The One... The Only...

Sometimes I'm amused by the questions people come to me with. The other day someone very close to me sent me an email, and the first line of it read "I need you to help me learn to argue." Apparently, a discussion had arisen regarding "why is one religion right out of all the rest?" It's a legitimate question, and while I may not be good at teaching people to argue, I am more than willing to elaborate on my own arguments. Before I begin, I would like to redirect readers to my earlier blog titled "The Theory of Relativity." That blog responds to a number of points, and rather than reiterate I will simply continue where I left off there.
In response to the question at hand, on a purely rational level, there is no way to argue that any particular religion has it right. However, you simultaneously cannot rationally prove that no religious tradition is absolutely correct. Given this dilemma, I feel it meaningful to take the argument down a notch and approach it with a less technical but wholly reasonable human analysis.
Option 1: Religion is Wrong. If there is nothing beyond the scientifically measurable natural world, and strict atheists are correct, then we are in a very scary place. I'm going to leave this topic for another time, but for now I think we can say that if this is true, it will void the question above. For the sake of argument, lets assume that something Divine actually exists.
Option 2: All Religions are Wrong. This is akin to the pluralistic argument that there is no one true religion and so all of them are essentially wrong. Under this model, what is true is that there is something greater than the world, but we have absolutely no idea what it is. As I stated before, formal logic is of no real use in affirming or denying this statement. What I feel are two ways of arguing this are on the grounds of it's worth on human terms, and the implications it holds for society. I personally do not find it a satisfying answer to say that there is something out there, I just can't know anything about it. Less satisfying is the idea that no matter what I think there is no way to share it, or for it to mean anything outside of what I alone think. Religion becomes somewhere between meaningless and divisive, even more than it is now. The greater implications on society are likewise problematic. Religion no longer becomes an institution which teaches self discipline or expects generosity. If we as a culture conclude that any belief is acceptable, then belief is no longer meaningful. In all going our separate ways, we will all end up at the same point: the lowest common denominator, the path of least resistance. Many argue that religion expresses a human need, and yet to me it seems that religion is the most alien possible influence. It tells us to give our last penny to help those in need, to stand with the oppressed against all the powers of government, to rejoice in suffering and to embrace death when it comes.
Option 3: One Religion is (at least essentially) correct. This is perhaps one of the more controversial statements in our day. In making this argument, I feel it is important to indicate what I don't mean. Other religions are not meaningless, nor their adherents deficient or ignorant in any way. However, every religion makes a series of truth claims. If there is an overall common reality which we each participate in, than a true religion would both correlate to that reality, and teach us more about that reality. Given the very distinct truth claims each religion makes, they cannot all be true. Thus, while each may contain certain elements of truth, one of them stands apart from the rest. This provides the most meaningful directions for human life, both individual and communal, aids us in understanding the universe around us, and answers to our deepest needs and desires. As to which religious tradition can claim this spot: that is an argument for another day.