NO ISLAMIC TERRORISTS = NO TERRORISM!

[OneAccord]

And OneAccord....truth is not hate. That is a liberal concoction. You know...if you tell someone they are going to hell without Jesus in their hearts...why that's hate. Homosexuality wrong? More hate. Abortion wrong? Hatemongers. Get the point?

Yes, it seems that the Jews had a problem with this at the time of Jesus' ministry. They took the laws way too far and lost compassion in their judgements. Jesus illustrates this many times over in examples like the adulterous woman who was about to be stoned, the Samaritan neighbor, etc.

I think Christians need to guard themselves against becoming the same way, upholding the principles to the point of losing compassion for that human who was also created in the image of God. The Christian zeal can come off very harshly to those looking in from the outside. Inflammaotry rhetoric against Muslims is a great example of this.

[JohnS]

So, we should tell people that Islam is a peaceful religion? Despite all the evidence to the contrary? All I'm saying is do a little research on the history and the present concerning Islam before you accuse someone of spreading hate.

[traveller]

I have to agree with John here. I think tht anything that is not of God, is not peaceful. The outer face will give off the appearance of it, but how can it be? Love, truth, peace, joy, all those things that are good, comes from God. Yes, I agree that we should have compassion on everyone, but we should not approve nor condone their religion.

[Ovedya]

As I have written here before, Islam does advocate voilence against the infadels (unbelievers), where Christianity does not

[Ovedya]

So, we should tell people that Islam is a peaceful religion? Despite all the evidence to the contrary? All I'm saying is do a little research on the history and the present concerning Islam before you accuse someone of spreading hate.

All we are saying is that this is a religion/ human issue. It has nothing to do with human faith. There are "peaceful" religions all over the world - Christianity included - that have extremists and hate factions. It is human religion that causes this type of racism and hatred, not genuine faith.

[Ovedya]

I have to agree with John here. I think tht anything that is not of God, is not peaceful. The outer face will give off the appearance of it, but how can it be? Love, truth, peace, joy, all those things that are good, comes from God. Yes, I agree that we should have compassion on everyone, but we should not approve nor condone their religion.

I do not approve or condone thier religion. However, I do not approve or condone that kind of hatred that comes from posts like the first in this thread. The Lord Jesus did not approve or condone the life of the woman at the well, yet He was there to give her living water to drink, not venom.

[traveller]

Gm - certainly we should not condone hatred. That goes against everything we believe. But let me ask you this - when we, as Christians publicly say, "Islam is a peaceful religion" are we not in a sense condoning it? Are we not saying, "Your religion is okay because it is peaceful."

[Ovedya]

Gm - certainly we should not condone hatred. That goes against everything we believe. But let me ask you this - when we, as Christians publicly say, "Islam is a peaceful religion" are we not in a sense condoning it? Are we not saying, "Your religion is okay because it is peaceful."

I don't think that there's really a need to say much of anything. Because it's not primarilly Islam that drives terrorism. It's religious fanaticism that drives these types. We need to learn and understand the difference and cut out all the rhetoric.

Christians have always said that our faith is one of understanding and compassion. What happens to that assertion when we call Islam a religion of terror? Aren't we just helping to perpetuate the false notion that Christianity is a religion of intolerance and bigotry? It is not better to cal Islam a religion of peace in the hopes that the Gospel may be preached to those who would hear?

[JohnS]

As I have written here before, Islam does advocate voilence against the infadels (unbelievers), where Christianity does not  The problem is that it is easier for a greater percentage of Muslim extremists to take the texts you have pointed out and interpret them to mean that they are justifed in conducting uprovoked attacks upon others.

God-man,

Forget the rationalizations for a moment. If the Qur'an advocates violence against unbelievers, why do you call the Muslims who carry out the attacks extremists? Shouldn't they just be called practicing Muslims? Why do you compare Muslims who practice what the Qur'an teaches to people that badly misinterpret the Holy Scriptures? IT'S NOT THE SAME THING!

Why not call the KKK types practicing Christians? If you call Muslim extremists practicing Muslims, then you have to call Christian extremists practicing Christians. If you are satisfied doing this then there's no problem here.

How am I confusing you?

Two simple question:

1) Does the Qur'an instruct Muslims to fight against unbelievers?

2) Does the Bible instruct Christians to fight against unbelievers?

Hint:

"Fight for the sake of God those that fight against you, but do not attack them first. God does not love the aggressors. Slay them wherever you find them. Drive them out of the places from which they drove you. Idolatry is more grievous than bloodshed.... Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God

[Ovedya]

John S.

I see the point you are trying to make. But I don't think that you see mine. If we blame Islam for terrorism we should also blame Christianity for acts of terror committed by its followers.

You will note from the portions of the Koran that you quoted that most all of them advocate "fighting for God against the idolators."

Let's examine some texts from the Bible, then (click on the links to read the verses):

Numbers 25:1-5 - Some of the children of Israel joined themselves to a false god. God tells Moses to cut off their heads and hang them up in the sun.

Joshua 13 - God moves the Children of Israel into the good land. Some of the inhabitants are moved out, others are slaughtered.

1 Samuel 15 - God commands Saul to slaughter the Amelekites - their men, women, children, oxen, camels, and donkeys (Of course we know that Saul failed to kill the animals).

There are accounts upon accounts upon accounts int eh Bible where God commanded the slaughter of entire cities of people. These people were either idolators or had come against Israel in some way. So do you honestly believe that the God of the Old Testament is any different than the one preached in the Koran? Sure it's worded differently, but in content there really is no difference. A religious fanatic can take the words of the OT just as literally as they can from the Koran.

Now, we know that the real God of the Bible is a God of holiness, righteousness and love. God protects His people and shows His wrath upon the unrighteous. In these respects the Koran and the Bible are virutally the same. And as I continue saying here, it is the religious fanatics in both faiths that we have to watch out for.