Originally posted by rwingett
I'm afraid you're mistaken. They're all made up. Seeing as they are all equal in that regard, that puts us back to the question of which is the best religion. Assuming that any of them has any merit at all.
If you have weighed the evidence and decided that they all are made up, then, yes, there are better religions and worse religions. However, I then would more label them philosophies, not exactly religion. However whatever you call it really doesn't matter.
I apologize for not making it clear what I meant when I said "religion." My definition of religion (I'm not saying this is everybody's but what mine is, so people understand what I'm saying) is your answer to the questions "Where did this all come from?", "What is my purpose here?", etc. This encompasses more than just how to live your life. That's what I meant when I said "it's an ideal that governs your entire existence." If you, say, believe the Christian God created the world and has a purpose for you, etc., then you will follow that religion.
Assuming each religion has a creation story that is different, and that each one says it is correct, you can pretty much infer that only one is correct. You could also say that they're all made up, if that's your opinion. As I stated before, I have studied the evidence and decided that Christianity is completely factual, so I follow it.
Using my definition of religion, there is no problem with the phrase "There is a true religion and there are false religions." It is simple logic, not something that needs proving.
Philosophies (in my definition) are ways of living your life and looking at the world. There are better philosophies and there are worse philosophies. There are no true philosophies and there are no false philosophies. It is the opposite with religion.