Agreed, Nathan.

I think Paul was simply speaking from what he was consciously aware of, that's all. He was aware of Jesus (who was indeed the Christ...in the general historical era Paul lived in). Paul was not aware of Buddha, Krishna, or various others. So he naturally wrote from his own direct experience, as anyone does. I think God inspires people to write great religious texts (and to do all manner of useful things), but those people are always limited in expression by their own conscious awareness, which is shaped by their personal history, their time, and the culture they grew up in. Thus the person, whom God uses as a scribe is a tool with somewhat limited possibilities, and cannot be counted on to simply be infallible in what he says.

Many religious writings sound exclusive, and that has led to endless wars and misunderstandings between religious groups, who all worship essentially the same God.

This has occurred in the way I described in my first paragraph, not because God is exclusive or plays favourites.

I think the very religious impulse itself is a natural result of the unseen connection between man and God. Therefore, all religions are "from God", yes, but to say that any one of them is infallible, is "the best", or is exclusively true is indicative of human prejudice, not God's love.

Matter of fact, everything is from God, in a certain sense, although everything might not be pleasant...but that's another very big discussion.

I think you may find some oddities and inconsistencies in all holy books, the Bible included. This is not due to any error by God, but it is due to the limitations and errors of the imperfect human beings who have served as scribes for the Divine. We all have free will, Paul included, we all do the best we can, and we all fall short of perfection.

People in religions don't want to consider that, because they want the psychological reassurance that their particular book is perfect and infallible. I regard no book as necessarily infallible, but I regard some books as very valuable for spiritual guidance, and the Bible is among those.

- LH