All gods are the same god

Dogdoctor

Canis Doctorius
Dogdoctor
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I was just wondering the arguments for and against this thought. The god of Christianity and Islam and Shintoism and Hinduism (all 10,000 sects) are all the same god. To me it makes little sense since if all the gods are the same then why would god give so varied instructions to the various followers? Please for this discussion just suspend the thought that there is no god so it makes little difference. I am interested in approaching this from the perspective that a religious person might have since it's a pointless question to an atheist.
 
Well, Shinto is an indigenous animistic religion from Japan which does not feature a "god" figure, but only a variety of typical animistic spirits. Hinduism of course has a whole handful (several handsful, actually) of "gods", though at the upper levels of Hindu thought it's admitted that all these various gods are just manifestations of the true nature of Vishnu, which is completely undescribable. (or somthing like that-I'm reading a book on mythology.)
Buddism does not have a god-figure at all, though various Buddist traditions have a variety of god-figures to rival hinduism.

The mythologies of various peoples around the world have had god models which are radically different from each other, so the statement that these are all the "same" god does not seem accurate.
 
Since most of these people claim to be drawn towards their religion by God himself, that would make him a bit of a deceiver, wouldn't it?
 
The question is kind of like asking if all unicorns are the same unicorn. The answer: beats the hell out of me. Since gods live in the imaginations of believers, it's up to them to determine for themselves if their god(s) is(are) the same as all the others or not.
 
Bikewer said:
Well, Shinto is an indigenous animistic religion from Japan which does not feature a "god" figure, but only a variety of typical animistic spirits.
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Well I guess it depends on translation as to whether the spirits are gods. To me it seems similar to Greek gods. They also believed their emperors were direct descendants of a "god" and the populace are all related to the emperor somewhere along the line . Or at least that is my understanding. Therefore it is rather pointless to be a Shinto unless you are Japanese.
 
Almost all known myth cycles feature some sort of creative spirit or spirits that bring about the universe in some clever way, and then sort of as an afterthought create humans. (In one Mesopotamian tradition, the Gods created men to do the work!)

The difference between the "spirits" of typical animistic systems and the "gods" of other systems would seem to be a trend towards anthromorphism. The gods of the Greeks and Romans were thoroughly human in their behaviors, wants, and desires-they just had supernatural powers.

The "spirits" in the belief systems of many primitive people seem to be just barely anthromorphized, and are frequently identified with natural forces or places. Rivers, mountains, that sort of thing. Gradually, as people become more sophisticated, these spirits gain more and more human features. Thus, a simple thunder spirit might become a Thor.
 
Exactly. How things got created is one of the most basic things in almost any religion. You can't lump the creator god of each all together as if they are the same god, ala Allah is the same as Yahewh.
 
It seems rather silly to me. It's fine to say, "all gods are one god", and all, but when we start asking questions about this god - what is he like, what does he like, what does he prohibit, where does he live, etc. everyone will have different answers.
If the only thing that people can agree on is that god created the world (maybe), then I don't see how they're really worshipping the same thing.
 
Dogdoctor said:
I was just wondering the arguments for and against this thought. The god of Christianity and Islam and Shintoism and Hinduism (all 10,000 sects) are all the same god. To me it makes little sense since if all the gods are the same then why would god give so varied instructions to the various followers? Please for this discussion just suspend the thought that there is no god so it makes little difference. I am interested in approaching this from the perspective that a religious person might have since it's a pointless question to an atheist.
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People claim to have a revelation from god, who says god's people can no longer perform this action (or inaction) and must believe some new doctrine.
Little by little each leader bastardizes the earlier teachings until a loyal follower trys to Protest the new teachings, or trys to add his own. At this time, some members of the congregation follow this new leader.
I believe all religions using the Old Testament start w/ the same God, but then follow their own preconcieved notions as to what THEIR god would or would not do.
Or
God gives his religion to each group differently as he sees fit, as he only knows how the group would take to it. But they all lead back to god.

The 2nd paragraph is a paraphrase from a Christian friend I had in high school.
So sad.
 
To quote Stephen Colbert: "I believe that everyone has the right to their own religion, be you Hindu, Jewish or Muslim. I believe there are infinite paths to accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior."
 
Dogdoctor said:
I was just wondering the arguments for and against this thought. The god of Christianity and Islam and Shintoism and Hinduism (all 10,000 sects) are all the same god. To me it makes little sense since if all the gods are the same then why would god give so varied instructions to the various followers? Please for this discussion just suspend the thought that there is no god so it makes little difference. I am interested in approaching this from the perspective that a religious person might have since it's a pointless question to an atheist.
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Plus there's polytheist religions.
 
If it is acceptable with god that all these people believe all these different things even contradicting each other, then who is to say that god doesn't want people to be atheists also? Don't most religions have scriptures forbidding them from worshiping other gods? It just doesn't make any sense.
 
Dogdoctor said:
If it is acceptable with god that all these people believe all these different things even contradicting each other, then who is to say that god doesn't want people to be atheists also? Don't most religions have scriptures forbidding them from worshiping other gods? It just doesn't make any sense.
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Sure. One of the great justifications for a religious belief, which does afterall have to compete against others for adherents, is that it is the One True Way. Otherwise, what's to keep people from migrating to something else that claims convincingly to be the One True Way? I know there are exceptions, but they are usually using the Many Paths approach as a way to graft themselves onto believers of other faiths as an adjunct.
 
Just Me said:
People claim to have a revelation from god, who says god's people can no longer perform this action (or inaction) and must believe some new doctrine.
Little by little each leader bastardizes the earlier teachings until a loyal follower trys to Protest the new teachings, or trys to add his own. At this time, some members of the congregation follow this new leader.
I believe all religions using the Old Testament start w/ the same God, but then follow their own preconcieved notions as to what THEIR god would or would not do.
Or
God gives his religion to each group differently as he sees fit, as he only knows how the group would take to it. But they all lead back to god.

The 2nd paragraph is a paraphrase from a Christian friend I had in high school.
So sad.
Click to expand...


I agree.. good one
 
True explanation

Dogdoctor said:
I was just wondering the arguments for and against this thought. The god of Christianity and Islam and Shintoism and Hinduism (all 10,000 sects) are all the same god. To me it makes little sense since if all the gods are the same then why would god give so varied instructions to the various followers? Please for this discussion just suspend the thought that there is no god so it makes little difference. I am interested in approaching this from the perspective that a religious person might have since it's a pointless question to an atheist.
Click to expand...

Long long time ago, an alien friend of mine flew around the 3rd rock from the sun. this we call earth in present time. As my alien frend flew his space exploring vehicle around, many occupants of the time observed my friend ship, and he and she even went onto the grounds to communicate with some of them.

about 100 years later when he came back to earth.

the humans of this planet had make pictures and figurines of my alien friend and gave him and her many names...
 
10001 said:
Long long time ago, an alien friend of mine flew around the 3rd rock from the sun. this we call earth in present time. As my alien frend flew his space exploring vehicle around, many occupants of the time observed my friend ship, and he and she even went onto the grounds to communicate with some of them.

about 100 years later when he came back to earth.

the humans of this planet had make pictures and figurines of my alien friend and gave him and her many names...
Click to expand...

Was he from Tralfamadore?
 
Ever see someone make shadow puppets? Take their hand, put it between a light source and a wall, and project images of different things by making different shapes with their hands?

I used to think that that's how God was. All we are capable of seeing of Him was His "shadow", and at different times it looked like different things. Sometimes wildly different, even contradictory, things. But in the end, it's all the same Hand.

That's what I used to think. Until I realized that the analogy breaks down when you observe that we aren't even capable of seeing the "shadow".
 
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