Ecclesiastes 7:18

Today in Koinoia, we did Ecclesiastes 3, A time for everything. I don't know why i was suddenly struck by the urge to read the exact verse and the book of Ecclesiastes to more detail..( i haven't touched my bible in awhile!)... but im glad i did.

15 All things have I seen in the days of my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness.
16 Be not righteous over much, neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?
17 Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
18 It is good that thou shouldest take hold of this; yea, also from this withdraw not thine hand: for he that feareth God shall come forth of them all.

i cross referenced this to the today's english bible:

15: my life has been useless, but in it I have seen everything. Some good people may die while others live on, even though they are evil.
16: So don't be too good or too wise - why kill yourself?
17: but don't be too wicked or too foolish either - why die before you have to?
18: Avoid both extremes. If you have reverence for God, you will be sucessful anyway.

Remarkable!
I was just wondering about whether it was possible to reconcile the concept of a universal morality in context of all the different cultures around the world. And i was provided with an answer.

I concluded that without God, there could be no universal standard, because ultimately, morality can, and will never be a personal concept. It exists in the space between you and me. since neither of us are perfect, morality will not achieve perfection by this means.

If we add God to the equation, only then do we have a firm base to build a house upon rather than a deck of ill- fitting cards. To have a perfect moral standard, NECESSITATES the existance of a perfect being.

My next thought was, how then does one approach God in that sense? What does religion mean? Does a belief in God correlate with the acceptance and practice of His moral standard? or, conversely, and more interestingly for me, can two opposing alternatives occur?

1) That reverence in God and his glory but not its religious structure, lead to an equally productive life?

2)That understanding in religious dogma and structure without belief in God, lead to an equally productive life.

Since ive already explored the 2nd possibility at depth, the 1st possiblity looks particularly interesting.

Perhaps what im proposing is belief in Deism. I've looked at the various religions, and most are pretty similar. How does one tie God to a particular religion?

Since we're on this thread, i shall not let my thoughts be miscommunicated and muddled via pure sematics.

Here is a quote from Deism.com:

If Deism teaches a belief in God, then what is the difference between Deism and the other religions like Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, etc.? Deism is, as stated above, based on nature and reason, not "revelation." All the other religions make claim to special divine revelation or they have requisite "holy" books. Deism has neither. In Deism there is no need for a preacher, priest or rabbi. All one needs in Deism is their own common sense and the creation to contemplate.

I argue that all such books have also been inspired by the divine being. there is (possibly) no false book... all have been written for the reverence of God.

i think what nat (lam) pointed out made a lot of sense. what that was not true would not have lasted anyway. so i would guess that all modern religions could possibly be equally true.

hey. don't shoot me over this post yah?