Jews, Christians, Muslims, Pagans, etc. Can we please come together?

Originally Posted by (AKALink)

So here is the problem, those this is all relative. Muslims don't like Christians because they believe that Christians worship a false idol. Christians don't like Muslims because they don't believe Jesus was God and they believe the Muslims are following a false prophet.

Not necessarily true. I'm a Christian and I like all the muslims I know. They're very nice people. I just don't like the fact that they are muslims.

Muslims believe that Jesus and Mohammad were both prophets from God bringing law to humanity, they were prophets, only humans sent from God.

Christians believe that Jesus was the last prophet, and a divine being. God in flesh who came to save Earth to die for our sins and then resurrect three days later. Summed up Jesus was God is the basic belief.

Jews believe that the Messiah is still coming and that if they follow the law, God smiles upon then (this is very very brief summary of their belief it is far more complex than that). They don't believe Jesus to be a prophet (from what I know) and they don't believe him to be divine.

These are all very narrow explanations, which just shows that the hostility is greater than this...

Originally Posted by (AKALink)

I is very difficult for these different religions to get together.
For one our fundamental beliefs grind against each other.

Muslims believe that Jesus and Mohammad were both prophets from God bringing law to humanity, they were prophets, only humans sent from God.

Christians believe that Jesus was the last prophet, and a divine being. God in flesh who came to save Earth to die for our sins and then resurrect three days later. Summed up Jesus was God is the basic belief.

Jews believe that the Messiah is still coming and that if they follow the law, God smiles upon then (this is very very brief summary of their belief it is far more complex than that). They don't believe Jesus to be a prophet (from what I know) and they don't believe him to be divine.

So here is the problem, those this is all relative. Muslims don't like Christians because they believe that Christians worship a false idol. Christians don't like Muslims because they don't believe Jesus was God and they believe the Muslims are following a false prophet. The Jews think that both Christians and Muslims are following the wrong stuff. And for similar reasons the Muslims and Christians have tensions with the Jews. Over all the tension between Jews and Christians is not that great, but the tension between Christians and Muslims is very extreme.

So here's my two cents.

I try not to focus attention to the adherents of those beliefs.
I deny their beliefs , not the people.
If I love another fellow Christian because he is not a pagan or Jew , then I would be a hypocrite . That would be just as hypocritical as the pharisees who only allowed other pharisees into the temple , and Jesus said that help is for the sick not the healthy.

If I have the capacity to love a murderer , an adulterer , a thief , a liar , or blasphemer , then I am pretty sure that I can most definitely love an honest ,kind , selfless Muslim or Pagan.

It's just that there are these certain kinds of people that like to betray themselves and their brothers and sisters.

It's all about focus. When people hear "Anti-war" , they can't help but think of war.
Instead of being anti-war , be Pro-peace.
That is the attitude that people must adopt before being peaceful.

^ Great post. I completely agree. We are all under sin, and we need to understand that we are all at different places in our spiritual walk.

I have made my critisisms of this thread known, so I might as well put forth my perspective on tolerance/unity on the subject of religion. Differences are irrelevant, unless of course someones' beliefs or practices are causing harm. Some common religious practices fall into the latter category, such as religious male circumcision shortly after birth, or in childhood.

So, apart from the premise of harm I just mentioned, I completely tolerate, and lightly celebrate religious diversity. However, that doesn't prevent me from saying "you are extremely likely to be wrong" or "are wrong", on many common religious viewpoints. I respect people, but the beliefs themselves should be subject to question at any time. As should any beliefs I may hold. "Faith" itself is merely a kind term for "unevidenced assertion", but people deserve repsect for their right to hold views, and for their emotional investment in those views.

I may think many religious beliefs are illogical, and say it (with no hostility) to people's faces, but I still respect their feelings towards said beliefs. Not the beliefs themselves.

Originally Posted by alexross8

I try not to focus attention to the adherents of those beliefs.
I deny their beliefs , not the people.
If I love another fellow Christian because he is not a pagan or Jew , then I would be a hypocrite . That would be just as hypocritical as the pharisees who only allowed other pharisees into the temple , and Jesus said that help is for the sick not the healthy.

If I have the capacity to love a murderer , an adulterer , a thief , a liar , or blasphemer , then I am pretty sure that I can most definitely love an honest ,kind , selfless Muslim or Pagan.

It's just that there are these certain kinds of people that like to betray themselves and their brothers and sisters.

It's all about focus. When people hear "Anti-war" , they can't help but think of war.
Instead of being anti-war , be Pro-peace.
That is the attitude that people must adopt before being peaceful.

I see you point, I was just stating the reason why we don't get along very well. No matter what religion, there will always be hypocrites within that group. Loving your neighbor as yourself is the golden rule according to Jesus, yet everyone has trouble following it. It is against human nature to do this. But I would like to let you know that there are always people in the war zone, in Palestine, those who would normally get killed for their beliefs proving to the Muslims and the Jews that we can live together peacefully. There are also Muslims in America and other what are considered "Christian" Nations that we can live together peacefully. And because of this we are moving in the right direction, and because of this we also have martyrs.

I have one very big problem with this thread's premise: Why disclude deists, pantheists & polytheists? I can understand discluding atheists & agnostics, most of whom do not believe in any number of deities, but deists, pantheists & polytheists all have viewpoints which should be acknowledged by this thread, but aren't.

Deists believe in one god, but also that that god does not intervene in worldly affairs. Dom of course said more than I can now.

Pantheists believe, to put it simply, that God is everything, and thus intervenes in everything equally at all times.

Polytheists - who are the main reason for me posting in this thread - do not believe in "One God", and often don't even believe in a single god being of higher status than all the others. This thread's message of all religions uniting under the common belief of one god is completely lost on polytheists, who will not adjust their views to suit the rest of the world - they will neither believe that all their gods are actually a single god, nor believe that all their lesser gods are not actually gods at all.

...Which brings me to an interesting point. In the opening post you mention Hindus, who are well known as being polytheistic, as believing in just one god. Similarly, Taoism is polytheistic, and Buddhism is typically agnostic (for to assume you know something with certainty - in this case the existence of a god - would go against some of the most basic Buddhist beliefs).

Originally Posted by Ambrose Bierce

IMPIETY, n. Your irreverence toward my deity.
KORAN, n. A book which the Mohammedans foolishly believe to have been written by divine inspiration, but which Christians know to be a wicked imposture, contradictory to the Holy Scriptures.
UNIVERSALIST, n. One who forgoes the advantage of a Hell for persons of another faith.

Qu'ran is spelled incorrectly. At least in my religion.

Religion is a very sensitive issue, and in my opinion it was never a very good human idea in the first place. Religions will never come together, and if there were a chance to reset society I'd do so- and take out religion.

It's amazing how much of our lives are dictated by the belief in an omnipotent being who could very well exist or not, although don't get too serious about what I am saying. I'm just another person.

Originally Posted by nikohesus

Qu'ran is spelled incorrectly. At least in my religion.

Transliterating Arabic is a very inexact process; there can be multiple English spellings for any given word or name.

Your intentions are good, but my religious and philosophical beliefs do not preach blind acceptance and love for others who do not deserve it. I have nothing against the "why can't we work together" sentiment, but as to whether or not it's good to ignore some of the fundamental problems in the thinking of millions of people... no, that is not a good thing, and that can only be undone by breaking down the belief structures they hold, gently or not.

Originally Posted by Essences of Earth

I made this thread for a purpose. No, I did not make this thread for debate, or for bashing someone's religion.

I greatly appreciate that.

I remember a couple years ago, I had a Catholic Christian friend who had told me that his Pope John Paul II brought together 20+ religions at the Basilica to pray to the One God because he was preaching religious unity, that the world's good religions look to One Being.

I find some difficulty with this.

Firstly, you need to know where I stand. I consider myself a Biblicist and not a Christian. The difference: I consider a Biblicist to believe everything in the Bible, and have a relationship with the God of the Bible. I consider the word Christian to be incredibly misused in modern times and that it has lost its use and purpose. It encompasses a religion which is full of rules wherein people as well as me, are bound to fail. Christian also encompasses all denominations such as Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Methodists, Anglicans, etc.

Alright, to the question; I don't know how reliable this site is, but I searched for information on Taoism. It says here that, "A believer's goal is to harmonize themselves with the Tao." Well, what is "the Tao?" According to the website, "Tao is the first-cause of the universe. It is a force that flows through all life." Here are the differences between Christianity and Taoism, Christians are supposed to believe in the God of the Bible and their goal is to be in a relationship with Him. A Taoist's goal is to harmonize themself with the Tao which is a force that flows through all life. According to the Bible, God is not a force nor does He "flow" through all life. Now just because there are differences does not mean we cannot get along.

I am certainly not bashing Taoism, but only pointing out a difference wherein Taoists and supposed Christians do not worship a same higher being.

Originally Posted by Essences of Earth

I made this thread for a purpose. No, I did not make this thread for debate, or for bashing someone's religion.

Or lack thereof? Good message, although it simply isn't inclusive enough.

I too am an Atheist, so i'm afraid I can't really participate. However it does seem like you are attempting to do a very noble thing and I wish you the best of luck.

You do realise that Paganism does not exist right? I think you mean Atheist - or do you sacrifice animals 'pros Dios' (to zeus) regularly?

Never mind that certain Celtic tribes would sacrifice other human beings in particularly violent ways. 3;

Originally Posted by Azarimanka

You do realise that Paganism does not exist right? I think you mean Atheist - or do you sacrifice animals 'pros Dios' (to zeus) regularly?

While yes, "paganism" is not a belief system unto itself, there are still those who can be described as pagans. In the historical sense it refers to all non-Abrahamic theists; in a modern sense it would more accurately be called neopaganism, and include those who subscribe to a belief such as Wicca.

Originally Posted by Sabbo

While yes, "paganism" is not a belief system unto itself, there are still those who can be described as pagans. In the historical sense it refers to all non-Abrahamic theists; in a modern sense it would more accurately be called neopaganism, and include those who subscribe to a belief such as Wicca.

So hindus are pagans...right. No. Wicca are, surprisingly Wiccans...its not hard. Although maybe cult is a better word.

Originally Posted by Azarimanka

So hindus are pagans...right. No. Wicca are, surprisingly Wiccans...its not hard. Although maybe cult is a better word.

Yes, Hindu people are pagans, as far as Christianity is concerned.

It's pretty much... Wiccan is to (neo)Pagan as Catholic is to Christian. (And "cult" is an even more poorly-defined word than "pagan", so no it's not a better word.)

I see lots of people going on about how were all worshiping the same god, whilst me myself am Agnostic, and the only religion that has ever existed in my family is Christian (Greek Orthodox, what else). there is already a faith that believes that all religions are connected to eachother.

its called the Bahai'i faith and it origionated in the middle east in the late 1800's

Bahá'í Faith - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by Sabbo

Yes, Hindu people are pagans, as far as Christianity is concerned.

It's pretty much... Wiccan is to (neo)Pagan as Catholic is to Christian. (And "cult" is an even more poorly-defined word than "pagan", so no it's not a better word.)

Nonsense - Catholics are Christians, Wiccans are a cult, or a seperate religion however you want to put it. Paganism has never existed. Nor are Hindus Pagan. As far as I'm concerned. Pagan carries a hostile overtone. Hinduism is, to Christians, another faith.