h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Since everyone has had lots of comments and opinions and beliefs stated, I thought I would just put in this fairly simple "checklist" (based on the Bible) to identify the TRUE religion.

How can a person know which religion is right?

#1---ON WHAT ARE ITS TEACHINGS BASED? Are they from God, or are they largely from man? (2 Timothy 3:16; Mark 7:7) Where does the Bible teach that God is a Trinity? Where does it say that the human soul is immortal?

#2---CONSIDER WHETHER IT IS MAKING KNOWN THE NAME OF GOD. Jesus said in prayer to God: "I have made your name manifest to the men you gave me out of the world." (John 17:6) He declared: "It is to Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service." (Matt.4:10) Has your religion taught you that 'it is Jehovah you must worship'? Have you come to know the Person identified by that name--his purposes, his activities, his qualities---so that you feel you can confidently draw close to him?

#3---IS TRUE FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST BEING DEMONSTRATED? This involves appreciation of the value of the sacrifice of Jesus' human life and of his position today as heavenly King. (John 3:36; Ps.2:6-8) Such appreciation is shown by obeying Jesus---sharing personally ans zealously in the work that he assigned to his followers. True religion has such faith that is accompanied by works.--James 2:26

#4---IS IT LARGELY RITUALISTIC, A FORMALITY, OR IS IT A WAY OF LIFE? God strongly disapproves of religion that is merely a formalism. (Isaiah 1:15-17) True religion upholds the Bible's standard of morality and clean speech instead of weakly going along with popular trends. (1 Cor.5:9-13 Eph.5:3-5) Its members reflect the fruits of God's spirit in their lives. (Gal. 5:22,23) So, those who adhere to true worship can be identified because they sincerely endeavor to apply Bible standards in their lives not only at their places of meeting but in their family life, at their secular work, in school, and in recreation.

#5--DO ITS MEMBERS TRULY LOVE ONE ANOTHER? Jesus said: "By this all will know that you are my desciples, if you have LOVE among yourselves." (John 13:35) Such loves reaches across racial, social, and national boundaries, drawing people together in genuine brotherhood. So strong is this love that it SETS THEM APART as being truly different.
When the nations go to war, WHO have enough love for their Christian brothers in other lands that they REFUSE to take up arms and kill them? That is what early Christians did.

#6---IS IT TRULY SEPARATE FROM THE WORLD? Jesus said that his true followers would be "no part of the world." (John 15:19) To worship God in a manner that he apporves requires that we keep ourselves "without spot from this world." (James 1:27) CAN THAT BE SAID OF THOSE WHOSE CLERGY AND OTHER MEMBERS ARE INVOLVED IN POLITICS, or whose lives are largely built around materialistic and fleshly desires? (1 John 2:15-17)

#7---ARE ITS MEMBERS ACTIVE WITNESSES CONCERNING GOD'S KINGDOM? Jesus foretold: "This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." (Matthew 24:14) What religion in really proclaiming God's Kingdom as the hope of mankind instead of encouraging people to look to human rulership to solve their problems? Has YOUR religion equipped you to share in this activity, and to it from house to house as Jesus taught his apostles to do? (Matthew 10:7, 11-13 Acts 5:42 Acts 20:20)

Could you please write something/anything on your 'My Space' by using the 'Edit page' button?

That will create a 'Discuss' button, that will make it possible for people to contact you - and I know there are persons just waiting to welcome you to h2g2... !

Hello 165120.

Thank you for your knowledge of the TRUE word of GOD in your posting. I was brought up in a religion that taught half truths. Much of it was man made traditional beliefs and not from the WORD OF GOD. Although they would preach out of the WORD, there were far too many additional rules mixed with lies that that particular religion was enforcing. Even as a child, I felt like something wasn't right. I know now that it was my discerning of spirits gift kicking in. My spirit was literally starving for FULL GOSPEL preaching not half gospel half man made traditional preaching or out right lies.

Unfortunately, the walls that the enemy has built in some peoples minds is so thick that they can't recognize when they are being brainwashed with lies. I wish these people would research the WORD OF GOD for themselves. The Strong's Concordiance is very helpful when thoroughly researching the literal greek meaning's of words.

We just need to keep on interceding for these people that are being misled straight to hell.

Wow! You do have a lot of questions


>How can a person know which religion is right?<
answer:
You must look for the four marks of the True Church. The Church must be one, holy,catholic, and apostolic.

The Church is One:
Jesus established only one Church, not a collection of differing churches (Lutheran, Baptist,Angilican,and so on). The Bible says the Church is the bride of Christ (Eph.5:23-32) Jesus can have but one spouse, and his spouse is the Catholic Church.
*Post script to the above: Remember the Convenants in the Old Testament between God and Adam and Eve,Noah,Abraham,Moses etc.God keeps his Convenants (NOT CONTRACTS that can be broken.)Jesus,Second person in the Trinity made a Convenant with His Church.(Mt16:18-19) I might add the Catholic Church is OLDER than the New Testament.*

Let me continue before my post script.
His Church also teaches just one set of doctrines, which must be the same as those taught by the apostles (Jude 3). This is the UNITY of belief to which Scripture calls us (Phil.1:27,2:2)
Although some Catholics dissent from officially-taught doctrines.The Church's official teachers-the pope and the bishops united with him have never changed any doctrine. Over the centuries, as doctrines are examined more fully, the Church comes to understand them more deeply (John 16:12-13) but it never understands them to mean the opposite of what they once meant.

The Church is Holy:
By his grace Jesus makes the Church holy, just as he is holy. This doesn't mean that each member is always holy. Jesus said there would be both good and bad memebers in the Church (John 6:70), and not all the members would go to heaven (Matt. 7:21-23). But the Church itself is holy because it is the source of holiness and is the guardian of the special means of grace Jesus established, the sacraments.(Eph.5:25-27, Rev.19:7-8)

The Church is Catholic:
Jesus' Church is called catholic ("universal" in Greek) because it is his gift to all people. He told his apostles to go throughout the world and make disciples of "all nations" (Matt.28:19-20).
For 2,000 years the Catholic Church has carried out this mission, preaching the good news that Christ died for all men and that he wants all of us to be members of his universal family (Gal.3:28)
Nowadays the Catholic Church is found in every country of the world and is still sending out missionaries to "make disciples of all nations" (Matt. 28:19). The Church Jesus established was known by its most common title, "the Catholic Church," at least as early as the year 107, when Ignatius of Antioch used that title to describe the one Church Jesus founded. The title apparently was old in Ignatius's time, which means it probably went all the way back to the time of the apostles.

The Church is Apostolic:
The Church Jesus founded is apostolic because he appointed the apostles to be the first leaders of the Church, and their successors were to be its future leaders. The apostles were the first bishops, and, since the first century, there has been an unbroken line of Catholic bishops faithfully handing on what the apostles taught the first Christians in Scripture and oral Tradition (2Tim2:2)
These beliefs include the bodily Resurrection of Jesus, the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the sacrificial nature of the Mass, the forgiveness of sins through a priest, baptismal regeneration, the existence of purgatory, Mary's special role, and much more -even the doctrine of apostolic succession itself.
Early Church Fathers writings prove the first Christians were thoroughly Catholic in belief and practice and looked to the successors of the apostles as their leaders. What these first Christians believed is still believed by the Catholic Church. No other Church can make that claim.

question:
What is the Pillar and Foundation of Truth?

Peace be with you.
TAB

Ok, see, there's one bit of an interesting thing you guys keep forgetting: if one isn't a Christian, then how are they to choose the true religion? A Muslim believes the same things about his religion that Christians believe theirs: theirs is the only true faith and all others are going to hell (well, at least NOT going to heaven).

The first question ased is How Do You Know The True Religion? Well, I personally believe that Christ is the only way to God, but I hope, for 5/6 of th world's population that there is SOME truth in their doctrines, elsewhise, most of them are going to hell. But if I looked at a Shi'ite Muslim site about the "true Religion," their answers would differ. They would say that only the true followers of Allah will go to Paradise, that heathen should not be tolerated beyond aquaintance and that the practices must be observed to a T. All other religions are false.

Mormons believe that true Christianity (aside from their own branch) has been bastardized since soon after the last of Jesus' apostles. To them, most of your Catholic ranting is hogwash and my Lutheran stance is impure. But hey, it takes one to know one, eh?

Personally, I think that the Bible is correct when it says you should only worship with like-believing individuals. I'm a WELS Lutheran (don't ask, it's the Lutheran alphabet soup. The only thing that makes any difference is that we AREN'T middlin' run-of-the-mill, mainstream Lutherans. We're much more conservative.), and we are in fellowship with the ELS, and them only. They teach and believe what we do, and vice versa. But we practice close communion, and prefer to keep to ourselves when in church. We DO evangelize, as well.

But we don't hold to Catholic teachings. Wouldn't it be better if we had a disagreemnet, but agreed to disagree? It takes a lot of tension out of the church and creates a more loving, close atmosphere. Churches should be filled with people you trust. <--Note that in this paragraph and the previous, I was talking about a small congregation, not the complete body of believers.

Now, we say the Apostles' Creed, and in the ELS, we say "One holy catholic church," but that doesn't mean what most people believe it does: it means simply that we believe in one family, the church is a whole, encompassing all believers, and that there is only ONE CHURCH. Catholic in it's original meaning, you see. Catholic means "one church" or "universal." I don't have to be a Roman Catholic (there's a reason for the Roman) to be a catholic Christian. Please don't say we aren't true to Christ, because we aren't under the Pope.

Shanana

"#1---ON WHAT ARE ITS TEACHINGS BASED? Are they from God, or are they largely from man? (2 Timothy 3:16; Mark 7:7)."

The Bible is the Word of God. It is a matter of faith that God spoke to men.

"Where does the Bible teach that God is a Trinity?"

The Bible teaches that there is only one God, then how can the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be God? They cannot be separate entities otherwise there is more than one God and Christians would be guilty of polytheism. The trinity was a post-Reformation attempt to explain the inconsistency to nonbelievers who accused them of polytheism.

"Where does it say that the human soul is immortal?" Some theologians argue the case for the immortal soul from the scriptures that say that those who reject Christ as Lord will be cast into Hell and tormented forever. (I'm not saying I agree with this line of argument, just citing.)

Q. How do we know the Book of Mormonism is'nt a work of fiction?

Q. Jesus rose from the dead authenticating the Scriptures that would later become the Bible, did the founder of Mormonism rise from the dead authenticating the words given him by the Angel Moroni? When it comes to eternal life who are you going to trust, the living Jesus who is alive and at the right hand of God, or the founder of Mormonism who is...well, who knows?

True Christianity isn't a sect or creed, it is this, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might; and to love your neighbor as yourself. And, to make Jesus Christ your Lord and accept him as your savior.

who are all of you to say what is TRUE and what isnt? The bible is NOT necessarily TRUE. End of story. I have a love hate relationship with religion because it is facinating and terrifying the way people follow it. But who are you to say what the ultimate truth is? I dont care if God or a prophet or anyone gave you this supposedly holy and rgith text, that does not make it the ultimate trueth. nothing is for sure, so open your mind a litttle or you are gonna miss out on the world. because you may be wrong, and then when you die you will have wasted everything on a nothing. keep that in mind no matter how sure oyu think you are, you may be wrong.

Does it really matter what the "true" religion is. If God is out there is He really going to ignore your prayers and problems just because you go to the wrong place of worship (or no place of worship). If we are all His children and He cares for each and every one of us why sould it matter what we call ourselves? The question of "True" religion or "true" faith has killed millions of people over the lifetime of humanity and it shouldn't be like that. They all have valid points and IMO none of them are "true", ie, just because you belong to one, doesn't mean that God is going to love you any more or any less.

Witness. Why don't you run into the confines of your precious 'watchtower,' eh? Sorry...I just get tired of preaching hidden as 'discussion.'

How can you say that One religion is right?
I mean, people keep on putting down Satan, but when is the last time we heard his side?
And you have to ask yourself, who are you really worshipping?
Jesus Christ was either a very beautiful, brilliant man, or a horrible conniviing b*****d. Either he incited nations to war, or held them all at peace.
Believers in God these day's kill each other out of trite for very small differences in belief. The reason why the christian's didnt kill each other in those days, is that people tend to Band together when your being prosecuted by everyone else.

Nothing is right, nothing is wrong.

Everything weve seen, or will see, is but a dream within a dream.

How can you say that One religion is right?
I mean, people keep on putting down Satan, but when is the last time we heard his side?
And you have to ask yourself, who are you really worshipping?
Jesus Christ was either a very beautiful, brilliant man, or a horrible conniviing b*****d. Either he incited nations to war, or held them all at peace.
Believers in God these day's kill each other out of trite for very small differences in belief. The reason why the christian's didnt kill each other in those days, is that people tend to Band together when your being prosecuted by everyone else.

Nothing is right, nothing is wrong.

Everything weve seen, or will see, is but a dream within a dream.

Like nearly all of us - your actual religion is most probably an inheritance from your parents. Hating other people, or assuming that they are wrong (evil?) because their parents were taught something different is something that most of us would reject very strongly.

The most important things about religion are the things they have in common. The real differences between religions are mostly either utterly inconsequential, or else honest mistakes (for which our Heavenly Father is, I suspect, quite prepared to forgive us).

I believe there is one GOD. Different faiths may have all kinds of name for HIM, and believe all kinds of things about HIM. Some, perhaps all, of these different beliefs may have some kind or degree of truth in them, but they are all short of the absolute truth about GOD because that is beyond our comprehension. If HE were not HE would hardly be worth worth our worship.

I believe that GOD wants us to try to be better people - and to treat other people as we would like them to treat us. All religions teach something like this.

If you believe these two things then I think GOD will forgive you for being a Mormon, in fact I doubt if he seriously cares one way or the other - even if, as has been objectively been proven many times, Joseph Smith and Bringham Young WERE basically lying rogues, and the Book of Mormon IS a meaningless mixture of quotes from the Bible, Shakepeare etc. combined with a synopsis of a novel published in the 1820s. (To summarise the real case for "anti-mormonism").

As you bring up Shakespeare it reminds me of my English Literature 'O'Level.

Here is one for you : Compare and contrast the passages in the Book of Mormon that are supposed extracts from the Bible.

Interesting.



Strangely enough, I can't remember the last time I saw a catholic preaching!

When I think of the ways the Catholic Church has done this at all, the things that come to mind are things like forced conversions, and altering the Bible to fit the beliefs and wishes of those they are trying to convert (This is how the trinity and immortal soul doctrines came about). Hardly seems to match the way Jesus or his disciples did it.

But as the Catholic church is the largest christian denomination they have been more than successful in spreading god's word, they don't perhaps need streetcorner ranting preachers. I myself drifted into a catholic chapel and enjoyed the experience, whereas a fire and brimstone preacher would have put me off.

As for following what Jesus did: give away all your money and possessions. THATS what Jesus did.

Yes, the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition did have some effect.

What if the bible is a work of fiction? Faith is all you have.Be happy you have it. Please refrain from preaching verses from a book that YOU have chosen to believe.Leave others to practice their faith in their way.
--JackAlias

From the Articles of Faith:

11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own cconscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

Interesting that this thread is on h2g2, founded by DNA, who was an atheist. One that could make a very clear point as to why he was one and why there was in his opinion (well based in earthy fact "science") there was simply NO GOD.

Just a thought for the disrespecting