Posted on 09/11/2010 8:21:29 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
No kidding?
Slightly flawed, because, as the author admits, “God does not speak to me.”
In particular, the Christian God does not take the same pleasure that Allah does in sending people to Hell. Allah is, as Muslims themselves point out, totally arbitrary. Like Mohammed with his beheaded enemy, he does what he likes and takes pleasure in it. The Christian God allows free will, because He wishes to be freely loved. No one goes to Hell unless they choose to reject God’s love and salvation and choose the path of evil. All are given a chance (except in the bleak Calvinist view). All are extended grace. But they can choose to reject it.
Still, on the whole, a useful summary. It would be nice if everyone could take note of this passage, for instance:
After the Hegira, Mohammed and his followers began a jihad against their pagan enemies in Mecca. At the Battle of Badr in 624 AD, Mohammed’s servant found one of his master’s enemies lying wounded on the battlefield. He cut off the man’s head and presented it to Mohammed as a present. The Prophet was overjoyed. He exclaimed, “The head of the enemy of Allah! It is more acceptable to me than the choicest camel in all Arabia.” After the bodies of his foes were cast into a pit, Mohammed stood at the edge of the pit and taunted the dead by asking, “Have you found that what Allah threatened is true?”
I’d take issue with a few of his generalities about Christianity, but altogether a good summary of differences.
Christianity never taught that God tortures people in Hell—rather Hell is the natural result of sin (a bit like permanent Karma) and for rejecting God’s mercy.
Christianity also does not teach the inferiority of women—rather that they are different from, and complementary to men....the point of the creation of Eve story. Hebrew and Christian scholarship never saw the creation of Eve an afterthought...as it—as it showed Adam as incomplete without Eve, and was done in the initial 6 days of Creation.
All traditional societies—where physical strength is required for survival, recognize women as physically smaller and weaker (but just in brute strength), as indeed they are. ONLY in Christian (and in Israel, Jewish) societies have women gained equal legal and social rights to men.
The summary is fine as far as it goes, which is about the year 1000 AD.
It would be more useful to summarize the religions as they have been practices for the last 500 years or so.
Christianity’s God sent his Son to die for me.
Islam’s god wants me to send my son to die for him.
that’s all you need to know.
If you begin with a false premise such as that then your conclusions are bound to be absolutely wrong. Islam is NOT an ofshoot of Judaism or Christianity for that matter. To perpetuate the lie is to justify the lies muslims tell about their religion.
This article, also in America Thinker, more succinctly summarizes the doctrinal/foundational differences between Islam v. Judeo/Christian ethics in terms of "political violence" (that is violence against non-believers)...and is TOTALLY frightening.
In Sura 4, the Koran plainly states that “men are superior to women,no word from womens lib clan.
Every scholarly look at Islam I've heard of disagrees with you.
Islam actually can be understood GENERALLY as an offshoot of Judaism and Christianity, as Mohammed had some contact with persons both religions--and Judaism in particular had been very influential by Mohammed's time for a couple thousand years in the ancient Near East. Ancient Mosaic Judaism (and to a lessor extent modern Orthodox Judaism) also closely identifies with a holy land--which must be taken and defended politically, something which is not at all necessary to orthodox Christianity.
No less than C.S. Lewis identified Islam as virtually a Christian heresy.... (since it does honor Jesus as Messiah and prophet...2nd only to Mohammed). Islam though of course denies the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, and imagines that Christianity taught that God had physical sex with Mary...which has never been taught.
The central beliefs of Mormonism also do not bear much resemblance to the central beliefs of orthodox Christians (of all denominations) but there is no doubt, Mormonism is an offshoot (and heresy, I'd argue) of Christianity.
Islam also closely resembles Judaism-after-Christ, in it's stern rejection of any possibility of God as trinity...
To be fair, Islam is a mishmashed concoction of old Arab religions (Allah the moon god), stern Jewish monotheism, and the Christian idea of new revelation and the apocalypse (end times).
I tend to believe one scholarly assertion that Islam was an explicitly political religion developed in the 7th Century to unify the newly conquered Arab empire, forcing the subject peoples into one religion of submission--to-Allah-and-the-Caliphate, one and the same.
Both Islam and Christianity have a holy book. Christians consider the Bible the inspired word of God. But Muslims believe that the Koran is the literal word of God. Mohammed was merely transcribing the words of Allah, much as a court reporter does. Muslims therefore attribute greater spiritual authenticity to the Koran and Islam than to the Bible and Christianity.
In Catholicism, salvation is obtained through the sacraments of the Church, including baptism, penance, and the Eucharist. Most Protestant denominations hold the doctrine that salvation depends solely on faith in Jesus Christ. But in Islam, salvation is through works and is not limited to Muslims.
David seems to be an atheist who has limited and perverted Islam has NO direct scriptural ties to either Judaism nor Christianity. Followers of the Messiah worship the same YHvH as the Jews. Allah is NOT the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. Jesus' NAME in Hebrew is YHvH is my salvation True followers of the Messiah believe that Yah'shua He is correct in that members of the Roman "church" Currently Islamists follow the Qu'ran and murder all non-believers. During the time of the Crusades, members of Roman "church" I'm afraid that David is ignorant of many facts.
knowledge of all religions and should resist the the urge
to write on this topic.
is the Word of Elohim.
and followers of Mohammed believe that they can earn
salvation by performing works.
murdered all who did not submit to the Vatican.
I want to object that he has, it seems, consulted feminist grudge-theologians in his interpretation of Scripture. For instance the Creation account does not set aside women as inferior, but calls both men and women transcendant beings whose true worth is both equal and transcendant: "In the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
This carries over strongly into the New Testament: "In Christ there is no Jew or Greek; no slave or freeman; no male and female."
There's more like that. And you'll find none of it in Islam.
No, actually, they didn't. But keep going - you're on a roll.
It seems to me that Mohammad’s idea of a ‘fantastic’ reward for dying for Allah (seventy virgins) is indicative of a sick mind.
It is impossible to compare decency and honor with trash. And Islam and Muslim’s are trash.
While Jews, Muslims, and Christian worship the God of Abraham, the God of Christians is a Trinitarian God that neither Jews nor Muslims accept. Ergo, we DON’T worship the same God.
Allah is NOT the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Israel !
shalom b'SHEM Yah'shua HaMashiach
But in fact, the God of the Christians is as unrelenting as Allah in His condemnation of unbelievers.
God has given man “free will” to either follow God and love Him and his neighbor or to reject God. So each individual makes his choices. The rich man (does not necessarily represent all rich men) can worship himself and his material possesions and not God. That is his choice. God has made you in his image and he certainly wants you to join him.
The one true God as reflected in the Trinity of God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are the most loving and merciful. Place your trust in God.
God does speak to you, Just listen. Be humble and you will hear.
“The teen aged David, after defeating huge Goliath with a stone, also cut his head off and displayed as a trophy. Similarly in Christian history—in battle, men have decapitated enemies using the head as a trophy, perhaps on the end of a pike, and a warning...so such brutality is not unique to Islam.”
Yes, it’s not unique, all men can be brutal, and men of all religions surely have been. However, Christians don’t follow the example of David, we follow the example of Christ, as the Muslims follow the example of Muhammed. So comparing David to Muhammed is comparing apples to oranges.
“It seems to me that Mohammad’s idea of a ‘fantastic’ reward for dying for Allah (seventy virgins) is indicative of a sick mind.”
Yes, it’s a classic “cult” type claim, you can probably find something similar in any successful cult that has popped up in recent history. Scientology promises if you only pay them the majority of your income for many years, you’ll become superhuman. Transcendental Meditation makes similar claims. Mormons get to become gods and rule their own planets!
Islam’s twist is making the guaranteed and greater rewards available only to those who are willing to commit violence and war to spread their cult. I wish they would learn from the Scientologists that it isn’t necessary to kill people anymore to increase your cult membership; they could just recruit some idiotic celebrities and make some slick brochures.
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