One God, Many Paths

One God, one way to get to Him(we look at the different ways and choose which path to follow, we might try a few but not all the paths........If you are in an unfamiliar place will you find what you are looking for on your own or would it be better to use a map. The chances of a person reaching their destination without a map(or gps) to guide him is next to nothing. You can walk right past it and not even know you did..
I agree that there is only one God and only one way to get to Him.

What do you know about map projections, for example like Mercator and equal-area?
 
Different beliefs/faiths, different gods.
How do you ascertain this?
I don't agree.
There is only one G-d
I cannot prove this, but if nothing else many religions assert this... then they go ahead and describe G-d differently, because they do not understand because they cannot understand. Who can understand G-d. Everybody gets it wrong - "wrong" because nobody can fully understand G-d.
 
That depends on your interpretation.
"And God saith, `Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness .." Genesis 1.26 (Young's literal translation).
And Torah is your oldest book.
God would not have used plural, if he was one. Trinity does not separate the three, he is still one.
God would not have used plural, if he was one. Trinity does not separate the three, he is still one.
Not so fast - G-d could have been using the royal we, as some say, or G-d could have been speaking to the Divine Council or the angels, as others say (I don't have references on hand, I could look for them if needed)
 
You have it wrong. People don't trust its errors, what they TRUST is the scientific process that allows errors to be identified and corrected.
I don't think so. Errors will be made.... Science is inherently probabilistic. It is based on observation and limited data.
 
They believe in the original G-d. Or concept of G-d. Christian theologians added the idea of the trinity etc.
No, they did not. John 1... In the BEGINNING was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God........ "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."
 
How do you ascertain this?
I don't agree.
There is only one G-d
I cannot prove this, but if nothing else many religions assert this... then they go ahead and describe G-d differently, because they do not understand because they cannot understand. Who can understand G-d. Everybody gets it wrong - "wrong" because nobody can fully understand G-d.
We can agree to disagree.... ;) it's ok..
I agree, there is only one God, but the Jews and the Muslims do not believe Jesus Christ is divine. "In the BEGINNING was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Who is the Word?
 
How do you ascertain this?
I don't agree.
There is only one G-d
I cannot prove this, but if nothing else many religions assert this... then they go ahead and describe G-d differently, because they do not understand because they cannot understand. Who can understand G-d. Everybody gets it wrong - "wrong" because nobody can fully understand G-d.
In my story, the ultimate reality in their scriptures is the one called "God" in the Bible, but the gods in their imaginations that they are worshiping and calling "God" or "Allah" or "Heaven" or "Dharma" or "Science" or "Lived Experience" are different.

They believe in the original G-d. Or concept of G-d. Christian theologians added the idea of the trinity etc.
In my story, there are three in the Bible who are called "God," with a genuine interpersonal relationship between them, the theologians are right about that. The problems start when they try to explain how that can be possible, and don't trust God enough to just let it be.

You have it wrong. People don't trust its errors, what they TRUST is the scientific process that allows errors to be identified and corrected.
That isn't mostly how it looks to me in public discussions. Mostly how it looks to me is people trusting what some other people are telling them that science says, because it's saying what they want to hear.
 
Word was with God, and the Word was God." Who is the Word?
In my understanding, the Bible calls Jesus and the Holy Spirit "God," and yet there is a genuine interpersonal relationship between them. All of that needs to be fully embraced, without trying to explain it. How it's possible if there is only one God is impossible for anyone to understand or explain. People all through the ages have created confusion, division and needless conflict by trying to explain it.
 
Does the world(humans) dictate what is right and wrong (Hitler had some strong ideas as well and many of his followers accepted it to be good)? thats ok with you?
Yeah, all rules, all commandments are created by humans only, even those in Torah, Bible and Qur'an.
OK .. and where did they get their commandments?
..or maybe you are claiming that you do not need any guidance .. you are satisified with
what you've got .. what these people tell you.
Answer to your question above. Yes, I am perfectly satisfied with what rules I have.
 
Not so fast - G-d could have been using the royal we, as some say, or G-d could have been speaking to the Divine Council or the angels, as others say (I don't have references on hand, I could look for them if needed).
As you know, I am a strong atheist (I do not even acknowledge the possibility of existence of God or soul). It does not matter to me at all. The Abrahamic religions have different interpretations of this. As for Hinduism, Gods are placed second to our duty (Dharma) and what one believes or does not believe about God/Gods/Goddesses is his own business.
 
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Yes, I am perfectly satisfied with what rules I have..
I thought so .. but you said:

What guidance is required when our duty is clearly mentioned and we have been following it since ages?
(Sanatan Dharma - eternal religion).


..and according to wiki:
Sanatana-dharma, being transcendental, refers to universal and axiomatic laws that are beyond our temporary belief systems.

..so what is their origin? How old are they? ..and how reliable would they be in the 21st. century?
 
genuine interpersonal relationship between them
Yes, I agree.
All of that needs to be fully embraced, without trying to explain it
Without some understanding?...... My belief is that God created us with an intellect for a reason, so that we might know who our God is. There is nothing wrong with questioning the Bible, for that is how we get closer to the Word and becoming better disciples.
 
Sanatana-dharma, being transcendental, refers to universal and axiomatic laws that are beyond our temporary belief systems.
.. so what is their origin? How old are they? ..and how reliable would they be in the 21st. century?
That is the Wikipedia description of Sanatan Dharma - Hinduism (there are a lot of Hindu chauvinists posting in Wikipedia these days).
Do you check with Qur'an every time before you act? This knowledge is passed on to us by elders and society when we are young.
Hinduism has one advantage that it does not have one book which is mandatory to be followed. Hinduism evolves with time.
It is current in whatever age it is, whether 7th Century or 21st Century. Hinduism is not a static religion, it is a dynamic religion.
That is how I can be an atheist and even then a Hindu. That is how I can have a daughter-in-law who is not from a brahmin family. That is why we are not agitated by women getting education, wearing modern clothes or homosexuality.
This is known as 'Yuga-dharma' in Hinduism, the 'dharma' of the time.
 
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OK .. and where did they get their commandments?
I'm imagining that you think that they came originally from God, and I would agree with that if by "God" you mean the unknowable who is called the God of Abraham in the Bible.

Our commandments come from elders, society and the law of the nation.
But how did it come to them? From their elders, society, and laws of the nation, and back, and back. Is there a terminology in Hinduism that encompasses all of that?
 
Without some understanding?...... My belief is that God created us with an intellect for a reason, so that we might know who our God is. There is nothing wrong with questioning the Bible, for that is how we get closer to the Word and becoming better disciples.
I agree that He wants us to try to understand, but not to think that we understand when we don't. I'm not sure that those analogies can't be helpful, maybe they can, but I think that they are all false, one way or another. I can't see anything that they can do other than to create a false feeling of understanding, in ways that have divided people against each other all through history, and actually make it harder for people to learn from the Bible and for it to do all that it can for them. Maybe it's okay to use those analogies to comfort ourselves, but not to think that we really understand, or that anyone who disagrees is wrong.
 
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