Which god is God?

Different Destinations

Some believe it does not matter what spiritual path one follows because all paths lead to the same destination. They do not. In four of the seven religions, there is no heaven.

In Hinduism, the soul suffers perpetual reincarnation and punishment until karmic retribution has been satisfied, which might cycle for eternity. To achieve salvation, one must follow the way of works, knowledge, or devotion. If successful, the soul is absorbed into the universe like a drop of water into the ocean.

In Buddhism, reincarnation is overcome by following Gautama’s eight-fold path to shed all desire until a person’s karmic energy is snuffed out like a candle.

Taoists seek to prolong their lives as long as possible because there is no afterlife.

For New Agers, salvation depends on whether you are an Aquarian, Wiccan, or Raëlian. Salvation might be achieved by (i) realizing one is already a god, (ii) undergoing spiritual evolution until one reaches perfection, or (iii) achieving eternal life through cloning.

The remaining three religions recognize an afterlife but follow paths that exclude all others to achieve it. Judaism requires a blood sacrifice to cover sins, Christianity requires faith in Jesus, whereas Islam requires good works.

Each religion makes claims that are incompatible with another religion’s beliefs. They cannot all be true. Merely asserting something is true does not make it so. Each religion must validate its claims with relevant evidence from a reliable source.

Source of Spiritual Knowledge

Evidence presented to a jury cannot be speculative. Under the Federal Rules of Evidence, witnesses must have personal knowledge before testifying about a matter. They cannot speculate about an event. They can only testify to what they saw and heard. The same principle applies to religious claims.

If a religion claims that souls go through an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth until all sins are punished, where did that information come from? Is it speculation, or did it come from a reliable source? Accordingly, the first test in a search for truth is determining the source of each religion’s teachings.

Hinduism

Hinduism has no founder, and its followers disagree over which body of literature constitutes sacred Hindu writings. From its beginning, Hinduism has been a polytheistic belief system emphasizing idols and sexual fertility rites associated with a mother goddess and a male divinity. Instead of a unified belief system, Hinduism is a mix of religious beliefs and philosophies it absorbed from other cultures.

Over time, a priesthood developed that composed hymns, performed ceremonies, and cast spells. Everything was passed orally from generation to generation until it was put into writings called the Vedas. They are the Rigveda, which consists of poetry; the Samaveda, for singing; the Yajurveda, addressing sacrificial methods; and the Atharvaveda, containing mystical ceremonies.

As Hinduism evolved, many Hindus left their homes to live in forests, where they meditated on the universe and discussed ideas with each another. From their discussions, new doctrines developed, the most important of which was the belief that a person’s soul passed from one body to another after death. Records of their conversations are recorded in the Upanishads. Discussions include the significance of Brahman (absolute consciousness), which is symbolized by the sacred syllable “OM.” Because the Upanishads are a compilation of differing opinions, they are filled with contradiction.

Another text considered the gospel of Hinduism is the Bhagavad Gita, a poem about a battle between good and evil. The Vedas, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita are foundational Hindu scriptures.

Even though Hindus believe their scriptures were revealed to seers and then transmitted orally from generation to generation, only the Vedas allude to a nonhuman origin. No claim of divine inspiration is made by any other Hindu writings. It means that important Hindu beliefs contained in the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita would be inadmissible in court as speculation.

Buddhism

In its earliest form, Buddhism was not a religion—it was a philosophy of self-salvation founded by Siddhartha Gautama. Although facts are sparse, tradition has it that Gautama was born into a noble family and grew up in luxury. As an adult, he was distressed when he observed disease, old age, and death in the outside world. His distress compelled him to forsake his wife and child to seek salvation from the miseries he witnessed.