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by sierra_ann on August 23rd, 2006

sierra_ann

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What is the justification for the belief that all paths lead to the same God? Wouldn't the teachings of each way contradict the others?

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  • by AntigoneRising on October 3rd, 2006

    AntigoneRising

    The justification that all paths lead to the same ultimate Deity is based upon the knowledge that, as humans, our perception is limited and we can only understand a finite amount of what is Deity/Divine. The idea is that each culture has perceived, recorded, and developed ideas about certain portions of this ultimate Deity, and those portions are not the same.

    This story of the six blind men and the elephant is a good analogy:

    Once upon a time there were six blind men. They lived in a town in India. They thought they were very clever. One day an elephant came into the town. The blind men did not know what an elephant looked like but they could smell it and they could hear it. "What is this animal like?" they said. Each man touched a different part of the elephant. The first man touched the elephant's body. It felt hard, big and wide. "An elephant is like a wall," he said. The second man touched one of the elephant's tusks. It felt smooth and hard and sharp. "An elephant is like a spear," he said. The third man touched the elephant's trunk. It felt long and thin and wiggly. "An elephant is like a snake," he said. The fourth man touched on of the legs. It felt thick and rough and hard and round. "An elephant is like a tree," he said. The fifth man touched one of the elephant's ears. It felt thin and it moved. "An elephant is like a fan," he said. The sixth man touched the elephant's tail. It felt long and thin and strong. "An elephant is like a rope," he said. The men argued. It's like a wall! No, it isn't! It's like a spear! No it isn't! It's like a snake! They did not agree. The king had been watching and listening to the men. "You are not very clever. You only touched part of the elephant. You did not feel the whole animal. An elephant is not like a wall or a spear or a snake, or a tree or a fan of a rope." The men left the town still arguing. A little girl heard them and said, "Each of you is right but you are all wrong...but I know what you are talking about."


    http://www.britishcouncil.org/blind.pdf

    ***********************************************
    Edit:
    I didn't say that they were all 100% right. I have no idea where you see me use the word "right" or any of its synonyms such as "correct." I don't think ANY religion is. Any religion that claims to know 100% the nature and thoughts of Deity is full of nutters. The question asks the justification for believing in multiple paths.

    Comments

    • Ah, but in this case, they "can't" all be right, but they can all be wrong. So, I'm sorry, but this is a bad analagy in my opinion. But nice try anyway..

      Castrate

      by Castrate on October 6th, 2006

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