Posted on 12/18/2001 4:10:48 PM PST by Pokey78
The travesty is that Islam throws out the best of both, and mixes up a stew of the rest.
Jews are earnesly seeking the Messiah. The difference is that Christians believe He's already appeared.
The ONLY issue is this: Do you WORSHIP Jesus?
He is, after all, GOD of very GOD! Any effort to steal divinity from the incarnation is of the spirit of antichrist.
Lee Marvin IS the American man.
Are you on crack or just plain stupid?
Muslims have never been Christians. Furthermore, many Christians are NOT Catholics. Get a life.
If, as this article claims, Jesus is so venerated then why the message from radical Muslim clerics, instructing their prostrates not to wish anyone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Holiday because it would offend Allah to take any part in anything that celebrates that cursed Jesus?
Really? I never knew that, even when the guys from the Navigators were speaking to me.
Muslims REJECT Jesus Christ as the Son of God. They refer to him simply as an "important prophet."
Since Muslims (like Jews) reject Jesus Christ as the Son of God, there is no way they can Love Jesus as much as Christians do.
Case Closed.
Neither! It is a part of your beliefs. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following:
841 The Churches relationship with the Muslims. "The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; those profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day,"Of course, the Bible says otherwise. I'll accept your apology now!
The Catholics just don't like it when someone points out that they claim their beliefs and the Muslim's beliefs are equally valid.
Reformed Protestant. WHAT is THAT?
See your FReep mail. I'm not going to waste band-width refuting your lies.
[/SARCASM]
MM
Muslims do not believe Jesus was crucified, or that He was the Son of God. In fact, they believe God took Jesus up to Heaven before He could be crucified, and instead made someone in the crowd look like Jesus, who was then crucified in His place! They pervert the story of Jesus, turning it on its head--instead of dying for humanity's sins, someone else dies for Jesus!
I could say, "I love Mohammed, he was a great prophet. But the Angel Gabriel never spoke to him, and didn't really give to him the word of God." Then I would be accused of blasphemy by Muslims (and I could be killed if I went to a Muslim country). It's the same thing. Islam does not respect the core tenets of Christianity.
In any case, look back to the early years of Christianity. Virtually everything that Christians are criticizing Islam for had its adherents in early Christianity. Various Christian sects denied the Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection and other mysteries which became Christian orthodoxy. And indeed, Judaism denies them even now.
It took some time for the early Church to sort out who Christ was, what his message was, and what was necessary for salvation. The situation was somewhat similar with Judaism and Islam. One has the revelation. What it means and what to do about it now may take some thinking, arguing, and praying.
If it's a lie, it comes from the Catholic Church. You can find it on their website.
Mushy Ecumenism: Incoherent Civil Religion
During a service at a large evangelical church, a Muslim leader -- who had been invited to give the message -- stood at the pulpit and declared: "All of us believe in Jesus. I believe in Mohammed and all the prophets. So our mission here is to introduce people to God." And then he added, "We believe in Jesus more than you do, in fact."
What a thing to hear in a Bible-believing church!
Since September 11, we've seen all kinds of ecumenical services -- from the huge one at Yankee Stadium, to the prayer service at the National Cathedral, to the celebration of Ramadan in the White House to small celebrations all over America. And, yes, it's right to reach out to our Muslim neighbors -- to offer love and support at a time when they may be feeling vulnerable. President Bush is absolutely right to reach out in friendship to Muslims -- to lead the way so as to discourage outbreaks of religious bigotry. But Christians must be careful not to allow support and acceptance of our Muslim neighbors to sink into a kind of mushy civil religion -- one that obscures the truth about both Christianity and Islam. As I have been documenting over recent days, the two are not the same.
One dramatic difference is Christianity and Islam's understanding of Jesus. Christianity teaches that Jesus is part of the Trinity. He is God, the Son who has offered as an atoning sacrifice on the cross to save his people from their sins. By contrast, the Koran denies that Jesus was crucified at all and claims that Jesus was no more than "a Messenger of Allah and His Word." Muslims reject the deity of Christ and His atoning sacrifice. That's a big difference. Contrary to what the Muslim leader says, Muslims do not believe in Jesus more than we do -- pure nonsense.
To suggest that Christianity and Islam are basically the same is not only unfair to Christianity, it's equally unfair to Islam. It compromises both and thus creates massive worldview confusion. People need to know where the lines are drawn to think about Christianity or Islam rationally.
And getting out the truth about how Christianity differs from Islam is more important now than ever. Just before the September 11 attacks, a Gallup survey showed that some 45 percent of Americans had favorable views of Muslim-Americans. Today, 59 percent do. Imagine it -- Islamic extremists attack America, and we think more of Islam than before the attack!
Well, this has happened because leaders on many fronts have cleaned up Islam. They've made a point of including Muslims in public religious events and telling Americans that the terrorists hijacked a peace-loving religion. Those who dare to suggest otherwise, as some Christian leaders have done, are vilified.
Again, while it's right to love our Muslim neighbors, we must redouble our efforts to make sure our children and our neighbors know that all religions are not alike.
The same survey showing that more Americans view Muslims favorably also says Americans -- by a huge majority -- believe religion is gaining influence in American life. The critical question, of course, is what kind of religion is gaining influence. Is it the real thing or mushy civil religious ecumenism? It's time for Christians -- lovingly always -- to make the truth known. All religious beliefs are tolerated -- not all are true.
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