| QUOTE (nemt @ Mar 31 2004, 06:27 PM) |
Do you even know anything about your religion? I've read your koran, have you?
Explain this:
"Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." (Surah 5:51)
"Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme." (Surah 8:36-)
"Fight against such as those to whom the Scriptures were given [Jews and Christians]...until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." (Surah 9:27-)
Islam is a religion of hate, the terrorists are correct in their interpretation. Evil, hatred, and murder are the true beliefs of islam. |
And thusly you've demonstrated how easy it is to take a passage or two out of context, and twist it to your own ends. It's easy to do that with any major religious work, including the Bible.
I was raised Lutheran, but by the age of 16 or so, I found myself with unanswered questions about the religion in which I was raised. I took my concerns to my parents first, then our pastor, and later to anyone I met who seemed to have a good grasp of the religion. Ultimately, these questions were never answered; and I found myself without a religion. I spent the next eight years or so "visiting" various religions, trying to find one that was the right fit for me. During that time I spent time talking with as many learned members of the religions I was investigating as I could, I attended services, etc. I bought every major religious work I could, and read them all. I've spent some time with Catholics, various Protestant Churches, Christian Scientists, Muslims, Hari Krishnas, Bhuddists, Taoists, Jews, the list goes on.
What I discovered (aside from the fact that I, as a thinking man, was not comfortable with any of these religions) was this: EVERY religion, in some way or another, preaches some form of intollerance for other religions and/or peoples. Even your Bible is not free of this (read the old testament for some dandy examples. I don't have a copy handy on my desk at work here, but I know that there are several verses that advocate killing and violence; and, if memory serves, even genocide.)
It boils down to this though; every religious work is essentially a philisophical one, it's always open to debate, and you can easily read whatever you'd like into any work; it has as much to do with the readers' pre-conceptions as it does with the work itself. The Quaran preaches hate no more than the Bible does, it's all in the interpretation my friend.
And that is where the extremists, from every religion, come in. They twist the interpretation to their own ends, and smear the name of the religion in the process. Don't think that christians don't have thier own share of extremists, stretching back nearly as far as the religion itself. Look at the templars and the crusades, or more recently the violence against gays and abortion clinics and doctors (I could list more examples, but these two stand out most clearly here in the US), I don't think you'll find many muslims behind these acts; and lets face it, there is ZERO justification for taking the life of another human being.
That being said, as we should all realize by now, no religion is right or wrong; they're all philosophies about the begining, and the afterlife. Since no one here (or anywhere on earth) has actually been there for either of these things (yet, we'll all find out about the afterlife eventually) no one can say "This religion is right, and all others are wrong." All you can say in honesty is "This religion is right for me." Keep that in mind, and allow others thier beliefs, you might be suprised how great life can be (and how varied your group of friends can become!) if you try practicing tollerance for once.
On another note, I find it amusing (and somewhat sad) that you're taking such a hostile tone. Is this how Christ wants you to behave? Insulting people in his name, slandering thier beliefs? I'm sure it isn't. You talk about Islam preaching hate, but I encourage you to go back and read your own posts on xbox-scene; I think you'll find that more than half of them are nothing more than insults, or hate-filled diatribes. I feel sorry for you, and hope you can see the error in your own words.
Nemt, I hope you one day learn to take your own religion to heart! Turn the other cheek, and behave in a christ-like fashion (which is, after all, what it means to be Christian) you'll be happier for it, and a positive example of your religion, rather than the hateful example you are now.
Author
Topic: What Religion Do You Follow? (Read 5212 times)