They are all one in the same.....

The more I learn about different religions, the more I realize that they are all on in the same.

I grew up a Catholic. I never learned much about other religions, but I did know what I agreed and disagreed with in Catholicism. During my freshman year of undergrad I took a course on middle east history. My professor was a converted Muslim. He taught a very unbiased view of Islam which was a nice change from the ignorant American view of Islam that I had heard in the past. I wrote a 15 pg research paper on Sufism, a sect of Islam. As I researched Islam, Sufism, and Judaism I could not belieive the similarities amongst all of the religions. In many monotheistic religions you have prophits or saints that represent specific actions or ideals. In polytheistic religions you have gods that represent the same actions or ideals.

I think many times in religion we get too caught up in the specifics that we forget the important things. The ideals are all the same…treat your neighbor with respect, live an honest life, be a good person. For example, we as Christians get too caught up on the specifics of Jesus that we forget the important things. We worry so much whether or not he truely was the “son of God created as man”. Regardless of whether or not he truely was the the son of God, we should emulate Jesus. The important lesson to learn from his life was that it is important to give and put the needs of others before your own. The important lesson was that he was a great man and we should strive to be like him, not that he was the son of God.

Re: They are all one in the same.....

The one and the many… do we emphasise oneness or do we emphasise our differences? we make these choices every day, every hour…

love,

nicole

Re: They are all one in the same.....

This is so beautifully put Lauren.

We recently moved into a new neighborhood.  Down the block from us are several families who belong to a really big fundementalist church.  Their children asked my children what church they go to, and my kids told them “Unity.” 

Several days later, my children were playing over there, and one of the kids came out and said that their parents said my children had to get off their property.  The other neighborhood kids got to stay, but my kids were asked to leave. 

Hmmm…. by their fruits shall they be known.

Some people call themselves christians, but they certainly don't spread the message of christianity, which is to love one another.

But really, if you think about it, we have so much more in common…. we are parents raising children, we are dealing with a crazy economy, we worry about our kids and their futures, we want to love and be loved, we want to prepare nutritional meals for our family, we get tired from working so hard, we want alone time, we want family time, we want to veg in front of the tv or read a good book.  We could use a good massage! 

Nicole, you are so right…. if only we could focus on the things we have in common.

Re: They are all one in the same.....

Dear one, that's such a sad story… talk about totally missing the point of the Gospel… sigh,

yeah, we all need a good massage every now and then! so… how about going out and finding one! yeah, you deserve it! :)

Hugs,

Nicole

Re: They are all one in the same.....

I totally agree myself.  Last semester in college I took a World Religions course and was surprised on how many of the major world religions overlap in believes.  Like how Buddhist's 8-Fold Path could be related to Christianity's 10 Commandments.  If I am ever blessed to get married and have children I certainly would want them to be raised with good ideals and have the freedom to whatever faith they feel best suits them.  Anyways, I always like to say that “I like to think we all pray to the same Being, but he/she just has a different name”.

Re: They are all one in the same.....

Tiffany, it has been a delight to me to see my children over the years develop their own understanding of the world, distinct from my own.

Love,

Nicole

Re: They are all one in the same.....

That's wonderful. 

Re: They are all one in the same.....

Its popular today to express faith in terms of “many paths to a common diestination.”

Here's another thought to consider, in keeping with this thread.  Perhaps there is only one path as well, but many ways of interpreting it.  Jewish, Hindu, Christian, Muslim, all different viewpoints of the same path. 

As a confessing Christian, I believe that the One Path, the Way, the Tao,  is Jesus the Christ, Immanent God, God With us.  But Philipians 2:6 reminds us that Jesus chose the route of selflessness, taking the human form.

If Jesus chose to work selflessly 2000 years ago, whose to say he doesn't choose to do so here and now? 

I hope and believe that Jesus the Christ is working selflessly, patiently, quietly,  within the lives and faiths of all people, to bring forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit, peace, patience, kindness, and love. 

Re: They are all one in the same.....

As do I, my dear Dave. Thanks for expressing that hope so eloquently.

Love,

Nicole

Re: They are all one in the same.....

I am always pleased when I find people that feel the same way I do about religions all being what I describe as many different parts to the same whole. Living in rural Texas, this is not an idea that's usually shared by many but me.

I grew up Methodist, and had much the same experience as Lauren. I went to college, and started learning a lot about other cultures and other religions. It first started as an interest in religious art, then to the symbolism in the art, and finally to the core of what the beliefs of the culture are. I always find it amazing that there is so much overlap and similarities.

One of the reasons I “abandoned” Christianity is that I found that those that call themselves Christians are too absorbed in Jesus as a figurehead, and not really looking at his teachings, which are truly amazing. In my opinion, it all comes back to the Golden Rule: treat others how you would like to be treated. Can you imagine if we all lived by that? What our world would be like?

Re: They are all one in the same.....

“I have learned to be content in whatever situation I am in.” Phil 4:11

I had the dubious privilege of being evicted from a boarding house run by one mainline Christian denomination because I dared to attend a bible study run by another Christian denomination, that happened at the same time as the one at the boarding house.  I had only been a “born again” believer a short time but looking back nearly 30 years on I'm so glad that happened.

Those that told me to leave my lodgings were good people, I recognised at the time they had a crisis of conscience, torn between the rules set by the church, and what the right thing was to do.  I was brought up pushing the envelope and have never suffered fools gladly.

That experience set me on the path of seeking the Truth.  It was the first time I'd experienced a conflict between what I knew Jesus of Nazareth had said, according to the Bible, and what religion had twisted it to mean.

As others have said already, the similarities between the various basic teachings of the founders of each of the main religions of the world are remarkable.  I've stuck mainly with the Bible as my source of inspiration because once I started to learn to read it without the religious precondioning it came alive.

I enjoy nothing better these days than to sit down and compare notes with an enlightened person from a different religious background because I've found we have far more in common than fundamentalists would have us believe.  And the bits that don't agree don't matter.

Maybe someone should start a thread on the similarities between the religions of the world rather than the differences???

-an eccentric village idiot 

Re: They are all one in the same.....

In Hinduism they have 330 million gods….but they believe they are all manifestations of one God.  They pray to the christian God.  I spoke with a lovely Hindu woman who said, “It doesn't matter what or who, just that you follow some sort of principles, morals, and ethics.”

In my spiritual journey I have found that every religion has good points and most religions base is love and compassion.

I have decided that no matter what is out there, I know that I am a small, but important part of a large picture.  A picture where all parts are important and connected, and together make a masterpiece.  No matter what you believe as long as you are humble to that fact, all will be right in the end.

Re: They are all one in the same.....

JoAnna, thanks for commenting here, I had missed Andrew's and avant-garde's posts while I was away, and they are well worth reading and reflecting upon.

Perhaps we have been trying to explore commonalities of religion here, while ostensibly doing other things… it is a worthy pursuit, Andrew, I agree. That's a sad story about the boarding-houses, and I do hear you, avant-garde, that much of our lives, those of us who are Christians, are not a good reflection of Jesus', however hard we may try.

JoAnna, I too believe that all will be right in the end, though it's challenging to see it at times.

Light and peace,

Nicole