religious unity - why there could be a one world religion - stephen knapp

7/30/2019 Religious Unity - Why There Could Be a One World Religion - Stephen Knapp

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Religious Unity:Why There Could Be a One World Religion

By Stephen Knapp

Is religious unity a dream that can never be fulfilled? Can it never be areality? I feel that it can be.

This does not mean that all religions should be merged into some spiritualhodgepodge. But if we are mature enough to see the purpose of each religionor spiritual path, we will recognize that there is very little difference betweenthem. Once we get past the superficialities and variations, and there can be alot of that, like dress, language, rituals, diet, or architectural styles of churches

or temples, or feelings of superiority, we can see that the essential purpose ofeach religion is the same. That is to pray to God, sing His praises, discussHis pastimes and instructions, study the guidance of the prophets ormessengers of God, and to think of God or meditate on Him in any number ofways. The process is the same, summarized as hearing about God, chantingor singing about Him, and remembering and serving God. That's it. Anythingelse is an expansion of these items. The goal is the same: To learn how tosurrender to God and love Him with all our hearts and minds, and then totreat and love others as parts and parcels of God. Simple.

Why do we gather at temples, churches or mosques? Simply to learn andpractice how to do this, and associate with others who wish to do the same.Thereby we all help each other in this direction.

Though the essential spiritual process is no different, there may be regionalvariations. There may be differences in dress, but that often depends onclimatic necessities and customs. However, in religious dress, though it maybe dissimilar from one religion to the next, it is nonetheless for the samepurpose: To remind each other of God, and to indicate one as a man orwoman of God, or to show that the human body is the original temple of God.

Thus, by this means we all become more conscious of God. Some also shavetheir heads, or leave a tuft of hair on top, or put markings on the forehead.This is also to indicate that the body is a temple, or that one may be a monkwho is following a particular code of conduct or school of spiritual thought.Every religion has particular marks or expressions to indicate the samemeanings. It is merely a matter of understanding them. Once something isunderstood, it no longer seems so strange.

Rituals may also be different, and people of another culture maymisunderstand what they see. Nonetheless, all of it is actually worship of thesame God, or different ways to acquire spiritual merit or blessings. Naturally,there is only one God. Every religion says that.


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However, we also find that the names of God may change according tolocality. Yet, when interpreted, they invariably have similar meanings. We alsomay see different images or representations of God in temples or churches.In Christianity, you have the cross, images of Jesus, or even his servants anddevotees like Mother Mary, the apostles, etc., who are all given worship or

respect in the church. While in the Hindu temples you may have Deities ofKrishna or Vishnu and His incarnations, all of which represent or areexpansions of the same God. You may also see images of the demigods, theLord's administrative assistants and servants, who are given respect becausethey can also give blessings to one on the road to devotion and spirituality.Thus, these religions are not much different. It only requires the open-mindedness to recognize the similarities.

Therefore, a sincere Christian or sincere Hindu or Muslim or Buddhist, Sikh,Jain, etc., can easily get along with one another because they can see that

they are all men of God with the same purpose. And that is to help oneanother toward greater heights in their understanding and devotion to theSupreme Being.

In this way, we can see that the purpose of each religion is the same, andthere is no need to make everyone of the same particular faith. There is noreason to make a conversion campaign. Everyone can stay loyal to thereligion of their own preference while recognizing and being open tounderstanding the ways of other cultures and spiritual paths. That, however,is often the hardest characteristic to find in people. But being open-minded to

learning about other religions will actually increase our understanding of God.Each religion essentially has the same purpose, but they may also havedifferent levels of knowledge and realizations of the nature of God. Some aremore aware of His fearsome and controlling aspects, and may refer to Him asan angry or jealous God. Other religions, such as the Vedic path, are moreaware of God's loving pastimes, and elaborate on them. So, each religionpoints toward God but may provide a different view of His character,personality and traits. Thus, as we study the different religions, ourunderstanding of God increases.

The core differences between any genuine religion is the time in history itappeared, the place where it originated, and the people who were involved.According to the people who were taught and their ability to comprehendspiritual topics, they were given different levels of understanding God. Theseare the reasons for the cultural differences and varying levels of spiritualknowledge between them. However, from a spiritual perspective thesedifferences are not very deep. They all point in the same direction and are forthe same purpose. So every path shares a greater common ground thanmost people are aware of until they begin to understand each other better. As

I've said, take any religion and you will see that the customs may besomewhat different, yet the essential purpose is the same, if we can get pastthe variations to recognize that essential purpose. That's what we must focus


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on. When we do that, we will see that we are all children of the same God,and, thus, we are all spiritual brothers and sisters of the same SupremeFather. In essence, everyone is a spiritual being. We are all the same. Andany religion is meant to reawaken that realization and perception. When weactually see that, then we should be able to reconnect ourselves to God, or

express our devotion, no matter whether we go to a Christian church, Hindutemple, Muslim mosque, or Sikh gurudwara. We will see that they all offer thesame opportunity, in essence, and that is, as I've said, to pray to God, singHis praises, discuss His pastimes and instructions, study the guidance of theprophets or messengers of God, and to think of God or meditate on Him inany number of ways.

The only thing we have to do is to increase our own spiritual understandingand relate to all people and all beings in that way. To practically see theDivinity of God in all, without judgmental bias or prejudice, is the true way to

establish peace and harmony on earth. It is the essence of all religions inwhich we can all practice and participate. In this spiritual direction, which hasbeen recommended the world over, other than one's own immature prejudice,there are no superficial differences, such as race, creed, nationality, tradition,sex, age, etc., that can interfere or stop the people of the world from beingunited and engaging in this process together, for this is the One WorldReligion.

(Read my article, "When Religions Create Divisions and How to Avoid It" for

more thoughts on this matter.)

[This article is available on www.stephen-knapp.com]
http://www.stephen-knapp.com/when_religions_create_divisions.htmhttp://www.stephen-knapp.com/http://www.stephen-knapp.com/http://www.stephen-knapp.com/http://www.stephen-knapp.com/when_religions_create_divisions.htm

religious unity - why there could be a one world religion - stephen knapp

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