What makes one religion or belief better than another?

[primalclaws1974]

I am not overly religious, but I was raised Christian. If I was to compare old world religions based on their text, many of them have similar stories. Many have the creation myth in which there was nothing, then there was something. In the Bible there was darkness, and then there was light. In science this is the Big Bang. There are also many stories of a massive flood. Almost all religions also have an end of the world myth. Why are they all so similar? Is it that newer religions adopted the old traditions/stories? Is it that whatever truths there are to religion, in the end, they are all the same?

 

[Rhodolite]

There's always going to be universal themes with all of humanity regardless of culture and views which is what makes humans interesting in some aspects. The thing about new religions is that they borrow lots of elements from older religions and we know that old religions set the foundation for things like creation myths, flood stories and even the theme of death and rebirth because they came first chronologically.

If you do studies on parallels, the bible has the story of the flood which coincidentally there's a flood story from ancient Babylonian texts which predate the earliest biblical texts, but considering how similar both stories are- suggest that they came from the same area. Jesus's resurrection has similar elements to Osiris's death and resurrection. Also the book of Psalms shares remarkable similarities to the Great Hymn to the Aten.

Roman gods and myths are modeled off of Greek gods and myths. Egyptians actually practiced monotheism at one point in time which is remarkable considering that they've historically been polytheistic and were one of the first civilizations to give it a go. There's always going to be crossovers with religions because people in spite of their difference still share a lot of similarities. Even today's modern Christian holidays like Christmas borrows elements from ancient pagan holidays in order to convert people back in the day. Halloween is also another Christian holiday though many Christians today condemn it ironically. Like Christmas, Halloween was another adopted holiday used to convert people.

Still practicing religions- despite different gods, prophets or rituals are remarkably similar. They all deal with the great unknown of the afterlife, they all share similar beliefs of treating others with kindness and respect, and there's also a strong sense of humility. That's the basic foundation of modern religion at its most basic construct.

However over the years people added their own interpretations, taken out earlier texts that contradict with how some people would rather spin certain religions and more. The bible has hundreds of other books that have been cut out over the years because it went against a certain view that certain people wanted to sell. I've read a few of these cut books and most deal with things such as how church leadership should go, that people should always be humble when congregating, and that women ironically played a huge role in early Christianity's growth and popularity. However that information was cut because people in power wanted a stronger focus on Patriarchy despite the fact that there's texts that show that out of all the religions at the time that Christianity gave women more power because they were a fundamental part of the religion's growth and success.

I don't think one religion is better than the other. Religion in and unto itself unfettered by fringe elements has a lot to offer but human greed and spite often taints the basic core of care and understanding.

 

[primalclaws1974]

Another thing to consider is that many of the events in religious texts actually happened. Ancient people had no way to understand or explain for something that happened in nature, so they told a tale around it. As time went along, and people moved about, different civilizations developed. As people changed, their stories would adapt to suit them. This is not to say one is right and one is wrong, but this is a likely explanation for the differences.

 

[Mika]

I don't think any one religion is better than the other at its core. Personally, I don't believe in any gods or goddesses nor deny their existence so I'm going to take this from a logical approach where religion "doesn't exist". Sorry if it may offend some people who are religious.

Religion in and of it self is just a way for people to calm their fears. It's a way for people to reassure themselves. It gives them "certainty" in this uncertain world. It gives meaning to life. It gives meaning to death. It gives an excuse for how the world formed. It gives excuse to how it will end. It gives reason to act and it gives reason not to act. Religion gives meaning to everything that would otherwise be unknown and uncontrolled.

The myth of creation is just the start. It's a very common thing to be curious about and to fear. Where did we come from? Do we have a reason that we exist? Most people cannot handle the answer of, "There's no way to tell where we came from. Life itself has no meaning. We just happen to be here and that's all there is to it." People just can't handle it. They fight it, they argue against it, they want to believe there is something more-- something greater. This is a common thing across the world, so it will show up in every religion.

Floods are nothing uncommon. They're something to fear though. Maybe not as much nowadays, but back long ago when there was little they could do about the weather - a flood could destroy everything. Therefore people need a sense of security. Maybe the flood will destroy everything, yet a hero will somehow make it through. If there's a terrible flood in the future, it's okay because somehow someone will make it all okay. Nature was just feared more in the past than it is today.

Religious books are little more than a way for people to feel security in what causes uncertainty. Therefore, many books will be the same. They're all about what people are universally scared about, and what they want to have security in. It's also very likely that stories were passed along to other tribes of people before they were written down. As people traveled and got lost a bit, the stories would be passed between tribes of people and be merged into their own stories.

Of course, all of this is based on a pure logical approach with no consideration to the possibility of a god or goddess existing. If on the other hand they do exist, the reason they're so similar is because likely there was only a single or small group of beings who created everything. In this case, many religions are based on one thing and was just told in a different way. Imagine a parent telling different children around the world the same story. Even if it's the same, it's likely to get warped a bit by each person. By the time they were written down, the stories would have been warped to the point where it would cause the slight differences between religions. This is excluding a lot of the sudden, new, obviously man made religions which pop up from time to time.

So, in the end I don't see any religion better than any other religion and religion in and of itself is not bad. Well, some of the religions are a bit strange and shouldn't be followed but they're very popular, and I'm not going to bother mentioning them. There are some religions that are pushed a bit too much. That's hardly the religion's fault though... there's just a few too many extremists. In the end, I don't see any religion better than the rest and most of them are good - no matter which one it is.

 

[The Man]

Radical islam seems to be on the rise.

 

[HELLOnamesdana]

No one religion is better than the other. I am not a religious person, but I will never say that one religion is better than another even if I was a religious person, or that one religion isn't real or whatever. I stand at the place where all humans should treat each other with respect and that just because someone is of one religion that isn't the one you believe in doesn't mean that they're wrong and doesn't mean that you should treat them horribly for it.

 

[xTinx]

Religions are an attempt to understand God or the concept of His existence or non-existence. No one's better than the other. All religions have their flaws and redeeming points. That's why, it's painful to see other religions condemn and destroy others as if they have the monopoly of the truth. Only God alone can judge and say who belongs to Him and who belongs to the devil. What's important, if you're a believer, is that you have a personal relationship with Him that's got nothing to do with religion itself.

 

[primalclaws1974]

95% of the world believes in a higher power. Just because one group has a larger following or is in the news, or has even gained membership recently does not mean their beliefs are paramount. Religion and faith should be personal. But in modern times it seems anything but that. Religions should also not be in conflict with one another. Unfortunately, even with one religion there are oftentimes strife within the sects. A good example of this is the major differences in the denominations of Christianity.

 

[Peachdejour]

Primal! Being raised a Christian, this is something that I have struggle with for a long time. When you think about it, all the monotheistic religions really believe in one God, albeit a different name. However, they have different prophets and views on who Jesus really was to the world. However, all religions dating back to the earliest religions have the same myth, lore, stories. There is actually another mythology that is older than the story of Jesus that is almost exact. So, I've always asked myself, what is the most correct? Well, I believe there is a creator greater than myself that I feel one with and that I have an intimate relationship with and that has an intimate relationship with all. I feel we are all connected and that we should all be treating each other much better than we do based on the tenets of all of our religions. We should be kinder to our neighbors, wives, children, brothers, communities, and our world. And I pray that the right path is always shown to me.

 

[MisterRay97]

As a religious person myself, I do not believe that one religion is better than another. I think it would be absurd to say that God only has given a set of people to follow His set religion and the rest will be doomed to hell. Almost all religions have similar core beliefs. They are even atheists, agnostics, and non-religious people who follow the commandments of righteous behaviour without actually having a religion. In fact, every individual, who may call himself/herself a Christian, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, etc. has his/her own belief system which may or may not be in sync with what other Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, etc. follow. I believe that every individual has his/her own religion and hence there's nothing like 'one religion is better than another'. As long as they are not harming anyone, their religious beliefs are fine and must be respected as any other religious belief.

 

[angelicagapit]

People believe in what they want to believe in. It doesn't mean that a religion is better than another if it's bigger than the other. Everyone has their own insight and perspective on what they believe in. What if one Catholic man isn't strong in faith, but the Catholic church is one of the biggest religions in all of earth. Religion isn't important for him, but to other Catholics, it's a big thing.

Religion should be your relationship with the one you believe in. You can't compare religions by saying one is better than another, because someone else will definitely have a different opinion than yours.

 

[Stratos]

I think there's a way that you can tell what the better religion is and that is by looking at its followers. For example, I was born and raised in a Catholic family, I know the ins and outs of Catholic people in my country and I can tell you that they are not the kind ones. People attend church, but ignore the beggars on the streets, even calling them dirty and such. A good and better religion is a religion where all or most of its followers, actually believe and follow in its teachings. Not just read books, pray and attend ceremonies.

 

[azrmacc]

Well, when it comes to religion, what makes one better than the other or all of the others depends on what it teaches. If a religion teaches you to do something that isn't right, then that's worse than another that promotes good deeds. Not naming specific ones here, but we all know there's always some of those .

 

[Greatest I am]

Greetings all.

I am disappointed the none here, especially the women, are not advocating away from the mainstream religions that are all basically anti female and misogynous. Especially Christianity and Islam.

I chose to be a Gnostic Christians mostly because they gave equality to all souls.

I can see where most would not judge the morals of religions but this misogyny issue is continuing to hurt women world wide.

What is wrong with you women? Why are you not promoting the non-misogynistic religions?

What is wrong with you men who tolerate having your wives, daughters and mothers considered second class citizens by those mainstream religions?

Regards
DL

 

[The Man]

How is Christianity anti women.

 

[Codrus]

Greetings all.

I am disappointed the none here, especially the women, are not advocating away from the mainstream religions that are all basically anti female and misogynous. Especially Christianity and Islam.

I chose to be a Gnostic Christians mostly because they gave equality to all souls.

I can see where most would not judge the morals of religions but this misogyny issue is continuing to hurt women world wide.

What is wrong with you women? Why are you not promoting the non-misogynistic religions?

What is wrong with you men who tolerate having your wives, daughters and mothers considered second class citizens by those mainstream religions?

Regards
DL

i cant believe you are still doing this shit....lol,...

 

[Greatest I am]

How is Christianity anti women.

Is -- he shall rule over you showing equality for women?

Is, you will not teach men showing equality for women?

Is women being placed with possession in the commandments showing equality for women?

The second century St. Clement of Alexandria wrote: "Every woman should be filled with shame by the thought that she is a woman."
The Church father Tertullian explained why women deserve their status as despised and inferior human beings:
"And do you not know that you are an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the devil's gateway: you are the unsealer of that tree: you are the first deserter of the divine law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image, man. On account of your desert that is, death even the Son of God had to die."
The sixth century Christian philosopher, Boethius, wrote in The Consolation of Philosophy, "Woman is a temple built upon a sewer."
In the tenth century Odo of Cluny declared, "To embrace a woman is to embrace a sack of manure..."
St. Thomas Aquinas suggested that God had made a mistake in creating woman: "nothing [deficient] or defective should have been produced in the first establishment of things; so woman ought not to have been produced then."

Do those sound like Christians showing women the respect they deserve?

If you think religions are not misogynous, then you know next to nothing.

Regards
DL

 

[joshposh]

I was brain washed that Christianity was the #1 religion and we got it right and everyone else was wrong. But years of deprogramming and college finally made me throw in the towel and finally look a t things as they really are. All religious text were written by primitive delusional men. Every prophet thought they were right in actuality they were all wrong.

But I will say this. Nobody is right, but it is 100% wrong to kill anyone because they are not the same religion as you. To come out ans say I'm right, you're wrong, I can kill you according to my religion, is insane.

 

[Lushlala]

I don't claim to know much about religion, but I do believe that all religions lead to the same objective. I was raised Catholic, but choose not to practice. Having met and interacted with many people from different religions, they sound similar, except we have different terminologies and call our higher being different things. There are a few differences here and there, but they're not at all dissimilar. I don't believe any one God is superior than others. In the end I think we worship one God, except with different names People are the ones who give religion a bad name, by bending it to their advantage and interpreting it to suit their own agenda. Just my take

 

[HELLOnamesdana]

There is no such thing as one religion being better than another. It all has to do with your own personal beliefs to sort of decide which one you beleive in the most, and just go with that.