Hitler

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So you have no beliefs about God and the Bible that are non-negotiable? Are you open to the idea of other religions apart from Christianity being true?

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So do you believe it is impossible for anyone's beliefs to be objectively true, except of course for this particular belief?

Originally posted by FMF
You are surely able to imagine that divegeester doesn't actually believe that Muslims and Hindus and Jews, for example, think that his Christian views are "universally true", right? He may contend that his belief in Christ is "true" but do you really think he believes that this "truth" he perceives about Christ is "universally true" in so far as people who believe other things to be "true" agree that his views are "true"?

It seems you have misunderstood what I have meant by 'universal truth'. A universal truth is true regardless of what other people believe about it. No rational person will argue against the existence of universal truth because if you were to say 'no universal truth exists' you would be making a self defeating statement because it could only really be true if it were in fact a universal truth.

Originally posted by FMF
What effect on the religious beliefs of Muslims and Hindus and Jews (and reality generally) do you think divegeester declaring his religious views to "universally true" would have?

What actual or practical effect do you think you declaring your own personal views to be "universally true" has on discourse between you and people with differing views?

All religions are mutually exclusive by nature. They logically can't all be true since they all make contradictory claims. Either one of the religions is true and the rest are false or they are all false.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
All religions are mutually exclusive by nature. They logically can't all be true since they all make contradictory claims. Either one of the religions is true and the rest are false or they are all false.

Nonsense.

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Nonsense.

It is not nonsense.

Christians say Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.
Orthodox Jews (at least now) say Jesus is NOT the Jewish Messiah.

Either the Christians are wrong and the Orthodox Jews are right.
Or the orthodox Jews are wrong and the Christians are right.

Now theoretically they could both be wrong.
But under no circumstances could they both be right.

I do not have to be a expert on ALL faiths in the world to realize that for the most part they cannot ALL be telling the truth.

Now there may be some aspects of the truth that are held by different faiths.

Moslems - "There is only one God"
Orthodox Jews - 'Yes there is only one God."
Christians - 'There is only one God."
Bahai's - "There is afterall only ONE God."

In this matter of the truth, they could all be right.
But this could not apply to every aspect of what Jews, Moslems, Christians, and Bahai's teach.

Buddhists may say that the world is an illusion.
And this may sound in some respects like the Bible which says (without the Savior) everything is "vanity of vanities" (Ecclesiastes).

In this aspect of the truth they may share correctness. What is seen is missing something which makes it REAL. And without the Lord and Savior Christ it is all vanity and meaningless.

But they cannot both be true in other central claims.
And you do not have to go study 1,000 world religions to make sure this is the case.
They cannot all be through and through true and the same.

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Nonsense.

I would love to meet a Christian Muslim. Or maybe you can introduce me to one of your Hindu Jew friends?

Originally posted by sonship
It is not nonsense.

Christians say Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.
Orthodox Jews (at least now) say Jesus is NOT the Jewish Messiah.

Either the Christians are wrong and the Orthodox Jews are right.
Or the orthodox Jews are wrong and the Christians are right.

Now theoretically they could both be wrong.
But under no circumstances could they both be ri ...[text shortened]... gions to make sure this is the case.
They cannot all be through and through true and the same.

Perhaps they all glimpse part of the same truth and it is merely arrogance and shortsightedness of any one religion to believe they alone have all the answers.

And I really do think you should take time to understand other religions more. You don't need to be an expert in other faiths, but it would prevent the perpetuation of personal misunderstandings and possibly the stunting of your religious journey..

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
I would love to meet a Christian Muslim. Or maybe you can introduce me to one of your Hindu Jew friends?

As always you miss the point, so simply make up one of your own.

Religions are fragmented because human beings are fragmented. This fragmentation results in the fragmentation of knowledge. If God does exist then it is most probable that different cultures and faiths have small pieces of this knowledge, some of it shared. There will also be untruths across all faiths, including your own. To dismiss all other religions and hold your own up as infallible and the whole truth is to the detriment of your own faith and most probably prevents you from fully understanding the thing you most want to understand.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
All religions are mutually exclusive by nature. They logically can't all be true since they all make contradictory claims. Either one of the religions is true and the rest are false or they are all false.

You could use some beginning courses on logic and critical thinking.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
A universal moral law exists that transcends our opinions and is objectively true regardless of anyone's particular beliefs.

I am not interested in your incessant claims that your beliefs constitute a "universal moral law [...] that transcends" my beliefs.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
A universal truth is true regardless of what other people believe about it.

I don't care if you keep declaring over and over and over again that what you believe is true "regardless of what other people believe about it".

Originally posted by BigDoggProblem
You could use some beginning courses on logic and critical thinking.

Should I attend one of your logic classes where they teach that two contradictory claims can both be true?