Which religion is the One True Religion?

Posted on by

onetruereligion

I came across a fascinating post over at Godless Cranium’s blog. Although I’m not an atheist, I always find his posts thought-provoking and he raises a lot of great questions. This one really got me thinking.

Until recently I’ve been agnostic, and I still have a lot of agnostic views. I don’t expect those to all change any time soon. But this week I decided to become Catholic. I know, I know, a lot of you are thinking, WTF? Why would you choose such an ancient, archaic, bloated religion that has a violent past full of hypocrisy, bloodshed and immoral practices such as people being bilked out of their hard earned money to get someone out of Purgatory? I have my reasons. If you’re interested in why I chose this faith over others, you can read the two posts I wrote a few days ago.

That being said, do I think the Catholic church is the “right” religion? Not really. It may be all wrong for someone else, but for a number of reasons, I think it will work for me. Catholics actually believe all Christians are going to heaven, and some non-Christians who do good works are going there too. I like that. But they still have their doctrine that holds that it’s much, much better to be a Christian, even a non-Catholic one, so a non-Christian’s chances of getting to heaven still aren’t very good.

Muslims believe they are the only ones going to heaven. Allah will save a faithful Muslim but everyone else, including all Christians, will go to their version of hell. What if they are right? I mean, they could be, right? They are as convinced as any Christian that their Allah is the One True God and believing anything else is heresy.

Closer to home, many fundamentalist Protestant denominations think only members of their particular denomination will go to heaven. There are about 30,000 Protestant denominations. Which one is right? Then of course there are the offshoots of Christianity that don’t really fit into traditional Christianity–Jehovah’s Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists and Mormons come to mind. Without exception, they all believe their faith is the one true religion and only their Bible is the correct one.

There are the non-Abrahamic religions too–Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and other eastern religions, as well as Wicca and various forms of paganism and shamanism, not to mention Scientology and Santeria. Even though they don’t worship the western God and don’t use any version of the Bible, their adherents all think they’re right. Who is to say they aren’t?

Who is right? Is anyone right? Maybe the atheists are right and there is no God or afterlife at all.

onetruereligion2

None of us will know for certain what will happen until we die. If we are just annihilated at death we will never be surprised there is no God waiting for us at the pearly gates because there will be no consciousness to draw such a conclusion. Perhaps reincarnation is what will happen. I can imagine many evangelical Christians being gobsmacked when they realize the Buddhists were right all along. Who’s to say? There are some very good arguments in favor of reincarnation. There are even some Christians who don’t think the idea of reincarnation can’t be reconciled with Christianity.

My head is swimming.

Maybe what happens is whatever we believe will happen. If you’re a good Christian and believe you will go to heaven, then better start shining that halo. If you’re a miserable person who thinks you deserve fiery torture, then to hell you go. If you worship Allah and believe you have pleased that God, then expect Arabic to be spoken in heaven. If you’re a Jew you will find the promised land. If you’re a Buddhist get ready for Nirvana (but be ready for a few more thousand earthly lives first). If you’re a Scientologist, L.Ron Hubbard instead of Jesus will meet you at the gates. If you’re an atheist you may be surprised you aren’t annihilated after all, but what to do then? It might be nice to be free of an earthly body, but you’ll have to decide on some sort of afterlife for yourself. Maybe if you don’t believe in anything you’ll spend eternity floating around aimlessly here on earth. Maybe ghosts are really confused atheists who have passed on.

Is it possible everyone is right and there is no one true religion? Because if only one of them was right, wouldn’t there be a way for God to show us slow-witted humans which one was the One True Religion, while identifying the rest as false? Answering “The Bible answers this” doesn’t cut it, because so many groups of Christians can’t seem to agree. Even those that use the same Bible can’t agree on how to interpret many of the passages. Then of course there are different translations of the Bible and not all are exactly the same. Some even include extra books (Catholics and Mormoms) that are considered heretic by other Christians. And of course, the Muslims can counter any Christian argument by smugly stating, “It’s all here in the Q’uran.”

It’s enough to make my head explode.

20 thoughts on “Which religion is the One True Religion?”

  1. I would consider myself more spiritual than religious, I was baptized Catholic but renounced my religion and faith when I was 13 (due to their beliefs on homosexuality and other personal reasons), having said that, I do attend an Anglican church and sometimes do partake in communion , and have made arrangements to have our son baptized in that church, still I remain more spiritual than anything, I take all the good parts from most religions and mash them together and go from there, do I believe there is a God? sure, possibly more than one, do I believe in Jesus? sure it’s a proven fact that a guy named jesus did walk the earth and was crucified for his beliefs and teachings, did he walk on water? sure why not? Chris Angel has done it so why not Jesus? Did Moses really build an ark? you betcha, they actually found the dang thing slammed into the side of Mt Ararat back in the late 1970’s ….so is the Bible the holy gospel? … no, it is a fairly accurate account of man’s history and a great history book on what society and their laws were like 2000 year ago, nothing more. was the earth created in 6 days? not literally no, now if one of God’s days is equal to about 1 billion years on the human time scale.. then yes ok 6 days is fairly accurate (6 billion earth years ) it’s all how you look at things. I take the bible at face value….it’s full of history and laws and morality that date back 2000 years, a fun read but impossible to think that anything other than the ten commandments could be applied today.
    to sum it all up…… I think religion , faith and beliefs are an individuals personal thing, there is no right or wrong, if what ever you choose to believe brings you comfort and happiness….then that is right for you and nobody has the right to shout you down and say your beliefs are wrong.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Good comments. I’m very much like you. I’m actually not entirely sure I’m ready to give up my own “self made Christianity-Buddhist-agnostic” hybrid LOL. Universalism is probably closest to what I actually believe, but it just seems a little wishy washy? idk. It’s all very confusing.

      The Bible a “fun” read? Well, I’ll take issue with you there, lol. I always found it hard to read and some of those OT stories are definitely not fit for children!

      Like

  2. They can’t all be right but they can all be wrong.

    If someone feels there is a god of some sort, I think the most honest approach to go is deism. No claims about what the entity wants and no dogma to go with it – just an honest belief that there is something out there that could claim the title of god.

    I wish you luck in your spiritual journey, whether that leads you towards theism, deism or atheism. And thank you for the shout out. It’s very much appreciated and it’s nice knowing my little blog sometimes reaches people, and gives them some food for thought, whether they agree or disagree with my point of view.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Diesm is pretty close to Universalism–which was originally associated with Christianity. It was always a very openminded system, more philosophy than religion really. I read an article a few weeks ago that said Universalism no longer is considered “Christian” because most of it’s adherents identify as either agnostic or even atheist. If there was a universalist church nearby, I might look into it. Some of the New Age stuff is interesting too–but I’m not at all into channeling or any of that. I do like the focus on eastern traditions, such as meditation and the chakras–which I think actually do exist. But New Age is such a confusing mish-mosh, more like a patchwork quilt with bits and pieces of all the religions instead of a comprehensive belief system.

      Like

  4. There will never be ‘one true religion’ because it will be impossible to get everyone in the world to have one meal value system.

    Liked by 1 person

      • THE CONFUSION ABOUT APOLOGETICS BY STEVE FINNELL

        Apologetics Defined: the branch of theology concerned with the defense or proof of Christianity.

        Do extra-Biblical historical books confirm that the accounts of Christianity found in the Bible are true? No, they do not, the exact opposite is true. The Bible proves that extra-Biblical historical accounts of Christianity are in fact true.

        John 20:30-31 And Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciple, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. (NKJV)

        The signs and miracles of Jesus written about in extra-Biblical historical accounts do not prove that Jesus performed signs and miracles. To the contrary, the signs and miracles of Jesus written in the Bible confirm that the extra-Biblical accounts are true.

        1 Corinthians 15:3-6 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. (NKJV)

        Extra-Biblical historical accounts of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ do not prove the Bible to be true, however, the Bible confirms that the extra-Biblical accounts are true.

        Faith comes from hearing the gospel . Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, hearing by the word of God. (NKJV)

        Believing that the Bible is God’s word and that the accounts of Christianity presented in the Bible are true are not proven by engaging in philosophical arguments nor by clever secular reasoning.

        YOU ARE INVITED TO FOLLOW MY BLOG. http://steve-finnell.blogspot.com

        Like

  5. I read this book called “My Descent into Death.” It’s about this guy who has a near death experience and goes to hell, then heaven, then back to earth. While he’s in heaven he asks these angels all these questions about God, and one of them was which one is the correct religion. The answer was, “whichever one brings you closer to God.”

    Liked by 1 person

    • That’s really interesting. That’s also exactly what I expect God would say. People have different personalities, so one religion or denomination will work better for one person but not another.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Wow I am with ChristyB on this one. Great answer, “which ever one that brings you closer to God”. There are too many people that have passed through this planet that were not Christian who have lead good lives as kind and caring humans.

    I believe this earth has many interpretations of God and that is what they all are interpretations of the same God.

    I believe that God listens to EVERYBODY’S prayers and not just Christians.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. “Which ever one that brings you closer to God”. I like that, provided one does not define what God is. If it can be broad enough to include that which is good in humankind, or the potential for good, then I am in agreement. I have no idea what the nature of God might be, or even if there is one

    Liked by 1 person

    • (Sodding android virtual keyboard and WordPress app, it’s too easy to hit the wrong key!). As I was trying to say before my comment was unexpectedly terminated, I have no idea if there is a God or of his/her/its/their nature, and personally it’s not important to me, although it is obviously important to many, religious and nonreligious alike. I choose to believe that there is “that of God” in every person, and that is what I should strive to reach out to in my day to day dealing with humanity. Anyone who believes that the truth lies in ancient texts is only harming oneself and others. I haven’t met a Christian leader that has no religious belief, but I do know some that are not in agreement with the teachings of their denomination. I find it hard to understand how someone who has lost their faith completely could continue to teach it as “the truth”, but then I live in a country which is more liberal and open minded than America appears to be.

      Liked by 1 person

      • I can’t find it now, but I read an article the other day that was about religious leaders (mostly Christian pastors) who had lost their faith, but continued to preach anyway. I don’t think if I was a pastor who lost my faith I would be able to go on preaching something I had come to think of was a lie, but there are a number of reasons why some continue to do so: 1. they have become established in the community and are respected leaders and professing loss of faith would be very damaging to their reputation; 2. some may like the power the position gives them; 3. they don’t believe but know people have come to rely on their authority and expertise and the people believe, so they continue to give them what they want; 4. it affords them a solid middle class life, and it’s not easy to switch careers and maintain the same lifestyle; 5. they may rationalize that they are just going through a spiritual crisis and haven;t really lost their faith.

        The article says that someone of the cloth losing faith is surprisingly common. Gives you pause when you listen to a sermon now, doesn’t it–that the person preaching may not believe what they are preaching about.

        Liked by 2 people

        • I’ve never liked sermons or preaching in general, and will go out of my way to avoid hearing them. Fortunately the religious group I associate with has no clergy or religious authority, and has an aversion to preaching and sermons.

          Liked by 1 person

  8. WOW, what interesting posts and comments!

    I’m sorry, this is going to be long, but I feel like I’m supposed to share this story here:

    On the night of January 14, 1990, I walked exactly 17 miles in a snowstorm down an isolated unplowed road not far from the coast of Maine, where I lived at that time. I know I walked exactly 17 miles because the next day, I followed my footprints in the snow in a car and that’s what the car’s odometer showed.

    I had run out of the house to get away from my abusive husband, in terror for both my life and my sanity. I was emotionally very fragile, as a lot of things in my little world were unraveling at that time.

    I half-ran, half-walked out of town until I got to the unplowed coastal road, where there was no traffic, no houses, no buildings of any kind, not even any electrical poles for many miles, just trees and more trees and lots of frozen snow and ice everywhere. When I got far enough outside of town to feel sure that no one could hear me, that’s when I began RAGING at God at the top of my lungs. About two and a half years had passed since I had left my job at Pat Robertson’s TV ministry, with my faith utterly destroyed, during that time when Robertson was running for President and the scandals of Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart and other big TV ministers were making headlines. I had stopped believing in God then for all kinds of reasons and – if God DID exist – then I was extremely furious at Him!

    I walked for hours through the dark night, with no streetlights or any other lights in sight, just a hazy sliver of moonlight shining through the snow clouds reflecting eerily off the white wilderness that surrounded me. As I walked and raged through the deepening snow, my face, feet, hands, and ears grew numb and my knees began to ache and throb so bad, I felt like I couldn’t take another step. And yet I kept going, having made up my mind to walk until I keeled over and died of exhaustion and hypothermia. That was my crazy plan, to die out there in the frozen wilderness at the ripe old age of 36. But FIRST, before I died, I wanted to tell God, if He really existed, exactly why I was so damn PISSED OFF at him!

    So I yelled about all of the evil and horror and pain and disasters in the world. I yelled about children and tiny babies who suffer and die of cancer and other horrible diseases, I yelled about evil wars, I yelled about hurricanes and earthquakes and wild fires and tornadoes that kill and destroy, I yelled about rape and hate and trauma and abuse and mental illness and poverty and hunger and broken hearts and broken families. I yelled about every single thing I could think of to yell about that was wrong in the world, and I yelled about every single thing I could think of that had ever gone wrong in my life. I yelled and I yelled and I yelled at the God I did not believe in, with snow blowing in my frozen face and crunching under my aching feet and knees. I yelled and I yelled and I yelled until I finally yelled myself out. I had yelled about everything I could think of to yell about, there was nothing left inside me, not one damn thing.

    At that point, feeling utterly empty and depleted, I kept walking, because there wasn’t anything else to do. And that was when my epiphany happened. It was as if a veil had been drawn back and I was given the temporary ability to see, feel, and sense what was already all around and within me, something too big and overwhelming to discern in ordinary time, with ordinary human senses. I did not see any visions, I did not hear any voices. But I felt: GOD. A huge presence, a great reality, as real and palpable to me as anything I have ever seen or felt or sensed in my entire life, before or since. God was simply THERE, in everything and through everything, part of all of reality, even, somehow, a part of me. And God’s huge, overwhelming presence was overwhelmingly perfect: perfect love, perfect goodness, perfect peace, perfect holiness.

    I was not given any answers to any of my questions, not a single one. There were no rebukes or rebuttals for anything I had yelled at Him through all those hours and miles. God just simply WAS, and God was perfectly GOOD, and God absolutely LOVED ME, unconditionally and completely, through and through, in spite of – and maybe because of? – everything that was “wrong” with me.

    Not only that, but I got the very strong impression that God was letting me know that He understood, 100%, everything there was to understand about me. He “got” me. He “got” why I was the way I was, He understood why I did the things I did. God knew even those things about me that I did not know about myself, things that I have either forgotten or never known. God knew and understood and He loved me perfectly, faults and all!

    Then I heard the sound of an approaching diesel engine. I did not want anyone to see me, because I knew I probably looked like hell – I had been sobbing during a lot of my yelling at God, and I have never been a pretty crier, my face gets all red and puffy and my nose runs. I have literally scared myself just by looking in a mirror after I cry. So, before the headlights of the approaching truck came around the corner, I slipped and slid off the road and hid behind a thick stand of trees.

    The truck pulled up right beside me and stopped. Then I heard a male voice call my name.

    It was an old Canadian lobster man by the name of Delwyn, a man I had just met and barely knew. He said he had wondered why I wasn’t at the AA meeting in town that night (although I had only recently started going there and wasn’t sure if I would continue). He said that all during the meeting he had a strong, nagging feeling that he needed to go look for me, that I was in trouble. When the meeting ended, as he was driving home, he noticed a lone set of footprints beside the road, heading out of town. So he had followed my footprints. Who would have guessed that my guardian angel would be an old weather-beaten lobster man?

    He drove me to my home, and I have never had a drink of alcohol since that night.

    However, I continued to be an agnostic-almost-atheist for the next 13 years. I did not come back to being a Christian until 2003!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Wow,that is an incredible story, Alaina. You have so many, but this….my jaw is on the floor. Unfortunately I can’t say my “epiphany” was as dramatic–mine happened gradually and was just a gentle changing of my mind…as you have read here.

      Alaina, your story is so incredible I would like to copy it and post it as a new blog post. Please let me know if that will be okay. This is riveting reading and incredibly inspirational. I think it will help people.

      Liked by 1 person

      • I am sitting here crying now. Ugly face, lol.

        I don’t know why my epiphany was so dramatic, maybe God took pity on me because of all the unusual amount of trauma I had lived through, who knows? And it’s crazy that I still did not call myself a Christian for the next 13 years, and even today I STILL have some doubts! Because honestly, nothing in my almost 62 years of living on this earth has ever seemed as real to me as this experience, and my second near-death experience that happened a little over 3 years later.

        The problem is that I kept wondering if it was just me being crazy and imagining these extremely vivid occurrences, because… well, mental illness does run in my family, plus I had that 2-year post-traumatic breakdown when I was 14 – 16 years old – although, even during that time, I never once lost touch with consensual reality.

        Still, it’s a terrible thing to go through so much trauma and to have such terrible PTSD as a result, that you get to a point where God could appear to you in a burning bush and you will be like, “Yeah, right, like I’m going to believe THIS is real. 🙂

        But yes, to answer your question, feel free to use this as a post if you want, I am honored. Also, feel free to attach a disclaimer if you want to, about my mental health… However if you do that, you may also want to include the fact that after my last divorce was final in February 2003, I took my settlement money and checked myself into a mental health clinic, where I had to pay my way with cash, as I had lost my health insurance in the divorce. (I could have paid cash for a nice little house with that money, and I even had the house picked out – but I realized that having a nice house to live in, with me being so miserable that I wanted to die, was not going to do me any good, I needed some real HELP.)

        Paul Meier, MD, is the founder of the psychiatric clinic that I went to, in Richardson, Texas. Dr. Meier, who I believe has several doctorates to his name and has been a psychiatrist for about 40 years, plus he has authored or co-authored over 80 books, many of which were best sellers, and he has been on the Oprah Show – Dr. Meier himself ordered a full battery of psychological and physical tests for me, and when he gave me the results of all of my tests, he said that I had severe PTSD and general depression and anxiety, and that I may also have something that he called Cyclothemia (However you spell it? It is a mild form of bipolar disorder, which my doctors since then have decided that I do NOT have, they say I only have the PTSD and depression/anxiety). Dr. Meier told me very definitely that, despite my almost two year incarceration in an insane asylum as a teenager, that I am NOT psychotic, I am NOT crazy, in fact he said that I am amazingly normal, considering my life history.

        Dr. Meier is the one who told me that having a PTSD reaction to overwhelming extreme trauma is NORMAL, just as it is normal to bleed if you are stabbed.

        So, yes… I realize there is always the possibility that the two most profound and vivid experiences of my entire life were somehow a result of something going briefly haywire in my brain. But I have been certified SANE, and I see a therapist regularly who also says I am sane, so … well…. anyway, feel free to use my comments however you see fit. ((HUGS))

        Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.