taughtbuffet - pretty much everything that I utter or write is my opinion. But I'm always looking for an excuse to change my point of view.
If I said to you that God was just, I believe you would agree with me. For a just God to offer divine medicine to one group of peoples and withhold it from others is not the actions of a just God. I believe I can see evidence of the justice of which I speak in the teachings of Moses, Jesus, Krishna, the Buddha, Muhammad, Baha'u'llah, etc. I'm sure I could find something in some divine work that indicates that no one group has exclusive access to God, but it would still require your acceptance. The examples you quoted are some of the examples I put to make my suggestion. I believe there were tribal groups in the Americas that had a connection to God second to none.
My problem is I see humanity as a single entity, and the religions as just stages of a single, ongoing revelation. That's why I believe that religious truth is relative because there will always be more to reveal.
RM - I have read the same bible as you and it somehow resonates very differently with me. I don't see any possibility of this triune, it's illogical I'm sorry to say. I believe in an unknowable God that exists outside of the creation, external to the physical world. How could a personal god enter into its own creation, or a painter enter his own painting?
The religions are very similar at their cores and differ mostly with the fluffy stuff around the edges. When they differ at their cores it's because of some corruption at the human level.
I don't know about the suffering, guilt stuff - but I do believe we are born with the question why firmly imprinted in our soul, figuratively speaking.
The faith I choose to follow will not have religious experts leading it, will not differentiate between the capacity of men and women, will not have people dressed in ridiculous clothing, suffering some vain imaginings that they must be isolated from the rest to do God's work, will seek open and loving fellowship with all religions, peoples and cultures. And the most important aspect of this religion will be that if this so called religion causes conflict with another religion it will immediately dissolve itself, because social harmony is greater than any religion.
Re AFL - I played Rugby League for years and now I won't even watch it on TV. I have a friend who delivered a complete conversion upon me, I saw the light, god whispered in my breast, I took the red and white baptism now I follow the Swans.
