muslims & jesus
** version 2 - edited after sammy putting me on blast...see comments **let me begin by saying that if you choose to respond to this post, i implore you to be an adult about it. i do not condone religion bashing here, and i will delete your comment..."nazi censorship style"! :) so tread lightly...
i have been reading and listening to the news reports on the extremist muslim response to the cartoons depicting mohammed that were published recently in danish newspapers. if you haven't heard anything about it, you have clearly been living in a cave. here are a couple of good articles about it:
LA Times
Fox News
anyways, i can see how they would be pretty angry about the cartoons. i imagine i would have a similar anger if it was a depiction of jesus doing something detestable.
however, this incident has further highlighted some differences in the ideologies of the 2 faiths in my eyes. as i grow older, i see the raw power of the philosphy of love. i see the deep truths behind humility and forgiveness. i see the absolute goodness of god and our inability to atone for our sins alone. how does islam expect us to do good deeds that will counteract our darkness?
what i have grown to see in extremist islam is such a stark contrast to the teachings of jesus. how do we justify killing in the streets over a cartoon, no matter how horrible? how do we say that we are in submission to god and perform/condone these events?
jesus taught us that we should love our neighbors. he says that we should love our enemies, and pray for them. he says that we should forgive them seventy times seven. he says that if we do not forgive our neighbor, that he will not forgive us. he says that even above FAITH and HOPE, is LOVE. maybe i'm turning into a hippie in my old age, but nothing makes more sense to me than that. nothing makes more sense than love. NOTHING makes more sense than jesus.
i am in no way offering a muslim bashing blog here. but i can say now, more than ever, that jesus knows what he is talking about. love is the answer, not vengance.
posted by pablo
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Post a CommentThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
i am open to anyone's comments, as long as they are respectfully said. i won't allow any bashing though. and i think that is a responsible position.
LOL, you have a point. i'll edit my post some.
but at the same time, we aren't talking about a few rogue people here. we are talking about a good number of people who are acting "on behalf of islam". our wacko abortion bombers are few and far between. i tend to think that that is something more to it when this many people take to the streets.
maybe i'm off my rocker tho.
more good points. although i'm not sure that i agree that they are equally destructive. i gotta let that one marinate.
btw, overusage of the word "bro"...that was funny BRO!
i am not against the boycotts either. it makes sense that people can choose not to give their money to someone for whatever reason they choose. i am only in opposition to the violence.
OK, let's see if I can do this coherently, without inciting any violence. One thing not enough people seem to want to discuss is the concept of jihad. Jihad is not a side issue. It is not a minor point in the Islamic faith. In general, I find that Western Muslims don't like discussing jihad, and downplay its importance. But jihad explains why we see so much violence connected with Muslims. I am not trying to be inflammatory, but it is a basic belief.
Christianity does not advocate "holy war." Jesus said Christianity will not be advanced by means of the sword. Augustine argued the concept of a just war, but we cannot say Jesus taught his followers to engage in "just war." I think there is merit to the just war position, but I also believe pacifists can be Christians, and can give rational support from the Bible for their position (when I say can be Christians, I just mean that not all pacifists claim to be Christians).
If we're going to discuss the widespread violence perpetrated by Muslims, we have to understand their teaching on jihad (which means much more than war, but includes war and violence). The Islamic religion espouses violence. A sacrilegious cartoon calls forth violence in obedience to the teaching of jihad. If we want to discuss American warfare and violence, we have say it is political not religious. Although Muslims can be violent for political reasons, they should be violent for religious reasons, according to the Qur'an.
Jihad links:
Wikipedia encyclopedia
What is jihad? (why it falls under the category of Agnosticism/Atheism I have no idea, but this is a good article)
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Alex, jihad explains it, and justifies it.
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See for yourself signs of this peaceful religion...
In Their Own Words
And Michelle has lots more background info. Click here and keep reading through her posts.
CENSORED IN SWEDEN
We must remember we are commanded to return love for hate, and blessing for cursing. And we had better get serious about getting the gospel to Muslims.
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