What makes one religion more valid than another?

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Originally Posted by Jayhawker Soule

Coherence.

Incoherence might be a mark of non-valid religion, but coherence doesn't necessarily imply that a religion is valid... or even that it's more valid than some other incoherent one.

[logician]

Originally Posted by Willamena

I think he meant truth itself.

And I'm asking what that is.

[Jayhawker Soule]

Originally Posted by 9-10ths_Penguin

Incoherence might be a mark of non-valid religion, but coherence doesn't necessarily imply that a religion is valid... or even that it's more valid than some other incoherent one.

You're welcome to think so ...

[Willamena]

Originally Posted by logician

And I'm asking what that is.

I'm always surprised by folks who don't know what truth is, but judging by the state of the world, there must be a lot of them.

[Riverwolf]

Originally Posted by Phasmid

They can't all be right... right?

I know this sounds like I'm opening a can of worms (maybe I am) but this is a debate forum after all, so tell me, why is your faith correct, while others are wrong?

Why can't they all be right? Holy texts from what I've seen only guide followers by laying some ground rules. But in essence, if you look at the core values of all the major and many minor religions, they all have pretty much the same ideas, just presented with different words.

[Riverwolf]

Originally Posted by science_is_my_god

It sounds to me like you are making the assumption that there actually is a valid religion. Why can't religion in general be invalid? And to answer your question, the reason my "faith" (science) is valid because I can physically show you how it works. There is no "you have to believe in it first to see it happen" business in science folks. It is what it is, no matter what you or anyone else "believes."

Not actually true. Science is still growing and in essence still in infancy. (don't forget the acceptance of science is relatively new; remember when everything in the universe acted like a clock?) Our mathematical calculations at the moment may make sense to us, but in the future, I guarantee people will look at this time period and laugh. Their technology will be more sophisticated, there will be new means of calculation, and we'll know more about the physical world than we do now.

"~If my theories are not disproven in the future, I'll have wasted my time.~" -Albert Einstein.

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Originally Posted by Jayhawker Soule

You're welcome to think so ...

Ah... so coherence is a guarantee of some measure of validity?

[Fluffy]

Originally Posted by 9/10ths Penguin

Ah... so coherence is a guarantee of some measure of validity?

Validity is different from truth. If a belief system is coherent then that is the same as saying that it is valid. We can have multiple valid belief systems even though only 1 can be true.

However, given the context of the OP, I think truth was meant rather than validity. On the other hand, we can't have truth without validity so coherence is definitely important.

I suggest that testimony, evidence and personal experience are other key factors.