Comments on Stan Guthrie: Is Islam a Religion of Peace?

Good post, but I think you are almost there but no...

2005-01-28T11:23:00.000-06:00

Good post, but I think you are almost there but not quite.

First, the state, when push comes to shove, is all about force. You cannot have a government that doesn't use force.

Most importantly, we should be asking "Does this religion support violence?" Not, "does this religion as interpreted and practiced by its followers support violence"? Do you see the difference? It's small, yet large, at the same time.

Secondly, given the history of Israel, where God commanded people to be killed, I think we've been making wrong judgements and asking wrong questions. Violence is OK if God commands it. The problem with Islam is that it is false, so it's use of violence is so-to-speak an unauthorized action. God has told His church not to use violence to spread the gospel. That's the problem with the Crusades, the use of violence to suppress heretics, etc. But he did tell Israel to execute His judgement. And He used the Assyrians, etc. against Israel.

I would also like to note, as hard as it is to believe, that is easy in our era to recognize the sin and faulty assumptions great men of God and rank sinners had back in the day.

A further note to Bob: It occurs to me that while...

2004-12-08T12:20:00.000-06:00

A further note to Bob:

It occurs to me that while followers of both Islam and Christianity (and every other major religion) have at times acted violently in the names of their religions, there are some crucial differences between Christianity and Islam on this matter. Here are two:

1. When you compare the conduct of the founders of these two faiths, there really is no comparison. Muhammad killed others; Jesus sacrificed himself for others.

2. The question I am examining in this post is whether there is something inherently violent in Islam. That is, when Muslims live up to the ideals of their faith, do they kill people? We know that the Crusades and similar sorry incidents in church history happened precisely because people did not live up to the ideals of the Christian faith. That is, Christianity is not inherently violent, even though some people have misunderstood it or misused it to perpetrate violence upon others. Can we say the same of Islam?

Stan

Tom, Several things to keep in mind: 1. Christia...

2004-12-08T12:11:00.000-06:00

Tom,

Several things to keep in mind:

1. Christianity is not hostile to science. Many of the earliest scientists were Christians seeking to understand the laws by which God governs the world. I dare say science as we know it would not exist without Christianity.

2. You don't have to be a narrow-minded bigot to have doubts about evolution, which sometimes seems more a dogma than a true scientific theory. There's plenty of evidence for a Creator. Check out Michael Behe's "Darwin's Black Box" for starters.

Stan

"Unfortunately, as detailed in Ernest Volkman’s fa...

2004-12-07T13:01:00.000-06:00

"Unfortunately, as detailed in Ernest Volkman’s fascinating book, Science Goes to War, Islamic thinkers who believed the study of science would undermine Muslim beliefs soon gained ascendancy."

What would be the difference between the "...Islamic thinkers who believed the study of science would undermine Muslim beliefs soon gained ascendancy." and the anti-evolutionist and more fundamentalist brands of Christianity?

Bob, You raise a fair point, as always. I would s...

2004-12-06T12:25:00.000-06:00

Bob,

You raise a fair point, as always. I would say there have been too many black marks on the historical record. We can all recite a list: the Crusades, the Inquisition, the occasional brutality of Calvin and Luther against theological opponents, etc. Not sure what you mean by current actions. We are one of the leading defenders of human rights in the world. Christians are certainly fighting back in Nigeria and Indonesia. But as I tried to hint at in the commentary, our founder was not violent and our teachings (when read fairly) are not violent. But I do intend to take up this rich topic at a later date.

Stan

Stan Is Christianity a religion of peace, based ...

2004-12-06T09:57:00.000-06:00

Stan

Is Christianity a religion of peace, based on our history and present day actions?