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Do you think all religious are equal?

Some Atheists claim that all religions or religious philosophies are the same since they are equally false. I assert that them being equally false is irrelevant. Ideologies and belief systems embed particular values and ideas who have different consequences on human behavior. Consequences on the human behavior is what really matters as this is how it truly affects society. Not all religions are equal because they represent different religious philosophies and set of rules in the same way that godless ideologies such as marxism or capitalism are.

Do you believe that all religions are equal? What do you mean by it? This issue underlines the Christianity vs. Islam debate. Please defend your case here.

Chris90045 5 Sep 29
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70 comments

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I believe all religions are equally toxic eventually. Any sort of delusional think is harmful to the psyche.

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All religions are NOT created equal. Religions are not equal in general and do not have human rights because human rights apply only to people.
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equally false in terms of involving a supreme being? sure. equally false in terms of what they teach, even if what they teach is ostensibly what the supreme being wants/prefers/demands? no. and the issue does not only underline the presumed christianity vs. islam debate; those are not the only two major religions. i can make a good case, i think, for judaism's being less false, god aside, than other religions, by virtue of its humanism and its focus on the present world instead of an afterlife. in judaism one is not asked to be good in order to get to heaven. one is asked to be good because being good is good. yeah, there's the whole if you love god you love his creation so be good to his creation deal, but the premise survives without god too, which is one reason i can still be a jew and also be an atheist (try doing that with christianity or islam!) judaism also does not condemn doubters, or even disbelievers. the only thing you can do to get kicked out of judaism, so to speak, is take on another god (so buddhism is not incompatible because buddha isn't a god). in addition, jews don't demand that everyone become jewish; it's not a requirement for being a good person (hence the term "righteous gentile) nor to get to heaven (which is not much like the christian or islamic perception of heaven either). there are fewer commandments for gentiles than for jews. jews have 613; for gentiles jews require only seven of those.

not to worship idols.
not to curse god.
to establish courts of justice.
not to commit murder.
not to commit adultery or sexual immorality.
not to steal.
not to eat flesh torn from a living animal.

number two is open to interpretation, especially for an atheist, since, if there is no god, then saying "goddamnit" is not meant literally and thus might not count. likewise, "sexual immorality" isn't defined right there in the law, and barely defined elsewhere. the rest are not such bad commandments, god or no god, right?

(i am not talking about the super orthodox, and i am not talking about the 613, which include rules for kashruth and all that, because i am only considering what jews and other religionists expect from OTHER people. levels of interference with others in the universe counts, for me, when considering "equally false." the more you interfere, the worse you are, right?)

compare that to some sects of christianity whose members kill abortion doctors, or demonstrate loudly at military funerals because jesus hates gays (kind of convoluted, that) or try to legislate the 10 commandments (THE 10, right? not the 613 or the seven!) into law or post them in courtrooms, or who demand that everyone else follow their religion or end of up an imaginary hell (or jail, depending on how your local government operates). compare to islam, which for the most part doesn't try to change anyone but which has some purported followers (i say purported because, like so many christians, some muslims don't understand or follow their own religion and yet claim to be its most sincere and devout proponents -- while blowing up buildings and school buses. religion has its problems but that's not part of islam. it's part of the human propensity to use religion to justify any old horror.)

i am not saying all this to try to convert anyone to judaism (which isn't easy anyway, and jews don't proselytize), or to any religion at all. i repeat: i am an atheist. i am just trying to answer the question in a logical fashion. it asks us to compare and contrast, right? i've attempted, in a limited fashion, to do so. when i say that judaism is less false overall than the other two, i am not implying that religions that involve a supreme being are not all, in the end, false, at least in that regard. i am only considering as many of the other factors as i happen to know and happen to think of while typing this answer. i've probably left out something important!

g

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Even some secular scholars believe the Church of England had a major role in establishing Rule of Law that protected peasants from lords and some Muslims still seems stuck on keeping people nomadic or in caves. They're both stupid but one is definitely the winner.

If I had to choose to be around religious people, I'd probably pick Buddhists who don't live in Myanmar.

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are we, humans, equal ?

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are we, humans, equal ?

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Religions are expressions of an early societies attempts to explain what they did not understand, to make sense of the world.
As such entire paradigms of Dogma are built around concepts creating worldviews through which these cultures views the world we all share.
From inside these worldviews, to a non skeptical person, a person not adept at critical thought, these paradigms of Dogma can seem to simply explain everything. Since this is a basic human desire, to know and understand, it is very easy for people to simply accept someone else figured it all out and not have to do all that hard, deep thinking themselves, in the same way kids at school avoid reading Dickens or the like. They take the cliff notes from a mouthpeice in authority, and never think about it.
They share commonalities on some things, and great differences in others and are representations of vastly different cultures.
Are cultures superior to one another?
Or rather are we individuals more comfortable in one culture or another?
Apples and Oranges.

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Are all atheist equal?

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It's not, I think,a particular religion itself that is more damaging or enriching than another, but how the actions of its priestly class, particularly in the higher echelons of its hierarchical power structure, shape the way in which it is practiced. The professional practioners of the three monotheistic systems have long tended toward outright misogyny - from Judaism's view that wives are chattel to the insistence within some Muslim societies on cloistering away womenfolk on the pretext of protecting their virtue - and have not shied away from employing violence both to expand and solidify their control (as in the Crusades, the persecution of "witches" and widespread use of burning hertics alive, jihad, and contemporary Islamist terrorism).

Buddhism, on the other hand, has by and large remained a religion of non-violence (the recent persecution of the Rohingya notwithstanding), perhaps because it has traditionally lacked a powerful class of priestly elites.

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Equally idiotic? Yes. This is not to say that each one has positive ways to live ones life, but they are all an equal waste of a person's brain.

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I think Sam Harris sums it up pretty well.

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Not my case.....all delusions are delusions duh......I do not escalate any tangients over this question. ....any good resulting from any believer DOES NOT RESCUE religion from absurdity. ....alleged deities alleged miracles are worthless hallucinations. ...hell threats and heaven bribes are evil inducements and result in a variety of intended and UN-intended consequences. ...acoordingly this is a worthless question regarding the comparisons between faiths. ...all are wrong. ...be thankful some believers turn out to be good humans despite bad faiths

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Q: "With all of the different religions, how can I know which one is correct?"

A: There is no doubt that the number of different religions in the world makes it a challenge to know which one is correct. First, let’s consider some thoughts on the overall subject and then look at how one might approach the topic in a manner that can actually get to a right conclusion about God. The challenge of different answers to a particular issue is not unique to the topic of religion. For example, you can sit 100 math students down, give them a complex problem to solve, and it is likely that many will get the answer wrong. But does this mean that a correct answer does not exist? Not at all. Those who get the answer wrong simply need to be shown their error and know the techniques necessary to arrive at the correct answer.

How do we arrive at the truth about God? We use a systematic methodology that is designed to separate truth from error by using various tests for truth, with the end result being a set of right conclusions. Can you imagine the end results a scientist would arrive at if he went into the lab and just started mixing things together with no rhyme or reason? Or if a physician just started treating a patient with random medicines in the hope of making him well? Neither the scientist nor the physician takes this approach; instead, they use systematic methods that are methodical, logical, evidential, and proven to yield the right end result.

This being the case, why should theology—the study of God—be any different? Why believe it can be approached in a haphazard and undisciplined way and still yield right conclusions? Unfortunately, this is the approach many take, and this is one of the reasons why so many religions exist. That said, we now return to the question of how to reach truthful conclusions about God. What systematic approach should be used? First, we need to establish a framework for testing various truth claims, and then we need a roadmap to follow to reach a right conclusion. Here is a good framework to use:

  1. Logical consistency—the claims of a belief system must logically cohere to each other and not contradict in any way. As an example, the end goal of Buddhism is to rid oneself of all desires. Yet, one must have a desire to rid oneself of all desires, which is a contradictory and illogical principle.

  2. Empirical adequacy—is there evidence to support the belief system (whether the evidence is rational, externally evidential, etc.)? Naturally, it is only right to want proof for important claims being made so the assertions can be verified. For example, Mormons teach that Jesus visited North America. Yet there is absolutely no proof, archaeological or otherwise, to support such a claim.

  3. Existential relevancy—the belief system should address the big questions of life described below and the teachings should be accurately reflected in the world in which we live. Christianity, for example, provides good answers for the large questions of life, but is sometimes questioned because of its claim of an all-good and powerful God who exists alongside a world filled with very real evil. Critics charge that such a thing violates the criteria of existential relevancy, although many good answers have been given to address the issue.

The above framework, when applied to the topic of religion, will help lead one to a right view of God and will answer the four big questions of life:

  1. Origin – where did we come from?
  2. Ethics – how should we live?
  3. Meaning – what is the purpose for life?
  4. Destiny – where is mankind heading?

Tanya Elizabeth Partin Lawton, is going to sue you.
Cutting and pasting sections of other people's work verbatim is not wisdom it is plagiarism.

Don't like the message so you are accusing me of plagiarism?nice try !

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They are all equally misguided.

But it's the fundamentalists that are the issue. What are the fundemantals? Like Sam harris said, Islamic findementalists are a problem because the fundamentals, as they see them, call for violence, whereas a Jane fundementalist gets safer!

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all religions are equal, because they are all equally false, and all can not be proven .,nor disproven, when you use faith as a factor, quid a pro

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Yes, I think that all religions are equal in that they all believe some sort of bullshit! You can pick and choose forever, but it still comes out the same...a turd is a turd!

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Equally bullshit

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No, they are not all equal, not in any sense, any more than all ideas are equal. It could be said that the three major monotheistic religions are all misogynistic, but they are not equally so. One of Islam's major flaws is that its leaders have not condemned the practice of child marriage, because the Prophet himself did so. Until they do, there is no moral high ground for them.

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I believe they're all bad because they exist for control; however, some are definitely more dangerous than others.

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Yes, it's just that some are more equal that others.

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Big no ( there are different norms governing all religions )

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No they are not.

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Well. I think this discussion has an internal issue. Religions are not like some tea cups that you can measure their capacity to each other.
I think each religion; as part of the culture; emerged based on some needs in a society. Each one has some good perceptive toward some social issues. if a society will be more completed, its religion should answer more completed issues.

Maya Level 3 Dec 28, 2017
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Oh no to all religions being "equal"... in terms of... perceived value? Content validity, utility? Smith's magic rocks and his illiterate reading of gold plates... lost... that resulted in Mormonism? Compared w/ the mainstay Abrahamic faiths that have d/evolved to present time? I REALLY prefer (personal preference of course) Buddhism and if you count it as a religion, Taoism, over flavours of superstitious gods, invisible friends... nebulous heavens types. How 'bout this last bit and Viking versions where if you like wine, women and dance, you get your fill forever in Nirvana?! Much better/mas mejor that twinking harps and gazing on some olde guys face. Heck; give me that good ole time animism over the hypocrites of churches, synagogues, worship houses anytime.

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Not equal. Some are tame, some are extreme. All equally false though.

If you believe it or not, when the end comes we all will be held accountable .

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