"Every religion worships the same God."

Perhaps what the author wished to say is that every [true] religion leads people to the same God.

Since it is impossible (or at least extremely difficult) to worship God directly, Who has no attributes thus cannot even be imagined, different religions instead teach how to worship different gods - these are just different techniques, all with the same goal.

Worship is concentration infused with love - it is indispensable, for nothing can be achieved without concentration and no concentration can last without love. However, normally people worship things that exist: money, power, beauty, other people, success, nature, children, etc. - and this leads them further and further out to be lost in the world and away from God. Worshipping a god which doesn't exist, is an antidote that helps kicking that habit.

Steve 101,

"The three main religions state that their religion is the same god as Abrahams god,"

The three main religions may state this but their ideas are different.

Israel and Islam state that their God is a single person, whereas Christianity states that their God, as well as being the God of Abraham is a God of three persons in one God, a Trinity and thus that both Israel and Islam are wrong in their interpretation of God.

Clearly a God who is only one person cannot be a God who is three persons.

Quote: Throughout the history of humanity, God has never once called anyone to kill or punish in His name.

Obviously Mr Compton has never read the Quran: I suggest that he read 5:33 and 9:111

Dear Kactuz,

You don't seriously suggest that the Kuran is the word of God, do you?

The 3 mono-theistic religions that are causing the most trouble in the world all originate in the Middle East. as such they all have the same general Semitic cultural, social and political background - except that Christian-ism, uniquely among the 3 , was immediately developed and extended to outside and beyond the general Semitic domain of society and culture, by means of a thorough re-acculturation and re-adaptation to the cultural, social, and political domain of ancient Greece and Rome.

These three monotheistic traditions are all in their "official" formulations, thoroughly exoteric in their nature and context, and each of them has always tended toward the status of an "official" State-religion.

They are all composed of 3 principal elements: the Book, the Teacher, and the Religion.
In Judaism the Book is the Torah, and the Hebrew Bible as a whole is the larger text of the essential tradition.
In Christian-ism, it is the "New" Testament and especially the 4 Gospels.
In Islam-ism it is the Koran.

In Judaism, the Teacher is Moses the "Law-Giver"
In Christian-ism it is Jesus the "Savior" or the "Christ"
In Islam-ism it is Mohammed, the "Prophet"

In Judaism, the Religion is the Temple-cult of Jerusalem, the ancient priestly "Seat" of the original "Kingdom".
In Christian-ism it is the cult of the "Eucharist" signifying the re-"Ascension" of Jesus to the "Throne" of cosmic "Kingship" as the "Son of God".
In Islam-ism it is the cult of Mohammed as the "Revealer of the Book".

In Judaism the "Book" is the "Revelation"
In Christianity the "Teacher" is the "Revelation".
In Islam, the "Religion" (itself) is the "Revelation.

For Judaism, the Book or the "Divine Words" must achieve "Final Victory", whereby at the "end of time" the politically-established priestly tradition of Judaism will "Rule the entire world".

For Christian-ism, the "Teacher" or the "Incarnation of the Divine Word" must achieve "Final Victory", whereby at the "end of time", the politically-established sacramental tradition of Christian-ism will "Rule the entire world".

For Islam-ism, the "Religion" itself, or the politically-established religious movement "Inspired by the Divine Word" of the Koran must achieve "Final Victory", whereby at the "end of time', the intrinsically authoritarian religio-political tradition of Islam-ism will "Rule the entire world".

Fundamentally, among all the religious traditions of the world, ONLY Judaism, Christian-ism, and Islam-ism are inherently and aggressively associated with an expansionist ideal, and an attitude of not only cultural, but also social and political, superiority, that irreducibly intends, and actively pursues the "destiny", to which each of these 3 traditions appoints ITSELF of total world-domination, or global totalitarian "Rulership".

Likewise, by their very nature, these 3 religious, cultural, social and political traditions are, perpetually, in an intentionally performed state of competition, that always seeks, and frequently achieves, conflict, confrontation, and even aggressive warfare with one another. And even in the case of Christian-ism and Islam-ism with all other religious, cultural, social, and political traditions, systems or institutions in the world.

The powers of nation states that now exercise themselves in the name of these 3 religions of the Middle East now presume they can wage "Final War" and, thus and thereby, establish "Final Rule"- and they are now actively moving themselves on that basis.

Therefore humankind as a whole must refuse to allow these 3 systems from achieving any kind of larger public state of conflict, confrontation, or otherwise aggressive or even war-like opposition to one another.

The total world of humankind can very easily be drawn into a terminal state of conflict by means of the public theatrical exploitation of the false-face of such exoteric religiosity,, only, in due course, to find a dark political, and cultural tyranny has been embraced by seemingly "lightest" means.