Lie #5: ‘There is no single truth. Everyone needs to explore and find a truth that works for them.’

This one’s a real hot potato. And it’s not something you hear so much from ancient religious institutions… rather, it’s simply the ‘politically correct’ way to talk about spirituality these days.

It tends to be expressed something like this: ‘You’ve got your truth, and I’ve got my truth. You find a faith that works for you, and I’ll find a faith that works for me.’

Well here’s my question:

How many conflicting versions of the truth can actually be true?

I’m not going to use this space to promote an agenda today — or to push any specific claim of Ultimate Truth. I’m just going to highlight a very simple, logical reality that each of us, in our search for Truth, must recognize. Pardon me if I offend you, but I’m going to put it bluntly.

It’s impossible for all religions to be true.

In other words, if Islam is essentially true, then Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity are not. If Buddhism is essentially true, then Islam, Christianity and Hinduism are not. And so on.

How can I say such a thing? Because if you *really* study these religions, it will become clear that each makes bold, fundamental assertions about reality that are not compatible with the others.

For example, Hinduism states that divinity is present in everything. Christianity, Judaism and Islam all assert that God is distinctly separate from what he has created. The implications of these different views run very deep, and they are fundamentally incompatible. It’s logically impossible for both views to be true.

So why bring this up, anyway?

Well first I have to make a confession. I would *like* to believe that all religions could be true. I would personally *like* to believe that all paths lead to God. It feels good. It’s a kinder view of the world. It puts everyone on equal footing.

But it just doesn’t make sense.

Truth is, by nature, exclusive. There are always more wrong ways to do just about anything than right ways. There are always more wrong answers to any given question than right ones.

True?

And you know what? This really raises the stakes. It puts a real sense of urgency in our search for truth, because it shows that if we’re not careful, we can fall for a half-truth.

On the other hand, if you diligently search, seek out the facts, and your spiritual journey brings you to a place where the pieces fit in place – if everything makes logical sense and it feels right in your heart – then you should not hesitate to share your joy with others.

OK… now let’s stop right now and make something very clear:

If we possess the truth, it doesn’t give us the right to be unkind to those who disagree. It didn’t give Bin Laden the right to declare Jihad, hijack airplanes and fly them into the World Trade Center. It didn’t give so-called ‘Christians’ the right to kill people in the Crusades. It doesn’t give us the right to be disrespectful or violent.

What it does give us is the right – and the confidence – to go out into the marketplace of ideas and *see* if our Truth stands up to hard scrutiny.

C.S. Lewis was talking about this very thing when he said, ‘You don’t need to defend a Lion. You just need to let him out of his cage.’

If you really do have the truth, then you have nothing to fear. You don’t need to burn books or censor speech. Truth is its own best defense.

In our modern, sophisticated culture, spirituality gets locked up in a cage. It’s a taboo subject. Discussions about religion are not considered ‘polite conversation.’ So nobody talks about it.

The result? People don’t talk to each other. They live in fear and isolation.

Some folks harbor ideas and notions that make absolutely no sense, but because those ideas are never brought out into the light of day, they’re never questioned.

Others have great wisdom, but they’re afraid to share it with others!

How sad.

In your search for the truth, then, know that you’re not just looking for something that sounds good. As with any other kind of truth, it may *not* feel good all the time. Know that you’re looking for something definite, something that will by nature make some pretty bold claims.

Also, please understand that if someone tells you they possess the truth, they’re not being arrogant. Fact is, they’re either sadly deceived or else they’re right. You can’t put someone down for being deceived, and you can’t fault someone for being right!

The real challenge is to discern the difference.

Tomorrow I’m going to cover Lie #6:

‘The Bible is out of date, inaccurate and over-rated. People in the 21st century are way too smart for that.’

Thanks for sticking with me.

Respectfully Submitted,

Perry Marshall

Hear 7 Great Lies or Organized Religion on your computer, iPod or MP3 player:

147 Responses to “Lie #5: ‘There is no single truth. Everyone needs to explore and find a truth that works for them.’”

  1. david thomas says:

    Hello all.
    I read your page with interest.
    And so stimulating.
    Firstly I must state this.
    It is obvious that because the “universe, ( One Place“ translation“.)” is here then it “obvious” that “It” has always been here, So – no beginning and no end. and just TU (The Universe) which changes shape and meaning, relative to our consciousness (Or unconsciousness‘). (Self or collective, Conscious or unconscious”
    From this one has to conclude that the important issue is the question of chance, or created design?
    Even where “multi-verse” is concerned, and the proof of its existence is the human imagination.
    It is also necessary to point out that it is “Known universe or multi verse and when known that becomes part of the ONE. known universe – even the multi verses only exist because they are not “Commonly” known.
    To me there seems to be an unnecessary discussion as to who God, Jehovah, Yahweh or Christ was or are etc etc.
    First one has to take the most important step, which is to answer that very question,
    Chance occurrences or created designs?
    Is “life” a created or a chance event?
    To answer this first.
    Study some simple science with regard to oxidisation and its process..
    Then Google some information about a “Simple cell”. And then look at Histones a protein used for the formation of “simple cells” (That is all the membranes, pumps, channels, organelles, vacuoles, muscles and tendons etc.)
    Then consider the operation of a “binary code” as used in computer programs
    And now ask yourself,
    What are the chances of a random number generator, capable of producing a strand of ones and zeros long enough to run a windows vista program?
    And that’s not many – probably less than a million of each , ones and zeros.
    Well DNA is a four strand program of 300,000,000 and probably more. I have heard of 30 BILLION code pairs! Happening by chance? We all know what happens if it’s a bit wrong.
    And its also scientifically excepted that the DNA code does not change fast enough to cause species to change!
    Ive also asked why are polar bears not changing from people of masters degree qualified people. They say, because its happening too fast. Then I ask how about mud skippers or sea mammals that beach them selves and they say – Well its happening too slow. So I say where is the species at which the correct rate of experience is happening in order to cause change. Well there is never an answer. I say yet since the last major extinction of only 75,000 years ago all these MILLIONS of species have developed.? So I say design and CREATION are the causes of our existence! And mostly they get angry or refuse to continue the discussion !
    Are they not realising that it is the devils work that divides !? And it is Gods work that unifies. So ask yourself “Religion” What has it done – Unify or divide? And clearly what is Gods purpose for Man (Homo Sapien)?
    I tell you now from divine inspiration. God is unhappy with man and his continued waste of re-souse arguing which is the true religion.
    Get together and value things properly or retribution will be the result. David Thomas Parry.

    • perrymarshall says:

      To say the universe has always been here is not scientific. Time itself begins with the big bang. Your comments about random number generators creating Windows are right on.

      • Gyan says:

        For a more scientific treatise on time, kindly refer to Hindu cosmology. You will not get a better scientific explanation.

        It also predicts, quite accurately, the age of the present Universe, beginning from the Big Bang, given that science also uses lots of approximations.

        Following link has a fairly good explanation-
        http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Hindu_Cosmology.htm

        According to Hindu thought there is neither beginning, nor end of Time. Universes are created and destroyed. But, of course, this is an oversimplification.

        Better to read the above reference in its entirety.

        Good Day!

  2. David Bingham says:

    God is nature and we are a part of nature and therefore we are all connected to God as well as each other, in my opinion. Religion uses fear, guilt, shame and manipulation in an attempt to control us. Most of us are afraid of the unknown particularly death. Most religions gives us the illusion of living forever. They give us the illusion of being right and being right the believers are better than the non believers because they are saved. It is the commission of the true believers to recruit family, friends,acquaintances, and outsiders; more “soldiers of Christ”.

  3. david thomas says:

    OK perry I well accept that “Time” as we know it started with the physical beginning of the universe. I simply did not make myself clear on this issue. It is scientifically provable that “Time” runs at different paces according to location and speed. (See caesium experiments)
    When I say the “Universe has always existed I mean “Volume” Of nothing with a speck of “Something”. I would argue that it is scientific to say that the volume has always been here whether we are aware of it as one volume or a volume within a volume. Again this is simply,- do we know about it yet or not?”Something was God, Yahweh Etc and was consciousness. But there is still the question of who the “WE” as when certain situations are discussed in genesis (The tower of Bable) Gen 11.
    And also did “God” create these “WE” or were they in existence with him before our physical and relative beginning.
    Still it quite simply is pointless to go on and on a point of acceptance has to be reached and a course of action decided on that coming to that acceptance. Are we in harmony with “Gods” instructions about our behaviour or are we in opposition to his instructions?
    Quite simply, I am in harmony and believe that Christ was “Gods” Son as stated in the new testament John 14 : 28.
    Thank you. I certainly will continue to spend a portion of my time trying to get people (Usually is sad and dangerous conditions) to follow those teachings and philosophy’s of “God” and “Christ” (There is a better edit of this but this will do.

  4. david thomas says:

    So – Is everyone in accord that the argument as to which “Religion” is correct to follow . Or that this argument is in fact a cause for separatism and is simply the work of Evil.
    Thank you all.
    When you have decide3d to answer this, will you do the works of God and the Christ? Or will you continue to waste time and resources being separate in deed and function.
    Be warned your time is getting shorter.

  5. Richard Ruquist says:

    DT, Your suggestion about separatism being evil
    brings to mind some things that Jesus said.
    First, perhaps his greatest commandment:
    “Love thy enemy.”

    Secondly, paraphrasing:
    “I was in prison and you visited me.
    I was hungry and you fed me.
    I was naked and you clothed me.”
    “But, Lord, when did we do these things for you?”
    “When you do them for another,
    you do them for me as well.”

    These truths say to me that all humans
    are one with God regardless of religion or belief.

    My multiverse cosmology suggests
    that it is our consciousnesses
    that are entangled with one another
    and with the universal consciousness.
    That is how we are the image of god.

    But more to the point I like what a friend
    wrote in another forum on the issue of religion:

    “To reject any given religion is understandable and defensible since each contains so much myth, cultural baggage, dogma, rigidity, and often, implicit or explicit threats regarding our immortal souls. But to ignore the intersection of the sets of all religions is foolish, since there is where the truth lies. And the truth will indeed set you free”

    And here are common maxims from several religions:

    Christianity: “Forgive my trepasses as I forgive the trespasses of others” The Lord’s Prayer
    Christianity: All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.: Matthew 7:12
    Islam: No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother what which he desires for himself.
    Buddhism: Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful
    Judaism: What is hateful to you, do not to your fellowmen.
    Confucianism: Do not unto others that you would not have them do unto you
    Taoism: Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss
    Brahmanism: This is the sum of duty: Do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.: Mahabharata 5:1517

    I think Jesus said it best. Love thy enemy. But Krishna says essentially the same thing in the Shri Bhagvad Gita.

  6. david thomas says:

    Dear Richard Ruquist. You simply miss the point that “Religion” is the physical embodiment of our “creators” wishes. All of which were constructed by a man or group of men. These “Religions, have throughout history fought to the bloody end to say that their way and religion is the “TRUE” one. And completely in denial of the 10 commandments and the philosophies of Jesus and his ilk. That is my proof of the fact that religion is separatism. And you are continuing to promote the argument is with your reply. My teaching is those simple rules the 10 of them in Exodus and the many people who have who have said “Treat as you would be treated” (Masochists pose a problem here) And care, look after and provide for those who have less than you have, both materially and spiritually.. This is what I do every day if possible.
    Also on the point of “Miracles” I have no proof but have personally experienced one. So they can and do occur. You may not have had the proof or read any genuine credible evidence but NOBODY is going tom tell me they do not happen.
    And take time to consider ALL philosophies (I believe that is in the new testament some where. Though I agree that when studied properly there are differences in the accounts and also differences in the particular ISSUE you are using.
    May Creations Love go with you. David Thomas.
    PS I say again – Time is running out for you all in which to find harmony of purpose.

  7. Richard Ruquist says:

    Tom says:
    “Religion” is the physical embodiment of our “creators” wishes.

    Richard replies: How do you know that?

    Tom says: That is my proof of the fact that religion is separatism. And you are continuing to promote the argument is with your reply.

    Richard says: My reply says that we are all connected probably through consciousness as verified by scripture and science. That says nothing about religions being separate.

    Tom says: Though I agree that when studied properly there are differences in the accounts and also differences in the particular ISSUE you are using.

    Richard replies: What, there are accounts and differences in how we are all connected? Somehow I think you completely missed my point. What ISSUE are you talking about? And I expect to survive the 2010s. Time is not running out for me.

  8. david thomas says:

    Oh and “Krishna” is reasonably arguable to be the same person as Christ.

    Also I believe that Christ himself said “A building a temple does NOT make.
    Most “Religions say there will be no more Prophets and yet another does come along (The Qur’an certainly states this) .
    My simple point is “DO NOT FORM A GROUP WITH A NAME” but follow those teachings by example and not by donation. Use any scripture that is for the harmony of man to teach what is required, Do not try to walk on water – you Will get wet.
    With one love and our creators best wishes for you go with you – David Thomas.

  9. david thomas says:

    Where science and evolution are concerned.
    Evolution is close to being scientifically proved “Impossible”
    Science is perfectly reasonable and with enough effort “Things” will be explainable with science.
    Use the computer and its process as a metaphor for creation. Quite simply The program, the program reader, the program processor and the program visual display unit will not ever happen by accident or chance and yet Life and all of the components of it are supposed to happen by accident or chance.
    Ask your self which is the more complex and therefore the least likely to happen by chance. DNA a code requires a reader RNA (Of which there are a variety, tRNA mRNA dRNA Etc) and a manufacture process area. All made of HIGHLY COMPLEX proteins. A level of complexity that has been proved CANNOT survive in anything but the most particular and ideal of circumstances.
    Therefore life was created – The only question remaining is by whom or by what and also where did that or they come from.?
    Creations best wishes go with you. David Thomas

  10. david thomas says:

    Just what is your purpose Richard – To unite people in a common cause of care for mankind at the collective home – our planet or to spend time arguing and discussing as to who has the correct “Religion and Rituals” .which the former or the later? Mine is to unite people in a common cause – Due to experience and study I gather this is what our creator wants. Do you agree or disagree, Yes or No.. Also Where time is concerned “Running out” is a fact if 2010, 2011, 2012 or later I suspect that it will be in the next 50 years at most. There is a quote from revelations. “There will be many who will wish they could die” with medical science developing this will surely occur and if medical science collapse due to any other calamity the same situation wil be present. . Regards and Creations best wishes go with you. David Thomas.

    • Richard Ruquist says:

      My purpose in this life was to prevent the deployment of weapons in space. I worked entirely on Star Wars during my scientific career and managed to prevent it from being deployed with the help of Nobel Prize winner, the late Henry Kendall, by revealing that it was inherently vulnerable, which had been kept a secret. My secondary purpose in life is to make a synthesis of religion and science. See http://knol.google.com/k/implications-of-a-conjectured-multiverse-string-theory-in-26-dimensions#

      By time running out I thought you were referring to Rapture which I take to be the supernovae of T Pyxidis, a white dwarf some 3260 light years from us which had been novaing every 20 years, indicating that its accreting mass, but has stopped since 1967, and presumably is still accreting. 3000 light years is the lethal range of a white dwarf supernova within which the protective is destroyed along with most of life. Hiwever, it’s close enough, equivalent to about 1000 solar flares, to melt most ghrid transformers in the world and destroy every unshielded transister. When it happens the result willmbe mass starvation. Given the various predictions form Mayans and Nostradamus, 2012 is as likely a time as any other. But it is just a matter of time.

      All I do is state what I believe to be true. If you thnk that is arguing, you are entitled to your opinion.

      Best wishes,
      Richard

  11. Richard Ruquist says:

    Sorry, it’s the protective ozone layer that will be destroyed

  12. david thomas says:

    Richard . What does it take to make myself clear. I have written a book called “Deconstruction of evolutionary process” So it would appear we are in complete accord with that. The evidence is simple and starts with the formation of complex proteins, which cannot form in a harsh environment as they degrade far too quickly to reach a stage of complexity to form “Simple cells” It would seem that even under the best of conditions man cannot produce these proteins by synthesis, not even with natural ones to help start the process (I keep asking will some one show me a “simple” cell. So far nobody has. I use the analogy that if you rub two icicles of water together a fire will never form. And in the same fashion without the “Complex” proteins a “Simple cell” will never form. And of course with added requirements of the various forms of DNA as code , reader, transfer and production area. Then no replication can happen. Then added to that is the known minimum number of specie (I am advised that number is approximately 500 to allow continuation of specie. Added to that it would seem from the fossil evidence that a large number of type of specie appear (As with ammonites, and the question as to “How do the experts know they are different specie and not just differing physical forms, as with dogs or horses. (They look different but in fact are the same specie) and then from there these specie decrease in number. This is the opposite of current evolutionary theory. So the conclusion has to be that carbon life was “Created”, Simple I think. Advise me if I am wrong and explain why I am wrong. The ozone layer is not at threat by mankind’s carbon dioxide or methane gasses etc. When Mt St Helens went off in 1980 it was calculated to have produced more greenhouse gasses in one bang than the whole of the history of the piston engine and again in 1992 pinatuba went off doing the same. There is a volcano in Hawaii that is continuously letting loose gasses also and the recent rash of blasts and still experts calculations say that mankind’s best efforts contribute about 5% to the situation of greenhouse gasses ( See Alan Caruba and suggested links to the opposite of global warming happening). Also there is a deal talked about a 10th planet known as “Nibiru” Try Googleing this and maybe you could advise me if this is pure fantasy or fact. My opinion is that there is a 10th planet but I have issues about the published orbit. Anyway this is away from my stance which is that salvation of mankind will be through deed and not by belief. And as it says in the new testament John 14 : 28 Jesus is or was not God on earth. Also I say that when science finally admits that our system of life is a “Created one they will simply move to the question of is the “Creator” divine or another life form from another planet. It is quite within the bounds of reason that we are in a very advanced form of “Computer simulation.
    My statement that time is running out for us is similar to Noah saying “It is going to rain” and you will “see a rainbow”
    Everybody apparently laughed because they had never seen either as there was a high cloud cover that caused a stable and global climate. . This is why fossil ferns are found at our current poles. Also the documented account of lott and the destruction of Sodom and Gomora are similar to my “Experience” There really is no need to talk of string theory or black holes or dark mater, these are distractions from the real issues. And Our issue is the treatment of our fellow men and the planet we inhabit. Whilst I find science fascinating and Love its discipline it is In my opinion that I am sure our creator is getting to a point where as with the flood a new start should be made because mankind is not going to change his ways.
    So I would suggest you use the resouse available to you to get men to realise this and stop discussing who has the correct discipline of “Religion”
    I will continue to put my point to anyone who will listen and so far 90 per cent of people I talk to say they agree with me. The remainder are evolutionists or separationists and religionists who cannot for some reason see or accept the logic of the process and continue to try and light a fire by rubbing two icicles together. Yours with hope David Thomas.

  13. david thomas says:

    Richard and Perry, I repeat
    Just what is your purpose – To unite people in a common cause of care for mankind at the collective home – our planet or to spend time arguing and discussing as to who has the correct “Religion and Rituals” .which the former or the later? Creations best wishes go with you. David Thomas
    Just what is your purpose Richard – To unite people in a common cause of care for mankind at the collective home – our planet “Earth” or to spend time arguing and discussing as to who has the correct “Religion and Rituals” .which is it the former or the later? Mine is to unite people in a common cause – Due to experience and study I gather this is what our creator wants. Do you agree or disagree, Yes or No.. A simple answer to a simple question. Regards and Creations best wishes go with you. David Thomas.

    • perrymarshall says:

      I agree with your desire to unite people to a common cause but there still needs to be agreement on what the cause is. So this discussion is not trivial.

  14. Richard Ruquist says:

    David Thomas,

    I for one are no longer willing to listen to you.

    Richard David

  15. david thomas says:

    Your reply was predictable – your purpose is obviously clear. And as what happened to Jesus the Christ will probably happen to me – because of people like you .

    See Jesus overturn tables at the synagogue.

  16. Unity Explorer says:

    I believe God (equating Truth) is both “wave and particle” — to refer to an old and heated debate between physicists about the nature of light at the beginning of the 20th century. It is now understood that both versions, although apparently incompatible, are in fact both very valid, and complementary. The apparent contradiction even gave birth to new paths to the understanding of reality at a deeper level.

    If I were to put a cube on a wooden table, each side a different colour, and I then took a look at it from one end of the table, I would see one to three different colours, depending on my angle of observation and the position of the cube. Let’s suppose that I have taken good note of the three colours I could see without moving too much. If I then went to the other side of the table and did the same thing, I would definitely see a different set of colours. The bottom side would remain a mystery (!), and the top side would be common to both sets, just as Love and compassion should be the common reference for any religion that’s worth its name.

    Note that because I live in 3D, I can NEVER (in this world) see all six colours at the same time!

    I should think that different religions have captured different facets of a same Truth. They have done so incompletely (remember the bottom side of the cube sitting on the table), essentially because it is way too complex for our three-dimensional brains — hence the strong emotional component in all religions, which speaks to the heart as well: most efficient! At the same time all religions brought in quite a bit of “noise”, and serious misconceptions were originated from cultural/historical biases inherent to the writers’ personalities and lives. This to a point that Jeez had to come down in person, and thankfully put some kind of order in the mess as good as he could with the meager powers of a 3D guy! And what a SUPERLATIVE job He did, though! Still, people are people, they’re different, and they respond to different things…

    God does not have our dimensional, temporal, or causal limitations — what looks like a terrible wrong to us here and now can, and WILL BE (i.e. ALREADY IS to some extent) repaired at a deeper level which we are unable to apprehend. That’s not to say that nothing is serious or wrong down here, as the EXPERIENCE remains. But most definitely, pain and sorrow will sink in the infinite ocean of Love that is in everything, everywhere, and at every moment simultaneously — it may be that at the point of our physical demise, we start “seeing” it. And in the meantime, I believe we are to learn how to discriminate what’s important from what’s not, so that our lessons learned as well as our experience of HAPPINESS can be “uploaded” as well.

  17. Lee Louw says:

    There are far to many truths, facts, theories and supersitions which are all solely based on personal opinions, and some based on scientific experimentation. Unfortunately the big ‘Spirit in the Sky’ debate will go on until the end of time. never knowing where, why and who? All truth as we see it is within us. We ask questions to justify the answer we already have convinced ouselves of. Religion has segregated the world and has caused the most violent crimes against humanity. Then each religious sector and its followers lament: “how can there be a God”? But let a personal tragedy befall them, who is the first ‘being’ they turn to? ‘God’ may not necessarily be the ‘God’ that your neighbour has faith in. The faith that endures the most is within ourselves, and faith on a collective level is empowering. So is ‘God’ an imagined being, a Santa Clause myth, the tooth fairy or just an entity that we all have a conscious connection with?

  18. Screen Name says:

    Truth is by nature exclusive?

    Did it ever occur to you my friend that religion is metaphor?

    The purpose of myth, which is what religion is, is to somehow tell a story that gives a glimpse of the imperceptible. Quite simple really, i’m not sure what all the hullaballoo is about.

    In that sense every religion is more or less the same. Humans invariably project themselves into what they experience, an in fact, in my opinion are quit incapable of not doing so. Hence the obscure passages in the bible somehow attributed to God….Beating men to death for collecting sticks…If everyone were to write a poem describing, say, a sunset, each would describe from his or her personal view point. Perhaps eventually 1000 people would agree on similar descriptions, or maybe one man who was extremely charismatic would convince the others that his particular description was the ONLY way to see it. Maybe the man next to him would find a way to make money and power of the others charisma. Perhaps some would kill anyone that did not agree with their particular descriptions…Maybe claim that the sunset itself necessitated people to act a certain way.

    etc etc etc.

    Now i’m not advocating that there is no truth. I’m just saying that to ignore that every human is irrevocably bound to their personal perception. Invariably the majority, the most powerful, the most brutal, the richest, will always hold the monopoly on truth, when it is still just a perception, an opinion.

    One can’t have an opinion on nothing, therefore there is SOMETHING to have an opinion about.

    Did the sun set? Yes. yes it did, this is truth.

    Was it as red as an apple? Perhaps.

    Did it call us to build an empire and strike down our enemies? Probably not. But maybe.

    So the real problem is not with whether religion is true, or if what people believe is logical (the word belief and logical don’t even sit well together)

    We have 6 billion humans who all see things differently to varying degrees. We should start with: Yes we see things. We believe things. Our differences are far less than our similarities. We are all born, we all die.

    That is an undeniable truth, and not as simplistic as it first may appear, a truth that when truly examined, unites us far more than the dominance of one hearsay based tradition of another. We may never be able to agree on how the sunset appears, but its still there. It continues to happen, and we will continue to experience it, hopefully with wonder.

    As for guidance…the golden rule works well does it not?

  19. mathew dmello says:

    PRAISE GOD JESUS CHRIST.

    am a r catholic and follow most rules of the church. i do not wish to take law in my hands, better follow what church teaches.

    but am confronted with one question. do i have to follow a perticular religion for salvation?

    because my concious mind keeps telling me all people who live good moral life will receive salvation ,no matter what religion he follows. salvation is for whole of mankind as we all are creation of god.

    i would like to hear your comments.

    thank you for sending me mr.perry marshals lecture.

    love and regards.

    GOD BLESS US ALL.

    =mathew.

    • alexk says:

      Its a tough and volatile question, but Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” God is much bigger than the rules that we put on him, so I would be surprised if what we saw here on earth was the whole truth, but Jesus did say he was the only way. If you believe what Jesus said, there is no evidence that there is another way.

  20. Perry,

    As you know better than anyone, when marketing a product in an ad, you need an USP, benefits, an elevator pitch, etc. Here is a challenge for you. When marketing abstract concepts, like God as truth in relationship with the mind and how understanding and accepting these concepts affect your life, what kind of ad could you make?

    Let me explain, I have no problem making a winning ad about basically any tangible product. But when it came to the previous keywords (god, truth, mind) I was unable to make a short, convincing ad.

    My conclusion was that products are usually tangible, definable things (including services) but God and the other keywords are not.

    The fact that you wrote this article proves it. I wonder how would you go about making a short explanation, USP, or elevator pitch about God, truth, and how they relate to the mind.

    PS. In reality, I am setting you up. At best, it will be very difficult to describe in few words such concepts. But you are the expert!

    • perrymarshall says:

      The elevator speech of Christianity is John 3:16:

      “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

      USP: Jesus is the only person who ever claimed to be God, who has successfully persuaded any significant number of people this is true. He did this by rising from the dead. There is no other person in history who has ever made a credible claim to have transcended death. And yes, the resurrection of Jesus is one of the best historically attested events in ancient history.

      John the Baptist was in prison – never got out – and eventually was beheaded. He had been sent to foretell the coming of Jesus. Rotting in prison, he had his doubts:

      20When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?’ ”
      21At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[b] are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”

      See http://www.coffeehousetheology.com/miracles for miracles still happening today.

Leave a Reply to David Bingham

Questions must be respectful, clear, thoughtful and on-topic - all others will be deleted by the moderator.