(December 23, 2016 at 10:06 am)SteveII Wrote: It is only in the last generation that people world-wide had the exposure to the complete body of knowledge of each religion. While popularity is not an indication of truth, I think we will see in the next generation which religion is more compelling by looking at countries where there is not a dominating religion to skew the acceptance rate.This is because every religion originates in a specific region of the planet. The scattered and differing forms of religion that exist is not a problem if we view religion as a form of tribalism mixed with the desire to explain things even when we lack sufficient information. It is a problem when we consider that this world is a tiny speck in the vast universe created by a being who decided to announce his existence only to those small regions and isolated populations within them, and allowed all of those false religions to exist and thrive in such a way as to be indistinguishable from the true religion that he personally established.
Quote:Protestant denominations are formed around theological differences, cultural differences, and emphasis differences. There is an agreed upon core, so other disagreements are really not a reason to dismiss the whole.My point was that it's difficult to accept that we can arrive at the truth via an examination of "the overall theological framework of each religion and see which one is internally consistent, which one best matches claims against reality, which one makes more sense of more observations, and which one has the best predictive value when examining issues of xyz." There are literally thousands of denominations of Christianity and they differ on almost every detail. Aside from "God exists" and "Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins" there are very few matters that are not subject to differing interpretations. If Christians cannot come together and figure out what the Bible means and what God wants, then I don't see how Christianity fulfills the criteria you mentioned.
This is the internet age, and as you note we now have a great deal more information within reach than we ever did. The Bible isn't just available online, it's available in almost every single language and translation ever produced and there is an endless well of information and interpretation from dozens --if not hundreds, or thousands-- of denominations. Are we coming closer to mending those gaps and coming to a unified revelation that all Christians have to admit is spirit-driven? The books and beliefs of the other major --and countless minor-- religions are also available. Have any of them made notable headway in proving to be the truth in such a way that is undeniable?
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
-Stephen Jay Gould