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I can say this though. Your assertions about God are probably held just as strongly as I hold my assertions about God. However many of the things I know from experience with God. Those experiences have deepened my trust in the bible to be from God's touch and influence. Your beliefs say they accept all religions but discourage any commitment to any of them. If you were ok with any commitment to the religions you say you accept, then there would be no issue with people of those religions teaching and spreading their knowledge from them.

If any are true there should be a reaction and a commitment to them like the difference in knowing if the rope is a rope or a snake. In that distinction we can say what is true and what isn't. Honestly though many aspects of religion and spiritual stuff we don't know what is true and what isn't. Unless we have an experience to light the way often if we are honest we can say we trust this or trust that, but don't know until we die and find out from experience in that stage after death. This not knowing through experiencing it doesn't mean they are all true.

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It's like a child being taught one thing that they can't apply it yet (for instance parents teaching children about relationships and sex before the stumble on it on their own). For the time being the child will have to trust the parent without seeing it for themselves or to dismiss what their parents said till the day they find out on their own. That is the way it is with many religious and spiritual topics. Until we see it for ourselves we have to determine if we trust the source we are hearing from. There are things that we can find out though. Finding and seeking God is one of those things. And after that if Gid is found, discerning what is from Him and what isn't is a second thing that can be found. After that we must rest our faith and hopes on the trust we've developed through those searches.

Dear Not_Now.Soon,

I could expand at length the philosophical point regarding why it would be nonsensical to speak of anything that is not God or does not come from God (including evil), but since you believe in the bible, it would be sufficient for me to point you to Isaiah 45:5-7:

"
5 I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me:

6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else.

7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
"

Regarding science, the scientific consensus is that, all matter is a "condensed" form of energy and given sufficient [extremely long] time, unless a "big crunch" occurs first, all particles will eventually dissipate on their own and only energy will remain. It is not the case that "Wood produces heat only if it's set on fire": wood oxidises slowly over the centuries and slowly produces [a small amount of] heat in that process.

«Your beliefs say they accept all religions but discourage any commitment to any of them.»

Where did you get this idea from?
I keep encouraging you to commit to your Christian faith and for those who have no religion, to choose the one closest to their heart, then stick to it (yes, there are exceptions, but this is the rule).

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«If you were ok with any commitment to the religions you say you accept, then there would be no issue with people of those religions teaching and spreading their knowledge from them.»

Issue 1: It is not right to divert others who are already established on their path to God from following that path.
Issue 2: Are you trying to teach others what you know, or are you trying to help them find God? Perhaps 2000 years ago there was shortage of information, but today there is an overflow of information - and more of it doesn't help anyone. People need inspiration, not information, and this can only be provided using personal example, not words.

«However many of the things I know from experience with God. Those experiences have deepened my trust in the bible to be from God's touch and influence.»

Devoted Christians undoubtedly have spiritual experiences, but so are devotees from other religions and so have other scriptures been written by God's saints and seers.

«Honestly though many aspects of religion and spiritual stuff we don't know what is true and what isn't. Unless we have an experience to light the way often if we are honest we can say we trust this or trust that»

Which is why one needs a live teacher, preferably a saint or a prophet, to show them the way. This is especially crucial for advanced aspirants - for the rest of us, the basics are laid down by most current religions (well, forget Scientology, devil-worship and the spaghetti monster...). The book-covers, the theories and explanations, might be different, but the practices and living-principles are similar enough.

To Yuyutsu. I would like to hear the experiences from devotees of other religions. It's not an oppurtunity I get often. It is my opinion that experiences give us discernment to our philosophies. For me I know of many conflicting and battling philosophies within Christianity. To discern through them I can look at my experiences as well as the experiences of other people. I can also study the bible and consider the philosophies in light to God's word. However, experiences do something great. They give merit and take merrit away. To consider another's testimony through their experience instead of their philosophy (or along with their philosophy) is much more worth while in my opinion.

Regarding the two issues you gave.

If my path is true then telling it to others and encouraging them towards it will not harm their path. Helping people find God is one goal I hold as very important. Teaching from what I know will not harm anyone.

As for a shortage of information (part of issue 2), I disagree. People need inspiration and encouragement no doubt. But there is so much misinformation being given holding up reliable stuff is worth doing. I have a shortage of information and gain a lot when I study in bible studies, listen to sermons, or gather some other means of information I can consider and hopefully trust. If this is true for me it must be true for those less knowledgable in Christian understanding. Can you say that your knowledge base is mature enough to not need to grow? There is a shortage of information, that much I can tell you from my observations. Even from my observations within these forums on OLO.

Regarding Isaiah 45:7. I looked into this a while ago. Though you might want to look into it too to see if it's true or not. But apparently there are several words that have been described as evil or bad. This word apparently is used more for a disaster and destruction sort of thing. Not evil in an immoral kind of way like murder, cruelty or other wise. Though I recommend you looking into the matter on your own too. I'm not a linguist, so I can't confirm it to be accurate. But if it is accurate then this term of evil is more on the lines of being negative to men, not that God is unjust or causes the other kinds of evil.

Regarding an earlier comment. You asked that if Jewish faith is from God and Christian Faith is from God, then why don't I follow Jewish teachings? You concluded that it was due to preference. Sorry I did not answer this before. But here is my answer. Jewish teachings point to Jesus. Therefore Jewish faith leads to Christian Faith. By being Christian I am following the path God put out first through Jewish prophets, and then through Jesus.