Isn’t it wonderful that you can live in a country where you have the religious freedom to choose your worship as you please? Would I choose Islam, no. But you are trying to blame the religion for the failure of its representatives.
From your wording, I feel you very much dislike the Muslim religion of Islam. Islam started, according to the Koran, in the 7th century, approximately 600 years after the founding of Christianity. And yes they did their fair share of wars, maybe more. But the Christians were not totally free of this.
“Christianity advanced through the spread of the Gospel.”
And in conjunction with violence. An example of this would be The European wars of religion that were a series of religious wars waged in Europe in the 16th and 17th century, devastating the continent and killing over 10 million people. The wars were fought in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation (1517), which disrupted the religious order in the Catholic countries of Europe. However, the wars were not fought only because of religion, and they included revolts against centralized authority, territorial ambitions, and Great Power conflicts. By the end of the Thirty Years’ War, Catholic France was allied with the Protestants against the Catholic Habsburg monarchy. The wars were largely ended by the Peace of Westphalia (1648). And there are many more examples I could bring up. But it would get redundent.
But, does this sound familiar? The trying to control real estate has always been a part of the human race and taking it by force for their need is not above anyone in history. Look at WW II. The Japanese and the Germans were interesting in expansion for their livelihood, so they attacked their neighbors. They hit us in 1941 in Hawaii, and we actually fired the first shot in that one sinking a Japanese sub in our harbor right before the air assault.
The only real difference of opinion we have is that I feel you are blaming the wrong topic. Christians had their share of “religious” wars like the one, only, display I did give you. There are many more. The only problematic difference between Christianity and Islam is that too many purveyors of Islam haven’t accepted that peace is a better way. And in history. Muhammad and the Pope were both the generals of each of their armies. So you are blaming the gun for the wrong it was used for.
It isn’t the religion, it’s the people that use it for their personal gain. It is just unfortunate the world’s society hasn’t caught up as a unit. We still have riots in the US when teams win sporting events. Are you going to blame the teams? And we know it is unlawful and it is damaging, and that it is going to happen. It’s just people. Hopefully we will all get smarter. But it appears it’s going to take a while.
Right now, there are about 3.45 million Muslims of all ages in the U.S., or about 1.1% of the U.S. population. This is based on an analysis of census statistics and data from a 2017. But according to the CATO Institute, history displays that the likelihood of being killed by any refugee from any country is just 1 in 3.64 billion a year. So, how many militants do we have over here? If it was the numbers based on the census, we’d already be in flames. Why aren’t we? We watch and we stop in advance.
And it isn’t all Islamic terrorists. According to the Huffpost, looking at both plots and attacks carried out, the group tracked 201 terrorist incidents on U.S. soil from January 2008 to the end of 2016. The database shows 115 cases by white supremacists compared to 63 cases by Islamist extremists.
It’s just the people, not the religion. And anything can be misinterpreted and used. And the Craft recognizes this as Islam has a diety just like Christianity does. Maybe we are ahead of society a little. And if you think we are pacifist, you better realize that Hitler had over 50K Masons murdered during WW II because he thought we supported the Jewish race. We will fight, but not until it is a fight and not a misunderstanding or misinterpretation. And many in my lodge, and in many lodges, are retired military. And prior to the early 60’s, we had a huge history with the military. Makes good reading if you can find it.
rwood
Yes it is. Try that in Afghanistan, Pakistan or any other Islamic dominated country.
Attempt to denounce Muhammed or Islam over there and see what happens.
Tell your Islamic members Muhammad was a pedophile in that he had sex with a nine year old he married. Don't believe me? Research it for yourself.
That is what Islam allows.
Would I choose Islam, no. But you are trying to blame the religion for the failure of its representatives.
No. I am blaming the teachings of Islam for the behavior of their representatives.
You might want to review youtube videos of how the Muslims were celebrating over 9/11.
From your wording, I feel you very much dislike the Muslim religion of Islam. Islam started, according to the Koran, in the 7th century, approximately 600 years after the founding of Christianity. And yes they did their fair share of wars, maybe more. But the Christians were not totally free of this.
One of the differences between Islam and Christianity is the concept of Jihad. It's a part of Islam to subdue your enemies.
That is not a part of Christianity.
You really need to do some research on the history of what happens to a country when Islam takes over.
You can continue to believe the Muslims in your group are peaceful. I hope they remain that way.
But if they ever gain superiority in numbers there will only be one book on your Mason altar....the Koran.