I originally wrote the following as a response to one member of this forum using that so oft flogged dead horse that all the religions of the world say the same basic thing.  I think I come out fairly well in the end, though I do make a generalization after flogging the poster for having done the same.   A simple and easy way to refute the religious and faith-based approach to life is to note the contradictions among such systems.  In doing so, one quickly realizes how invalid and illegitimate they are.

 

The Post:

You should know that the major religions all have similar basic themes

And you should know that making sweeping statements like this one is a task best left to those who are qualified to do so -- which you do not seem to be.  What themes are you thinking of?

If you think tolerance, the Golden Rule (by this I assume you mean 'do unto others ....'), and loving one another are these themes then perhaps you could provide illustrations of how these tenets -- and no other -- are fundamental to all religions of the world.

Let us turn to the question of God.  If your claim that all religions have similar basic themes then why do some religions evoke supernatural deities while others do not?  If you think these deities are merely there to serve the purpose of enforcing those themes then whence the "jealousy" of the judeo-christian deity?  Why don't Christians, Jews, and Muslims simply toss out their gods as un-necessary, since they are not needed -- as demonstrated by Buddhism, for example, which does not tend to be theistic?  On the other hand, if you think that the common themes of all the religions of the world in fact stem from some prime mover, as it were, then are you not counting yourself among only some of the world's religions, while essentially excluding others?

Finally, the question of truth.  In my experience, when one subscribes to a religion in any more than a nominal sense, one submits one's self to a set of truths that become one's world view.  This world view serves as the definition not only of one's relation with the world but also of the world itself.  Thus, to accept a notion that all the religions of the world are essentially the same requires that one give up much of the world view.  If one does this, one feels very shaky about whether or not the world view as a whole is true. 

For example, if I am a fundamentalist Christian and suddenly see the light and believe that my religion is just one among many that say prettymuch the same thing, then I am sacrificing some of the Bible as truth -- The second commandment:  "You shall have no other Gods before me", for example.  If I accept that one of the major tenets of Christianity is untrue, then why should I accept that any of the rest of its pillars are immune not only to scrutiny but also to being knocked down completely? 

To be sure, you might respond that I can simply look through my Bible for statements that no other religion contradicts, and in so doing I will have found the basic kernel of truth shared by all religions.  The problem with this approach, however, is that it is much like the God of the Gaps.  "Science has not explained P.  Therefore P must be caused or related to God."  In the like vein, "Proposition P is not refuted by any religion on Earth.  Therefore proposition P is true, and furthermore, is a time-honoured sacred truth."  Unfortunately, once any follower of any religion makes a claim which contradicts P, P finds itself on ground just as shaky now as the second commandment which we threw out earlier.  Finally, if enough adherents to some religion condemn or otherwise contradict P in their teachings or beliefs, P is chipped away from your kernel of everlasting truths.

In short then, I am certain that for any claim made by any religion, there is a contradictory claim made either in another religion or in that same religion.  I know that I am generalizing here, but I have been easy on you.  Should you wish to refute my argument all you will have to do is find a proposition P such that no religious system in the world has any follower anywhere which does not denounce P.