Is God real?

Question

Which is the true religion?

For many people around the world, God is very real. The true religion is the one that a person whole-heartedly believes and faithfully follows.

Hi Cherry.

Considering this is a homework question, most Religious Education classes center around reflecting on your faith and applying the information you know. So this is the place to start.

I would break your paper down into two parts, since the question is in two parts.

If you are an atheist, then you think the answer to the first question is "no." If you're an agnostic, you can say, "I don't know." If you're a Theist, you can say, "Yes." After that, explain the reasoning as to why you feel that way.

As to the question of "Which is the true religion?" - that is a little bit trickier. I'm amazed a teacher with a college degree (especially since it's likely in a Religious/Theological field) would quite ask it in that way. But what can you do? You're stuck with the question.

I would, again, reflect on your own beliefs. But it seems as if a religious education class might want you to realize a deeper reality here. The answer to this question is honestly "we don't know." Be careful here because it's not really that every religion is true. Our beliefs don't change reality. No matter how much people used to believe the earth was flat, it is and was a sphere. A religiously mature approach to this is to say, "I believe with my whole heart that this is true, but I accept that I could be wrong and others might be correct."

This is not to be confused with "truth." Saying one religion is the true religion is a lot different from saying religions hold religious truth. This is a very important distinction when discussing religion and Theology. By saying "truth," a Theologian is talking about something that is much more important than fact. We're talking about the core of human experience. Images and Theology/Philosophy are used throughout religions to try to get a sense of what that very common experience is in humanity. That is what is meant when a Theologian says religions reveal truth. A Theologian that says "all religions are true" is technically not correct. A Theologian that says "all religions reveal truth" is saying something entirely different.

Hope this helps clarify the question some. Did it clear up any confusions you had as far as what the professor is looking for? Do you still have other questions about the assignment we can help with? I wasn't quite sure where the stumbling block was in your question, so I did not know which way to go with my answer.

Matt