Overview

The argument from inconsistent revelations challenges religious belief by pointing to the numerous, contradictory claims made by different religions about divine revelation, moral law, afterlife, and the nature of God.

The Basic Problem

Core Issue:
If an all-knowing, all-powerful, perfectly good God exists and communicates with humanity through revelation, why do we observe multiple, mutually contradictory religious traditions that claim divine authority?

Logical Structure

  1. If God exists and reveals truth, divine revelations should be consistent
  2. Religious revelations are massively inconsistent and contradictory
  3. Therefore, either God doesn't exist or doesn't provide reliable revelation

Epistemic Challenge

The argument poses a fundamental epistemic problem: if multiple sources claim divine authority but teach contradictory doctrines, how can we determine which (if any) is actually from God?

Scope of Religious Inconsistency

Religious inconsistencies exist at multiple levels, from fundamental theological concepts to specific moral and ritual prescriptions.

Major World Religions

  • Christianity: ~2.4 billion adherents, emphasizes trinity and salvation through Christ
  • Islam: ~1.8 billion adherents, strict monotheism, Muhammad as final prophet
  • Hinduism: ~1.2 billion adherents, multiple gods, reincarnation, caste system
  • Buddhism: ~500 million adherents, no creator god, cycle of rebirth
  • Judaism: ~15 million adherents, monotheism, Torah as divine law

Denominational Divisions

Internal Contradictions:
Even within single religions, numerous denominations exist with conflicting interpretations of the same supposed revelation. Christianity alone has over 30,000 denominations with significant doctrinal differences.

Historical Proliferation

  • Thousands of distinct religious traditions throughout history
  • New religious movements continue to emerge
  • Each claims special access to divine truth
  • Geographic and cultural patterns in religious distribution

Statistical Reality

With thousands of mutually exclusive religious claims, the vast majority must be false even if one is true. This suggests that human religious experience is unreliable as a source of objective truth about the divine.

The Core Argument

The argument from inconsistent revelations can be formulated in several ways, each highlighting different aspects of the problem.

The Logical Version

Formal Argument:
1. If God exists and provides revelation, God would ensure consistent divine communication
2. Religious revelations are fundamentally inconsistent
3. Therefore, either God doesn't exist or doesn't provide revelation
4. Most religions claim revelation is necessary for salvation/proper relationship with God
5. Therefore, if God doesn't provide reliable revelation, most religious claims are false

The Epistemic Version

  • Contradictory revelations cannot all be true
  • No neutral method exists to determine which is correct
  • Religious experience and faith are unreliable guides to truth
  • Therefore, we cannot know which (if any) revelation is authentic

The Probabilistic Version

Bayesian Reasoning

If thousands of religions make mutually exclusive truth claims, the prior probability that any particular one is correct is extremely low. The existence of so many alternatives reduces confidence in any single tradition.

Major Contradictions

Religious traditions contradict each other on virtually every major theological and moral question.

Nature of the Divine

Incompatible Views:
• Christianity: Trinitarian God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
• Islam/Judaism: Strict monotheism (Trinity is blasphemous)
• Hinduism: Multiple gods or ultimate Brahman
• Buddhism: No creator deity
• Jainism: Universe is eternal, no creator needed

Salvation and Afterlife

  • Christianity: Salvation through faith in Christ, eternal heaven/hell
  • Islam: Submission to Allah, judgment, paradise/hell
  • Hinduism: Liberation through dharma, multiple reincarnations
  • Buddhism: Escape from suffering through enlightenment, nirvana
  • Judaism: Varied views, emphasis on this-worldly ethics

Moral and Ritual Laws

  • Dietary restrictions: Kosher, halal, vegetarian, no restrictions
  • Gender roles: From egalitarian to highly restrictive
  • Sexual ethics: Celibacy, polygamy, monogamy, varied approaches
  • Violence: Pacifism vs. just war vs. holy war doctrines

Historical Claims

Factual Contradictions

Religions make mutually exclusive historical claims: different creation stories, prophetic lineages, sacred events, and miraculous occurrences that cannot all be historically accurate.

Epistemic Problems

The existence of contradictory revelations creates serious epistemological challenges for religious belief.

The Problem of Religious Epistemology

How Do We Know?
If multiple traditions claim divine revelation with equal confidence, what method can reliably distinguish true from false revelation? Traditional religious epistemology seems inadequate to the task.

Circular Reasoning

  • Each tradition validates its own revelation using internal criteria
  • Sacred texts confirm their own divine origin
  • Religious experiences are interpreted within existing frameworks
  • Prophets/founders are authenticated by the traditions they establish

Cultural Conditioning

  • Religious belief strongly correlates with geography and culture
  • Most people accept the religion of their birth community
  • Conversion often follows social rather than evidential patterns
  • This suggests belief is more cultural than revelational

The Outsider Test

Applying External Criteria

John Loftus's "outsider test for faith" suggests applying the same skeptical standards to one's own religion that one applies to others. Most people easily see the flaws in foreign religions but not their own.

Religious Responses

Religious thinkers have developed various strategies to address the challenge of inconsistent revelations.

Exclusivism

  • Only one religion is completely true
  • Other religions are false or demonic deceptions
  • God's revelation is clear to those who sincerely seek
  • Contradictions result from human corruption of divine truth

Inclusivism

Partial Truth View:
Different religions contain elements of truth but one tradition (usually the speaker's own) has the complete revelation. Other traditions are incomplete or distorted versions of the same divine truth.

Pluralism

  • Multiple religions are equally valid paths to the same divine reality
  • Cultural differences explain variations in expression
  • The divine transcends human categories and descriptions
  • Contradictions are superficial, not fundamental

Progressive Revelation

  • God reveals truth gradually throughout history
  • Later revelations supersede earlier ones
  • Apparent contradictions reflect different stages of revelation
  • Each revelation was appropriate for its time and context

Problems with Each Response

Each response faces difficulties: exclusivism seems arbitrary, inclusivism patronizing, pluralism logically problematic (contradictory claims can't both be true), and progressive revelation raises questions about divine consistency and justice.

Broader Implications

The argument from inconsistent revelations has wide-ranging implications for religious belief and practice.

For Religious Authority

  • Challenges claims to exclusive divine authorization
  • Questions the reliability of religious texts and leaders
  • Undermines confidence in religious moral guidance
  • Suggests human rather than divine origin of religions

For Religious Dialogue

Ecumenical Challenges:
If revelations are inconsistent, interfaith dialogue becomes difficult. How can traditions engage meaningfully while maintaining their truth claims? Compromise seems to require abandoning core doctrines.

For Individual Belief

  • Creates cognitive dissonance for committed believers
  • Encourages religious relativism or skepticism
  • Motivates search for non-revelational spirituality
  • Supports secular approaches to meaning and morality

For Public Policy

Political Implications

Inconsistent revelations support arguments for religious neutrality in government, since no tradition has demonstrated superior divine authorization for its moral and political claims.

Assessment

The argument from inconsistent revelations presents a formidable challenge to traditional religious claims about divine revelation.

Strengths of the Argument

  • Based on observable, empirical facts about religious diversity
  • Applies consistent logical standards across traditions
  • Addresses fundamental epistemological questions
  • Difficult to dismiss without special pleading

Ongoing Debates

  • Whether apparent contradictions are truly fundamental
  • The adequacy of various religious responses
  • Alternative models of divine revelation
  • The relationship between religious truth and cultural expression

Contemporary Relevance

Global Context

In our interconnected world, awareness of religious diversity is unavoidable. The argument from inconsistent revelations becomes more pressing as people encounter the depth and sincerity of alternative religious traditions.

The Challenge Remains:
Whether one accepts the argument's conclusion or not, the existence of inconsistent revelations forces serious consideration of fundamental questions about divine communication, religious authority, and the nature of truth itself.