@ThaddeusB Yes, of course, there are false gods, represented in the Bible by idols and the various gods of the surrounding nations. What makes a god a false God is that it leads people to do evil, destructive, selfish, and greedy things. "By their fruits you will know them."
If, however, a person's God is leading him or her to do good, loving, truthful, caring things, that is not a false god. It is the presence of the true God, even if the person may have some mistaken beliefs about the nature of God.
These days, in most parts of the world, very few people actually worship literal idols that are "false gods." But many people "worship" such false gods as money, power, beauty, and physical pleasure. While not necessarily evil in themselves, when things such as these become our primary goals in life, they become false gods that we worship instead of the true God of love, wisdom, and service to the neighbor.
@ThaddeusB I'm saying that all people who live good lives of love and service to their fellow human beings based on their own beliefs and conscience achieve salvation. Unfortunately, there are many people who do not do this. I would like to think that most people achieve salvation. However, there are an awful lot of people in the world who are living evil and destructive lives based on greed and a desire for personal power and pleasure.
@ThaddeusB I happen to believe that of the religions on earth, Christianity in its genuine form has the greatest access to and understanding of divine and spiritual truth. Its benefit is that it gives us the knowledge and power to progress to great spiritual depths.
Unfortunately, most of the Christian world has missed most of the depth of truth available in Christianity. As a result, in general, Christians are not all that much better in their beliefs and actions than good people of other religions. In fact, an awful lot of the mischief in the world today is being caused by Christians and "Christian nations."
@JackDouglas I wasn't engaging in that particular argument. Rather, I was saying that the purpose of belief is to get us to love God and love our neighbor. If it doesn't do that, then it isn't really belief.
@fredsbend In Swedenborg's formulation of the nature of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is no contradiction, and no need to choose one over the other.