Is Christianity Just Another Religion Or Its Superior

[Joshua 0]

What bothers me is that so many are concluding basically "there's no one right way." Think about it.The laws of logic tell us that which is mutually exclusive can't contradict other things to which it's mutually exclusive with more then one being right. Either God exists or He doesn't. Those are mutually exclusive concepts. Either God is all loving or He isn't. Those are mutually exclusive concepts. My point is, contradicting points can't be true. Islam says we can't know anything of God's nature. Christianity says God created us to share a relationship with Him where we come to know Him. Islam says God did not reveal Himself to humanity through His sinless Son becoming man. Christianity says differently. Therefore, one or the other can be true, but not both. There is either one God as monotheistic religions say or many as polytheistic religions like Hinduism say. In pretending all ways can be true and lead to God we're saying the very laws of logic don't exist without realizing it! We can disagree and treat each other with respect, but let's not come about with this ridiculous notion that there is no ultimate truth and all ways can be equally right.

[gaggu007 0]

I am preparing to write an article on this guys. But I have already written one in the debates section about if the Bible is true or not. I think you will find it very interesting.
nustadventist:
Are you an Adventist? I am just looking at your username. I am a Seventh Day Adventist. So naturally I wonder if there was another on. Anyway, I think Christianity is a r3eal religion. There is none other like it. I can say that all the others are alike. They have multiple gods, and worship them in a way that Christianity does not.

As far as the Bible. People say it is actually a hoax written over time by copycatters. I beg to differ. Look at the genealogy of some of the books. Are people going to say that someone spent their whole life thinking up names top put in a book? No! The book is real, so are the people in it that were written, and therefore, the Bible is true. That is using the law of deduction I might add. If, then.

&

Religion is peoples choices,and that alone.

People should not care if people follow their religion, another or none at all.

Therefore which one is "superior" is irrelevant.

I'm not religious. . . .i'm an Atheist, Heretic, non-believer or what ever you want to brand me, BUT i'm HAPPY with my choices and see myself as a stronger person for not havign to believe in a higher power.
Science and Fate and MYSELF rule my life. I'm a good person. I don't need others telling me i'm not because i don't believe in THEIR god. . . . .

My opinion:

Religion should be a personal choice, and personal practice, it should not be forced on anyone, preached, or compared.
Comparring and QUESTIONING OTHER PEOPLES BELIEFS is just PATHETIC and PETTY.
Its like Children in a playground saying whos toys are better . . . . .

If you really find yourself questioning others beliefs . . . . then maybe you should have a long deep look into your life and its meaning/point . . . . . .

&

dit: I noticed Goosestaf's posted while I was writing my reply, I agree 100% with him.
In my opinion Christianity and the Bible can go right down the drain with all other religions. Faith is something personal and should not be forced onto other poeple, which is what religious poeple do, they don't get off the back of poeple who differ in opinion from so called "non-believers". O course this is a broad generalization and there are exceptions. But if one looks at the history and evolution of religion, it has done more bad than good to the world and it still is doing more bad than good. Faith is very personal and it should stay that way. Poeple who need to convince other poeple how right and better there believes are, belong right down the toilet with religion, because essentially that is what religion is: brainwashing of the masses.

Personally I don't need religion to tell me what is right and wrong, as free mind I can form my own opinions and decide to lead a "good" life without harming anybody around me. Religion, by dictating me my belives takes away that freedom.

Yes some poeple actually are inspired by what they read in the Bible or the Koran, or any other such book and some poeple actually make some good out of it, but most poeple don't and a lot of poeple (a whole lot more than those who do good) use the holy books to justify their acts of ignorance and intolerance. If you have faith in such and such God, fine, but keep it to yourself, respect my freedom of faith the same way I respect your freedom of faith. If your faith prevents you from doing such and such things, say an abortion, then don't do it but leave me alone, my faith is different and if I do it, as long as it doesn't affect you I have the right to follow my faith. Now poeple will say but I have the right of free speech and I can proclaim my opinion... yes, but this is not about the right to free speech, this is about respect and tolerance. Respect my faith as I respect yours. Religion, in most cases, takes away that respect for other poeple's faith.

This post has been edited by Blacklaser: Mar 31 2006, 11:54 PM

&

Although, i agree with the statements that say, religion isnt something that should be considered better than other things. But, rather, taught in a way where the information is out there, and have people choose whether they want to accept such information. For those who think their religion is better, mind you, they're just playing the "religion game". I, for one, state facts that have been falsified (by science or whatnot), and try to eliminate ignorance, based on actual evidence. Again, it all depends on how well everyone else handles such information.

what is this ?

[Cerebral Stasis 0]

This question has already been answered here.

[killerbichon 0]

I don't think there is a superior religion. As a non-believer (christian orthodox by birth) I am sure there isn't a very big difference between the 2 main religions: Christianity and Islam. History made the dfference between those two. In Europe Christianity lived throught what we call the Dark Ages and I think that period made Christianity much more mature religion. They changed their view from "Earth is the center of the Universe" and kill anybody who says different to "Maybe the evolution theory is true?!?". Meanwhile in the far east nothing changed everything remained and still is like it was in the 14th century. But there is no way you can say a religion is better. Yeah the Christian world is far more richer then the Islamic world, but that is not entirely because of religion. History is the main player. If we were born in Africa we would have still starved like people do right now.
So basicly what I want to say: There is no superior religion; and if you think deeply you'll realise that the difference between them is not that great. They have the same objective: give people hope and enforce some rules (and as a personal opinion... the sum of that two ultimately leads to control of the people; fact seen in the dark ages)

Most people don't take a historical perspective on religion. If they did they would realize how silly all of this is. Most people don't realize that Judaism and Christianity didn't separate until around 53AD at the first ecumenical council. Most people don't realize that Islam didn't separate itself from either Judaism or Christianity until around 622 when Muhammad fled to Medina. All 3 religions use the Old Testament, Christianity has added the New Testament, and Islam has added the Qumran.

People need to feel superior (why spend all that time effort and money on one religion if it isn't better than all the others?). If there is no clear, irrefutable evidence whey they are better, they will make it up at the expense of those against whom they need to feel superior. Do this long enough and it becomes doctrine.

http://xkcd.com/154/
Edited September 8, 2006 by killerbichon (see edit history)

[sweet_princess 0]

CHRISTIANITY, it was a true religion until the people altered the Bible and they went astray.

 

I have proof that Christians have changed the Bible and added there own words to it, all of you Christians, take a ANCIENT VERSION of your Holy scripture and read this-

 

"And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli"

From the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 3, Verse 23

 

Now take a MODERN VERSION of your Bible and it says-

 

"And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli"

 

 

WHY WAS "AS WAS SUPPOSED" WRITTEN IN BRACKETS?

Because your translators felt that wihtout this interpolation the "little lambs" not well grounded in faith, might slip into an error of believing that JOSEPH the Carpenter was the actual physical father of Jesus Christ.

Some other versions of the Bible HAVE TAKEN AWAY THE BRACKETS.

IF THIS WAS A TRUE HOLY SCRIPTURE THEN WHAT RIGHT DO PEOPLE HAVE TO CHANGE THE BIBLE?? IF GOD SENT DOWN A HOLY SCRIPTURE HE WOULD MAKE SURE AND PROMISE THAT IT WOULD NEVER EVER BE ALTERED BY HUMANS....LIKE THE HOLY QUR'AN! YES, IT HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED FOR MORE THAN 1400 YEARS.

 

 

If people think that a virgin giving birth to a baby is impossible, then so are we. How did humans form? The first man did not have a mother, it was Allah who created him, it is he who has created all of mankind.

 

Islam is a superior religion and it is the fasted growing religion in America and the U.K!

 

"In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord of worlds, Owner of the Day of Judment. Thee alone we worship; Thee alone we ask for help. Show us the straight path. The path of whom Thou hast favoured; Not the path of those who earned Thine anger nor of those who went astray."

From Surah Al-Fatihah, Chapter 1, Verses 1-7

 

Peace be on ALL of you and may Allah give you guidance!

I will pray for all of you and if you want to know more about Islam, then get back to me

[tricky77puzzle 0]

I don't think any religion is the "one true" religion. But who really cares? You follow your religion, I'll follow mine. It doesn't really matter, as long as everyone is happy.

[dre 0]

This question has already been answered here.

How about this one?
Question: "Is Cerebral Stasis funny?"

Answer: "No."

I don't think any religion is the "one true" religion. But who really cares? You follow your religion, I'll follow mine. It doesn't really matter, as long as everyone is happy.

It's like saying "You know, this math book has unproven formulas, but who really cares, it makes my equations look nice and everybody's happy, right?" Edited March 21, 2008 by dre (see edit history)

[tricky77puzzle 0]

It's like saying "You know, this math book has unproven formulas, but who really cares, it makes my equations look nice and everybody's happy, right?"

So you're basically saying that God does exist and that that is a proven truth...

 

I don't disagree with you. I don't really care. We can both go on our separate ways. Do we really need to know if God exists to lead good, virtuous lives?

 

Anyway, theology is not the same thing as mathematics. There is room for gray areas.

Edited March 21, 2008 by tricky77puzzle (see edit history)

[KansukeKojima 0]

Anyway, theology is not the same thing as mathematics. There is room for gray areas.

The general logic of the example still applies.

 

 

 

 

On another point I would like to add something. Christianity (as most people view it), is just another religion. However, faith in Christ is on a whole new level.

 

Quoting sweet_princess:

 

WHY WAS "AS WAS SUPPOSED" WRITTEN IN BRACKETS?

Because your translators felt that wihtout this interpolation the "little lambs" not well grounded in faith, might slip into an error of believing that JOSEPH the Carpenter was the actual physical father of Jesus Christ.

Some other versions of the Bible HAVE TAKEN AWAY THE BRACKETS.

IF THIS WAS A TRUE HOLY SCRIPTURE THEN WHAT RIGHT DO PEOPLE HAVE TO CHANGE THE BIBLE?? IF GOD SENT DOWN A HOLY SCRIPTURE HE WOULD MAKE SURE AND PROMISE THAT IT WOULD NEVER EVER BE ALTERED BY HUMANS....LIKE THE HOLY QUR'AN! YES, IT HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED FOR MORE THAN 1400 YEARS.

These statements are useless. First of all, people have never changed the Bible. Would you like to know why people have never changed the Bible? Well, No. 1: God didn't send it down from heaven as you stated. The entire Bible has been compiled and written by human beings. So really, God never sent down a book for us to change in the first place.

 

No. 2: there is a difference between translation/clarifying (clarifying would include adding those brackets), and changing the actual text.

 

No. 3: it would be majorly wrong if an all powerfull God allowed humans to make changes to the text. Surely, He would not allow that to happen... after all He sustains everything in this world.

 

Thats all I have time for... bye bye....

[tricky77puzzle 0]

The general logic of the example still applies.

Wait, whose side are you on, again...

 

Anyway, I guess so, but it doesn't mean that there is a one true religion. Well, at least the ones we see today aren't... there might be a one "true" religion that we haven't discovered yet, and won't until it's too late. (Hmm. this seems to be following Christianity a lot...)

 

On another point I would like to add something. Christianity (as most people view it), is just another religion. However, faith in Christ is on a whole new level.

Aren't the two mutually inclusive?

 

These statements are useless. First of all, people have never changed the Bible. Would you like to know why people have never changed the Bible? Well, No. 1: God didn't send it down from heaven as you stated. The entire Bible has been compiled and written by human beings. So really, God never sent down a book for us to change in the first place.

 

No. 2: there is a difference between translation/clarifying (clarifying would include adding those brackets), and changing the actual text.

 

No. 3: it would be majorly wrong if an all powerfull God allowed humans to make changes to the text. Surely, He would not allow that to happen... after all He sustains everything in this world.

 

Thats all I have time for... bye bye....

Which confuses me. You seem to be on 2 sides here. First of all, you're calling God "He", which is exalting behaviour that is mostly attributed to Christians. Secondly, you're saying that the Bible wasn't inspired by God, which is what Christians "are supposed to" believe. Are you a Christian? I'd just like to know.

[dre 0]

So you're basically saying that God does exist and that that is a proven truth...

You say that all of the religions are not the true religion. By what means have you come to that conclusion? Therefore, if anybody follows a religion, they must think it's the true religion, which in turn, basically makes them...stupid? I don't think I'm following what you're saying.

Anyway, theology is not the same thing as mathematics. There is room for gray areas.

Wouldn't quantum mechanics be a gray area in the midst of all other math?

[KansukeKojima 0]

Wait, whose side are you on, again...
Anyway, I guess so, but it doesn't mean that there is a one true religion. Well, at least the ones we see today aren't... there might be a one "true" religion that we haven't discovered yet, and won't until it's too late. (Hmm. this seems to be following Christianity a lot...)
Aren't the two mutually inclusive?
Which confuses me. You seem to be on 2 sides here. First of all, you're calling God "He", which is exalting behaviour that is mostly attributed to Christians. Secondly, you're saying that the Bible wasn't inspired by God, which is what Christians "are supposed to" believe. Are you a Christian? I'd just like to know.

Haha... I guess I'm not explaining my opinion clearly enough... sorry.

1. I am a Christian.

Secondly, you're saying that the Bible wasn't inspired by God, which is what Christians "are supposed to" believe. Are you a Christian? I'd just like to know.

2. What I said was that God didn't send the Bible directly down from heaven. Now what I should have added/replaced to that statement was "He didn't send it down from heaven for us in a nice neat pre-formated book". I definately believe that all the texts Bible are God inspired, otherwise my faith would be worthless to me. But, IMO, "God Inpsired" does not mean God literally wrote it, and gave it to us. And further on what I was saying, even if God did not directly write it, I believe He certainly would have decided what was in the "Bible" that we have to day. I am certain He would not give us the Word with lies in it.

Aren't the two mutually inclusive?

3. As far as I know, religion is the act of rituals and practices. However, faith is the belief in something. Therefore, faith can be included in religion, but I could definately keep my faith if I did not have any religious practices to go with it. So the essence of my argument was that: "Christianity, if considered purely as a religion, is certainly no more than any other religion. However, faith with/without these religious practices is much more than any religion could ever offer."

Unfortuneately, I was not being clear enough. Hopefully you understand me now. If not... well.... I'll try again

[tricky77puzzle 0]

Haha... I guess I'm not explaining my opinion clearly enough... sorry.

 

1. I am a Christian.

2. What I said was that God didn't send the Bible directly down from heaven. Now what I should have added/replaced to that statement was "He didn't send it down from heaven for us in a nice neat pre-formated book". I definately believe that all the texts Bible are God inspired, otherwise my faith would be worthless to me. But, IMO, "God Inpsired" does not mean God literally wrote it, and gave it to us. And further on what I was saying, even if God did not directly write it, I believe He certainly would have decided what was in the "Bible" that we have to day. I am certain He would not give us the Word with lies in it.

3. As far as I know, religion is the act of rituals and practices. However, faith is the belief in something. Therefore, faith can be included in religion, but I could definately keep my faith if I did not have any religious practices to go with it. So the essence of my argument was that: "Christianity, if considered purely as a religion, is certainly no more than any other religion. However, faith with/without these religious practices is much more than any religion could ever offer."

 

Unfortuneately, I was not being clear enough. Hopefully you understand me now. If not... well.... I'll try again

1. Well, that certainly clears things up.

2. Well, if God inspired these writings, as you say, wouldn't there be resolution loss? Wouldn't the error of humans be considered? I'm just thinking, maybe his (His? I keep getting confused.) original and pure message got noised up a little.

3. Doesn't religion necessarily include some sort of faith? "Religions" like Shinto or Taoism aren't really "religions" in the strict sense... they're more like "lifestyle practices".

 

(quote)

[1]You say that all of the religions are not the true religion. By what means have you come to that conclusion? Therefore, if anybody follows a religion, they must think it's the true religion, which in turn, basically makes them...stupid? I don't think I'm following what you're saying.

(quote)

[2]Wouldn't quantum mechanics be a gray area in the midst of all other math?

1. I say that no religion can truthfully (no emphasis, it's just my edit colour) claim that they are the "one true" religion. It doesn't mean that there isn't one, but it doesn't seem like we've discovered it yet. If someone follows a religion, they can follow it because it was created by "the one true God", but it is not necessarily the "one true religion". I mean, every religion claims that it's the "one true religion". If it really was that one true religion, then it wouldn't need to be claimed: it would already have been proven.

2. You're pretty much right.

Edited March 23, 2008 by tricky77puzzle (see edit history)

[dre 0]

1. I say that no religion can truthfully (no emphasis, it's just my edit colour) claim that they are the "one true" religion. It doesn't mean that there isn't one, but it doesn't seem like we've discovered it yet. If someone follows a religion, they can follow it because it was created by "the one true God", but it is not necessarily the "one true religion". I mean, every religion claims that it's the "one true religion". If it really was that one true religion, then it wouldn't need to be claimed: it would already have been proven.

I can agree with that. Religion isn't like a cold, hard fact, although many would want it to be.

[KansukeKojima 0]

1. Well, that certainly clears things up.

2. Well, if God inspired these writings, as you say, wouldn't there be resolution loss? Wouldn't the error of humans be considered? I'm just thinking, maybe his (His? I keep getting confused.) original and pure message got noised up a little.

3. Doesn't religion necessarily include some sort of faith? "Religions" like Shinto or Taoism aren't really "religions" in the strict sense... they're more like "lifestyle practices".

2. As impossible as it may seem, I would say no, there would be no resolution loss. Which was one of my other points. The Bible is essentially God's Love letter to us, so surely (as He is all powerful), He would allow no errors. But again, this matter comes down to faith and trust.

 

3.

1. a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

2. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

3. the body of persons adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices: a world council of religions.

4. the life or state of a monk, nun, etc.: to enter religion.

5. the practice of religious beliefs; ritual observance of faith.

6. something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience: to make a religion of fighting prejudice.

Time and time again, we see the word religion as defined as rituals, a set of beliefs, and practices. Now, as you will probably have noted in definition NO. 5 the "ritual observance of faith". So as you noted in point No. 3, religion includes faith. IMO, this is not always the case. Which is why as I stated previosly faith can and often is intertwined with religion, but religion without faith is useless. My point was that Christianity as a religion without faith is no better than any other religion, but Christianity as a religion with faith far surpasses any belief out there.

 

(Note: I desperately hope the purpose of this argument is to find truth... if it becomes something else... I may no longer participate)