This question recently came up on a forum, and many jumped to conclude that their god was somehow different from someone else’s god. Rather than proving that your god is different somehow, I would like to ask you this question. What does that prove? What good does it do to point out how your god is different from someone else’s god? Does that serve to divide or does it serve to bring people together? What was your god’s main purpose to divide or bring people together?
I believe that all people of good intention truly believe that theirs is a religion of peace and understanding. Their religion calls them to a higher moral standard one that would have the person bring peace, justice, and understanding to his or her community. Thus in this way all religions are not only similar, but have a similar function. A true believer of any religion would be led to the same conclusion ultimately. I find myself drawn to deep thinkers of all religions. They have drawn themselves deeply enough into the love of deity that these people love all beings. They are of all religions.
A great saint by the name of Sri Ramakrishna found that he could become enlightened following any religion. He actually became Christian, Islamic, and he followed various Hindu paths. Another great saint Shirdi Sai Baba was considered both a Hindu and a Muslim.
It would be easy to consider your own religion the best one without any analysis, but that would be the easy way out. Jesus says take the mote out of your own eye before you judge others, and I believe that to mean that you should take a close look at your own beliefs before you go pointing fingers at other people. We should be willing to look at the flaws of our own belief systems before we point out the flaws of others. This is, of course, much easier said than done.
What good does it do to prove that your god is different? If you then you can make the point that your god is better and deserving of more recognition than other gods. It is simply browning points. My god is better than your god. This is an argument of children and not mature adults. This is the type of argument that we had when we were kids speaking about our own parents. It was before we had any sense of discrimination or reflection.
It is my general belief that the person’s belief about god is a reflection of who they are. If a person believes that god is vengeful, then the person believes in revenge. If a person believes in forgiveness, then their god will be forgiving. So if a person believes that his/her god is number one, and everyone else’s god is a loser, then the person pretty much believes that about everyone else who is not like him/her.
People like to quote lots of scripture to prove that god agrees with him/her, but there are others who are of the same religion who would disagree. God must not be on the same page or else people pick and choose what scriptures they want to prove a point. Again they are determining what god is about, because the beliefs about god usually reflect what type of person the believer is and little more.
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