God, or not? A Christian Discussion

Facts
Paco Dennis said:
I know by experience that Muslims and Christians worship the same God and love each other. I have had many friends who were/are Muslim. it bothers me that some people think all Muslims are militant. Right now there is a terrible war that is killing thousands because some powerful rich people don't believe they are related to each other. Maybe if they realized there is but one God, and many paths.
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Facts
 

Paco Dennis said:
Am I to understand that you prefer a religion that is somewhat restrictive? I also understand how people feel this. Is the proclamation that Jesus is the only way to God too restrictive? It is to me, and those who secretly believe this dogma, ruin other people's lives.
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There is but one God
 
smiley said:
which one is that then? there are dozens of different religions and they all claim their own God?
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Tbf, once one finds a God they believe in, and truly believe in, then I don't think suggesting it's "restrictive" really applies. I mean, if your favorite color is blue, it's sufficient to say so without someone suggesting it's restrictive. At a high level, people choose a God and faith out of the myriad array of religions. But on a lower level, it's more a calling than a "eenie meenie miney mo" moment.
 
VaughanJB said:
Tbf, once one finds a God they believe in, and truly believe in, then I don't think suggesting it's "restrictive" really applies. I mean, if your favorite color is blue, it's sufficient to say so without someone suggesting it's restrictive. At a high level, people choose a God and faith out of the myriad array of religions. But on a lower level, it's more a calling than a "eenie meenie miney mo" moment.
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I would have said "closed minded" rather than restrictive. "Closed minded" is a personal issue, while "restrictive" seems to me to be something that is imposed from the outside, but like you, restrictive just seemed like the wrong word to me.
 
JustDave said:
I would have said "closed minded" rather than restrictive. "Closed minded" is a personal issue, while "restrictive" seems to me to be something that is imposed from the outside, but like you, restrictive just seemed like the wrong word to me.
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Hm. English is such a difficult language.

See, "closed minded" doesn't work for me either. I usually see the term used in a derogatory manner, to mean that someone isn't willing to investigate the truth of a matter. Whereas, someone who has chosen a faith aren't closed minded, they've investigated and found their own truth. Faith is about being definitive, but that doesn't suggest the person was always that way.

Of course, people are born into religions. Environment matters a whole lot, as does the culture one grows in. I guess those types of believers could be considered closed minded, since they've effectively inherited their faith.

The issue here is that one can't be definitive in the big picture. That is, believing in the God of the Bible doesn't prove the Quran is false. The only claim can be by commission. I'm surprised how much I'm struggling with this aside. :D
 
VaughanJB said:
Hm. English is such a difficult language.

See, "closed minded" doesn't work for me either. I usually see the term used in a derogatory manner, to mean that someone isn't willing to investigate the truth of a matter. Whereas, someone who has chosen a faith aren't closed minded, they've investigated and found their own truth. Faith is about being definitive, but that doesn't suggest the person was always that way.

Of course, people are born into religions. Environment matters a whole lot, as does the culture one grows in. I guess those types of believers could be considered closed minded, since they've effectively inherited their faith.

The issue here is that one can't be definitive in the big picture. That is, believing in the God of the Bible doesn't prove the Quran is false. The only claim can be by commission. I'm surprised how much I'm struggling with this aside. :D
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Semantics always makes for communication problems, and even at that, is not the biggest flaw in communication.

As for "closed minded," it is derogatory most of the time, because it is almost exclusively patronizing in context: ("You refuse to believe my way, which is the right way,") and in fact, those saddled with the label, are often not closed minded at all. They just don't believe what they are being told to believe in a particular case. Which makes one wonder, "Who is the closed minded person in such an exchange?" Furthermore, being closed minded to some issue is not a fault. It's no more than disagreement. Logic itself, is closed minded, in that it voids claims of truth, where there is no objective evidence. Logic puts a box around intellect before it jumps off the edge.

As you point out, people are born into religions and cultures. That environment is an external restriction on processing information. It contributes to closed minded thinking, but is not the only factor. And open mindedness often exists in believers too, but how big a factor it is, I have no idea.
 
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