If There Is One God, Why Are There So Many Religions?
It is so confusing to have so many different religions. It would be much easier if everyone could just believe and do the same things. But, that is not the way the world is. If there is only one God, why are their so many different religions? Rabbi Sheridan told the story of The Blindfolded Children and the Elephant. She said that God is so big that each of us can see only a small part of God. Different religions come from the different ways each of us knows God.
Rabbi Salkin said that finding God is like climbing a mountain. There are many different ways up the mountain. Each religion is a different path, but they are all aiming toward the same God.
If There Is One God, Why Are There So Many Religions?
The rabbis teach that every person has his or her own Torah. This means that every person has his or her own piece of the total wisdom that there is for people to learn. Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter, a rabbi known as the S’fat Emet taught, “The entire Torah was given to the Jewish people as a whole. However, each person has his or her own particular teaching, a specific goal for his or her life.” For the S’fat Emet, the total Torah is more than the words on the scroll. It is more like a jigsaw puzzle. God gave one piece to each person. Our job is to gather Torah from everyone we meet—and make the whole Torah larger and larger. Here are two examples of people who have taught me pieces of wisdom I will treasure forever. The Person My Uncle Seymour
My Uncle Seymour had cerebral palsy. It damaged his whole body. It made it difficult for him to walk and even talk. He refused to use a wheel chair and he walked with the help of canes. He became a lawyer. He spent his whole life finding ways of doing things that seemrf impossible. My Uncle Seymour’s Torah was that God gives us as much strength as we need.
My Neighbor Mary
I live in an apartment building made of brick and steel and it is kind of old. My neighbor Mary loves plants. She grows them in her apartment, on the balconies and the outside staircases. Our building is now green, and there are flowers all over. Mary taught me that God gives us the wisdom to make life grow almost everywhere.
Joel Grishaver told the story, In the Beginning There Was One Religion. It is the story of Eve and Adam, Noah, and Sarah and Abraham. God is working on ways to help people control their behavior and be the best people they can be. Judaism is one of God’s experiments, a way of helping people learn how to be better people. Is one of these explanations close to your understanding? Do you have a different way of explaining why there are so many religions?
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The Person’s Torah
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