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The OP asked about an objective truth FROM your religion.
And religion grows in countries where the standard of living and education are low, but usually decreases in countries with good standard of living and education. The US appears to be the exception (unless there are more atheists who are just keeping quiet about it).
The place where Religion is growing the most due to Atheists converting to Religion (mostly Christianity) is a place that leads in education...so, the facts-on-the-ground are contradictory to the claim that education is the inoculant & antidote for Religious belief .
My Belief (Pantheism) "accepts all Religions"...so, I proffered a "truth" from that position.
The OP asked for a truth about Religion, and to defend why it's true...so, I provided a truth about Religion.
It's growing in this world...compared to Atheism.
You are like a guy that is invested in a Mutual Fund...that calls your financial adviser complaining that you "lost money".
He tells you that you are wrong...that, in fact, he made you money.
You then point to a few bonds and stocks that are part of the fund that have decreased in value...and say, "See?! You have lost me money!".
Your adviser explains that those bonds and stocks only make up a small percentage of the fund...and shows you that the major percentage of the bonds and stocks the fund is invested in have gains, resulting in a net gain of the overall fund.
You STILL insist that he, "lost you a lot of money"...and again point to the bonds and stocks that were down in value.
He then shows you one bond alone that makes up over 20% of the value of the fund and shows you that the gains in just that bond alone made up for all the losses of the stuff you pointed out many times over. He reiterates that overall you have not lost money, but, in fact, gained money.
All you do is keep pointing to the couple of stocks (that are a small percentage of the total) that have lost some value.
Then you go around and tell everybody that you lost money on your investment.
Religion is growing in this World...that is "a truth about religion".
The angst of some over that truth, not withstanding.
To be clear, the request was for an objective truth about YOUR religion. It's not clear to me what your religion might be, but I don't think the idea was to solicit an objective truth about all religions...
If that is the case, then there are countless such objective truths; all religions have followers, all religions have religious rituals, all religions have established themselves in different parts of the world in different numbers, there are more religious people than non-religious people on the planet, etc.
You are like the guy who chooses to use an analogy rather than simply accept the data provided in these surveys, the statistics, and the reasons for them, as explained in the very same reports. What's so hard to understand?
Yes, religious affiliation is growing faster than non-religious counts because the population in many religious countries is growing faster than among non-religious people. True, yes, right, but what does this truth tell you? What do we learn by this "objective truth?" (Or whatever we might want to call it).
I think the original poster is asking for objective truths about claims within religion, not objectives truths ABOUT religion.
Undoubtedly. That Canterbury cathedral has a stained glass window in an objective truth, but doesn't relate much to supporting dogmatic claims about religion, which is surely the point.
That the Pilate stone validates Pilate a real person is an objective truth. That Nazareth existed in the 1st century is a claim in the Gospels that was never really questioned until excavations raised some doubts about it.
That Nazareth exists Now is an objective truth, but not really relevant to the debate.
Undoubtedly. That Canterbury cathedral has a stained glass window in an objective truth, but doesn't relate much to supporting dogmatic claims about religion, which is surely the point.
That the Pilate stone validates Pilate a real person is an objective truth. That Nazareth existed in the 1st century is a claim in the Gospels that was never really questioned until excavations raised some doubts about it.
That Nazareth exists Now is an objective truth, but not really relevant to the debate.
So from an objective perspective, when did Nazareth become a real place? It found its way into the gospels, after all. Rather curious that.
Thinking about objective truths, there are several found in several religions. Murder, adultery, theft. These are morally condemned objectively. We all agree, regardless of our religion, beliefs or lack thereof, that these things are immoral. Something else to consider - any 'morality' given by God cannot be objective because it comes from one source. God saying so is not objective, it is subjective - it is God's opinion. It just so happens that humanity generally objectively agrees that murder and theft is a no-no.
One can be religious and not have a relationship with the Creator.
One objective truth is that religion is man-made and is human's natural progression in the realization that there is an entity greater than humans.
Upon looking up at the stars at night to seeing the magnificence of the Sun to seeing the balance within nature...
As time passed, social interaction resulted in a codification of universal laws - a standard that tribes adhered to to maintain order.
Over time, the humbleness evaded as some humans became prideful and thinking of themselves as being on the same level as what was once thought to be omnipotent and omnipresent.
In essence, a person who is not humble feels and thinks that no one is higher than them.
At that point, the person believes that they themselves are God-like, omnipotent and should not be confined by any rules or natural law.
define "objective truth"?!?! isn't it the same as truth?!!? having difficulty understanding why we cannot just use "truth"?!? how is "objective truth" different from just plain truth?!?
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One objective truth is that religion is man-made and is human's natural progression in the realization that there is an entity greater than humans.
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That would not be an objective truth. Believers within a religion would not accept that their religion is man made. I mean, we know religion is man made, but believers disagree. Therefore, the knowledge of religions being man made is subject to one's perspective, ie, is subjective.
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Over time, the humbleness evaded as some humans became prideful and thinking of themselves as being on the same level as what was once thought to be omnipotent and omnipresent.
In essence, a person who is not humble feels and thinks that no one is higher than them.
At that point, the person believes that they themselves are God-like, omnipotent and should not be confined by any rules or natural law.
I disagree. It is not about being prideful and being on the same level as, and certainly not thinking God-like.
What does being God-like mean anyway?
It's the simple realization that there is no 'superior being' to be humble to. There are people - good people - who are humble in their daily lives. There likewise prideful people and arrogant people who think they are better than others, sure but that has nothing to do with omnipotent and omnipresent.
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Originally Posted by SuckItUpButtercup
define "objective truth"?!?! isn't it the same as truth?!!? having difficulty understanding why we cannot just use "truth"?!? how is "objective truth" different from just plain truth?!?
It means to be able to assess the evidence in an unbiased way, i.e. objectively, regardless of one's beliefs or prejudices.
So from an objective perspective, when did Nazareth become a real place? It found its way into the gospels, after all. Rather curious that.
Thinking about objective truths, there are several found in several religions. Murder, adultery, theft. These are morally condemned objectively. We all agree, regardless of our religion, beliefs or lack thereof, that these things are immoral. Something else to consider - any 'morality' given by God cannot be objective because it comes from one source. God saying so is not objective, it is subjective - it is God's opinion. It just so happens that humanity generally objectively agrees that murder and theft is a no-no.
Anything anyone claims God said, did or does is subjectivity. The epitome of subjectivity!
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