Spring Break
Are all world religions true?
William Mulgrew
Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: Ed-Op
It's offensive, arrogant and narrow-minded, the relativists say, to claim that any one religion is true. Others go further and equate such exclusivity as religious chauvinism or spiritual dictatorship. When stripped to the core, all religions are equally valid and true, the claim goes. They all teach that we should be good people.
A common illustration used on campuses across the United States is the three blind men and the elephant. One blind man touches the elephant's leg and believes God is the likeness of a tree. Another blind man touches the trunk and thinks it's a rope, and the third touches the ear and thinks it's a fan. Since they touch the same thing, an elephant, they're all equally true.
Unfortunately for the relativists, the claim "all religions are true" is also an exclusive truth. You cannot say this unless you know the truth yourself. You cannot call the three men "blind" unless you can see. And you cannot say it is the same thing unless you see the elephant yourself.
They appropriated an exclusive truth to themselves and use it to pass judgment on those who don't fit their mold. So in the name of inclusiveness, the relativists claim they have a superior knowledge than the rest of us and are exclusive of the exclusivists, thereby becoming exclusive.
If they're capable of making exclusive truth, why can't others do the same? In short, they're guilty of their own charge of arrogance.
The relativists confuse themselves and the rest of us because they violate the Law of Noncontradiction. Something cannot be true and false at the same time. Either one religion is true, or none of them are true, but they all cannot be true simultaneously.
Atheism says there is no god. Monotheism says there is one god, finite or infinite. Polytheism says there is more than one finite god. They cannot all be true simultaneously.
Within monotheism, the worldviews could be broken down further. Finitism says there is one finite god who is immanent in the universe. Theism says there is one infinite god who is immanent in the universe. Deism says there is one infinite god who is not immanent in the universe. Pantheism says the material universe and everything in it is an impersonal god. Panentheism says that god and the universe are mutually dependent. They cannot all be true simultaneously.
A common illustration used on campuses across the United States is the three blind men and the elephant. One blind man touches the elephant's leg and believes God is the likeness of a tree. Another blind man touches the trunk and thinks it's a rope, and the third touches the ear and thinks it's a fan. Since they touch the same thing, an elephant, they're all equally true.
Unfortunately for the relativists, the claim "all religions are true" is also an exclusive truth. You cannot say this unless you know the truth yourself. You cannot call the three men "blind" unless you can see. And you cannot say it is the same thing unless you see the elephant yourself.
They appropriated an exclusive truth to themselves and use it to pass judgment on those who don't fit their mold. So in the name of inclusiveness, the relativists claim they have a superior knowledge than the rest of us and are exclusive of the exclusivists, thereby becoming exclusive.
If they're capable of making exclusive truth, why can't others do the same? In short, they're guilty of their own charge of arrogance.
The relativists confuse themselves and the rest of us because they violate the Law of Noncontradiction. Something cannot be true and false at the same time. Either one religion is true, or none of them are true, but they all cannot be true simultaneously.
Atheism says there is no god. Monotheism says there is one god, finite or infinite. Polytheism says there is more than one finite god. They cannot all be true simultaneously.
Within monotheism, the worldviews could be broken down further. Finitism says there is one finite god who is immanent in the universe. Theism says there is one infinite god who is immanent in the universe. Deism says there is one infinite god who is not immanent in the universe. Pantheism says the material universe and everything in it is an impersonal god. Panentheism says that god and the universe are mutually dependent. They cannot all be true simultaneously.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Rev Keith R. Wright United Deist Church President
posted 3/24/07 @ 12:18 AM EST
I can assure you that Deism is not dead. On the contrary, it is growing as a religion that intelligent, critically thinking people can honestly believe in. (Continued…)
Michael White
posted 3/31/07 @ 3:33 PM EST
Rev. Wright, I don't think Mr. Mulgrew here was trying to undermine Deism. He was merely stating, and rightly so, that compared to Judaism, Christianity & Islam - deism barely shows up as a speck on the radar. (Continued…)
Eric
posted 10/09/07 @ 5:50 PM EST
I understand your point on those individuals who show arrogance and chastise those who do follow a traditional religion. I do however feel that you have a misunderstanding as to what it means to say that all religions are true. (Continued…)
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