A crucial thought experiment:

[Karlysymon]

what is and isn't "scripture"? how do we determine this?

This is a good question but also a difficult(??) one to answer, nevertheless i will give it a go.

Every religion from antiquity has/had sacred texts which were obviously scripture to the adherents. This is hundreds of cultures around the world and their religious systems over centuries and millennia. So, we could take any one period in time, say 500BC. Can we accurately say that all the active societies in that time period, with their vastly different religious systems, that those systems could each be considered as “the truth”? The same is applicable now. Someone on here did say there are at present 3000 religions, which is crazy in and of itself. Anyway, God is Truth which means there is only one truth. To say there are many truths while claiming monotheism is to be inconsistent.

And if there is only one truth, we’d have to accept that if the Sovereign of the universe chose to get man acquainted with Himself……a desire to get man acquainted with the Truth since he cannot see God…then a sacred text/holy writ containing truths about God would suffice. But you asked how we determine what the word of God is…well, I believe that true scripture should have the quality of elevating man’s thoughts towards his Creator. It should inspire hope in him and strengthen the intellect. As the Psalmist (19) declared:….it revives the soul….making wise the simple….giving joy to the heart….giving light to the eyes...

[Quite abit has been written about bible study and its positive effects on the mind/intellect.]

While one can argue that there are countless pieces of literature (un-inspired) that can do this, I counter that it isn’t possible. I mean, scripture is spiritual food, so If there is a piece of literature that rivals and even supersedes the scriptures then the logical conclusion is man doesn’t need God since his spiritual needs can be met and fulfilled apart from God, which is impossible.

Obviously, God knowing that such questions would arise, one aspect of any sacred text that should validate it, is prophecy. While much has been said about the Christian Bible, that it is forged or corrupted etc, iam glad we are living in the time of the end because it is now that we are actually going to find out if the charges bear up. There is only one truth and only God’s eschatological timeline is going to pan out and by extension the Sacred text that bears those descriptions will be validated (here iam discounting the deceptions that will be rife), unfortunately it will be too late for many.

“Iam God and there is no other…..I make known the end from the beginning ,from ancient times what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand…Isaiah 46:9-10

If belief alone constitutes the validity of a belief system, then Atheism would seem the natural progression. I think this usually is the progress that Atheists go through because they know nothing other than "belief for the sake of belief" in religion, considering Christianity is the largest religion in the world it is not surprising that it is also the one that produces the most Atheists (aka ex-Christians), especially in places like the USA, UK and Europe.

Christianity has its many problems but i reiterate my belief that majority of those leaving don’t do so because of doctrine. They are leaving for other reasons, because we are living in an era that emphasizes materialism and feelings-based validation. Wicca and Islam are the fastest growing faiths in the regions you mentioned. Her story should give you a hint on why she forayed into Wicca.
“Casting spells, I saw results. Usually, it was like — maybe I needed money or I needed a car. I needed love in my life. It was very selfish. It was all about what I wanted. I was really satisfied with my life.’’ So why give it up?

I was spiritually deceived by witchcraft

Selah Ally Tower is a recovering witch living in New Jersey. The former practitioner of the dark arts once thought she had it all, and then some. On an average day, she’d cast spells designed to ma…

nypost.com

In the West, more women than men are converting to Islam. I have afew personal conclusions on the phenomenon (which I will not post) but iam interested in yours. Also, what do you think is the main force driving Neo-shamanism (people jetting off to the Amazon for ayahuasca)? Keeping in mind that these people were once Christian or Muslim.

I think even before coming to that position (of accepting a religious worldview) we have to go through the same reasoning anyway. Whatever you mean by 'those practices', is fundamentally 'another religion's practices'. All religions have meditation so I don't think you're referring to that (but I could be wrong).

I decided to approach your response by asking about ALL spiritual practices, not just meditation.

What defines them? it's always the dogma of the religion we accept isn't it?

Agreed.

I am not able to take that question seriously but I'm not sure if you where being serious or not.
If you are suffocating yourself in some kind of practice or doing extended baptism or something, maybe you won't make it out alive. If you have epilepsy and decide to practice some kind of thing with strobe lights, it raises questions.
It's just like day-to-day work in that regards to our safety.

I was serious when I asked that in the sense that dipping your toes into something (some spiritual practices) sometimes sets one on a path from which they never make it back alive both in this lifetime and the next (road to perdition).

I fail to see anything substantial in a belief system that merely reads a book, prays (without any ritual) and goes to a building to sing songs once a week. If you're not trying to cultivate connection with the Holy Spirit, I can't see any reason to accept that a person in question even knows what the Holy Spirit even is.

Haha…is this how you view Christians/Christianity? Iam sure many Christians on here actively live out their spirituality in their real lives by loving their neighbors which cannot be demonstrated on a forum board.