Clash of beliefs

[Cloudwindgate]

What if every belief was right?
Perhaps in there own way.

Can two or more beliefs clash and make a better one?
example Christainity and Buddhism


    I played with this idea a few times my self but i lack the knowlege to figure out how

[heyjude1]

Yes, I believe mostly all religions come to the end result in belief of a higher power.  However, they are somewhat different .  For example, the Jewish religion believes Christ was a person and walked on Earth, however they view him as a prophet.  The Muslim religon also believed that Christ existed however they do not accept that he was the Messiah but only a man.

I guess I must agree, what else in life has lasted for so many years in mankind but religion. Religion is so powerful that wars are been fought since the Biblical times and even today we are in a religious war.  We are targeted for destruction by our enemies because of our religious beliefs to this day.  In this world of technology, we are still persucuted for our religious beliefs.

[Dazon50]

I liked reading what you wrote and you spark some thoughts ....lol!

It is hard to be unbiased day in/out when things happen, whether at a party, accident, work, etc.  You are right...our beliefs, etc. influence us and we each tune into various aspects of what we experience through presence, sight, auditory, olfactory, etc.

Fears, illusions/disillusions, anger, excitement (emotional state) affect us throughout the experience also.  Altruistic ideals, desires.....so many components of our person-hood in being human.  Not all think about it nor want to.  Philosophers have for centuries tried to figure it out but there isn't a neat system found yet that all agree.

I remember the first time someone told me about the blind men/elephant how they each named it something different.  I see nothing wrong in my saying to God..."I am blind"...."I am limited"...."help me understand and make right choices".  At the same time, "I" get in the way.  Rather than looking down on someone for admitting vices/weaknesses, we need to affirm our reaching to move past them.

I used to go into  chat rooms in the early 2000's and get into discussions with atheists.....we would go around and around and around.  I said, we are like bookends, you on one end and I on the other.  You say I have to prove Jesus existed as Christianity presents him and that God exists.  I wonder why I have to prove it...why not you prove He doesn't exist.  I was told, because you Christians are saying God created everything, we didn't.

I said, you are saying He didn't....you already believe that and if you are older than me....you had the belief before me.  Which came first...the chicken or the egg?

I did not feel anger, but felt challenged as I realized how little I really knew. I liked that others were thinking.  I started digging more and even read books by people who left the faith like Dan Barker (Losing faith in faith).  I could understand somewhat where he was coming from and others who I read.  I determined that I couldn't just throw it all out like they did.  I do experience God in a personal relationship.  I get ideas that are outside me/unlike me when reaching out for help....comfort, encouragement to continue on when I felt like giving up.  How could I say I just "made it up"?

More questions came up like how could society have changed so dramatically if something cataclysmic had not happened like Christ's death/resurrection.  I know that wishing something to happen isn't enough.  It takes "conviction" and doing something different when the old doesn't make the change happen.

At the same time, I eventually got around to thinking about the billions who are not Christians and how they have survived throughout persecution also.  Some belief systems had to go underground and be secretive as they were nearly destroyed.

At one time, I thought about how maybe each has a piece of the puzzle and all God wants is all to come together....mankind willing to love and work together.  That would be terrific but the world shows no sign of that happening anytime soon.  Ordering someone to think a certain way won't work because the person doing the ordering will have to live that person's life or as soon as that person is gone, the individual would revert back to his/her typical way of believing.  

Questions lead to more and through those comes awareness.  We see that this is bigger than we can comprehend.  I admit I have not studied every belief system, and am not sure I can in my life-time...lol!  However, having good discussions here with others sharing what they believe and why helps:-)))))

Thank you :-))))

[Draco9793]

I want to start off by saying that I agree with the previous posts: I think all belief systems are equally valid as long as they don't harm people. If I say anything offensive in this post then it is a sincere mistake and not intentional in any way.

Has anyone else ever thought that maybe all beliefs are essentially the same thing, with minor differences according to culture?

I know this may not be the best example but it's like when you go to a party with a few friends. Lots of events happen at the party and you were all there on the same day, but everyone will probably remember it different depending on many different factors: mental state at the time the events happened, personal thoughts going on, culture/ethnicity of the observers, previous experiences, etc.

  Even if one person happens to remember the events perfectly and without bias (which is unlikely), what would happen if that person decided to start telling others about their experience, who in turn continued telling people? Have you ever played that game "telephone" as a kid? Things get distorted unintentionally as information is passed from person to person.

So anyway, what I'm getting at is what if there is no right or wrong belief system? Maybe they are all exactly the same when it comes down to it, and the differences are due to how different cultures interpreted the original message?

If we consider all belief systems to be an interpretation of an original message though, it brings up the same age-old conflict: which belief system is the original? I don't think there is an original. I think there is something in human consciousness that makes us look for answers. If someone we love dies, why did it happen? Why are we here and how was our world created? There are two common threads in all belief systems: a creation story and an explanation for what happens to us after death. Maybe human consciousness as a whole created its own explanation to unanswerable questions, and through thousands of years we have learned to experience this explanation the best way we know how, by putting a face and/or name to it.

Thoughts, anyone?

[Dalubaba]

All religions at the deeper level are equal.That is the reason why exploration is going on through all the angles.If we go without a biased mind we will find more similarities than disimilarities.If they were not really good they would have vanished in no time.

[RunningMom]

I personally do think that every belief is right, as long as it serves to others and respects.  I have no problems with other religions, as long as the purpose is not to harm in any way.

I do think that everyone on this planet should respect other beliefs as long as they are for good intentions and not harm themselves or others around them.  I strongly believe in going out of my way to help others as well.

I think most religions are equal.  The ones I do not think are equal are the ones who intend to do harm onto others.

[Dazon50]

Interesting thought.  Years and years ago, I wondered a similar thing when I tried to understand why there were so many religions and splits.  

It is mind boggling just how many belief systems there are.  Seems to be the nature of belief systems to divide and go their own way.

The way you phrase your question makes me think of "worlds colliding"...lol!

I think you can learn from teachings.  You might want to investigate the following person:  Paul F. Knitter.  He wrote a book:  Without Buddha I Could Not Be a Christian

:-)