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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Are All Religions the Same	George	Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Question: Is making the statement that religions are the same correct? "many paths but we all worship the same god" Is this what is meant when Pope John Paul II talks about religious dialogue? As Catholics are we suppose to believe that all religions are worshipping the same god. In addition, this system of kempo implied that when you free yourself from conflict "opinion and prejudice" then you will obtain happiness. I thought as Christians, the fact that you are Christian, puts you in conflict with the rest of the world. I posted the question above about the martial arts group. The kempo group I was involved with made this implication.
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM+ Dear George: I took the liberty of changing the title of your question since your question really has nothing to do with marital arts but with the question of whether all Religions are the same. The answer to your questions are: 1) No, not all religions are the same. Not all religions worship the same God. Religions are not all on equal ground. The Church teaches that we might find some grain of truth in all religions to which we can agree with them and fellowship upon, but the Church does not say that all religions are equal or as good as any other. 2) No, this idea of all religions as good as another is NOT what the Pope is saying or teaching. Rather, the Pope is doing what Christ mandated -- going to all the world to preach the Gospel. In doing that the Pope recognizes the dignity of all persons. He recognizes that all people are children of God, even if they have travelled down the wrong road and have an erroneous understanding of God. The common dignity of man and the common reality that we are all God's children should lead us to dialogue (not necessarily agreement, but a dialogue). This dialogue is efficacious in the common goals of world peace, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, promoting justice and respect of all persons, etc. This dialogue the Pope speaks about does NOT compromise the Revealed Truth of God entrusted to the Catholic Church even one iota. He dialogues with fellow travelers on this planet; he never compromises the Truth of the Catholic Faith. 3) No, we are not expected to believe that all religions worship the same God. Some religions worship the devil, others worship creation instead of the creator. and still others worship idols. The world's religions do not all worship the same God; but.... .... the world's religions were created as a primitive attempt to try to understand God. The problem is that most of the religions did not have the advantage that Jews and Christians had -- that of God revealing Himself to us through the prophets and through Sacred Scriptures and Tradition. Since the various ancient religions did not have this guidance that we had, they did the best they could. Understanding this point is not depreciating the Truth of Christianity at all, it is merely understanding a historical fact. The Kempo philosophy is that of the Eastern Philosophies and illustrates the danger of the marital arts. We do not find happiness through the lack of conflict or the freedom from opinion and prejudice. First off, that is not possible in this life. NO ONE is free from conflict and opinion, or even prejudice in this life. Second, happiness comes only from knowing and loving God and loving one's neighbor has themselves and all that this implies. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Are All Religions the Same

George

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Question:

Is making the statement that religions are the same correct? "many paths but we all worship the same god"

Is this what is meant when Pope John Paul II talks about religious dialogue?

As Catholics are we suppose to believe that all religions are worshipping the same god.

In addition, this system of kempo implied that when you free yourself from conflict "opinion and prejudice" then you will obtain happiness. I thought as Christians, the fact that you are Christian, puts you in conflict with the rest of the world.

I posted the question above about the martial arts group. The kempo group I was involved with made this implication.

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM+

Dear George:

I took the liberty of changing the title of your question since your question really has nothing to do with marital arts but with the question of whether all Religions are the same.

The answer to your questions are:

1) No, not all religions are the same. Not all religions worship the same God. Religions are not all on equal ground. The Church teaches that we might find some grain of truth in all religions to which we can agree with them and fellowship upon, but the Church does not say that all religions are equal or as good as any other.

2) No, this idea of all religions as good as another is NOT what the Pope is saying or teaching. Rather, the Pope is doing what Christ mandated -- going to all the world to preach the Gospel. In doing that the Pope recognizes the dignity of all persons. He recognizes that all people are children of God, even if they have travelled down the wrong road and have an erroneous understanding of God.

The common dignity of man and the common reality that we are all God's children should lead us to dialogue (not necessarily agreement, but a dialogue). This dialogue is efficacious in the common goals of world peace, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, promoting justice and respect of all persons, etc.

This dialogue the Pope speaks about does NOT compromise the Revealed Truth of God entrusted to the Catholic Church even one iota. He dialogues with fellow travelers on this planet; he never compromises the Truth of the Catholic Faith.

3) No, we are not expected to believe that all religions worship the same God. Some religions worship the devil, others worship creation instead of the creator. and still others worship idols. The world's religions do not all worship the same God; but....

.... the world's religions were created as a primitive attempt to try to understand God. The problem is that most of the religions did not have the advantage that Jews and Christians had -- that of God revealing Himself to us through the prophets and through Sacred Scriptures and Tradition.

Since the various ancient religions did not have this guidance that we had, they did the best they could. Understanding this point is not depreciating the Truth of Christianity at all, it is merely understanding a historical fact.

The Kempo philosophy is that of the Eastern Philosophies and illustrates the danger of the marital arts. We do not find happiness through the lack of conflict or the freedom from opinion and prejudice. First off, that is not possible in this life. NO ONE is free from conflict and opinion, or even prejudice in this life.

Second, happiness comes only from knowing and loving God and loving one's neighbor has themselves and all that this implies.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.