quote:
Originally posted by Cerek the Barbaric:
If we are worshipping the same God, then there should be some commonality in the doctrines. From what I understand, Buddhism and Hinduism have vastly different doctrines than Christianity, so I question whether they are worshipping the one true God or not. But again, I acknowledge that my understanding is finite, so I could be wrong.
I agree very strongly with your last point--not just for you, but for all of us.
Each of us is limited in experience to less than a century's worth of sound and light, feeling and thought, in these bodies. Yet we are trying to formulate doctrines that capture the essence of something which is endless and infinite, hence inherently beyond our comprehension.
Which isn't to say we shouldn't try. But I question whether any doctrine can encompass something so vast that it surpasses understanding. It's like that old Hindu story about the four blind men who came upon an elephant one day--and had never done so, before. One felt its leg, and exclaimed that the elephant was like a tree; another felt the trunk, and said it was like a snake. A third tapped the elephant's side, and said it was like a giant boulder. A fourth tapped a tusk, and said it was like a knife. And so they argued, incessantly, drawing upon experiences they once had, and all were right, and all were wrong.
Perhaps we could identify individual doctrines of disagreement, and examine them to see how a tusk differs from a trunk or a side.
What doctrines stand out after this fashion to you?