I sometimes wonder about this. There are so many religions out there; some lobbying to be the one and only true religion, others who are happy just being "closeted" religions that share space with members of another religion. Some religions are bent on converting as many people as possible, others respect a person's choice. Religions come and go, are born and die.
So, what of the possibility that given time all people will fall under one religion (excepting atheism)? Assuming that religion in general lives on?
I'm sure the Christians out there are thinking right now that I mean their religion, but I am not asking if every one will accept the Bible as their manual. It could be a religion that is made up as a conglomerate of all religions, or maybe a completely new one. It's happened before.
Imagine if we took some of the most popular religions today and melded them all into one belief; what would we end up with? What if someone were to successfully revive one of the now-dead religions, such as Greek Paganism? Or Roman Polytheism? It would be interesting to see if Jesus would become the son of Zeus and Hera.
It's not about religion. The thought of there becoming one religion, no matter what it be is not of the matter. Being a Christian, not specifying a denomination, I and my church belive that it is not about what religion or denomination you are. It is about the relationship, the relationship you have with God. Being a certain religion wont get you to Heaven, its having that real relationship with God that will get you into Heaven. So who cares if there becomes one religion, those who are Christians and who have the relaionship with God will not think twice about it.
Okay, but to some people it is about religion. And what if the one religion isn't Christianity or any sect of Christianity?
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"Dream as though you'll live forever, but live as though there's no tomorrow" --James Dean
http://www.progressiveu.org/user/fanaile-drupal-org
I don't think there ever will be one single religion (or that there ever should be one single religion) because every religion adds value by teaching us something new that the others simply cannot teach. Religion is a mass extension of faith and opinion... and even those of the same religion perceive things differently. We'd be far better served to remember that than to try and force our beliefs upon those of other faiths.
"We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us." -Marcel Proust
Oh I realize the value of differing religions, and I by no means meant to imply turning to one religion by way of force. But what's left for a new religion to teach us? There's Faith from Christianity, peace and accountability from Wicca, pursuit of wisdom and self-discipline from Buddhism, strength of will from Islam, balance from Hellenistic Polytheism, nature-loving and belonging with Transcendentalism... The list goes on.
Do you think there are lessons left for people to learn from a new religion? Is there no way to meld these differing values into one conglomerate?
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"Dream as though you'll live forever, but live as though there's no tomorrow" --James Dean
http://www.progressiveu.org/user/fanaile-drupal-org
Religion is man made! So- I'm sure there might be a hair brained idea in the future to melt all the religions into one. As for being a christian, you decide to live "christ-like". It's not about what church you attend or what denomination you decide to declare. Your true view should be on the one and only person that allows you the choice to choose your religion and that would be Jesus Christ. It's all about what goes on between you and him. As for Jesus becoming the son of Zeus....sorry he's already has a father.
Peace n Bike Grease~Sara
I don't think there will ever really be just one world religion. There will always be atheists, agnostics, and theists of varying stripes. Hell, you could even make the case that Christianity is a whole set of differing religions since every denomination seems to believe something different. There are still people who believe the earth is flat, there are still druids, there are still pagans, there are still tribal faiths, etc. I think there may be some attempt to create another religion in the future (see Scientology for a whacked-out attempt at this) but I think there will always be plenty of debate on the religious front as to who has the corner on absolute truth, only some of the competing belief systems might change.
at one point there will be one religion because Jesus will come back. I really think that there will be a mix with a belief in the devil and then Christianity because people will then realize where they really need to be in life
I am going to ignore all of the huge problems with the whole concept of rebirth because I don't feel like talking about it right now. Instead, I'm going to point out a little contradiction and then I'm going to ask a question.
According to christianity, the devil exists, so shhouldn't people beleive he exists. I assume that 'worship' would be what you're getting at.
Here's my question- What constitutes this category of devil followers?
I think that natrually, as time goes on, there would eventually become as many religions as there are people becuase everyone is different and is religious in a different way. People will always disagree over the minor things and schism. The only way for there to be one religion would be for it to be riddiculously general, such as the only tennents being "There is a higher being and part of our body survives death" which i think is pretty much universal, barring atheism/agnosticism
About "devil worship", I know of course that you do not mean Wicca, because they don't even believe in the devil. What do you mean?
Hmm... You got me confused, LOL, since I didn't mention "devil worship" or devils in general.
But if you meant to reply to Marabeth's comment, I believe she was talking about her belief that if there were going to be just one religion in the future, the one religion would be Christianity, which entails believing in the Devil?
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"Dream as though you'll live forever, but live as though there's no tomorrow" --James Dean
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/fanaile-essence
I don't think there will ever be one religion, though that is what God wants. He doesn't want so many different religions and sects of each religion. Just Christianity has so many different sects, yet God wants us to all worship him in one church so that we may be united. Will this ever happen? I highly doubt it.
I tend to think that there will always be different religions. Since religion is based on opinion and the unknown, each religion is a result of individual interpretation. I think that a person's culture highly influences his or her interpretation of spirituality, but still the end result depends on the individual. I do think religions will become more similar in the future, but struggle with the idea that one religion will ever prevail.