K, I'll check it out. But first, tell me how you have a dialogue with someone who believes the Koran?
Sura (8:12) - "I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them"
Sura (8:39) - "And fight with them until there is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah"
Sura (9:29) - "Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which hath been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the religion of Truth, even if they are of the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizya with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued."
Convert, submit or die. Those are the choices Islam gives non-Islamists.
Robert Spencer does a good job here explaining Islam - Blogging the Qur’an Start at the bottom.
Jesus said, “I am THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life. NO ONE comes to the Father except by ME.”
To my eyes, this leaves no room for the Muslims to be included in some type of wishy-washy conversation. Their god is Deceiver, a murderer.
Good question. You find people who want to talk who don't try to push something down your throat.
Right now there are so many people in Iran converting to Christianity that the country is no longer punishing them for doing so.
Now, if there are muslims today who are willing to convert that means there are also people who would be willing to dialogue without cramming a Koran down another person's throat.
Francis thinks it would be good to find people like that, not necessarily willing to convert, but willing to talk.
Now the type of dialogue desired is not two people trying to convince the other that they are right. It is rather two people willing to listen to each other and to find common ground.
The kind of common ground has historically been on the basis of classic philosophy, that type which goes back to the Greek and Latin philosophers.
If it would be possible to get everyone at the table to agree on certain first principles, then there would be true progress.