how can any one religion make a valid claim to be the fundamental truth?

Well you just judged a whole bunch of people. Maybe people that are doing the work of God. I will admit that I personally do not agree with what some of these TV shows are doing, we do not see the whole picture. They are broadcasting around the world, and letting people know about the gospel of Jesus Christ.Some of the people that appear on that program, to me, are filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and preach an awesome message. Although Jesus asks us to drop everything and follow him, this is not the only way to follow him. In order to follow him and spread the gospel, other things are needed. I get pissed looking at those gold chairs sometines too. But they do an aweful lot of other good.

I feel your pain to want to know the truth, about the truth, and the truth itself.I am going to let you off the hook. The truth lies within yourself. Seek and ye shall find it. Pray to God, he will give you the answers. Listen when you pray also. Listen to your thoughts. God is love, truth is love.As far as other religions go, its just all to far judgmental for me. Who am I to judge other religions? Isn't religion made by man, and run by man? Look at wmscott's message. What was he trying to tell you? What was the underlying message in his long drawn out statement? He wants you to come to his religion, that's it. No message about salvation, no message that you could use to make your personal relationship with God a reality, or a closer one if you have one already.Look at a musslim, a Hindu, how the heck did all these religions sprout up? If one never gets a chance to learn about the true gospel of Jesus, does it matter for him? Will God send him to hell because he never knew? I would like to think not, but in the long run it is up to God, for only he knows your true heart.The devil is a liar, never forget that. He can only imitate what is real. He has no real power, he is only good at decieving. Since he has been around for so long, he has the opportunity to make the deception run deep. How? By building up all these religions through deception of God's holy word. By changing the meaning of words over the course of thousands of years. Even shifting language dialect to make things incomprehensible. The more we learn, the easier it is to be decieved. Sound wierd? I am not putting down knowledge at all, but have you ever heard the expression "the more you learn, the less you know"? There is truth in that statement. All this is a covering of deception thrown over the truth we all so desperatly seek. Lord I pray right now that he who seeks the truth shall find it, That he would see the light, and it would be you shining bright within his soul, That he would come to know you in his own personal way and have intimacy with you, in Jesus's name Amen.

There is no truth in religion.
The one and only truth comes from God, and he communicates this through his Holy Spirit that dwells inside all of us. You will be a witness to Jesus. If Jesus is the son of God, and God is truth, then you shall be a witness to the truth. This will come from withinside you.This is not directed towards you jar specifically.

This is awesome, I knew in my heart that you have pain in seeking the truth. I will kind of step out of my "religious" box here for a moment, and go with the premise "if there was a God".WM Scott's preaching post was a preaching of a religion, not a truth. It was so scary cult like. In other words if you aren't a Jehovah, you aren't going to heaven type of thing.My message, was from Christian stand point, but not of any specific Christian religion. As a matter of fact I hate the word religion.Answer a few questions here, start them with If there was a God:
1: Would he want us to judge others?
2: Would he want us to love others, as we love our self?
3: If he gave us earth, would he want us to take care of it?
4: Would he want us to love him, as he loves us?
5: Would he want us to worship the creator, or the creation?
6: Would we bear the sins of our fore-fathers? (think about this one, even scientifically if you have to)
7: Would God want you to kill people in his name?
8: Would God promise you 40 virgins for suicide bombing a bunch of innocent people? (sorry I couldn't resist that one, it was wrong of me)You should know the answers to these questions, as the answer lies within your own heart. Thats not what I meant. I meant it as, I am ignorant to those other religions, for the most part, and who am I to judge. A musslim just might have a higher resting place than me in heaven for all I know. I don't concern myself with that, but it is my desire to eventually study all those other religions. The way I see it is, the truth only has domain over itself. Nothing has domain over the truth. There is truth in all the religions, but it is not the same as the truth that lies within you. Everything else is from man.I can't sit here and tell you why one belief is the correct one or not, I am not qualified. I can only share with you what I know, you will have to decide for yourself. If you keep seeking God, you will find him, and one day he will speak directly into your heart, and you will know him. The things that God asks of us are not to be feared. That fear is a lie of the devil. When God speaks to your heart, you will desire the things that God asks of us, and it will please you and God.This is what Jesus does, he tries to teach us of all the deceptions so that we might come to know the truth. Jesus also said that many are called, but few are choosen. (Or few choose once they are called)Keep seeking the truth.

One other thing I feel to mention to you.
You said: The feeling I get from this statement is that you regard your decsion as if it is the most important thing in the world, and weight of the world rests on that decsion. Well it does, you are that important.

And more, because he wants us to love ourselves and others as he loves us. There is nothing petty and small as loving each other or God. It is the grandest thing in life to be loved, truely loved by someone. The gift of love that we can give each other far exceeds anything else in this universe. Its not small minded and needy to be reconized for what you do. It edifies you.
But the question was, would he prefer us to worship him or the creation, not if we would worship at all. Well your going to have to prove that one, because it happens, and it is very obvious to me why. If you would like I can start another topic on that one. Well actually he did. It was a bit judging maybe, thats why I felt it was wrong. But not really, I don't know. I wanted to know others opinions. I am not afraid of who I am. I do not represent who God is good enough, I am human and commit sin. I try real hard though, thank God for forgiveness.

Where does your truth come from? Is it from your mind (which is your soul) or does it come from your spirit? This question is a difficult one to answer. I know with all my heart mind and soul that God exists, but if it was ever proven that He doesn't, then I would have to accept it. It probably would devastate me, but I am a realist, and refuse to live in a lie.

Prove that it doesn't happen. Science will obviously confirm that sin is inherent. If you would like we can start another topic.

Hence the "if".
I have no idea how, but just answering the question proposed to me.

Combine that with everything that was inherent in you, and that makes up your soul. It's who you are. Your spirit isn't cluttered by all that stuff, but it is sleeping right now. As your spirit wakes, and starts to take over your body, your sould will have less to do with how you see things, and it will change your desires in life.When your spirit wakes, through Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit, you become a new creation in God's eyes, and then you are "born again" Thats where that saying comes from. Its not a label that you give yourself, but something that actually happens to you. After that, it is still up to you to stay in Christ, by following him. We still get tempted. No, I wouldn't say "I do accept the possibility", I would say that "I would accept the possibility."
There is a difference. I am not trying to become a devot follower of Christ based on an if. To me God is there, and that is it. This doesn't mean that if I am wrong (which would make me a nut case probably) then I would have to accept it. I won't live my life in denial.I am not going around trying to prove to myself if God exists or not right now. He just keeps showing himself to me. I never had to hit rock bottom to find him either, he called me out, and I am grateful he did. I was so stupid, that I kept ignoring the signs. Finally he had to wack me across my perverbial head, and then I saw him. I was only half heartedly looking for him.

Why is it so wrong of me to determine why you think that way. In a sense I am just asking you another question, no need to get all huffy.

But you believe he exists?edit
Or you don't believe he exists by your extension?This message has been edited by riVeRraT, 01-16-2005 07:31 AM

Thats fine, do you still look, even though you currently do not believe?

3 things come to mind,1: Kill yourself and see
2: Create something from nothing
3: Destroy matterThe last 2 are just an opinion, and may not actually prove if God exsits or not. But it would have bearing on the matter.Other things come to mind too, like a time machine, to go back and see. Woldn't that be cool?

Wow, that is an awesome question!I started to write an answer, but to tell you the truth, I just don't know right now. We could start another topic on it, and hash it out.I will also ask some people to gather information on it. I have my opinion, but I am just not sure. Give me about a week, and we can start another topic, I'll start it.