publications, including Christianity Today, Cornerstone, and even Forward—a publication of Walter Martin's Christian Research Institute—did investigations leading to exposés of Rivera as a fraud.

Christianity Today discovered that "that not only was Rivera not a Jesuit priest, but also that he had two children during the time he claimed to be living a celibate life as a Jesuit." It explained:

"Although Rivera claims to have been raised and trained in a Spanish Jesuit seminary, his hometown friend, Bonilla, said Rivera was living at one point with a woman in Costa Rica named Carmen Lydia Torres."

"Rivera later stated on an employment form that he and Torres were married in 1963. Their son, Juan, was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1964, while Rivera was forking for the Christian Reformed Church there. Juan died in El Paso in July 1965, after his parents had fled New Jersey leaving numerous debts and a warrant for their arrest on bad check charges. The couple had two other children, Alberto and Luis Marx. The first two children were born during the time Alberto claimed to be a Jesuit priest in Spain."

Et cetera, et cetera.

Mr. Rivera also claimed that the Jesuits were "responsible for the creation of communism and Nazism, and caus[ed] the World Wars, recession, the Jonestown Massacre, and the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy..." and that "that the Catholic Church wants to spread homosexuality and abortion, that the Charismatic Movement is a front for the Catholic Church, that the Popes are antichrists, and that the Catholic Church is the Whore of Babylon. He has also claimed that the Jesuits were the masterminds behind the Medieval Inquisition in the 13th century. The Jesuits were in fact founded in 1534." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Rivera)

He's, um, probably not a reliable source of information.

[cheryl reeves]

It's common knowledge that Muhammad's interpreter was a Jesuit priest,he was a cousin of one of Muhammad's wives. Islam has alot in common with the Catholic church,you ever read the Quran? I have. I never heard of Albert Riviera or Jack Chick when I came to my understanding of Islam through studying Muhammad and the Chaldean worship which he called Islam out of,just like Christianity was created out of mithra worship of Constantine. See the bible does not promote religion but a way of life that the word gave to us from the creator. Allah is the name of a moongod they carry that symbol on their flags. The star of David is the star of molech ,the cross of Christianity is the symbol of tammuz..Isaiah 66:17 tells that these 3 come to a end together. I know the histories of these 3 religions.

Mode Edit Criticism of another religion isn't permitted

[AbbyKat]

what if all religions were real and jehova and allah were the same person and the hindu gods were just facets of their personality and all gods were just part of a superior figure and religions were just different takes on this being. I was thinking about religion I while ago and I thought about this

Some religions (mine, for example) actually allow for that reality.  Godhood is a strange thing, for sure, and they exist with varying levels of clarity.

I believe they all exist in some form whether or not they are properly understood.  I believe I follow the correct path but I also don't believe in a punishment for those who follow the others.

[Tysilio]

It's common knowledge that Muhammad's interpreter was a Jesuit priest,he was a cousin of one of Muhammad's wives.

This seems unlikely, given that the Society of Jesus was founded in 1534, and Muhammed lived from about 570 to 8 June 632.

Paraphrasing Daniel Patrick Moynihan, "Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts."

[Deborah]

The Jesuits discovered time travel.

[Tysilio]

The Jesuits discovered time travel.

Some groups follow the trail with the blue marker, others follow the trail with the red marker, another follows the green marker, etc.  Some take longer to reach the tops than others (Sikhs think they're on the ski lift  as we think we have the most direct path to the Great Spirit).

And some take the black diamond trail to the bottom... 

[BlonT]

Fact one there where no books ! All religious books are written to please the "group(s)" and  the ruling government form. All try using all kind of methods to "convert" people to there group, same as political parties.
What YOU believe i respect ,but if you need a other to tell you what to believe your a idiot.

[Sarah82]

Personally I do believe that all gods are or were real and for some reason, possibly Ragnarok, can no longer directly effect the physical world.

Every soul will go to the god they are most devoted to (or resonate with) for judgment, Valhalla, reincarnation, etc.

I don't think any religion is better than any other, people from all faiths, I know I shouldn't generalise, have committed atrocities in the name of their god or gods.

Be excellent to each other and worship whoever you want.

Hugs,
Sarah

[Sarah82]

Fact one there where no books ! All religious books are written to please the "group(s)" and  the ruling government form. All try using all kind of methods to "convert" people to there group, same as political parties.
What YOU believe i respect ,but if you need a other to tell you what to believe your a idiot.

I have to respectfully disagree with you there BlonT.
Odinism had no book, it was an oral tradition with stories told over and over for generations.
It was not until Snorri Sturluson started recording these stories in the 13th century that we had the Eddas and he only compiled them so the last remnants of an ancient religion would not be lost.
By the 13th century Odinism had all but died out due to the spread of Christianity.
By the time Snorri started writing we had already lost the majority of our stories and even, as we have since learned from uncovered rune stones, some of our gods.

[cheryl reeves]

The tanak is over 4000 yrs old