Posted on 07/16/2004 11:24:28 AM PDT by StevenAU
Jesus and Muhammad A Core Difference Between Islam and Christianity's Central Figures by Steven (July 13, 2004)
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Role models play a central part in the human psyche. As young children, many of us looked up to our parents and molded our behavior and morals on the examples they set forth before us. It is no surprise that children raised in alcoholic families have a greater chance of becoming alcoholics themselves. Children of scientists tend to lean towards science in search of answers. Those raised in Buddhist households generally grow up to become Buddhists. Role models leave a deep and lasting influence on the psyche and development of both children and adults. And so it comes as no surprise that two of the most influential religions today offer their followers powerful role models. There is, however, a significant difference between the role models offered in Christianity and Islam.
In Jesus, we find the central role model put forth by Christianity. He was, by all standards, a pacifist. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus put forth several concepts that have become central to Christianity. One of these concepts was the notion of turning the other cheek when someone hit you. Jesus preached the idea of non-violence. "Love your enemy." Another important teaching of Jesus was that of forgiveness. During his crucifixion by the Romans, Jesus not once put up a struggle. In fact, as he hung dying, he pleaded, "forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do."
The central role model of Christianity was a figure that epitomized non-violence and forgiveness. He was also one who embraced all forms of outcasts. Jesus blessed the lepers that were shunned by society. It is thus that his story provides the Christian follower with a role model figure to emulate.
When a person "finds Jesus," they usually turn into pacifists and espouse the virtues of love and peace. Since their central role model embraced outcasts, we usually find modern day Christians unwilling to force their beliefs on others by means of war and violence. Jesus accepted lepers and outcasts; we can also see this attribute of embracing those who are different than you in many Western countries that were founded on Christian values. The ideal of forgiveness is also usually embraced in Western cultures. We can find evidence of this in the criminal system. While Saudi Arabia imposes such harsh punishment as beheading one of their princes for the crime of adultery, most Western societies approach the criminal system with an eye towards reform and fair punishment.
The effect of Jesus as a central role model on Judeo-Christian based Western societies is undeniable. His teachings have set forth an atmosphere of tolerance and forgiveness. Jesus' pacifistic views dramatically changed the role of war … during the Roman Empire, war was used to conquer new lands and used as a measure of glory. Now days, most Western countries view violence and war as nothing short of a last resort in self-defense.
The central role model offered by Islam is a less pacifistic one. Muhammad was by many standards quite a militant individual. Spending much of his life fighting against the "infidels," Muhammad offers the Muslim a less forgiving role model. We can find an example of Muhammad's more militant nature in his actions shortly after one of his battles.
Upon conquering the Jewish tribe of Qurayza, Muhammad and his men found themselves in possession of a large number of prisoners. He appointed an arbiter for advice on the situation who soon suggested that the male prisoners be killed, the women and children sold as slaves, and their property to be split between him and his men. Muhammad quickly supported this suggestion calling it "a decree of God pronounced from above the Seven Heavens." It was thus that some 700-900 men from the Qurayza tribe were marched into the marketplace of Medina. A long trench and ditch was dug and as Muhammad watched on, all 700-900 men were decapitated. As the bodies of the men were buried in the ditch, their wives and children were sold into slavery. A small number of the women were given to Muhammad's friends as gifts. Muhammad took one of these women (Rayhana) as his own.
We can see that Muhammad was not only a militant individual, but was also one who at times was very cruel. To sanction the beheading of over 700 prisoners of war in one day alone is almost unheard of. His actions certainly showed little sign of forgiveness, little disdain towards violence and the use of force, and little regard for the rights of women.
We can easily see the effect of such a role model in the Middle East, where Islam is the predominant religion. With Muhammad's unforgiving, and sometimes cruel, nature, it comes as no surprise that the justice system of the Middle East is also unforgiving and sometimes cruel. The Saudi Arabian government recently beheaded one of their princes for the minor crime of adultery. It is not unheard of to find examples of young children getting their hand and foot cut off for the minor crime of stealing some food. The notion of treating others as you would like to be treated is one that is not common in Muslim dominated cultures, neither is the notion of forgiveness one that is embraced in the Middle East.
Muhammad spent a large portion of his life fighting the "infidels." Through the might of his warriors, he was able to bring about what Muslims would consider to be a "cleansing" of the region. With the glorification of war and forcible conversions that is set forth in the role model of Muhammad, it once again should come as no surprise that many Middle Eastern and Muslim dominated cultures see little wrong with using violent force to reach an end. War and violence is not a last resort of self-defense, but instead a glorifying means to wage holy war against "infidels" and to bring about a "cleansing" and purifying of lands. We can see the effects of such a role model in some African countries where the Muslim population sees no wrong in violently brutalizing their "infidel" countrymen. For it is not only acceptable to do so, but in fact a glorious battle against "infidels" the like of which their role model spent his life fighting.
It is clearly evident that the Christian and Muslim role model figures differ greatly. Their impact on societies dominated by their religion is an evident and tangible one. The religions themselves do not necessarily breed such attitudes. For example, many Westernized Muslims who were raised and educated in the West do support the ideals of forgiveness and non-violence.
Some would counter that Christians have in fact been behind many cruelties themselves. An example of this can easily be found in the brutal Crusades. It is true that Christians have brutalized many people. These actions, however, took place in a time when such violence was the norm of warfare. The brutal actions of such Christians were thus more likely influenced by their immediate culture and societal norms as opposed to religious indoctrination. As times have changed and societal norms have become more peaceful, we see the Christians also adapting with society. This is a natural change, as their central role model of Jesus was a pacifist. Becoming more peaceful with the changing times is a natural change.
It is in such a context that we see the unfortunate situation of the Muslim role model. While Christianity's role model was one that offered no counterdiction to the growing tendencies of modern societal pacifistic tendencies, Muhammad is a figure that does stand in contrast to such changes. Muhammad's militant and warlike nature offer Muslim dominated cultures a role model that stands in sharp contrast to societal changes towards pacifism. He was a warrior and a fighter. With the religious indoctrination of people towards such a figure, it comes as no surprise that while the rest of the world moved towards a more peaceful tendency, the Middle East and Muslim dominated cultures remain somewhat violent and unforgiving, even towards their own citizens.
A warrior role model such as Muhammad will unfortunately ensure that the Middle East and Muslim dominated societies will remain less forgiving and more violent for a long time to come. It has in fact resisted over a thousand years of growing pacifist notions in the rest of the world. With such a strong resistance to pacifism engrained in their most influential role model figure, non-Westernized Muslims will remain resistant to notions of pacifism and non-violence. Unfortunately, Muhammad's glorification of war against the "infidels" makes it likely that Western societies will have to deal with this violent and unforgiving nature in the form of forcible attempts at conversion or violent "cleansing."
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A Core Difference Between Islam and Christianity's Central Figures
The big. the main, the real difference:
One is dead and buried the Other is alive and well
seated at the right hand of the Father.
and No I didn't bother to read the stupid article
What if you adjusted it slightly like this:
Jesus wants your heart;
Muhammad wants your head.
While your analysis of Muhammad was right on target, the statement you made above is totally the opposite of what the Bible says. The Bible says that the final judgement will be based on one thing only. Your final judgement will depend on what you did with Jesus: If you accept Jesus' death on the Cross as the perfect substitute for the death you deserve for sin, then you will be allowed into Heaven. God said that any work on your part to try to be good enough to deserve Heaven is like filthy rags.
Not meaning to shoot the messenger...but please PLEASE tell me you don't buy this...PLEASE?
There IS no comparison between THE living God and a dead person. Especially a dead person who espoused himself to be god.
bttt
Re. 46.
There are many ways to be a "peacemaker". Pacifism isn't one of them.
"If you want peace, prepare for war", a lesson that was learned too late in the 1930's.
Are you saying there is no comparison between THE living God and Mohammed who is dead but never espoused himself to be god, that I'm aware of? Or...
Are you saying there is no comparison between THE living God and Jesus who died on the cross, but who is not dead and who the angels refer to as THE LIVING ONE? Of whom Zechariah prophesied in the name of the Lord a time when Israel would be restored to a nation prior to looking upon "Me whom thou has pierced and mourn for him"?
I want to clarify that your position is the latter, before I launch into the comparisons between God and Jesus to show that they are one and the same.
Zechariah 12:10 -- And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
Fine. Mohammed, the dead dude claimed to be a prophet.
The rest of it? We're on THE SAME PAGE, you and I! The Bible passage you put up....I say Amen and Amen. :-)
Good. That'll save me some work.
But if anyone else requests it, I'll post comparisons between Jesus and God.
Thanks for the input, guys! Looks like I totally f'ed that article up (I'll admit, I am nothing close to a theologian and it showed). I think I'll scrap this one for sure. Once again, thanks for the discussion and input.
;-)
" agree with Kjam22 and VOA, a knowledge of the Bible as a whole must recognize that despite the fact that Jesus taught to overcome evil with good and to turn the other cheek, there is still....
Eccl 3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; ... 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
Sometimes, you can turn the other cheek if it's just you. But love demands that you protect others. And that sometimes means taking up the sword."
Jesus and his followers and Muhammad and his followers lived under different circumstances.
Jesus' believers during his relatively short life were few. Muhammad had more followers during his life. This is not a statement of relative superiority.
Muhammad's military expeditions were defensive. His followers were constantly persecuted in Mecca for 13 years or so. It was after the Qurayshites threatened to kill him that he fled to Medina, where they pursued him further as well as some his followers (mainly to Abbysinia). This was against ruthless unbelieving Arabs.
Sadly, many Muslims have strayed far from the original guidance by only looking at his militarism.
As was mentioned in an earlier thread, Jesus instructed his disciples to be able to defend themselves. He was protecting them, yet still turned the other cheek when he himself was attacked.
Were all of Muhammad's military expeditions defensive? That's certainly not the impression I've gotten.
And it's certainly incompatable with the most of the history of Islam, which ransacked all of the Miditeranean, much of Europe, and North Africa
It's not clear how many followers Jesus had, because he didn't organize military campaigns. We know that on at least one occassion 5000 came to hear him, because he fed them with one fish. But we don't know how many throughout Israel and surrounding areas believed in Him.
"Muhammads' military expeditions were defensive."
I don't know where you got that idea from. An imam perhaps?
May I suggest you read the biography of the 'prophet' and enlighten yourself. (see tagline for Free Book.)
I have started reading the pdf you linked to about the history of Muhammad, it is very interesting. I copied it to my computer and shared it on Limewire under the keywords relating to Islam. I think Americans have done a disservice to everyone involved by maintaining the attitude the Islam, Christianity, Agnostics are all flavors of the same food, and they really are not. I view the so called "Prophet" more and more as nothing but a succesful David Koresh or L Ron Hubbard.
Thanks for the response. I'm happy to hear you find the book interesting. What impresses me the most about this work is not just the content but the amount of research and footnotes from ancient arabic sources, many quoted in the original languages; both Greek and Arabic. The author, Edward Canon Sell, wrote several books on the subject of islam, all of which are available on pdf from the same Net Site, providing, literally, a gold-mine of historical information.
Published in 1913, this study of the life of the 'prophet' provides us with a warning - and the facts contained in the book, cannot be disputed by the apologists for islam. It becomes very obvious, when you read the biography, just what mohammad was, and why muslims are actually discouraged from reading his biography. (They do have a version, I believe it's called Sira, but most of them don't know it even exists.)
What the book sets out so clearly is the motivation behind the 'revelations'. As the koran is not written down in chronological order, each surah (or verse) must be seen in the light of what suited and worked for mohammad in his quest for power. Each 'revelation' was nothing but self-serving. The man was a cunning manipulator.
I have also felt as you do, we have been done a great disservice by our governments who continue to maintain that islam is what it is not - a religion - but after consideration, I believe it is the public, the voters, people like you and I, who must influence our leaders. Democracy works from the bottom up, not from the top down. Any 'education' messages about islam from government would be seen by the Left as propaganda and shouted down. They would only be handing the Left a stick with which to beat us.
Therefor we must be prepared to educate ourselves, and help as many as we can, to do the same. The biography serves that purpose very well, because it is written so simply and truthfully, without sensationalism. No one who reads this book will remain in doubt about the cult of mohammad.
I am also very happy to hear that you have decided to share this link with others. As time passes, I have noticed more and more people are beginning to understand and speak openly, regardless of PC laws. I for one, disregard them. I would rather take the risk of being charged with hate speech than keep quiet. I believe the truth wins, everytime.
Continue to share the Life of Muhammad with everyone you can; truth is the best service to mankind I can think of.
Thanks for the links. I'm anxious to get started reading this work by Edward Sell.
Thanks, I really need to sit down and read this all.
Democracy works from the bottom up, not from the top down. Any 'education' messages about islam from government would be seen by the Left as propaganda and shouted down. They would only be handing the Left a stick with which to beat us.
That is very, I wish more people in public knew how Cultish Muhammedism really is, and why it shouldn't be so respected. We have no choice but to "arm" ourselves with info in order to "fight"
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