Ahmad Zafire, I urge you to study religion objectively

Submitted by Joe (United States), Feb 22, 2006 at 15:39

this is the problem with people with Muslims when it comes to Christianity or any other religion: very few of them actually read and study Christianity, objectively, without Muslim influence. Why are the Saudis and everyone else so afraid of it, that they will not teach it or even allow it in Saudi Arabia? Because they are afraid of the truth, and afraid of change. If you were strong in your faith, it would be allowed.

Because Muslims do not study Christianity objectively (I studied Islam with devout Islamic professors) they do not get the full picture.

There are an innumereable amout of sects in Islam as well: Wahabbis, Sunnis, Shias, Kharijites, Sufis, etc., etc. This is the same in every relgion and is due to ignorance and synchretism. For example, zoroastrianism corrupted Christianity for a long time, and only recently has it been expelled. The same goes with Islamic influences in Christianity, which have only recently been expelled from popular culture.

The Scripture is all the same, the teachings are all the same, the ethics and morals are all the same. The differences involve some of the same theological paradoxes found in Islam and other relgions with God. They involve predestination, free will, works, grace, etc. These questions are found unanswered in Islamic ideology as well. Did you know that Islam is becoming increasingly more Catholic in its catechism, its views on works, devotionalism, etc.?

Perhaps the biggest reason for schisms (at least now) is due to flawed philisophical thinking spawned from the enlightenment and failure to adapt faith. Existentialism, for example, believes death shall transform your life. Christians should, and are taught, to act the same way as those who follow existentialism (in building relationships, not responding to people functionally, loving the world and people around you) while believing in an afterlife as well. The enlightenment has never occured in the Middle East.

Jesus conquered death. This is his main victory. Previously, people died (in the Jewish faith) when they sinned; death was a consequence of sin. Now, Jesus conquered an eternal death, with eternal life through his blood sacrifice. He conquered sin because it no longer keeps us away from unity with God, and it is possible to live on. Jesus created the afterlife as we know it.

Jesus created the judgment, the afterlife, and the resurrection. He indeed conquered sin, and its side effects (death).

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