To: The_Reader_David
On the other hand, St. Ahmad and St. John the Dervish, two Turkish saints, were indoctrinated in Islam from youth, taught that the God of Abraham is identical with Allah-as-conceived-by-Mohammed, and yet became Christians and were martyred. Why do you think that religious belief and theology are always the result of indoctrination when there are clear counter-examples? Just as there are handfuls of those raised in the Christian faith, who later converted to Islam.
The fact remains, that the odds are overwhlemingly in favor of the indoctrination of youth. If you were taught by your elders to be Islamic as a youth, then you will very likely embrace the Islamic faith. Likewise for the Christian faith.
Hence, the difference between the choice to embrace Islam or Christianity, is overwhelmingly correlated to the geographical accident of one's birthplace. And whether Christian or Islamic, the defenders of the respective faiths are equally convinced of the "truth" of what they were taught as children.
Why is this such a hard thing for you to admit?
34 posted on
10/23/2001 10:41:57 AM PDT by
OWK
To: OWK
The fact remains, that the odds are overwhlemingly in favor of the indoctrination of youth. If you were taught by your elders to be Islamic as a youth, then you will very likely embrace the Islamic faith. Likewise for the Christian faith.What was the 'indoctrination' of YOUR youth?
To: OWK
Perhaps because within a Christian context, I am a counterexample. I was raised as a Calvinist in an overwhelmingly protestant society, but am now Eastern Orthodox. Our soteriology is flatly non-Augustinian, while Calvinism is hyper-Augustinian. Our sacramental theology is derided as "magical" by Calvinists...
People change. And theology, if you take it seriously is a positive science, not a synthetic one.
To: OWK
The fact remains, that the odds are overwhlemingly in favor of the indoctrination of youth. If you were taught by your elders to be Islamic as a youth, then you will very likely embrace the Islamic faith. Likewise for the Christian faith.Lemingly, as in the Democrat faith's indoctrination of youth?
To: OWK
I see your logic.
But honestly OWK, I would think that you would rather put up with Christians than Muslims.... :-)
390 posted on
11/09/2003 2:47:57 PM PST by
Texaggie79
(Did I just say that?)
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson