Reply #18: Sounds plausible and reasonable to me.

[ironbark]

“What if there is only one god, but that god reveals himself/herself in many different ways to touch the uniqueness within people.”

That’s pretty much the theory of ‘Progressive Revelation’ (evolution of religion) first proposed (as far as I know) by the founder of the Baha’i faith (1844) and since taken up by a dozen or more religious movements. The proposition is basically that there is a great global bedrock of native belief, a subsequent lineage of prophets, manifestations and teachers that constitute the worlds Major Living Faith traditions (if the belief/religion is dead/no followers it wasn’t from god). The theory goes much as you describe only the “revealing” occurs in different periods/places in accord with the unique needs of the time and place. Religious law is seen in this context as varying/social and unvarying/spiritual…ie not eating pork is a place specific social law….The Golden Rule is a continuous spiritual law.

“So what it boils down to is not the trappings that go with believing but what are the very basic
foundations of the belief. Love, compassion, tolerance, help towards others.”

I’ve got no argument with that ;-)

Only problem is…this ‘Love thy neighbour’ business is getting tricky and complex…turns out that to actually love them requires getting to know them, what to “tolerate” and what “help” might be required. Also turns out that my neighbour, with my life/style impacting on him and his impacting on me, lives on the other side of the planet.

Who is leaving the big dirty carbon footprint is more complex than “Can I borrow your donkey”.

;-)


Glad you took the time to "throw it out there"