How do you know your religion is the right one?

[Sluttybuttons]

Just been thinking about this lately. I was brought up very strict christian, as in no trousers, make up, sunday you didnt even as much as buy a pint of milk etc. Anyway, when i was about 18 i was chatting to a friend about religion. He was muslim. We talked about what we believed and then he said how do you know that christianity is the one true religion, i said i had faith that it was. And he said the exact same. So my question is, with all these different religions out there how do you know that your religion is the right 1?

I am now not religious anymore because i really dont have a clue. The only 1 thing i know is we are living now so why waste life worrying about what other people are doing and just enjoy life respecting other peoples views and just let everybody get on with things.

Sorry if this doesnt really make sense but im just kinda thinking out loud

The Quran actually teaches that Christianity and Judaism are valid paths to God and their scriptures come from God (but have been distorted over the centuries). It then goes on to say only 3 things are required for heaven. Belief in one God, Belief in the day of judgement and being a good person.
So I think all religions are paths to God. And Im a muslim

'Cos it's mine!

I'm being facetious btw, but I think a large number of people do actually think like that... I'm with KalSkirata on the 'they're all paths to God' theory though.

Because it feels true in your heart

Christianity doesn't to me, neither does any monotheistic 'higher power' religion. But I do believe in God/the Divine/Goddesses/universal spirit...maybe it's just semantics and human's interpretation of their spiritual experiences?

I follow my own, unique spiritual path, and have my own beliefs that feel true in my heart. It's not a 'religion' but I do join with friends for some ceremonies and ritual sometimes, and I know that I'm connecting with 'all that is' in the same way Christians and Muslims know they're connecting with 'God'.

You find your 'truth', I'm pagan and that is my 'truth'

The Dalai said there are many paths up the same mountain but who can walk more than one path at a time.

Because I know God has spoken to me in a very real and tangible way about it. That doesn't make me able to prove anything to anyone but I know.

I truly believe that if you ask God - even if you don't know who or what you mean by that - to show himself/herself to you and really pay attention you will get your answer.

I'm a Christian BTW.

I suppose another reason i really dont know about anything anymore is that if there was somebody looking out for me, all the stuff that has happened to me wouldnt have. I think that is really where my doubt came in.

There are a lot of sites discussing why God allows suffering and evil and terrible things.
While I have faith I do wonder. And I wonder why innocent children are born brain damaged.

I don't.

I hope it is but if it isn't then I hope whatever one is right will judge us on our actions and not on what day was our sabbath.

All you can really know is which is the right one for you and trust that God will lead you to where He wants you to be, when He wants you to be there.

When you think about it, what religion (if any) you follow probably depends on where you were born and where you live in the world. And for many in the past (and many still today in developing countries e.g. think Amazon jungle) they may not know that there is any religion or belief other than the one they were brought up in.

So how can any religion be the right one?

I don't believe that there is one right religion. The one that is right for you is the right one.

I am a Muslim and I know that Islam is indeed the truth because the Quran contains innumerable miracles on science,history,linguistics etc. Its so rich in its quality that every knowledgeable person agrees that it cannot be written by any human. Its still the best in Arabic literature. 1400 yrs and no one could find any faults in the Quran - not even a letter changed.

Why do I believe it to be the true religion? Because I have read the Quran (the word of God) and in context.

There is the most fascinating challenge that Quran put to those who do not believe it to be the word of God. The Quran states that if anyone person or even the whole world can try to put together 3 verses together like or similar to the Quran, then indeed it is not the word of God.

This challenge has been taken up in the past but to this day no one has succeeded. That in itself speaks volumes.

Hi defuse, it depends what the definition of knowledgable is really doesn't it? You cant mean every human with a degree or similar as their are plenty there that wouldn't agree with your view of the Quran.

*there

I'll tell you a joke.

St Peter was showing the latest arrival around Heaven. He took him to one section and said "This is the Jewish area" and another one "These are the Buddhists in here"..........he went on a bit further and gestured to the new arrival to be very quiet and tiptoe......St Peter then turned and said "Those are the Catholics, but they think they're the only ones here"

headinhands you are right. By knowledgeable, in this instance i was referring to linguists/experts in the Arabic language and historic Arabic language

I don't think we can every know we have the right faith, just that we have the right faith for us.

defuse the Old Testament also has some interesting linguistic things going on, but no one denies it was written by human beings. Perhaps the Qu'ran is better in Arabic, but in English it reads very stilted. I though the reason that the Qu'ran had never had even one letter changed was because it was forbidden to do so, rather than because it is so perfect?

I believe that the true Divine is beyond human comprehension, that we form what tiny glimmer of a reflection that we can grasp, into something that we can comprehend, and call this faith or religion.

My faith (Pagan) is right for me because it makes my heart sing with joy. Spirituality and spiritual experiences are so difficult to put into words.

worldgonecrazy Yes, the quran is amazing in arabic, even the native arabic speakers say that it is not 'normal' or 'spoken' arabic, it is on another level. Yes, translations in English lose the rhythm and the beauty of the language. The sole aim of the translation is to capture the message - word for word.

I have a question for you, as i am genuinely wanting to know (sorry to hijack thread briefly), is the 'happy birthday' song a part of the pagan religion/rituals or does it have nothing to do with it. I am vaguely aware that the birthday cake/candles/celebration is a part of pagan religion (or am i miles out?)

Sorry, back to the thread, the quran has never been changed by even a letter. There have been attempts to change it but they get exposed.

Allah (God) promises in the Quran that "We have without doubt, send down the message; and We will assuredly guard it(from corruption)." The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 15, Verse 9

So God himself protects the Quran.

defuse yes you are miles out, there is no link between the song Happy Birthday and paganism, other than one of the only rules of paganism is "Any excuse for a party". (Actually I just made that last bit up :) )

p.s. The Holy Qur'an, Chapter 9, Verse 5 always has me worried

some muslims celebrate birthdays, some dont. I see nothing wrong with having a celebration on the day someone comesinto the world.

a good explanantion of chapter 9. here
Its very time specific and related to the treaties and broken treaties of the time. Mulsims believe in unseen beings, called Djinn. In pagan terms these would be the spirits of a place. Both mankind and djinn worship and are subjected to the creator (I dont actually like the word 'God' bvecause of the image of bearded man on cloud it kinda sums up. God would be so far above our comprehension that there would be no words)

I don't follow any religion as I have not found one that I fully agree with, I read the bible, try my best to follow the teachings and love God.