# Could all religions be wrong? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 29, 2002, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192 "2002-08-29T23:08:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/21 "2002-08-31T18:53:01Z")
they could not all be right. Guess we’ll find out. ---
**Author:** ![dal\_timgar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@dal\_timgar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dal_timgar)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/22 "2002-08-31T19:17:42Z")
what if most religions have mixtures of truth and garbage. different religions got corrupted in different ways by lying power seekers. most christians never heard of Origen. he argued something like transmigration before Constantine became emperor and made christianity the official religion. hard to find a good history of the 1st 500 years of christianity, information is scattered around and people pick and choose what serves their purposes. Dal Timgar ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/23 "2002-08-31T19:26:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*they could not all be right. > Guess we’ll find out. \*\* I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![zorch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/50afbb/32.png) [@zorch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zorch)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/24 "2002-08-31T20:18:56Z")
–ULTRESS– To answer your question, wolves do not NEED to cook their food or wipe themselves, just as they [and we] do not NEED religion. It is a useless, vain appendage. Acknowledgement of the creator is all that is required. ---
**Author:** ![Izzardesque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a9adbd/32.png) [@Izzardesque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Izzardesque)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2002, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/25 "2002-08-31T21:09:45Z")
Why is it REQUIRED? By whom? ---
**Author:** ![zorch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/50afbb/32.png) [@zorch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zorch)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/26 "2002-09-02T14:56:38Z")
Thank you, IZZARDESQUE— You know, I try to keep my posts mercifully brief, and STILL manage to make mistakes. I’d like to blame the ‘hamsters,’ but I’m afraid it was me. After I posted, I thought, “Maybe no one will notice,” but this being the SDMB, fat chance. Anyway, the thought I MEANT to convey was: “The creator does NOT even require acknowledgement.” I think I’ll go back to bed now and see if I can screw up a wet dream. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/27 "2002-09-02T14:59:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by -zorch \* > \*\*They not only COULD be, they most emphatically ARE. > > Does the wolf worship? Or need to? And as a wise man once observed, “man has no advantage over the beast, for all is vanity.” Religion is a part of that vanity. \*\* No advantage over the beast? How many animal built hospitals have you seen lately? How many animals do you know of who go to schools?(And I’m not talking obedience school either.) At Any rate, religion provides structure and stability. Could they all be wrong? There’s a difference between possibility and probability. They possible could be, but they probably aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![zorch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/50afbb/32.png) [@zorch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zorch)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/28 "2002-09-02T16:30:37Z")
No animal-built hospitals, no animals going to schools. These are vanities; schools the moreso, perhaps, since they attempt to increase human ‘intelligence.’ [vanity] I am not saying we should do away with these things–they are an ingrained fact of life and it would be too disruptive if they were to suddenly disappear. But they are vanities. As to religion providing structure and stability…hmmm…think about this for awhile, and if you still feel the same way, I’ll try to answer. Can you think of any other things that they ‘provide?’ ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/29 "2002-09-02T16:48:41Z")
School’s a vanity, now? I wish I’d known that back in high school; I could have used that argument on my parents. Feh. School is no more a “vanity” than a tigress demonstrating stalking and hunting techniques to her cubs. Complex behaviour isn’t always instinctive, and knowledge of how to perform complex actions can be the difference between a short life and along one. It just so happens that humans have discovered that complex behaviours (like medicine and engineering) are _very_ effective at prolonging life, so schools that teach these and similar skills, including the prerequisites of math, language and science, serve a valuable purpose in making sure humans can stay alive along enough to reproduce. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2002, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/30 "2002-09-02T19:07:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by -zorch \* > \*\*No animal-built hospitals, no animals going to schools. These are vanities; schools the moreso, perhaps, since they attempt to increase human ‘intelligence.’ [vanity] I am not saying we should do away with these things–they are an ingrained fact of life and it would be too disruptive if they were to suddenly disappear. But they are vanities. > > As to religion providing structure and stability…hmmm…think about this for awhile, and if you still feel the same way, I’ll try to answer. Can you think of any other things that they ‘provide?’ \*\* You MUST mean something other than the words you’re posting, or are you saying that if I got very sick, or severly injured myself, going to a hospital would be a sign of vanity? As for religion providing structure and stability, of course different religions offer different things, but as for religions like mine, Christianity, specifically the denomination of Catholasism, there are rules you have to live by and ways you should conduct your behavior. Yes, I’m sure that there are religions of simply, “Love thy neighbor” and “You can do anything as long as you don’t hurt anybody” and leave it at that, but there are plenty that go into more detail than that. Also, for ‘other’ things that they provide, well, that depends on the religion. For those of us who believe in some sort of higher being, then we have someone, or something bigger than ourselves that we can put our faith in. It also gives us something to look forward to after death. Something else that religions in general provide, is a since of community, of unity. Please tell me how religion doesn’t provide these things, I’d love to hear it. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/31 "2002-09-03T06:42:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > How many animal built hospitals have you seen lately? All of the hospitals I’ve ever seen have been built by animals. > [@](#): > > As for religion providing structure and stability, of course different religions offer different things, but as for religions like mine, Christianity, specifically the denomination of Catholasism, there are rules you have to live by and ways you should conduct your behavior. Yes, I’m sure that there are religions of simply, “Love thy neighbor” and “You can do anything as long as you don’t hurt anybody” and leave it at that, but there are plenty that go into more detail than that. > Also, for ‘other’ things that they provide, well, that depends on the religion. For those of us who believe in some sort of higher being, then we have someone, or something bigger than ourselves that we can put our faith in. It also gives us something to look forward to after death. > Something else that religions in general provide, is a since of community, of unity. But these things don’t really answer the question of whether or not any particular religion is _true_. Many different religions with different and often contradictory teachings provide moral rules, a sense of serving a higher purpose, and a sense of community. The claims of those religions about the nature of reality could still be untrue. ---
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/32 "2002-09-03T11:00:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by -zorch \* > \*\*Does the wolf worship? Or need to? \*\* Excuse me, please, but I must point out that you have no way of knowing whether or not wolves worship anything, nor whether or not they need to do so. Unless you have established some form of communication with wolves that allows for the exchange of such abstract ideas? I’m not saying that you’re wrong, but that you are making a statement of ‘belief’ just as surely as the religious folks. ---
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/33 "2002-09-03T11:31:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > \*\* > I doubt it. \*\* **Jack** , I may be mistaken, but I took \*_vanilla’s_ post to mean that we would find out the truth when we died, as we all surely will eventually. Did it read differently to you? If not, are you saying that we **won’t** find out when we die? ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/34 "2002-09-03T13:30:45Z")
exactly. Even if, as Jack may believe, there is Nothing after we die,…well, we’d still find out! ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/35 "2002-09-03T13:46:35Z")
No, because if when a person dies, they are no more, they cannot know. You cannot know death untill you are dead, and if you are no more, you will not know, you will know nothing because you will be nothing. Make sense? The only way you would **know** if you are dead is if there is an afterlife of some sort. Otherwise you cannot say we will find out. Because that is a form of knowing. ---
**Author:** ![coosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@coosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coosa)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/36 "2002-09-03T21:42:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Epimetheus \* > \*\*No, because if when a person dies, they are no more, they cannot know. You cannot know death untill you are dead, and if you are no more, you will not know, you will know nothing because you will be nothing. Make sense? > > The only way you would **know** if you are dead is if there is an afterlife of some sort. Otherwise you cannot say we will find out. Because that is a form of knowing. \*\* Hmm . . . you’ve got a point there. If there _is_ an afterlife, then everyone will find out when they die, but if there _isn’t_ an afterlife there’s nothing left to even be aware of the absence. I never looked at it from quite that angle before. Thank you - I love it when someone says something that kicks my lazy brain back into high gear. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/37 "2002-09-03T22:34:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vanilla \* > \*\*exactly. > Even if, as Jack may believe, there is Nothing after we die,…well, we’d still find out! \*\* Not exactly. I do believe that there is nothing after we die. If there is nothing, then I can’t very well be aware of it as my awareness will be no more. So I won’t find out anything. I will just cease to be. Your opinion that we _will_ find out presumes that there _is_ something after death. An opinion I don’t share. Thus, my comment. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/38 "2002-09-03T22:41:34Z")
Or … um … duh … what **Epimetheus** said. (got a little ahead of myself) ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/39 "2002-09-04T01:05:35Z")
## Hey MEBuckner, as for… quote: ## Originally posted by Joel How many animal built hospitals have you seen lately? All of the hospitals I’ve ever seen have been built by animals. Yeah, that’s real cute. Yes technically humans are classified as animals, but you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2002, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192/40 "2002-09-04T02:21:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joel \* > \*\* > You MUST mean something other than the words you’re posting, or are you saying that if I got very sick, or severly injured myself, going to a hospital would be a sign of vanity? > \*\* I assume it could be considered as a vanity in the sense that it’s a futile attempt to extend life, keep death away for a little more time, etc… It would be “vanity” in the “pointless” sense, not in the “proudness” sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-all-religions-be-wrong/126192.md?page=3)