One true faith OR a just and merciful god

Post Reply New Topic

Many religions claim to be the one and only true religion and the only path to salvation. Believe anything else, and eternal damnation will be yours. Many of the same religions also claim to worship a just and merciful god. The two claims can only be compatible if there is a rational way of identifying the one true faith.

If there is one true faith but no rational way to identify it, then God is a trickster with a nasty sense of humour, and we're all in trouble whatever we do.

If God is just or perhaps even merciful, and has not provided a rational way to identify the only way to salvation, then there can't be just one true faith. A bit more religious tolerance would be a good idea for those who want to look good on judgment day, or whatever the equivalent is in their faith.

I think there are several people here who believe both in a just god and that there is only a single path to salvation. Can you
a) demonstrate a rational method to identify the one path to salvation
b) show that a god can be just if he demands adherence to one faith without showing a rational way to identify that faith
c) show a flaw in my reasoning?

I don't accept personal conversations with a deity as a rational method to identify a single true faith unless that deity speaks to everyone and provides proof of identity that stands up to rational scrutiny. I don't claim that personal revelation is always wrong, only that if the only information is conflicting revelations for just a few, then there is no rational choice.

The poll doesn't have all possible combinations, but I think it has the ones that make sense when looking at the logical consistency of claims of just one path to eternal salvation.

I clicked on the wrong one.

I do not believe that there is only one god out there. Either there are many, or none. I also consider omnipotence and omniscience to be absurd.

I do not think that Jesus actually "saved" anyone, and am disgusted by the concepts of substitutionary atonement and Original Sin.

And there is no one "true faith".

I don't believe that there is only one path to a higher plane, or the 'next life' as you could put it. I believe in reincarnation, as well as the possibility that after death, my 'soul' could travel to a higher plane (not necessarily heaven, because heaven exists here on earth); also, I don't believe in hell or Satan, so I cannot be damned for not believing in Jehovah or whatever. To me, Jesus was a great man, but no son of god, and the bible is only folklore.

In a far off galaxy.... Oops, wrong story; that was Star Wars.

Surprise surprise. In a forum dominated by
atheists, all but the default option mention
God, presumably as some singular creator
(even excluding the pantheists among us).
And gee, "I believe something else" comes
out WAY on top.

IF I believed, 'twould be an unjust God, and
no single true faith.

You are welcome to read it in the plural. It doesn't change my argument.



That option is not relevant to what I would like to know, and is there only for the sake of completeness.

My intention was to get comments from those who believe in a just god and that there is a single true faith. I think these two beliefs can only be logically consistent if there is a rational way to identify that faith. I have never heard of a rational method of identifying the one true faith, but about half the population of the planet believes in a just god who insists on being worshipped in just one specific way and that anyone who doesn't is in trouble. So either I missed the rational method, or lots of people believe something that is logically inconsistent, or my argument is flawed. I am open to all these possibilities. If people believe something that is logically inconsistent, I would like to understand why. None of the people who voted for one of the first two options have yet written anything, so I have no new information.



That would be a logically consistent belief. An unjust god might do anything, including permitting multiple faiths. But I don't know whether it would help living according to one of the thrue faiths if god is unjust (turn into plural as appropriate).

I don't think there is one true faith and therefore only one way to reach heaven. It always amuses me when a christian group says they are the chosen ones but that all other christian denominations are wrong and not going to be saved. I don't think anyone can know for sure if they are saved either.

Hear, hear. No one can take responsibility for my actions, no matter how much they supposedly 'love' me. Or how much I 'love' them.

Nor am I responsible for the sins of my parents, or my great-great-grandparents.

The only ones responsible for the original sin are the original sinners in the first place. Everybody is responsible for their OWN actions, not those of others. If some people can't see that, then maybe they should stop smoking whatever it is they are on. Sad, but true.

So far only people have posted who have worked out something that I can see to be logically consistent. I was hoping to hear from those who believe in a just god (or gods), and a single true faith which is the only path to salvation. Christianity and Islam make both claims, and probably a lot of other religions do the same. I don't understand how the two claims can both be true, unless there is a rational method to identify the one true faith. If there were a method to do that, the people in the know would have a moral obligation to share it. But I either hear that faith is beyond reason, or people tell me arguments I consider clearly invalid.

That leaves me with the impression that lots of people believe in a just and merciful god who condemns everyone to eternal torment unless they believe in the one true faith, but he (she/it/they) doesn't offer a method to find out what that faith is, except (allegedly) for personal communication, which only a select few are offered. How can anyone believe this is just and merciful? I really would like to understand.

If there is no rational way to identify the one true faith (if it exists), and if I have no mistake in my reasoning, there are only two logically consistent options for a religious faith when it comes to justice and the path to salvation: You can believe in a just and merciful god if you give up the notion of a one true faith. Or you can believe in a one true faith if you give up the notion of a just and merciful god.

I think the second option is contradictory to itself. A just God wouldn't impose a "one true faith" with no means of identifying that faith as the true one.

Anyway, "one true faith" is complete BS. Even if God exists, religion is a human construct. Why would an all-powerful being care if people decide to call him God, Mahavishnu, or Ra? Only a human would put so much emphasis on such a trivial thing.

Well....yeh, that's why I think God was created by Man in the latter's image.