"A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of." - Jane Austen
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I got yet another response to my Questionnaire for Christians, which made me realise some parts were a bit unclear. So it now says:
4) Do you think your mythology unique? If so, why are so many elements shared with previous religions? (Salvation: Mystery pagan religions - Osiris, Eleusinian mysteries, Alleged virgin births of god-men: Romulus, Augustus, Dionysus, Perseus, Baptism: Mithraic mysteries, ablutions, Miracles: Asclepius raising the dead, Resurrection: Dionysius, Osiris)
If you lived in China, could you "invent" chopsticks?
6) How does your faith in your religion differ from that of others in theirs? If it is the same, who's to say which religions are correct?
Put another way, if Hermes, the divine Messenger of the Gods, appeared to you with his winged sandals, broad-brimmed hat and Caduceus and told you that you had been chosen to rescue a princess (or prince, if you like) in distress, what would your reaction be?
Would you expect someone from another religion to have a different reaction if the Angel Gabriel appeared to him?
The story of Deanna Laney was also apropos:
5) Have you ever communicated with, or felt your god or his presence?... Deanna Laney, a Texan mother, thought God told her to kill her children, like Abraham and Isaac. The court did not accept her argument. Would you?