Quote:
If one 'talks with God', one is usually categorised in one of three groups:
# If the God in case is 'ours', the person in question is deeply religious
# If it is some other established religion's God, especially one prevalent in countries we are at odds with at the moment, the guy is a religious fanatic or something similar
# If nobody ever heard of the God in question, the chap has nice chances of ending up in a psychiatric institution

And yet, I don't see any difference.
There is no difference, except between those who are right and those who are wrong. Between two people of differening faiths, either one of them is right or neither are. Both cannot be, though it is nice to think so (and often accepting both contrasting views as right gets labled as "tolerant"- a misuse of the word I think).

Of course, there are religions that accept other faiths as true. Like Mormanism, sort of. I once talked at length to a Morman coworker and he was convinced that we both could be right because I was very sincere. In their view as long as you are a good person and did good things, you are pleasing to God. This is a point of view where both can be right- of course since Christ claimed exclucivity, it doesn't work the other way around.

As far as "religious fanatics" go, it's a label and you're right that it gets applied differently depending on the beliefs of the labeler. Those "fanatics" who go around killing people in the name of their religion are not fanatics to those who share their beliefs. Understanding that, however, will not stop me from defending myself and my loved ones if a person's faith demands violence.

Quote:
what makes your particular religion more, for lack of a better word, probable (or true) than others?
Because it IS true, whether I can prove it to others or not. My life experience, my reading of the Bible, and my examination of the claims of other faiths all tell me the Christianity is true. Of every teaching I've encountered, the notion that man is fallen and need of redemption rings truer to me than any other philosophy, and as I've walked in Christ's footsteps this has been confirmed over and over.

If you're after scientific proof (or any other kind, for that matter), I can't offer any. But just because I can't prove it doesn't mean it isn't true. My testimony is that Christ has transformed me and is continuing to do so every day that I'm on this earth. If my testimony is not compelling, you are convinced in your heart that you are not a sinner and that you have no need of redemption, or if you read through the Bible and it doesn't ring true to you, then I have very little to offer.

But truth is not dependent on anything we do, including our ability to prove or even understand it.
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.