Christianity and islam compared

Submitted by Tony Iveson (United Kingdom), Aug 6, 2013 at 18:14

This is absolutely true - christians are not permitted to kill humans - full stop. "Turn the other cheek" is a brave and admirable thing to do. Unfortunately, Christians have not always followed the rule. But it is true that when they have not done so, they are falling far short of what their God requires of them. Moslems are given instructions when it is allowable to kill human beings and when it is compulsory. This message is inferior to the christian rule on this issue. The christian rule to never kill no matter what is the essence of unconditional love for fellow human beings. It does not even matter if there is really a god or not. I'd like it to be true but I have grave doubts. Nevertheless, god or no god, as a message for the world, the instruction to "turn the other cheek" is light years greater than the squalid message that Islam gives to its followers. Islam and Judaism are both hemmed in by do's and don'ts and because of that they are both very earth bound religions that deal with the control and functioning of the animal part of human beings. Neither of them really takes off and soars into the "angelic realm" or, if you like, neither deals well with the "spiritual" (higher, nobler) aspect of human beings. The concept of self-sacrifice for the sake of others was given by Christ and is mirrored in the willingness of those Christians who "turn the other cheek" when their lives are threatened. Christianity was an improvement on Judaism; Islam is a corruption of both. Although I am not a convinced believer in the existence of God, I remain grateful that Western culture and its laws developed out of the teachings of Christ, rather than those of Abraham, Moses or Mohammed.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".