Problems of comparing religions

Thesis: Scriptures of different religions suggest a shared recognition of the indwelling divine spirit.

Some evidence for the thesis

Judaism: “The spirit in man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts.” Proverbs 20.27

Christianity: “The kingdom of heaven is within you.” Luke 17.21

Islam: “We created man. We know the promptings of his soul, and are closer to him than his jugular vein.” Qur’an 50.17

Hinduism: the atman, the eternal spirit Self

(Mahayana) Buddhism: the Buddha-nature within

Objections to the thesis

Apparent similarities can be misleading when you rely on

• • texts--which do not necessarily portray insight or experience.

  • translations into a single language--which cannot express subtle, foreign vocabulary.

  • phrases taken out of context, which greatly affects the meaning.

Replies to objections

• • Texts may express experience.

  • People sometimes find kindred minds and spirits across alleged boundaries of language and culture.

  • Context does not completely determine meaning.