All religions cannot be true

[jim123]

The Bible has a famous passage in Matthew 7:14, "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

If all religions supposedly were pathways leading to the same Truth, then way would not be narrow at all. And yet Christianity teaches that it indeed is narrow. All religions except Christianity could be pathways leading to the same truth, but you would have to exclude Christianity from the list.

[JosephKnecht]

Narrow relates to the life choices that you make to get to the gate.

It doesn't quantify the size of the path as you have interpreted it. 

In a sense all religions are true, but the truth is not what you think it is. 

[An young being]

All religions are morphed.

[Moksha]

The only truth in any religion is the same truth in all religions. The way is narrow, not because the truth is diverse, but because the truth is directly realized. That only happens when the ego is dissolved, and most people aren't ready for that yet.

[Shin]

Religions are born from devotion to an enlightened being who embodied to the extreme the wisdom of God.

Then maybe one or two of his devotee realize what the truth is too, and the rest have no idea what they are talking about.

The cult continue to live on when the enlightened beings die, and then it become more and more distorted by the assumptions of the devotees in charge of passing along the wisdom of those enlightened beings.

Then you get something like the Bible, which is stories upon stories with zero spiritual truth left in it.

[jim123]

1 minute ago, Moksha said:

The way is narrow, not because the truth is diverse, but because the truth is directly realized.

If all religions are leading you unto life, then "the way" which leads unto life is not narrow at all.

[Nahm]

29 minutes ago, jim123 said:

The Bible has a famous passage in Matthew 7:14, "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

If all religions supposedly were pathways leading to the same Truth, then way would not be narrow at all. And yet Christianity teaches that it indeed is narrow. All religions except Christianity could be pathways leading to the same truth, but you would have to exclude Christianity from the list.

The topic & point of the quote (imo) is not religion(s), but the inward way. A crass but clearer way to say it... hardly anyone is going to cut the shit, inspect direct experience, and relinquish their beliefs, suffering, and nonsense. 

[Leo Gura]

All religions are pointing to a deeper truth, but they are all full of dogma, limitations, bias, and corruption.

Only a fool takes religious teachings literally.

[jim123]

4 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Only a fool takes religious teachings literally.

Even the most die-hard fundamentalist Christians don't take the Bible literally. The Bible actually teaches that the thought of foolishness is a sin.

[Leo Gura]

2 minutes ago, jim123 said:

Even the most die-hard fundamentalist Christians don't take the Bible literally.

Hahaha... you clearly don't know die-hard fundamentalists.

[Moksha]

30 minutes ago, jim123 said:

If all religions are leading you unto life, then "the way" which leads unto life is not narrow at all.

The only truth in any religion is the same truth in all religions. Just because it is the same truth doesn't mean many people realize that truth. It is narrow because it requires dismounting the ego camel in order to fit through it.

Edited November 16, 2020 by Moksha

[mandyjw]

Don't read Jesus's words with your logical mind, read it with your creative dreamy mind. Claustrophobia is only so common and horrific because we constantly must project ourselves outward. We can't stand to stay in with ourselves. Matthew 7 starts with this,

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Edited November 16, 2020 by mandyjw

[Gesundheit]

1 hour ago, jim123 said:

The Bible has a famous passage in Matthew 7:14, "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

If all religions supposedly were pathways leading to the same Truth, then way would not be narrow at all. And yet Christianity teaches that it indeed is narrow. All religions except Christianity could be pathways leading to the same truth, but you would have to exclude Christianity from the list.

Only the minority of people truly care about religion from heart, those will find the way. Most religious people are mimicking true religion because they are hypocrites. If they would stop being hypocrites, they should not take any positions. But they can't because they think it would hurt their survival.

36 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Only a fool takes religious teachings literally.

Literally me 5 years ago.

5 minutes ago, mandyjw said:

Don't read Jesus's words with your logical mind, read it with your creative dreamy mind.

I totally agree. Spiritual wisdom should only be understood through intuition. Logic destroys the message.

And a huge like to the Rumi quote in your signature @mandyjw

[jim123]

1 hour ago, Shin said:

Then you get something like the Bible, which is stories upon stories with zero spiritual truth left in it.

The Bible is the most influential book in human history. Even people in North Korea know about the Bible. Even if you don't believe that it's true, you gotta admit that it's a pretty important book.

Edited November 16, 2020 by jim123

[Ibgdrgnxxv]

 

I like my religion a lot. I read the Quran when I was older on my own. It is only when I read the Quran that I know what my religion is.

1 hour ago, Shin said:

Religions are born from devotion to an enlightened being who embodied to the extreme the wisdom of God.

Then maybe one or two of his devotee realize what the truth is too, and the rest have no idea what they are talking about.

The cult continue to live on when the enlightened beings die, and then it become more and more distorted by the assumptions of the devotees in charge of passing along the wisdom of those enlightened beings.

Then you get something like the Bible, which is stories upon stories with zero spiritual truth left in it.

Cool. But there is one book that was left by the prophet as his inheritance. For all his people. That book is the source. And that book is the root. You can't go wrong when you return to it. In fact, it was narrated to him by God through the angel in a human language. Each word is miraculous. 

 

God wouldn't left you with nothing. It was from the last prophet. So it is a complete book. 

 

The problem comes from people not reading the book. And neither using their intellect/common sense. 

It is specifically for the Arabs and for the muslims who had becomes families with the Arabs. 

[Preety_India]

Here we go again. 

All religion is scripture and doctrine. Take it with a grain of salt. 

There's a certain meaning to every scripture although none of it is wholly true. 

Religion does help in creating a base and there's really nothing like a true religion. 

You can take bits and pieces from every religion and create your jigsaw. 

[Ibgdrgnxxv]

There are things like the living Quran and the Quran that was in a book. I like both regardless. 

[Dodo]

From the Bible. Truth is in all religions and I wish all religious families of this world realise it and not fight with each other for survival

"Freedom in Christ

(...)
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you
and kept you from obeying the truth? That kind of
persuasion does not come from the one who calls
you. A little yeast works through the whole batch
of dough. I am confident in the Lord that you will
take no other view. The one who is throwing you into
confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.
(...)
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do
not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature;
rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is
summed up in a single command: "Love your neigh-
bour as yourself." If you keep on biting and devour-
ing each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by
each other."

 

 

[Fadl]

 Religions have been created after the original message. Obviously they were corrupted later by the ego.

[mandyjw]

No one can corrupt a religion. There is no such thing as religion, there are just individuals with beliefs, and not even that. If you were very familiar with Christianity you'd notice that the denominations within one religion are vastly different and distinct in their beliefs, and even the individuals within those denominations are vastly different and distinct. And if you go into the individual itself, their own thoughts and beliefs are vastly different from one another. What they say and do is a reflection that may have little to do with their true inner being. And so religion is just a thought occurring now and has no substantiality or meaning and never had meaning.