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And the Klan, who self-identify as Christian, has used the Christian cross for over 150 years to symbolize their evil deeds. Which include lynchings and murder. Let's just be fair.
Your call for 'fairness' is not rational.
Let's be more insightful.
All religious related evils and violence can be categorized as follows;
1. Religion-related evils and violence
2. Religion-inspired evils and violence.
1. Religion-related evils and violence
Christianity like many other religions has an overriding pacifist maxim, i.e. love thy enemies and the likes. Therefore Christianity do not have a martial ethos of killing non-believers.
Those Christians who has evil tendencies and act them out are probably psychopaths, sociopaths, etc. who are naturally evil regardless of which religion they belong to.
The evil and violent acts of these Christians are categorized as Religion-Related-Violence.
In this case it is not the fault of the religion but the fault of the person[s]' inherent evil nature.
Because it is religion-related humanity is able to curb, prevent and reduce such types of violence at present.
2. Religion-inspired evils and violence.
Religion-Inspired evils and violence are committed by evil prone believers who are inspired by verses in the holy texts that condoned and exhort believers to commit evils and violence against non-believers and even other believers.
Islam has a martial ethos and tons of evil laden verses that influence evil prone Muslims [not all] to commit evils and violence to strive for the cause of Islam. This fact is well proven with the glaring evidences that are happening wherever there are Muslims.
Note humanity should be more concern about Religion-Inspired Violence at present and the future.
Islam-in-part [not whole] is the only religion which has elements that inspire SOME [not all] Muslims to commit evils and violence.
Another problem is the 'SOME' factor, even 'SOME' if say 20%, we are dealing with a potential pool of 300 million evil prone Muslims. This potential of 300 million is very frightening because only one Muslim alone could create a lot of havoc and terror.
In contrast to Religion-Related violence which are manageable, the Religion-Inspired-Violence are based on holy texts that are immutable, i.e. cannot be changed or removed. Thus as long as the religion exists, its malignant part will inspire a natural percentage of believers to commit ongoing evil and violence. This reality is already very real and glaringly evident.
In today's world it no longer takes a large organized group to inflict catastrophic damage. The average person on the street seems to have a need to believe that 9/11 required the joint approval and resources of every Muslim to have been carried out. That single day is probably the single most factor causing ongoing distrust of Muslims. I doubt if I will see the damage to interfaith goodwill be repaired in my lifetime.
I understand one critical aspects being Muslim is an individual affair just like believers of other religion.
However the collective interactions and interdependence amongst believers is also a very critical factor of being religious and cannot be ignored.
Note your point in this post of yours;
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The joy of Fajr is the peaceful manner in which we make the transition from sleep to being awake. A time for reflections and to look forward to what the day will bring. There is a feeling of closeness to the Ummah as we know that at the same time there are many people doing the exact same thing and we are all facing the very same alter, the Qiblah. There is a sense of connection and a reminding of the Ummah even though we will never meet in person. //www.city-data.com/forum/islam...lue-salat.html
Note these critical points;
1. What is frightening about Islam [in part not whole] is it is inherently both good and evil.
I posted variously how Islam in part is inherently evil.
2. 20% of all humans has a range of tendencies towards evils and violence due to lack of impulse controls under various circumstances.
Therefore 20% of Muslims, i.e. 300 million of 1.5 billion are evil prone.
I don't believe any normal person would think it required the joint approval and resources of every Muslim for the evil prone Muslims to carry out the terrible evils and violence.
The fact is any one from the 300 million of potential evil prone Muslims can carry out terrible evils and violence when inspired by Islam-in-part and the evil laden verses within a martial ethos.
Note the lone wolf re Archer's-Philadelphia case and the likes.
What normally happened is those with evil tendencies will get together [birds of feathers] to scheme and carry out the evils and violent acts.
What is very real and scary is the evil laden verses in the Quran and the ethos of Islam can inspire so many thousands evil prone Muslims in ISIS, Boko Haram, Al Qaeda and many other groups to commit evils and violence. What is more scary are those evil prone from the potential 300 million of Muslims who are in the incubation stage awaiting to carry out their violent act.
What is factual is as long as Islam exists as it is, humanity will face Islam-Inspired evils and violence from the natural 20% [conservative] of evil prone Muslims.
On a personal not it strikes me as blasphemy when one hollers it before harming any innocent people.
Blasphemy. That is a word most people do not use these days.
When a person does use it, what do we think about that person? Do we think they are a fair minded person who tries to accept and understand people whose beliefs are different than theirs, or do we think of a narrow-minded person who does not want to accept people with different beliefs?
I have not heard a mainstream Christian use that word for a long time. I have always liked Billy Graham because if his sincerity and I never heard him use that word.
Does such an animal exist??? In my 65 years I don't think I can say I have ever met one. I certainly don't see many 'turning the other cheek' and I certainly haven't come across a single one that has found someone stealing their coat and given the thief their shirt too. Nor have I ever known of one that has been robbed and not tried to get their possessions back. I have never seen them selling their possessions and giving the money to the poor either. In fact, I have met none that actually abide by the teachings of the man-god that they profess to follow. They are of course more than happy to misinterpret their leaders words if it means that they can castigate gays or people that don't think as they do but when he tells them to sell their possessions and give the money to the poor, they don't appear to trust him on THAT one.
Blasphemy. That is a word most people do not use these days.
When a person does use it, what do we think about that person? Do we think they are a fair minded person who tries to accept and understand people whose beliefs are different than theirs, or do we think of a narrow-minded person who does not want to accept people with different beliefs?
I have not heard a mainstream Christian use that word for a long time.
Blasphemy was still an offence in the UK up to 2008. Some states in the USA still have blasphemy laws.
Does such an animal exist??? In my 65 years I don't think I can say I have ever met one. I certainly don't see many 'turning the other cheek' and I certainly haven't come across a single one that has found someone stealing their coat and given the thief their shirt too. Nor have I ever known of one that has been robbed and not tried to get their possessions back. I have never seen them selling their possessions and giving the money to the poor either. In fact, I have met none that actually abide by the teachings of the man-god that they profess to follow. They are of course more than happy to misinterpret their leaders words if it means that they can castigate gays or people that don't think as they do but when he tells them to sell their possessions and give the money to the poor, they don't appear to trust him on THAT one.
If your definition of a true Christian is perfection, then Jesus is the only one. Even the best of us are not capable of living up to Gods standards. That's why Christ had to come and die for our sins- to pay the price for us. As Paul says- "I strive for the mark, not that i have or can obtain it. Only God knows a mans heart, and only He is fit to judge. I know myself that many claim to be "Christians", but do nor act like one. I myself fall short at times, but I believe and do my best to live the way God wants me to. Hope this helps.
If your definition of a true Christian is perfection, then Jesus is the only one.
...but your man-god told you what to do to be perfect. He said ...
'If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in Heaven; and come and follow me.'
So why haven't you done that Bryan??Don't you want to be 'perfect'? Don't you want to follow your leader and have treasure in heaven? Just WHEN are you going to sell your possessions and give the money to the poor as your man-god said you should huh Bryan...huh? You see Bryan, it's not that you Christians are attempting to give away you possessions, to hand out your property to any who would ask and to not attempt to regain property taken from you, but simply failing. It's that you are not even trying. All we hear is rubbish about 'not being perfect' and a dozen other excuses. Predictably of course, all these excuses for not following these particular commands don't seem to apply to things like homosexuality but when it tells you to give away your precious money and possessions, then suddenly it's time for "interpretation" and "context" and EXCUSES! Apparently your god has the right to dictate how old you think the Earth is and whether you watch Harry Potter, but when it comes to your wallet, you just don't trust his judgement.
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Even the best of us are not capable of living up to Gods standards.
Of course not. Your god sets the bar at a height at which e knows you will fail...and then castigates you for not being good enough....and you fell for it! LOL!
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That's why Christ had to come and die for our sins- to pay the price for us.
So you claim but as yet you (or anyone else for that matter) has ever been able to show that your 'Christ' even existed.
Quote:
As Paul says- ...
I'm not interested in what 'Paul' is alleged to have said. Your only evidence for what your Paul said is in your Bible and you are not abler to provide verifiable evidence that your Bible is true....and until you can, quoting the Bible to prove your argument is as much use as a chocolate fire-guard.
If your definition of a true Christian is perfection, then Jesus is the only one. Even the best of us are not capable of living up to Gods standards. That's why Christ had to come and die for our sins- to pay the price for us. As Paul says- "I strive for the mark, not that i have or can obtain it. Only God knows a mans heart, and only He is fit to judge. I know myself that many claim to be "Christians", but do nor act like one. I myself fall short at times, but I believe and do my best to live the way God wants me to. Hope this helps.
well, as my old granddaddy used to say,any excuse is better than none.... Before you go judging others maybe you should take a good look in the mirror... You may strive to live according to the way your God wants you to but that's for you, maybe your God wants others to live differently than yourself.just a thought...
Don't get me wrong, I well aware that a good number of Muslims are not like that. But violent, savage acts do appear to be committed by Muslims, in the name of Islam, far more than any other religion, at least at the moment.
So long as you disavow Trump-ish notions like keeping all Muslims out of the US including Muslim US citizens trying to return from their family vacation, and you would consider working with non-extremist Muslims to root out radicalized members in their midst to be fairly important tactically, then we have no real difference of opinion other than that your rhetoric seems rather un-nuanced and needlessly inflammatory to me.
Would you also disavow fear and hatred and/or suspicion of all Muslims because they are Muslims? Then we definitely have no quarrel.
I completely agree (and a number of other atheists do as well) that it is not "racist" (we aren't even TALKING here about race, Muslims are not a race) and it is not hate speech to call a spade a spade. Islam is no more beyond criticism than is Christianity. And it is not insignificant that the most recent Charlie Hebdo cover depicts god as a terrorist, prompts charges of blasphemy from the Vatican, but is unlikely to result in radicalized Christians with machine guns assaulting and killing employees of Charlie Hebdo. Though I would assert that it might well produce a little covert jealousy among some Christians that Muslims can do that and Christians can't.
I would say though that the main reason for this dichotomy is less about religion and more about grinding poverty and ignorance. I realize that one hand washes the other, but the flip side here is that the relatively small threat of Christians reacting with machine guns and torture and rape to a perceived religious slight has nothing really to do with Christianity being superior morally, it has to do with most Christians being better educated, more prosperous, and having more secular values in practice, with their religious notions compartmentalized.
I suspect there are not many people living in the USA that personally know 100 Muslims. Lack of familiarity does breed distrust and fear.
Not just lack of familiarity...as much as the fact that the only image we DO get of Islam is when we read of or hear about a guy who is screaming Allah's name while killing people. As I said...I get it -- not all Muslims are like that. But the ones we hear about are.
I have also heard that people in other countries view us based on what they see on American TV or in American movies. Is that accurate? No--of course not. But that's how they view us.
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