Would you agree that religions are merely theories? And the Bible, Qur'an, Torah, etc. just show hypotheses of these religions that pressumably have been observed (yet we haven't observed them with our own eyes yet)?

Are you looking for trouble?

I'm looking for a discussion.

Good luck with that.

Yeah... I figured this probably isn't the best place for a proper discussion...

I think it's the Hindus who have an interesting metaphor for this.

Everyone is blindfolded & are feeling a dfferent part of an elephant. Whilst the person feeling the trunk will think the creature is very different from the person feeling the ear, they are feeling the same animal. Every major religion sees things their own way, but all are grasping at the same core truth.

I'm an atheist, but I think this kind of thinking is helpful.

& yes, I realise the potential for jokes about certain parts of the elephant's anatomy.

Let's hope this one doesn't end up going the way of the "what religion are you?" thread.

There's a great presumption there that every religion shares a relevance to the Truth with all other religions. I don't it's really a generalisation you can make.

If you're an atheist, you probably have a cynical view of religion as being created to unify and control people, and that's the only commonality they share. If you subscribe to a religion, you probably think all the other religions are wrong. What's more, since you don't think they come from God, you think that the people who started those other religions were con-men who weren't interested in the Truth, but instead in wealth and power, so they lied to people that God was speaking to them and people must obey what they say or they won't get into heaven, thereby leading people astray.

Either way, if you're an atheist or a member of some religion, chances are you'd agree that at least some religions were started by individuals who lied because they were crazy, greedy, or had a lust for power, and so not all religions were created with the goal of reaching for the Truth, but more along the lines of reaching into their followers' pockets.

I agree entirely with CowLaunch.

I'm not presuming anything. I'm just saying that I would prefer it if religious thought was along these lines rather than simpy stating that every other religion is wrong. I'm an atheist, but if people are going to be religious I'd prefer it if they would do it in this way.

I any case most of the major religions do have quite similar values, regardless of how well they are actually practised. Most come down to the idea you should be nice to people.

"Most". That's quite different from "every" and "all", which as I said, are great presumptions.

Some religions out there are false; they're merely the personal moral compasses of men who lived in such-and-such century and were motivated by desire for power, greed, insanity, or lust, preserved for all-time. Religions then, as a whole, have no more of a bearing on the "core truth" than any random person's moral attitudes and opinions.

I agree with Cow. And as long as you don't believe in scientology, you're fine by me. Those guys aren't even allowed to talk to people who aren't scientologists too.

@Shadx: um, that's not true at all. You're probably thinking of shunning, which is the act of refusing to speak to/worship with/live near apostates, and practiced by Amish, Mennonites, and Jehovah's Witnesses, and some various other Christian sects. Other religions just prefer to kill apostates.

N64 Gamer. I'd refrain from using scientific jargon (theory and hypothesis) to discuss religion. Religion is system of belief that there is something greater than us out there. A "first cause" so to speak. Those who are religious have faith, a hope, that they are correct to put stock into this "first cause". There are a few ways this can manifest (primarily deism or theism).

All I know about religion is that 99% of the time a person's religion will mirror that of their parents or their nation. So that's why I think few people can "truly" be objective in religious debates.

From my point of view religion is the deadliest weapon mankind has ever created.

I wasn't saying that 'every' religion has a core of truth to it, nor was I saying that religion is needed to find truth, I was just explaining what the metaphor means. I don't really agree with the metaphor or religion generally, but I feel that open minded thinking of that type is better than insisting that your particular ideology has a monopoly on truth.

I also didn't say 'every' religion, I said 'every major religion'.

@The_Question. Not theories...just utter BS.IMO of course

Cripes, just as i thought 'the other religious thread' had been removed from my temptation, I am faced with another challenge.

don't say anything Machu!!! 0_o

Oh go on,please