Interesting correlation between God and light in major world religions...

[Ajay0]

I have come across some observations which depict an interesting correlation between God and light in the major world religions....

In Hinduism, the Vedas and Hindu scriptures considers the sacred Shivalingam as representing a cosmic pillar of light. The Dharmic monotheistic sect the Prajapita Brahmakumaris consider God to be a point of light.

The Upanishads and enlightened masters have also described God as in Brahman to be self-luminous.

In Islam, Allah has 100 name's, and one of them is Alnoor ( the Light).

“God is light,” says 1 John 1:5, in the Bible in Christianity.

In Judaism, Psalm 76:4 says of God, “You are radiant with light.”

In the Bahai religion it is stated thus, "This is the Day whereon naught can be seen except the splendors of the Light that shineth from the face of Thy Lord, the Gracious, the Most Bountiful."(Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 29)

So this correlation between God and light, is a common denominator in these major world religions.

Imo, the fire worship in Zoroastrianism may be illustrating this correlation between God (Ahura Mazda ) and light as well, light being emitted by the fire.

I would say this may provide more proof that the major world religions are identical in their core, with only superficial differences on the outside creating cause for extremism and conflict. If you find any further proofs or evidences in this regard, please do share it here.

 

[Scooter]

So this correlation between God and light, is a common denominator in these major world religions...I would say this may provide more proof that the major world religions are identical in their core, with only superficial differences on the outside creating cause for extremism and conflict

I would suggest all religions may have started from one true faith, but over time several groups have taken erroneous paths away from the true God and started their own religions while holding on to certain truths. So I would not say all religions are the same in their core beliefs.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

@Ajay0

Interesting observations!

Another supporting point is in Acts 22:6-8 where Paul encounters Jesus as a bright light:

6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’

8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.

“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

Also, Exodus 24:17 where God is described as a consuming fire:

17 To the Israelites the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain.

While I'm sure there is plenty of supporting evidence from various Scriptures, but others might point you to descriptions of God being non-physical, a spirit, etc. Perhaps all can be true at the same time, like God choosing to manifest as light when he wants to make a grand entrance, or maybe there's something symbolic of that.

Either way, I do have some general agreement with your conclusion that most major religions share some similarities. I honestly believe that they all share a common ancestor and they branch out from there. Scooter's explanation could account for why different religions started to branch out of that common ancestor.

 

[Ajay0]

Focussing on the similarities can prepare ground for harmony and peace, while focussing on the dissimilarities can prepare ground for hostility and conflict.

Considering the substantial similarities and superficial dissimilarities, obviously the path ahead is that of mutual goodwill and peaceful co-existence.

But as the Buddha and other teachers have stated, the nature of the untrained mind is to focus on the negatives instead of the positives. Hence the dissimilarities become more magnified and pronounced while the similarities are overlooked or ignored, imho.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

But as the Buddha and other teachers have stated, the nature of the untrained mind is to focus on the negatives instead of the positives. Hence the dissimilarities become more magnified and pronounced while the similarities are overlooked or ignored, imho.

Good point to keep in mind.

I view God or some transcendent ultimate source as being the most important aspect of many religions. Whether we are referring to religions of the East or West, or ancient even, I think most agree that God is more advanced than humans, is all encompassing (omnipresent), and we should strive to connect with it (the Christian equivalent of relationship with God), and when we don't, we get intoproblems.